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Old 2013-12-28, 9:17pm
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Bernhard Riegler
 
Join Date: Jun 03, 2010
Location: Northland - New Zealand
Posts: 452
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I suggest you start off with 20-22mm heavy wall (Simax). This is a good size for most pendants. Eventually you will need some blow-tube. I use 8 and 10mm. My advice is, stay away from big tubing until you get the hang of it - needs heaps more heat too. Cleaning the tubes before use is a must. Use regular glass cleaner and wipe dry. For inside cleaning I use a chopstick, I split the front down to about an inch and stick a rag through the slit and wind it arround until I have the required diameter. Best to push a cotton ball into the tube when you get it and keep dirt and dust out - easier than cleaning. The problem is, that any dirt will be visible and even magnified in the finished pendant.
Blowing a bubble is a little practise. Try it on small tube first. Close the tube and you will see more glass gathered at the end. Try to puff that out to a small dome shape to achive even wall thickness. Next, adjust your flame to a big bushy flame (disregard flame-chemestry) and heat about an inch evenly - always turning - until you can see it shrink. Take it out of the flame, wait 2-3 secs and than do a nice little puff. This puff is the part, where you need practise to get it nice and even - not too much and not too little. I start with a gentle puff and blow a bit more as the glass cools.
Here we go - practise this and we continue from there.
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Bernhard Riegler - Bay of Islands - New Zealand

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