favorite glass gimmicks

[LooseSeal Baller]

List some of the things u find to be gimmicky... In relation to glass or our industry...

This is not a shot at any company's so please keep those thoughts to yourself...geared more towards things you use instead or how u manage without said gimmick...

My example

Bowl push...I use a graphite rod sanded\shaped to my liking.

Or my favorite...the rig...it's just a fancy bubbler/bong/water pipe...whatever u wanna call it.

[Greymatter Glass]

Just because you don't see a need for it or understand something doesn't make it a gimmick to everyone else. Bowl pushes are a good example. When I started out, I was making pipes. Early on it would take me 20-30 minutes to make a small piece, and all we had were graphite rods with the ends sanded down, so that's what we used.

As I got faster, and clear fumey spoons took 4 minutes to make, pushing with a bare graphite rod didn't work as well. That rod gets hot, and it always gets graphite all over your hands. So I'd wrap it in hockey tape, which would get gooey and leave sticky black goo on my hands.... finally I saw someone with a proper bowl push and got one and it was one of the best tools I'd bought to that point. So I don't agree it's a gimmick, it's a vital tool that keeps your hands clean and cool. Nowadays, I use bowl pushes as "carbon technology" which you just can't really do with a bare rod of graphite.

As for rigs... someone could make the same argument against all glass pipes, they're just a gimmicky way to smoke weed, why not just roll a joint?

Things I personally think are gimmicky: opals, "CFL" reactive colors, dichro... all things I use, but the gimmick is that it's a simple thing that doesn't require any particularly unique skill to use, but results in more money and attention for a piece - which is the definition of gimmick. If you're looking for a gimmick in tool form, I would say the "tweezer jacks" are on that list - literally nothing that I've seen those things used for can't be done with a reamer, but they add a certain flair and mystique to the process that other people see and envy.

[LooseSeal Baller]

Nice.

I also find ground joint shaping tools to be gimmicky.

[LooseSeal Baller]

Obviously if you're a machinist you wouldn't buy a bowl push...example

[LooseSeal Baller]

Busting those tips off is a good example of needing to do a little polishing up vs buying new.

[LooseSeal Baller]

And the tweezer jacks are so gimmicky I forgot about them

[PyroChixRock]

I agree the ground joint tools are gimmicky, but I like them.

What happened to the old line tools? I never tried one but they seemed helpful. Was it just a fad?


We need a favorite-can't-live-without-tool thread. To which I would add my N8 finishing tool, my grumbling marble molds, and my gentech hand torch.

[Greymatter Glass]

Obviously if you're a machinist you wouldn't buy a bowl push...example

no, you'd make one. Cash payment doesn't really factor in.

Also, don't confuse novel, gimmick, and impractical as being the same things.

[mattholimeau]

Tweezer jacks... if you're talking about a bent pair of tweezers, I hear ya. But if you're talking about the mini jacks (http://www.mountainglass.com/Magic-Mini-Jacks.html), then I don't find 'em gimmicky at all, they're one of my favorite tools.

[Swim]

Tweezer jacks... if you're talking about a bent pair of tweezers, I hear ya. But if you're talking about the mini jacks (http://www.mountainglass.com/Magic-Mini-Jacks.html), then I don't find 'em gimmicky at all, they're one of my favorite tools.

I just took a hard look at my bench, and I have used the shit out of everything but the tweezer jacks, i need to sell them

[BORO]

I converted to tweezers jacks.

They improved my products.

I made my own, out of the very first set of tweezers I had. (started working in a shop with a dozen sets.)


I was afraid to mix up my original very first pair of tweezers. Now I know its them forever.

I feel like there is a learning curve to jacks. If you don't get past it, they seem useless. Once I saw the light, I use them constantly.

I feel like gong holders are useless. Some can't live with out them.

I look at that r.a.m. Egg graphite tool, and it looks like a gimmick, but I never tried one, so idk.

It's hard to put into words. (What constitutes a gimmick )

It's like , "toliet paper is a gimmick , I just use my hand. Going to wash them anyways. I can get a cleaner ass with my fingernails"....

All about the user. And the desired results. Different strokes, different folks.

[LooseSeal Baller]

couldn't agree more.

I tried ordering the n8 finishing tool but they were discontinued...so i bought some Bobby Flay BBQ tongs, waletex lathe tape, and rocksetter glue...BAMM!

It's all relative...

[LowTideGlass]

Have never used the n8 finishing tool but I finally made up a pair of tongs yesterday.

[LooseSeal Baller]

nice!

[Swim]

Have never used the n8 finishing tool but I finally made up a pair of tongs yesterday.

at my level of the game there is a learning curve with every tool. THe thing that I assume most people use the tweezer jacks for is what I use these little 7 mm reamers that I made. i could not live without the little baby reamers. I have not even tried the jacks in 6 months. my skills are way better, so maybe I should give them another shot. I need to make some tongs like that, I imagine that is a tool that sees alot of use

[BORO]

At first , I tried to hold the jacks a certain amount open, I thought it had something to do with how they work..

It's impossible.

You just stick them on a lip and spin the glass. The gap between them does not effect much.
I don't squeeze them.
I don't open them.

Think of them like a double ended Remer , just let them do their thing.

I may squeeze them to make them fit into a tiny hole, just to start the flare.

[Swim]

word brotha, gonna try them tonight just because

[itssteve]

I couldn't live without my homemade tweezer jacks, and 1/4" graphite rods. I really need to get some of those finishing tools, iv been using a high heat pad since I broke my grabbers and its a real pain

[Jimi The Don]

Things I'd rather not live without: blow hose, graphite tape, beeswax, porn, graphite, tweezers.

Things I think are 'gimmicky" but still use: hat pins, opals, clear glass, condoms, glow in the dark/uv anything, bail biters.

Things I lied about using earlier in this post: condoms

[Ray]

As for rigs... someone could make the same argument against all glass pipes, they're just a gimmicky way to smoke weed, why not just roll a joint?

I have tried for years and still couldn't roll a cigarette or joint or any other thing in a rolling paper.
Unless I use a rolling machine