residential glassblowin 101?????

[mistahead]

well since i first started the glass journey ive always lives WAY far out in the bush, so it didnt matter what i was doing because i have no neibors to snoop around and possibly call fire inspectors and such on me, and the noise of my liquid venting couldnt bother anyone either,so now that ive sold my house and i have to be out of here in less than 2 weeks, i need to find another place to live and more importantly a place to work, i been looking at places with a detached garage mostly, just to avaoid possible nono's...the things im most worried about are neibors being paranoid when they see a big truck pulling up delivering oxy, and venting, and having to deal wiht the fire inspectors in any way, im pretty strapped for time and need to find a place asap...i was just wondering what yall do?? what kind of setups people have, any problems people have run into with inspectors, neighbors,anything really..maybe im just being paranoid..if anyone has any good stories or advice there will be some rep points in it for you

[phab]

...here in the states theres a big difference in if youre running a business or setting up shop to engage your hobby. less hassle if you say youre a hobbyist.

i dont tell anybody what im doing (glass blower) some people like to advertise what they do but i only tell who i want to know.

you might be able to put a muffler on your liquid tank i think its been mentioned here before, UTFSE, heh.

maybe use compressed air till you figure out where the neighbors head is at.

[schmoinkel]

You might check with your oxy co. to see if they will deliver to residential in a neighborhood, they wont where I live here in SC, which suchs cus i'm stuck with the crack bottles.
Also like phab said I dont tell anyone around here what I do, the neighbors that is. Keep the noise down and stay low key. Although with liquid that migh be hard to do.
Maybe you could spend a day or two making a bunch of fluff to hang around the outside of your haouse and shop. Like bird feeders, wind chimes and such. Then they might think your a good ol holsome chap.

Scott

[newmexicomagma]

i have found that not only do most neighbors think its cool that u blow glass they also want some stuff. i would recommend whever u move go talk to your neighbors. if they seem uptight dont mention what u do but that you are a hobby artist and will have a liquid oxy tenk setup and it might vent off periodically. and about the inspector. i think as long as your shop doesnt look like a huge fire hazard they wont even show up. when i was selling my house in rio rancho a fire truck stopped to look at my house with 5 fire fighters in it and they just looked and said it was cool. i think alot of it has to do with how u approach it. if u r up front about it and even explain to them the safety precautions u r taking a majority of people are understanding. i would recommend warning them before they are suprised by it.

[Alfred]

Make a few marbles, vessels,or sculptures to show the nosy ones.

[mistahead]

well coincidence that i posted this otday and finnaly the city people got back to me today, to make a long story short, they said what you were saying phab, i approached it like it is a hobby BUT one day i MIGHT want to set up as a buisness, and what kind of thing i needed to look for or stay away from etc, the low down is that if its a hobby then i just need to follow the fire code(fire inspectors are next to im possible to get a hold of here). and that an "artist" is considered an acceptable in home buisness here and that up to 400 square feet of my residence or out buildings can be used, im just not allowed to have employees. i will look into these muffler things for my oxy or build some sort of sound padded booth in my shop to keep the liquid in.and if need be i will hardline the propane in..anyhow, once im settled in im stil searching for a store front possibilities and such, i just like to have things covered and to have a plan B...anyhow thanks for all the help guys, y'all make my life alot easier!!!

[Alfred]

Definitely hard line the propane!We get a liquid tank here that has a release valve set at 500psi,so it doesn't blow-off as often(hardly ever).

[mistahead]

i was thinking of that alfred, but when it DOES blow is it alot louder than the normal ones???

[mistahead]

...here in the states theres a big difference in if youre running a business or setting up shop to engage your hobby. less hassle if you say youre a hobbyist.

i dont tell anybody what im doing (glass blower) some people like to advertise what they do but i only tell who i want to know.

you might be able to put a muffler on your liquid tank i think its been mentioned here before, UTFSE, heh.

maybe use compressed air till you figure out where the neighbors head is at.

so whats up with these mufflers??, i ddint find anything in the search

[menty666]

When we moved into the neighborhood (pretty quiet residential area) my wife and I threw a party and invited the street. That provided them with the chance to get all the "who are the new folks" questions out of the way, and we got to meet the people around to find out who to trust and who to watch out for. Plus we found out who had kids that could cat sit when we go on vacation, but that's another motive.

Basically if it's an option, consider doing the same. That way introduce yourself, you can see who to show the shop to and who not to, and you can explain to the immediate neighbors what's going on so they don't think you're running a meth lab.

I have new neighbors on either side of me now that don't really speak English. I sometimes worry about what they think of me carrying k tanks through the yard and occasionally seeing the plume of flame in there, but one of the guys does piece work soldering on his back porch. I don't think he's gonna care.

[phab]

so whats up with these mufflers??, i ddint find anything in the search

...someone mentioned it in a thread about liquid indoors but i dont know ive only used compressed air.

[yinzer]

why dont u just invite them all over for some bran?

[FredLight]

I live in a townhouse/condo complex. My garage is below my unit and it faces the main parking area. Not being able to work with the door wide open is a challenge.
I have a weird dude that stops by to B.S. when I'm on my way in or out of the garage, and I avoid him efficiently. It's inconvenient, but it works, and has worked for 2 1/2 years.

I use tanked oxy because the oxygen place won't deliver liquid to a garage under a condo. When I'm busy,I'm down there 2, 3 times a week gettin 'refills. I make it happen anyways,
cuz,
you know,
you gotta.

Thank you everyone and good night.
<bows>

[JANKYglass]

venting aint that loud

[mistahead]

venting aint that loud

my shop is about 75 feet from my house and i can hear it pretty well from my shop, mind you thats with windows open in both buildings....

[rustyglass]

venting aint that loud

Janky, one day you will get one of them old tanks that vents and sounds like a train just wrecked into your shop..... trust me it can be very loud and use to vary from tank to tank when I used liquid. One would barely vent, one would constantly hiss a little and of course the occasional trainwreck....

Mista, I just kind of went thru this too. I was just honest and jumped thru all of their hoops. Now I feel better about it and I dont worry about the neighbors anymore either.

[Snurf]

I demand the 350 + psi liquid tanks...they vent less and last longer...
I also have a hose zip- tied on to my blow off valve running through a hole in the wall, out side the shop. this reduces noise and fire danger.