c/glassblowers

Pro tip: Always check your crucible temp before a big pull

Last week at the studio, I went for a heavy gather and the whole thing slumped because the furnace was running about 50 degrees too cool. Had to scrap the piece and reheat the whole batch, which took an extra hour. Anyone else had a furnace temp reading lie to them like that?

Shoutout to the guy at the Tacoma studio who told me to try a $12 graphite paddle for shaping

I thought it was just a gimmick for newbies, but after burning through three wooden ones in a month, I finally caved and haven't looked back since.

A guy at the Tacoma studio told me to try a different way to hold the pipe

I was working on a simple tumbler last month, and my gathers kept getting uneven. This older guy, who was just there to pick up a piece, stopped and watched for a minute. He said, 'Try putting your left thumb on the bottom knuckle of your right hand, it'll steady your roll.' I was ready to blow the piece off, but I tried it. It felt weird at first, but after three tries, my gathers were way more even. That small tip saved me a whole afternoon of wonky glass. Anyone else get a random piece of advice that just clicked?

Hit 1,000 paperweights made. All because my kid said they looked like alien eggs.

Been making them for years, just to practice color combos. Now I have a whole shelf of them. Anyone else end up with a weird side project that just kept going?

Showerthought: I used to blow glass in a garage with a homemade glory hole

Back in 2005, my setup was a propane burner and a steel drum lined with firebrick, which took forever to heat. I switched to a proper electric glory hole about five years ago after a workshop in Asheville showed me the difference. Now my heat is consistent, I waste less fuel, and my pieces don't crack from uneven temps. Anyone else make a big change to their main heat source and notice a huge difference in their work?

Spent two days trying to get a clean seal on a simple paperweight before I realized my bench was wobbling.

Tightened the leg bolts and it sealed perfectly on the next try... anyone else have a shop gremlin that took forever to find?

A furnace failure turned into a surprisingly good week

Our main glory hole at the studio in Asheville went down on Monday, which was a huge problem with a big order due. My partner Mark had the idea to try some smaller torch work and cold assembly with the boro we had prepped. We ended up making a series of 12 intricate pendants and small sculptures instead, which the client loved even more. Has anyone else had a major tool failure force a creative shift that actually worked out better?

I finally managed a clean transfer on a big vase after a chat at the Portland studio

I was struggling with a 15 inch vase last month, always getting a wobble when moving it from the pipe to the punty. An older guy named Leo, who was renting bench space, saw me fumble and just said, 'Heat the punty tip more than you think, then wait a full two seconds before you touch.' I tried it exactly like that and the piece stuck on smooth as anything. Has anyone else got a simple trick that fixed a basic move for them?

TIL a trick for getting cleaner punties from a guy at the Philly studio

He said to heat the gather for an extra 10 seconds before touching it off, which really cut down on my stringy bits. Anyone have a different method they swear by?

An old timer told me my punty was too hot and it clicked

I was at a small glass meet in Asheville about six months ago, working on a simple vase. I kept having trouble getting a clean break from my punty rod. This guy who runs a studio there, Frank, watched for a minute and just said, 'Your punty is glowing. You're trying to weld with a hot nail.' He meant I was heating the punty tip way too hot, so it was too soft and would just stretch and leave a big scar. I always thought hotter was better for the seal. I started letting the punty cool to a dull orange, almost black heat, before touching it to the piece. The difference was instant. The break is cleaner now and I lose way less work to punty marks. Has anyone else had a basic heat control tip that fixed a big headache for them?

Choosing between a new glory hole or a bigger annealer for my small shop

I picked the larger kiln because I kept cracking bigger pieces waiting for them to cool. It cost about $2,800, but I haven't lost a single vase since. Anyone have a good source for replacement heating elements for these things?

Just read a study on silica dust exposure from a university lab

I was looking up safety stuff online and found a report from a university in Ohio. It said even a small amount of silica dust in the air, like from grinding or sanding cold glass, can be a real problem over time. The study said some shops they checked had levels way over the safe limit without good ventilation. I always wear a mask for hot work, but I never really thought about the cold work part being that bad. Has anyone else looked into their shop's air quality for dust?

Tried a new color mix on a whim and got a weird, cool crackle effect

I was messing around with some leftover frit, mostly silver strike and a bit of cobalt, on a small marble. When I put it in the kiln, it came out with this wild crackle pattern I've never seen before. Has anyone else had a color combo do something totally unexpected like that?

I used to think a full 30 minute anneal was overkill for small cups

A teacher at the studio in Asheville showed me how to do a quick 15 minute cycle in the kiln right after I finish the piece, then let it cool down slowly overnight. It stopped the tiny cracks I kept getting on the foot. Has anyone else found a shorter anneal that works for them?

Switched from a standard 5mm graphite paddle to a 3mm one for shaping small goblet feet

I was working on a set of six wine goblets and the thicker paddle kept leaving flat spots and cooling the piece too fast. The thinner 3mm paddle from Arrow Springs let me get a much sharper, cleaner curve without fighting the heat so much. Has anyone else found a specific tool change that fixed a small but annoying problem like that?

A piece I made three years ago just came back for repair

A customer brought in a small vase I blew in my old studio in Tacoma. It had a hairline crack near the base. I made it back in 2021, and seeing it again was a real surprise. It made me think about how my annealing cycle was less consistent back then. I used to run my kiln a bit cooler to save on propane. Has anyone else had an old piece return with issues that pointed to a past technique you've since improved?

I used to think a full 30-minute soak was mandatory for my color bar, but after my buddy in Tucson said he just does a quick 5-minute heat in the kiln, I tried it on a batch of rubino and got way less scum.

Has anyone else found a faster way to prep their color that actually works better?

Tried a cheap torch from the hardware store for a month and it was a total waste of time.

I picked up a generic propane torch for about $60 to see if I could get by on small stuff. It took forever to get a gather hot enough to work, and the flame was never really stable. After three weeks of fighting it, I borrowed a friend's Carlisle CC and finished the same project in an afternoon. Why do people even bother with the low-end stuff for anything more than heating a punty?

My studio's furnace went out right before a big custom order

Last Thursday, the main furnace in my Portland shop dropped to 900 degrees while I was prepping a set of six custom goblets. I had to scramble to move everything to my smaller glory hole to finish the work, which totally threw off my timing. Has anyone else had a major equipment failure during a deadline, and what's your backup plan?

I finally bought a proper annealing kiln and it saved my last batch

Spent about $1200 on a Paragon SC2 last month after cracking too many pieces from cooling them too fast. Ran a set of six drinking glasses through it last night at 960 degrees, held for an hour, and they all came out perfect this morning. Anyone have tips on programming a slower cool down for thicker marbles?

My old way of shaping a foot on a goblet versus the method I picked up at a workshop in Seattle

For years, I shaped the foot on my goblets by just gathering a small bit of glass and pulling it out with tweezers. It worked, but the feet were often a bit uneven and I'd have to spend extra time grinding them flat. Then, about six months ago, I took a weekend workshop with a glassblower in Seattle. She showed us a method where you use a graphite paddle to press and flatten the gather against the marver first, before you even start to pull. It creates a much wider, more stable base to work from. The first few tries were messy, but after practicing for a week, my feet became consistently level and the whole piece felt more balanced. It changed my workflow, adding one step but saving time on the back end. I'm curious, does anyone else have a specific shaping step they completely changed after learning a new technique?

Cleaned out my studio and found a box of my first 50 marbles

Honestly, I was just trying to make space for a new kiln shelf. Tbh, I forgot I even kept them, all wrapped in newspaper from 2008. Pulling them out, I could see every wobble and bubble from when I was just figuring out the glory hole timing. Ngl, it hit me that I've probably made over 10,000 of them since then without even thinking about it. Anyone else have a stash of early work that shows how far you've come?

My uncle told me to always keep my blowpipe in the kiln for at least 20 minutes before starting a piece. I thought he was just being extra careful.

A guy at the Philly studio told me to stop using a wet newspaper pad for shaping

He grabbed my arm and said 'You're cooling it too fast, you'll get a chill crack every time.' I switched to a dry pad and haven't had a cracked bowl since. Anyone else get stubborn about a bad habit until someone called you out?

A furnace failure at the Austin studio fair showed me why backup plans matter

Our main furnace went down halfway through the event, and we had to finish pieces on a tiny backup torch. Anyone else had to scramble like that at a show?