[Lorraine Chandler]

I just typed this up and wanted to share..It really is how I started and I am somewhere between #3 and #4.



So you want to torch???


Very basic set-up;
#1 Didymium glasses.. These do not protect your eyes completely from flying glass , they only protect against soda flare.
#2. Hot Head torch
#3. One pound propane canister
#4. A few glass rods
#5. Two fiber blankets to place your beads in between
#6, Bead release
#7 A few mandrels

This set up is not desirable because you do not have proper ventilation, you do not have a kiln to anneal your beads. Putting them into a fiber blanket is just a holding area before they get to a kiln for batch annealing. You do not have any way to attach HH to a bench or table so you may have to set it in a bowl of sand or?? So this set up is very incomplete to say the least…
Cost would be around….$125.00 Give or take.

Basic Set-up #2
Same as above but you have added a floor fan to your bench/table and a made a clamp to attach HH torch to your table and purchased a bulk hose, and BBQ tank . This set up is still undesirable because you still do not have a ventilation that is set up to really protect you. You still do not have a kiln.
You have now added another $125.00 give or take. No glass orders, tools etc. Bare bones still.

Basic set up #3
You now decide to add a homemade stove pipe annealer…it will work for the time being. You decide to make a homemade Barley box with a high velocity fan for drying carpets or? that you pick up on sale at Harbor Freight….

Now you’re getting there…..
You have just added another $300.00 give or take depending on how much of this you did yourself and how much material you were able to scrounge up around the homestead….still no glass orders, no tool orders, no frit orders etc…bare bones.


OOPS!!! Now you are blowing fuses!! DRATS, DH wants his garage back, You want more glass, tools, frit, silver foil, and your own little space just for you! What to do????

Set up #4.
You decide to build a cute small shed studio, professionally installed ventilation system , upgrade to a Lynx and buy a nice generator, buy more glass, tools, Have an electrician come in and wire your studio, buy a nice kiln, build a glass storage rack, order more glass, supplies, join Etsy, make up business cards, get a resale license….no looking back now.
And you have only spent an additional…...wait for it…..here it is….

Another $3,000.00 to $9,000.00 or more…
Lorraine Chandler