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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2012-09-22, 4:11pm
tavy tavy is offline
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Default Questions about Glass Hive annealer

I have finally saved up enough to purchase my Glass Hive annealer. I'm thinking the Short Guy will be enough space as I plan to keep lampworking a hobby.

My questions are:
Do I really need the optional 1 1/4" punty door?
(I enjoy making murrini and small implosions so will need to garage.)

Should I have any reservations about the small size of the Short Guy?
(I'll be using the annealer only for beads and the above mentioned garaging.)

I will greatly appreciate opinions from anyone who is fortunate enough to already have a Glass Hive.
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  #2  
Old 2012-09-22, 4:21pm
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I bought the Long Guy, thinking I would need much more space than the short guy provided...I was sooooo wrong. Wish I'd thought to ask somebody before I bought it. But you can't go wrong with a Glass Hive kiln. And I got the punty door and never use it, but that's such a personal choice.
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  #3  
Old 2012-09-22, 4:27pm
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If you can swing it, go with the regular guy. I think in time with the short guy you'll be wishing you had more space. I used to have an AIM kiln about the size of a the short guy and there were many times when I felt like I didn't have enough space.
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  #4  
Old 2012-09-22, 4:42pm
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The room I torch in is on a 15amp circuit breaker. The Regular Guy draws 13 amps, so I went with the Short Guy since it draws 8 amps which makes me more comfortable plugging in a few other electronic devices on that circuit.
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  #5  
Old 2012-09-22, 4:54pm
tavy tavy is offline
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Thanks for the input so far!!! I really appreciate it.

Dott- Half the amps is a good point. Did you get the punty door? Do you seem to have enough room on a productive day at the torch?

Flamingobeth- You DID get some room in the wide guy! I'm thinking I might not need the punty door either.

Felicia- I can't imagine ever making more than a dozen beads in one sitting. Do you really think I'll want more space? That's what I'm worried about.
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  #6  
Old 2012-09-22, 5:19pm
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I opted for a Regular guy, rather than a short...and I'm happy I did. I got a punti door and never use it. Ever.

I make beads, murrini, and occasionally small pendants...so similar use.
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  #7  
Old 2012-09-22, 5:31pm
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I didn't even know what a punty was when I purchased Shorty. No punty door for me and I just recently received the kiln, haven't used it yet and am still setting up my torch area. Do I think I'll miss that door, I guess only time will tell. As for the kiln being large enough, I think it will be just fine cause I believe that once beads are no longer molten they can be stacked to the side as others have done (search stacking beads) thus leaving space for the newly made beads. If I ever get into mass production mode, LOL!, then sure a larger kiln will probably be needed.
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  #8  
Old 2012-09-22, 6:10pm
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I have a short guy, I wish I would have been a little more financially patient, so I could have got a bigger kiln.

I LOVE my kiln, but I freak out when my beads touch, so I have a capacity of only about 12 beads/load in my short guy. Somedays that's plenty. Somedays I'm crushed that I have to stop for the day and wait until tomorrow to finish what I started.

If you can swing a little more $$, wait, and get a bigger one.

No punty door here. I don't even think about it.
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  #9  
Old 2012-09-22, 7:01pm
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If you can swing it, shoot for the Regular Guy like others said. I thought about a punty door, but actually the space under the doors is enough to use most of the time. If it's taller I just crack the door more and put it in, it's firebrick so a quick opening to grab something/put something in, the temp doesn't go down that much imo.

I freaking love my kiln.
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  #10  
Old 2012-09-22, 7:15pm
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I concur. I love my short guy and I'm a newbie and hobby lampworker but I'm already wishing I had gone up a size.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamie lynne View Post
I have a short guy, I wish I would have been a little more financially patient, so I could have got a bigger kiln.

I LOVE my kiln, but I freak out when my beads touch, so I have a capacity of only about 12 beads/load in my short guy. Somedays that's plenty. Somedays I'm crushed that I have to stop for the day and wait until tomorrow to finish what I started.

If you can swing a little more $$, wait, and get a bigger one.

No punty door here. I don't even think about it.
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  #11  
Old 2012-09-22, 8:22pm
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I had no kiln for a while and used annealing bubbles in a hot crock pot with pretty large beginner beads. I have never had one crack.
I batch annealed them all when my kiln came and had no problems.
My kiln is now a paragon bluebird, the wide one. I could torch and garage now,
but I still just build up finished beads in the crock pot and batch anneal when
I have a good many finished.

No need to stop for the day because of lack of space
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  #12  
Old 2012-09-22, 9:49pm
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I've got the Short Guy and I love it. I am a hobby user as well, and there is no problem at all for me to fit 12-15 beads in there at a time, probably more if they were smaller beads. I have a 2-level mandrel rest inside so that I can stagger them easily between the 2 levels and fit more in than if I they were in there them side-by-side. I love how it doesn't take up much room on my table, and for now anyway, I think its the perfect size for hobby use.

Sometimes I do wish I had gotten the Regular Guy only because I think there will be a time when I can have longer torch sessions, but if you don't anticipate needing more space ever, I think the short guy is probably just enough.
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  #13  
Old 2012-09-22, 10:00pm
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Dott, with 15 amps, I think the short guy was the right choice. If I recall correctly, 20 amps is recommended for the regular guy.

I stack beads, too. I have a mandrel rack in one side of my kiln. I start my beads on the rack and then stack them on the other side after they've been in the kiln for a bit. When I'm making sets, though, I like to keep all the beads in the set on the rack until I'm done with the set, because it's an easy way to keep count of how many I've made for that set.
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  #14  
Old 2012-09-23, 6:56am
tavy tavy is offline
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This may be the dumbest question ever... How do you close the door for proper annealing when the beads are stacked or doubled on a mandrel rack? Wouldn't the stacked mandrels keep the door propped open?
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  #15  
Old 2012-09-23, 7:21am
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like this:

There's a small gap at the bottom of the kiln doors that allows the mandrels to protrude. I actually have a rack inside now so the angle is steeper.

Newbie comments below but:
  • If you plan on garaging a lot I would definitely go larger. When I'm making simple spacers and so forth I can quickly run out of space.
  • I would recommend punti doors. Wish I had gotten them on both. Opening the full door can drop the temperature very quickly and when you're working with reducing silver glass I don't like opening to that much oxygen either.
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  #16  
Old 2012-09-23, 2:42pm
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I am a weekend beadmaker and am very happy with my Regular Guy. I think a short guy would be too small for me, since now I do stack my beads sometimes to get more bead in. I couldn't be happier with my kiln. I also got the punty door and have only used it once. But I am not sorry got it.
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  #17  
Old 2012-09-23, 3:06pm
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I first purchased a Short Guy and quickly learned I should have waited as others have said. I now own a Regular Guy and so love all the space. But you can't go wrong with any of the Glass Hive's. They are great and so worth the $$.
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  #18  
Old 2012-09-23, 3:55pm
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I have the regular guy with the punty door. i do use the door, but really don't need it. love this kiln and highly recommend it!
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  #19  
Old 2012-09-24, 6:52pm
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I have a short guy and i love it. I can fit 50-75 beads in it on a good day but that is if I am making spacers and putting 4-6 beads on a mandrel. And I have no problem stacking them to the top. I start on the right and work my way over on the rack staggering them, once I get a full line, I start moving the the ones on the right and stacking them on top of each other on the left. Repeat, repeat lol. No punty door. I am at the point now where I could probably use a regular guy but I also am still a part timer and this one will do for another year or two. (as you get better you get faster lol so eventually will need to move up). I'm not sorry i started with the short guy though
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  #20  
Old 2012-09-25, 12:12pm
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Thanks for all the kind words. I feel so lucky to get to work with people like you every day. No industry is more friendly and fun to be in. I get to play daily with people that almost always have a sense of humor. That is a real rare thing in a sales position.

Always buy a kiln for what you want to be doing in 2 years, not for what you are doing right now. It is a large purchase, and the longer you can make it work for you the better.

We also get lots of folks that do larger work with larger kilns who find they need a small kiln to save on expenses when doing smaller projects, or to keep cooler in their work space during the hot summer months. The bigger the kiln, the more it costs to run.

In some cases, the fiances may not be in place to go for the long term view. The Short Guy and Regular Guy kilns hold their resale value very well. I see them go for 80% of the retail price on a regular basis. Since it is already built and there is no wait, they move very fast.


The punti doors are really not needed if all your work is on a mandrel. The only time I use mine is for heating large diameter soft glass for a marble or when I am doing sculptural boro where I build the base and garage while making other components. The pipers need the doors for their prep work. It may also come in handy if you are normalizing a large murrine pull. Otherwise it is a waste of $ you could buy more glass with. You can always send in the door and have one added if you find you need one in the future.
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  #21  
Old 2012-09-25, 1:51pm
tavy tavy is offline
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I ordered my kiln today. After careful consideration of all your comments, I selected the Short Guy with the punty door. I anticipate my work getting more complex rather than the volume per session increasing. With my interest in murrini and off mandrel implosions, I think the punty door will be useful. The fact that the Short Guy uses half the amperage of the Regular Guy is a big plus.

Thank you all for your input!
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  #22  
Old 2012-10-05, 8:13pm
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Just wanted to give a thumbs up to the Short Guy. I bought this kiln as a complete newbie - so easy to use, plenty of room (I do stack beads) and almost 2 years later, not one problem. Kilns are just one intimidating aspect to a newbie lampworker, so it's been great to be able to check that off my list and go on to the next challenge!
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  #23  
Old 2013-07-11, 10:06pm
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I love my Short Guy. No problem stacking beads in this kiln.
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  #24  
Old 2013-07-12, 8:18am
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I have a short guy - it's a wonderful kiln, absolutely love it. I find it's plenty big enough for working for 5-6 hours at a time. As long as the beads aren't glowing when you put them in there isn't any problem with them touching. I also use a steel rack or some boro rests in the kiln to help space things out.

I did recently buy a larger kiln for sculptural work. I think if I had purchased a regular guy instead I would have just been spending extra $ to heat empty space for beading and still not have had the space for the larger sculptural pieces I'm doing now.

Definitely get the punty doors, they're a nice addition.

Glasshive makes wonderful kilns!
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