My Humble Beginning...

[woodgrain]

Well i have been on the torch for almost a month now.. and im pretty much addicted at this point! im lucky enough to have been able to watch a few demos and onlook during my friend doing his thing. i definitely pay close attention so i think that has helped me a bunch... he can usually always fill me in on what/what not to do..here are some pics of my progress from start up to where i am now... all comments, tips, and criticism welcome!! thanks

Much thanks to Frank (and Banjo for his usual sickness\wisdom\inspiration; and leaving a bunch of scraps at his old shop that helped me huge!)
--Gee--

[Rowdy]

Everything looks very sellable, your shapeing is spot on and the color combos for your rakes look real nice. Keep up the the good work. Peace

[Campy]

spoons are looking clean man

[FredLight]

Very nice.

I'd recommend a little work on your pop-n-push. That's the only thing I can see that is behind at this point. They are just different from piece to piece.

Definitely looks melted in enough, some colors are a little reduced, but real good overall. I like the colors on the last one best.

[ALIEN!]

real nice, shaping is well done. I would agree with Fred on the bowls. I would suggest a bigger push too, big bowls make a huge difference as to whether something like these will sell. I would also suggest 6" slugs of 25x4mm, mark them off with a sharpie. 6" of that size makes great sized spoons. You're well on your way!

[s3xt0y]

Nice pieces.

[woodgrain]

Thanks for the warm welcome friends! haha yea im certainly still struggling with inconsistencies with things like the pop n push, centering, working color correctly, flame control, etc..i was one step ahead on the bigger bowl push..but for some reason that has set back my progress...realized the concept of a flower implosion and made one today. gonna make a bunch with decent colors tonight or tomorrow.
i know this is a good bit ahead of my tech level but can anyone help me get a better concept of how a sax sherly is achieved? i mean as far as getting the smooth transition/flow from can to mouthpiece/positioning of hole on can.. thanks again! Ill post some more pics tomorrow....hittin about the 50th pipe mark

[turtleglass]

Your stuff looks really good for a month! Keep it up. You have awesome colors on your w/r any tips on how to get so much color. Do you just wrap multi colors on there thick on there or do you like make lines of each or what? the last one looks like buttescotch and multi or somethin? I do the front of my pipes the same as you do, So I dig that! Anyway, good job man and thanks for posting.

[woodgrain]

Hey thanks turtle! you're killin it too man! as far as the wraps.. in my minuscule experience i have found that less is more with the color.. getting it evenly applied is key.. i personally find it easier to pull it strait off the stick instead of using stringers. and then getting the rakes even and close. you are right on the money though- dark multi and butterscotch... i love the colors that come out of them.

Ok yesterday i just wanted to see how far i could push myself.. i ended up with this 8-piece stand up sherly.. i know its pretty crusty but im proud of it haha. i was actually so lucky to finish it as the blow tube broke where i had cold sealed to it.. thankfully all i had left to do was pop the carb and rip off the bit of blow tube.

Today i think i was high off of yesterdays project and i got the crazy idea to throw an inline together.. i pulled off a fairly wonky attempt but it will work for my personal use... haha. ill post pics of it tomorrow.

here is the stand up sherly. thanks

[phatsol]

Badass start Woodgrain! I like the way u put the carb in the horn. That smaller bubble section is nice lookn

[woodgrain]

hello all.. took a few days to get some pics up on here... haha i actually made two inlines... the first one came out ok, i just got it dirty 2 minutes after i pulled it out of the kiln...
haha so i made another one..... much, much, MUCH bigger. haha its kinda funny to look at i think, it just looks goofy or something. the proportions are a little off you could say.... also i managed to melt my first permanent bridge right in half trying to melt in.. managed to kinda save it.. a little thin...

anyways big ol' inline (21")....
(the ball on the back is not mine... a banjo scrap grabbed in the heat of the moment.. also my friend made that goofy face slide)

[woodgrain]

outta oxygen for the next few weeks until i get payed....or sell some glass....
i know someone feels my pain

[CripSkillz]

Those are your one month pieces ?? dude kickin ass .

[woodgrain]

haha yup, thanks much crip!!

arg! another week or so before can get back to work....