BS!!!! help!!!! condensation drips from blowtube keeps murdering my nice work!!!!

I think the title says enough, but I keep getting 99.9% done with pieces just to have the one cocksucker drop of water drip down and crack my mouthpiece or the whole piece. its unbelievably frustrating, and one of the only things that goes wrong anymore. does anyone have any tricks or tips to help with this shit? i periodically tap the water out, i need like a 12mm squeegee on a stick or something....anything else anyone has come up with? im at my wits end with this shit!!!:bangHead::bangHead::bangHead::bangHead::ba ngHead::bangHead::bangHead::bangHead:

thanks in advance!!!

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showt...tion-in-a-tube!!!!!!!!!!!!!

been havin the same problem i saw this in the related threads at the bottom tho has a couple ideas ima try.

I've flashed the blow tube in the flame for a second to clear up condensation. works great for getting out a piece of frit or two. I don't know if this is helpful, id be afraid to do that with anything very nice

Fuzzy craft style pipe cleaners soak that ish up

i just shake it out... like a whip

Ear plug in the end

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Originally Posted by Alley Kat

Ear plug in the end

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

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whats that gonna do?

i use the ear plugs like mini corks for blow tubes & stuff not sure how it will keep the condensation out though...

^^not solve the condensation issue i can tell you that!

I always thought it was from all the "hot" air in me...lol

My blowtubes always get all crusty and nasty too:o:

if you soak the piece in the kiln to warm up the mouth piece that should help with your cracking, as well as the condensation.

if you've already spent hours making a "nice" piece then an additional 30 minutes or so in the kiln shouldn't be a big deal.

don't rush :chilling:

i usually take a second to give the mouthpiece a nice wipe with alcohol, and run a small ball of paper towel down the inside of the tube.

Attachment 57770 Attachment 57771

Saw a neon guy in salt lake use one similar , his looked like a tiny bubbler , catching moisture in the can bottom . I think the foam works better. It has to be porous enough that it will not pull vac , and do weird things to the glass, tissue paper may be a good option if your worried about pressure .

( Anyone know the real name for the blow hose catch can thing ?)

Too bad I can't get it on a handle ( no hose ) I never tried to put something in the end of a normal blow handle . I do know my friend makes production , and uses a filter for rolled cigarettes , it keeps the heat from the handle (in side out style , when you flame the inside ) and he still can blow air through the filter when need be ( later on, just leaves it in the tube ) It will pull slight vacuum tho . He just has his technique dialed so no issues for him.

If you only have problems right at the end , you may not have vacuum if you go this route / or something similar as a answer ...no issues if other holes are already in place , and relieve pressure .

I will usually use a bigger handle , or even a bigger connection right at the mouthpiece. Especially if it is something I have a good amount of time invested in. This vid w/ banjo talks about it. Stronger than a "stock" blow tube for sure .

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=c...&v=EZHgxnXMluU

Stick the piece as far into the kiln as it will go for five minutes. The condensation will evaporate and after five minutes pull it out to normal and let the blow tube cool down.

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Originally Posted by smolder holder

Stick the piece as far into the kiln as it will go for five minutes. The condensation will evaporate and after five minutes pull it out to normal and let the blow tube cool down.

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thats basically what i was implying... just forgot to stick it in all the way. thanks smolder:blowkiss:

A tiny bit of cotton ball stuck into the end of the blowtube works great as well.

so funny I was gonna post same thing yesterday- if there was a tool for this very problem...lol. not havin cracks, but its super annoying...good tips gang!

amazing stuff! i wasnt even expecting it! thanks guys! to add to the cotton ball i was thinking of leaving a q-tip or 2 in the blowtube or a piece of sponge in the middle to soak up any moisture that builds to the point of being able to run or drip.
happy torchin, may the glass gods shine!

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Originally Posted by smolder holder

Stick the piece as far into the kiln as it will go for five minutes. The condensation will evaporate and after five minutes pull it out to normal and let the blow tube cool down.

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This^^^

Nobody needs to jam anything up their blowtube. :twitch:

it's essentially a desiccant tube. on the scientific side usually made with a flask. stick a stopper in aforementioned flask with two holes in it and fill with desicant. that little bubbla looking one is just a more portable version.

When I used to paint cars we had a condensation filter connected to the spray gun, water on fresh paint sucks donkey nutz, anyhow maybe someone could attatch one of those to your blowtubes. They are fairly cheap and could be found at any auto paint store (napa). Just an idea

Step one shop vac or other vacuum.
Step two put vacuum hose up to blow tube.
Step three suck the condensation out of blowtube.
This takes a about 1 to 2 seconds
Big ups to Eush for dropping this simple trick. Enjoy

^do all of this with your piece in the kiln, but blowtube hanging out As normal. Hot air plus the suction gets rid of the moisture FAST!

I had this issue when beginning to use frit. Instead of opening the end of a point like one would for inside out work, if I was making straight frit pieces I would just pour the frit down my point handle. Of course even after just making the point and evening out the walls on the end, I would have moisture and it would trap some of the frit in the handle. I was more worried about it falling back into my mouth than the moisture hitting my mouthpiece, but all I ever had to do was use a soft flame start at the mouthpiece and just kinda chase the moisture up the handle with my flame. Presto no moisture. I already had a punty up to the opposite side for melting shit down and what not so no extra step there. Of course now you have a hot handle, but they tend to cool off really fast and I only have ever have them bust apart if it was a super janky thin ass point handle (and I usually knew I was risking it) or sometimes when the moisture gets to the very end and a small little section of the end pops off.

I have been using my kiln more like the tool it is lately and garaging lots of my pieces between steps. I almost never make a spoon for instance all in one go anymore, I usually have several in the kiln waiting for me so I don't tend to loose any time in the wait for the handle to cool since I will start another step on another piece while the handle gets back to touching temp. Of course simply just sticking it in the kiln usually gets most of the moisture out anyway just from sitting in the dry heat, but of course the Eush vacuum tip seems to be dead on, and very little to no wait time. I personally don't have a vacuum though and don't plan to go out and buy one yet, because I don't seem to have any issues at this point with moisture dripping down unless im lazy as shit. If I had just spent a few days making the prep and sections of a heady piece though, it would seem like straight up worthy investment. I just don't make anything nice enough yet to justify it. And using the flame to work out the moisture like you would air if you were melting something down seems to work for me 95% or more of the time.

interesting how different people solve the same problem, that's why I like this forum :)

Usually the moisture will gather near the open end while working hot. Just wick the moisture out with ur shirt before continuing. if you keep from getting a lot of moisture it will not drip. Also if you don't want to garage the piece you can heat the handle just past the piece with a mini hand torch to stop any moisture.

Just saw Jason Lee post a tip about this the other day. Put a rolled up piece of napkin in the end of the tube while it is in the kiln and it acts as a wick.

This has never happened to me… am I the only one who uses a blow hose?

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Originally Posted by Mr. Wonka

This has never happened to me… am I the only one who uses a blow hose?

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I use a blow hose, but it doesn't matter. Personally, I'm talking about condensation, not saliva.

I get condensation forming as soon as I start putting the glass near the flame.

Gun cleaning stick gun cleaning no lint patch, cheap and instant.

It's called a spit collector. Somewhat similar to the photo shown above, but smaller and simpler. I haven't used a blowhose for years but i'll check to see if I can find my old one and post a photo if I can. If not, I'll draw one up and post.

good buddy gave me an old book on glassblowing in the lab, they went on in detail how to make spit collectors, used to be very common i guess.

Yup, when I was doing scientific glass in the 80's everyone I knew used one.

I took a look for my old spit collector and, as I suspected, it is long gone since I haven't done any tubing work for years. But here's a very simple drawing of one. It goes on your blowhose to catch anything you might drool into it and keep it from traveling into your piece. It's basically a small, light glass ball with a tube in the outlet that acts as a trap for moisture. You can make the outlet tube straight, or bend it a little as shown below, so it's not directly in line with the inlet. Shake drool out as necessary.

Attachment 62994

A small hole and cork in the bubble will help you to blow it out easier too

I always just popped off the inlet hose and gave it a couple of quick shakes upside down. Worked fine. I'm not quite sure how the cork and hole would work better, although maybe I'm just being a little dense because it's not what I'm used to. I guess it would allow you to clear it without removing the hose, which could come in handy while you're working on a piece. Might be a good suggestion. Thanks.

Anyway, while taking a quick look around the web to see if I could find a better illustration than my shitty drawing, I stumbled across something that could be of interest to some people here, a downloadable book on scientific glassblowing. This would probably be an interesting book for those doing tubing work, since it give instructions in making a number of different seals, among many other things. Doing a search of the website will turn up a bunch of other cool stuff that's available for download as well. Enjoy!

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Originally Posted by OVglass

Step one shop vac or other vacuum.
Step two put vacuum hose up to blow tube.
Step three suck the condensation out of blowtube.
This takes a about 1 to 2 seconds
Big ups to Eush for dropping this simple trick. Enjoy

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I saw this done as well but they turned the vac on after they placed the piece in the kiln so it totally dried the blowtube in a matter of seconds with hot kiln air.

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Originally Posted by brads

I always just popped off the inlet hose and gave it a couple of quick shakes upside down. Worked fine. I'm not quite sure how the cork and hole would work better, although maybe I'm just being a little dense because it's not what I'm used to. I guess it would allow you to clear it without removing the hose, which could come in handy while you're working on a piece. Might be a good suggestion. Thanks.

Anyway, while taking a quick look around the web to see if I could find a better illustration than my shitty drawing, I stumbled across something that could be of interest to some people here, a downloadable book on scientific glassblowing. This would probably be an interesting book for those doing tubing work, since it give instructions in making a number of different seals, among many other things. Doing a search of the website will turn up a bunch of other cool stuff that's available for download as well. Enjoy!

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thanks for the book! :D