What ive been up to

[snoopdog6502]

I have found flaring gets easier with a big hot torch, with the bobcat it was a bitch, the cheetah was better, the phantom will get it done , the mirage will flare a tube by spinning it because its a hot bitch.

It just dont work well with a small torch.

[Sparko]

Totally agree with that one, big flame seems to = even heat . All ive flared so far is 12mm blow tube so ill keep that in mind when i step up to a larger tube here soon.

[Sparko]

Been tryn the way snoop did, realized that poping a hole in a big bubble is easier then tryn to flare. Many views no comments, this is more like watch glass.

[snoopdog6502]

Spring time, folks are out doing things in the sunshine and fresh air no days. This forum is more like a library of info with not a lot of Chatter.

I hope you are doing well and getting a handle on some new ways to tweak the glass. Iv been off the torch for a week, seasonal allergies have me all messed up so im sick and dizzy all the time.

[PyroChixRock]

Looking good.

[Sparko]

Thanks pyro, and snoop too, sorry to hear you've been under the weather. All is well over here, knock on wood anyway. Dizzy and sick sounds horrible, cant torch under those conditions, your right.
Its definitely a library around here, feels the same way i did when i was in a library too. Meaning, lots of cool information but im not the best at navigating it. I never did figure out those library code things back in high school, i just kinda walked around and acted like i did.
Im better here though when i can just click things though lol. I was kindly joking when i said the watch glass thing too, i just haven't looked at this thread nearly that many times and i know you haven't either haha. Im down with anyone posting here as long as they're a positive person.
One tip i learned from pyro i think actually was dish soap on burns, which is coming in handy ( literally ). Something ive discovered and want to throw out there is using those sham wow material sweat towels they have at walmart for 5 bucks. They stay really cool, and help me torch longer.
Grabed a few the other day to try and it worked in my opinion. Now, to get that flared out cone back to a tube..... And i thought getting it flared was hard... Ill get some more pics up here soon

[PyroChixRock]

Yeah for sure dish soap is a miricle.

If you need help finding info here let us know..

[dplaza]

i dont remember who said it but i heard someone say "once you think the glass is hot enough spin it another 3 or 4 more rotations in the flame" it takes a lot of heat to move the glass at all, and even more heat to avoid making wrinkles and chill marks up the wazoo. basically the hotter you can do a task the easier and cleaner it will work, right up until it gets too hot and everything goes to hell haha.

[BurntHands]

For a flare just think of how much glass has to move where, obviously the lip has to move the most, so you want it hot. Heat base should be tapered toward the open end, like you don't want the area right next to the lip to to be any hotter than the lip, especially if the lips thicker. If you can spin fast without wobbling than you can just blast both sides of the lip with the big flame (once your heat base is setup) and spin fast fast and it'll open. The more you can get centrifugal force on your side the less you'll have to push the glass around with a tool . Also when tooling do it very gradually, like start on the inner wall and roll your way out to the lip, don't just push the lip. Lip very hot, like it'll start to move/close if you don't spin fast and/or tool it.

Go check out vids on spinning out goblet feet or flipping rondelles. Timiaglass has a good one, redbeard has a good one. They make it look so easy! Spinning out feet helped my flares a lot, so did moving up to a mirage. I recommend a thin and long punty like 4-6mm so you can spin it faster, and the extra length helps me balance without wobbling. Be prepared to fill a bucket with scrap feet, but the wonk ones can be turned into inside-out pipe/sectionss when your skills get there.

For closing them gravity, heat, and an L-marver work wonders if you have one, or if you watch revere vids he does like a bunch of tears from the hot lip towards centre, and it's really efficient for closing tubes without thickening the walls once you get it down.

I guess most of that advice is for bigger flares. When I was first year frustrated at flaring small tube I liked a very reducing flame so it didn't get too hot and I had a little more of a time window to tool, I have an old book that calls a reduction flame a flaring flame but all the exercises are also on tiny thin tube. Also I knew nothing about heat base on thicker glass and was a bit scared deep down like most rookies. I also made shooter tubes out of 32mm back then and the flare/lip took me longer than closing the other end and sizing the hole, like a few minutes if not 5. Now I can flare a 32mm quick, maybe a minute if that? So there must be at least a little knowledge in this huge rambley walloftext. Hope something helps, practice is always the best teacher but knowing what/how to practice can save lots of hours of trial & error & frustration, we've all been there. Have fun!

[Sparko]

I took the advice given in my thread and practiced a ton. Shout outs to Dplaza, Burnt Hands, LRG, Snoop, and everyone elce who threw me some knowledge i really appreciate it.

To Ray and OG Glocc Coma, I hope the next part of their journey is filled with love and joy, im honored to have had them stop by my thread.

Im going to post some new pics soon now thats its been like a year later. Should be cool to look at. Thanks for being here TMP.