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  #1  
Old 2009-12-30, 7:32pm
kirrakat123 kirrakat123 is offline
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Default need a tool to hod my hot sculptures

Hi everyone, I am only new at sculpting & I need some advice on finding a tool that I can use to hold my hot boro glass scultures. I have attached a example to give you the idea of the shape (it's 4 cm. tall). I have tried alot of different holding tools & I keep dropping & braking the sculptures while I am trying to add wings, fins etc. or when I am trying to shape the head or tail. I have already tried hot finger grabbers & marble holder tongs, but they failed because the object isn't round enough or big enough to keep a grip. I have tried long handle tweezers (both with the rough teeth & with smooth) but as I am working, the piece will often slip out of the tweezers & brake. I have also tryed useing 4 mm boro rods as punties to the sculpture but the ends often cool & fall off or I put them onto the piece too well & can't get them off without leaving glass behind.
The only thing that is some what successful is a pair of long nosed pliers, they seem to hold the grip well but my hands are very close to the flame. Anyone know where I can get a REALLY long nosed pliers from? Or anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks for all the wonderful advice & encouragement that this forum provides. Cynthia in Australia
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  #2  
Old 2009-12-30, 7:52pm
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glassactcc glassactcc is offline
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Hi Cynthia, nice name Have you looked into "hot fingers"? That's what I use for my dragons when adding the wings. Here's a link to Malcolm at Artco.

http://www.artcoinc.com/hot_fingers.php
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Old 2009-12-30, 8:12pm
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Thanks, Cynthia.

Another option is to work the piece on a punty. You may need to transfer it from one punty to another as you work from one end of the piece to the other. Then, you only take it off of the punty when you are finished.

When you are finished with the piece, and are ready to take it off the punty, a homemade tool I've seen is a pair of salad tongs, with the fingers from a pair of Kevlar gloves slipped over the ends.

Malcolm
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Old 2009-12-31, 1:45am
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hi Cynthia
by far one of the most useful tools I have ever bought is a sponge (or loop) hemostat (or forceps).

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BODY-PIERCING...item518f76a6cf

I put a link for ease (if linking to it is inappropriate, please delete the link) so you know what I'm talking about. These can lock so you have a pretty steady grip on your piece. I've found them much better than hot fingers to hold irregular pieces. You can also use them to hold very short bits of colour glass as well as for imprinting ribbed arches.
Remember to put a little heat into them when using them to hold hot glass, otherwise your piece may break due to thermal shock.
cheers
Chris
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Old 2009-12-31, 4:28am
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I'd also recommend using punties. 4mm is quite small, and possibly why you're having troubles with it becoming a hot seal. I suggest trying a 6mm punty instead - with the cold attachment connection end of it made to a gently rounded point . The extra weight of it, plus better attachment point should do the trick for you....and if you do get some glass attached from your cold seal gone hot, you can just remove it with a scrap rod by tearing it (the offending bit of glass) away from your main piece.
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  #6  
Old 2009-12-31, 4:35am
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reverse action tweezers... I'd use a punty myself, but Jess uses the little reverse action tweezers and loves them. They're the ones you have to squeeze to open... they hold her little creatures quite well...

I do think learning how to cold seal properly will be the best in the end... but it does take practice... these tweezers should keep you from dropping anything in the mean time.
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Old 2009-12-31, 6:45am
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I would use a 7mm clear rod to hold it. That should be all you need.
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Old 2009-12-31, 9:11am
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I'd also go with a larger punty. I only use 4mm rods as punties for things that are really tiny, like 10mm marbles. With 4mm punties I'd also worry about snapping them in my fingers. I like to have something solid to hold, so I tend to use 10mm punties on almost everything. As Over The Moon said, you can marver the end down to a rounded point if you need just a small attachment spot.
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Old 2009-12-31, 3:19pm
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Chris:

Thanks for the heads up on the hemostat forceps. Looked at some bead sites and they wanted $18 to $20 each for the 9-1/2 inch size. At $6.88 with free USA shipping bought enough to make beads for the next two years.

Thanks again....
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  #10  
Old 2010-01-01, 11:07pm
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I'm going to chime in here too - Punty up, it is much easier once you learn how to do it.
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  #11  
Old 2010-01-02, 12:12pm
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Puntying isn't always the way to go though. When I finish off the last punty scar on a sex toy putting another punty onto a 1 lb hunk of glass isn't practical. And sometimes if you've done a lot of wings or things that have cooled a flame nearby isn't practical.

I use tongs wrapped in fire resistant tape to hold stuff in those cases.

But yeah, otherwise punty up.
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Old 2010-01-09, 4:35am
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wale has a sale on their small holding fingers - they are only $20~!
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Old 2010-01-09, 8:27am
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If you use a larger Punty - I agree with 7mm is good.
It could be your piece is too hot where you are punty too.
4mm is too small for what you are doing.

When I teach we review using a punty - soo many new students don't get it quite right.
When you punty the piece is cool - you warm the punty to melting a bit then attach with a light touch and give it a slight pull to straighten and thin the punty area just a little. If you are using a 7mm rod your punty should be like 6.5mm or 6mm.

You don't cram the punty onto the piece the touch point should be clear with no extra glass oozing around the attachment point.

When you are done you tap the punty and it should tap off with almost no glass left behind. Rest your piece on a graphite pad and lightly tap the punty about an inch away from your piece with your tweezers. The punty attachment will break loose. There are several ways to do this - you can also grab your piece with a tool and tap the punty rod on your torch.


This is where you would grab your piece with WARMED tweezers or a warmed tool
flame any marks and toss it in the kiln.

With practice you will have a better hold on your work.
ALSO - you can use the same colored rod as a punty you don't have to use clear if it is leaving a clear spot you don't like.


Tamara
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  #14  
Old 2010-01-09, 3:25pm
kirrakat123 kirrakat123 is offline
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Hi, Thanks for the advice. I have now tried using a thicker punty & it really
does make a big differance. I love this forum, it's great that you are so willing
to offer advice to help other members. Thank you, Cynthia in Australia
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