Little Help/Advice/Friends For A Newbie....

**mamacita3113** · 02-04-2013, 10:52 PM

Hey Everyone! I am new to glassblowing/flameworking. Ive been doing it for a few months now. As for on here, I'm brand spankin new to The Melting Pot. I just want to start off by saying I have gotten so much awesome, extremely helpful information from reading a lot of threads that have been posted. All of your posts to questions and stuff have helped me out tremendousley! Thank-you!

Any other pointers, or tips from anyone about flameworking only would be greatly appreciated!

The question I have is about rollers for holding glass rods, and tubes......I was thinking about trying to make a home-made one that I saw posted on another thread on here. Its made with (2) 1" roller ball bearings, a L Bracket, a mini tripod, and some nutz and bolts to put it together. Wanted to try that to save money because I have stuck a lot of money into getting started already, and seen online on some websites that they can tend to be pretty expensive. What are your thoughts on this home-made one? Im worried that the tripod is gonna melt. Another option is asking if anyone has one lying around that they are not using, and are willing to sell me?

Also, Do you guys know of any helpful websites for purchasing, and pointers that you could let me know about? I already know about the obvious ABR, Sundance, Mountain Glass, and Devardi websites, and The Melting Pot Forum.

Thanks again in advance everyone! Im looking forward to making many other friends on here that love glassblowing as much as I do! Where I live, I only know 1 person that does, and thats it.

So, if you wanna send me a friend request, please feel free to do so!!

**Captain Glass** · 02-04-2013, 11:04 PM

Couple pointers

1 use the search engine before asking a question because there is a high likelyhood that its been asked and answered more than once

2 abr, mountain glass, glasscraft, trevs glass for online purchases.

3 classes are worth the money assuming you can find someone who knows what they are doing and is patient enough to teach

And as far as the rollers go I've thought about just making them myself as well so if you do it post some pics. Side note on the rollers is a lot of people will tell you to learn without them. I've never used them and could definitely see the benefit of doing so but you get a good workout without them lol

**Captain Glass** · 02-04-2013, 11:08 PM

Ooo and an important side note * be humble it gets you far on this site, rather than being an obnoxious douchebag who asks for help and doesn't listen to a word of it or thinks they know it all before hand

**TlkQ** · 02-04-2013, 11:11 PM

Why do you think you need rollers? At this point in your career it's probably a better idea to get used to spinning the rods evenly without a roller. Get the basics dialed in. If you're thinking about using rollers this early on it's likely they wil be used as a crutch through your career. You shouldn't need rollers until you are making big giant pieces.

**mamacita3113** · 02-05-2013, 08:19 AM

Thanks for the tips! Think Im gonna stick with just doing it the way Ive been doing it.........without rollers!

Maybe sometime many years later I'll maybe invent a roller to use.

**Credo** · 02-05-2013, 11:07 AM

I agree with the advice on not getting a roller until you have your basics down. I'm doing the same thing, but I saw this roller on sale and I'm thinking about getting one just because of the price. Might keep it in storage for a while so I'm not tempted to use it

http://www.dichroicimagery.com/produ...ducts_id=88080

Welcome to the Melting Pot!

**LooseSeal Baller** · 02-05-2013, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by niggnogg

I agree with the advice on not getting a roller until you have your basics down. I'm doing the same thing, but I saw this roller on sale and I'm thinking about getting one just because of the price. Might keep it in storage for a while so I'm not tempted to use it

http://www.dichroicimagery.com/produ...ducts_id=88080

Welcome to the Melting Pot!

Agreed most of the work can be done without rollers. I got those^ rollers for christmas they're great, but only use them while doing vac-stacks and a few other things.

yeah i got a pair not just one, but for the price still not bad 60 bucks for the pair!

**aREa541** · 02-05-2013, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by niggnogg

I agree with the advice on not getting a roller until you have your basics down. I'm doing the same thing, but I saw this roller on sale and I'm thinking about getting one just because of the price. Might keep it in storage for a while so I'm not tempted to use it

http://www.dichroicimagery.com/produ...ducts_id=88080

Welcome to the Melting Pot!

If you get those rollers, buy a pair. If you are only going to get one yoke, get the ball bearing kind.

**LowTideGlass** · 02-05-2013, 11:32 AM

Yea that roller set I made was really just an experiment since I had the stuff lying around anyways. I actually just picked up a blastshield roller, since the tripod stand was not stable enough for what I needed it for.

As it had been mentioned, I'd steer clear of relying on rollers this early on. You need to build up your muscle and muscle memory of spinning tubing. Once these muscles are part of your routine, then you will notice that you have way more control over the nuances of working glass. Without them you are really just fighting to keep control of it.

I see rollers as really just a way to save your wrists when working big marbles, or when flaring out larger vessels.