Standing on the shoulders of giants

[Enigma]

Got torch set up today and fired it up for the first time,started to melt some glass rod....
Weird , new , exciting , wasn't sure what to try so I kinda just switched angles and tried to see how it all flowed , well a hr later I ended up with this , nothing fancy just a clear marble with beautiful imperfections for me to look back on some day
Guess I am no longer a glass virgin

[Trevor]

right on man congratulations!

[RyanBaker]

Woohoo! Siked you finally got everything setup,pretty sure we were setting up our benches around the same time,glad to see everything worked out well for you!

[Enigma]

Thanks guys, I'm excited,yeah we were, been following your progression thread , good stuff!

[glassdocnc]

Congrats! Nicely rounded for a first try too! Sending you some rep for posting the picture too.

[Enigma]

Tried to run , was following guide to make vortex marble was going good till I tried to lay some color lines , the stiffness really surprised me , got a few lines down then aborted that and finished up the marble , I will take a slower approach

[Enigma]

i have even more respect for all of you now that i finally have tried my hand at glass, already snapped the tip off my tweezers ,got color stuck to where i snapped the gather off the handle , dropped a hot marble on the floor , but my first day was a blast!!!!!!!

[Samson]

.....and so the journey begins. Get ready for a love/hate relationship 8)

[Shattered Dreams]

why are you snapping gathers off your handles?

[Enigma]

I had attached a 3 inch piece of 12mm rod to a piece of 8mm rod to gather up for the cone, then when I went to lay the color lines instead of keeping the color in the flame and moving the gather I tried to draw the line on so once the cooler part of the color rod was out of the flame it froze up on me , and I snapped the gather off the handle trying to get it off

[LooseSeal Baller]

I had attached a 3 inch piece of 12mm rod to a piece of 8mm rod to gather up for the cone, then when I went to lay the color lines instead of keeping the color in the flame and moving the gather I tried to draw the line on so once the cooler part of the color rod was out of the flame it froze up on me , and I snapped the gather off the handle trying to get it off

try and let the flame do all the work. the force you apply should be minimal. trying to force it will only lead to bad things, like hurting yourself. I've watched even skilled glassblowers/lampworkers cut themselves trying to push to hard. When the glass is hot enough it will go on like butter. good luck be safe.

[Enigma]

Thanks Barry , i may attempt it again today if I have time. I sat back and analyzed the marble last night and see where I went wrong on quite a few things, it was a good learning experience

[mattholimeau]

I love the part where I get to sit there looking at my piece, criticizing the hell out of it. Now that I'm making a lot of clear fumie spoons, I've been bench cooling them and get to be all pleasurably upset at myself almost right away instead of the next night. One of the most frustrating things when first starting was "dammit, I wanna play with it now!"

Awesome to see your excitement, can't wait to see more! Also - nice bottle opener. :P

[Tsnider]

i see your tweezers are already changing color. keep them out of the flame!

[Enigma]

I will heed that advice , pretty sure that's why I snapped the tip off one pair already

[IDoesGlass]

I had attached a 3 inch piece of 12mm rod to a piece of 8mm rod to gather up for the cone, then when I went to lay the color lines instead of keeping the color in the flame and moving the gather I tried to draw the line on so once the cooler part of the color rod was out of the flame it froze up on me , and I snapped the gather off the handle trying to get it off

If I am understanding you correctly your 12mm rod broke off from your 8mm rod. This is most likely because the seal joining them was not hot enough or melted in enough. If you are adding something to your piece permanently or need it to have a strong hold for working you want to make sure you have a good seal. Remember if you think you are hot enough you probably aren't, that isn't to be rude its just very common when people first start working with glass to work to cold.

Like Barry said, try and let the flame (and gravity) do all the work and always keep your glass turning, always. And to add on to what Tsnider said about keeping your tweezers out of the flame. If glass sticks to your tweezers they are too hot and should be quenched in your water bowl.

Hope that helps some. Congratz on you new torch/studio setup and welcome to the world of glass.

PS: It will consume you

[Enigma]

Not rude at all, I appreciate all the tips and criticism you won't hurt my feelings, I'm here to learn, could of been a combo of seal and torch control, I know a few times I was heating up too close to the connection point and messing up the balance of everything, thanks for the heads up

[Enigma]

Note to self second day on the torch is not the day to attempt spoons

[RyanBaker]

Note to self second day on the torch is not the day to attempt spoons

Sure it is! Just turn your lynx way down and work everything reeeeaaaalll slooooowww,I assume you're pulling points,so if you're getting hung up on the mouthpieces just pull off the handle and snip open the mouthpieces with your disc nippers, then just clean it up in the flame. Its not something you want to continue to practice because of all the shards that will get up in your piece but it will get you there for now.

As for making marbles and pendants,just work straight off a 10-12mm rod,theres no reason to seal onto a slightly smaller rod,then you have to worry about everything being perfectly straight too. Just make sure the rods long enough so that you wont roast your hand.

[RyanBaker]

Edit: Double Post