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

View Poll Results: What were you most afraid of as a lampwork virgin?
Lighting the torch 227 42.91%
Shocky glass flying at you 126 23.82%
Not being as good as you hoped to be 146 27.60%
Not having everything "just right" 55 10.40%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 529. You may not vote on this poll

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  #181  
Old 2013-02-11, 2:02pm
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theglassattic theglassattic is offline
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I was afraid of the TORCH! Bwahahaha!!!! Sad, but true, the very idea of lighting it made me a tad queasy.
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  #182  
Old 2013-02-11, 3:16pm
BeckyNoe BeckyNoe is offline
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For me..being at it a whopping month and a half..it's sucking so bad i have to sell everything off I have a severe handicap...i have absolutely ZIPPO color coordination..to the point i ask the clerks in stores..do these match ha ha...i can put a website together piece of cake...clothes..not so much.

Becky
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  #183  
Old 2013-02-13, 12:56am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeckyNoe View Post
I have a severe handicap...i have absolutely ZIPPO color coordination..
Haha, Becky, you sound just like me. After pulling many beads out of the kiln I say to myself, "I SWEAR these colors looked great next to each other in rod form!"
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  #184  
Old 2013-02-13, 6:01pm
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Becky, there are a couple of tutorials for sale where they are showing you color combos that work!
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  #185  
Old 2013-02-13, 9:13pm
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I was afraid of lighting the torch. My hubby insisted I use a striker cause it's much safer. Yea, right. It seems I always had to turn my propane up so high it would almost explode when I lit it. Now I use a Bic lighter & it works so much better & doesn't scare me any more.
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  #186  
Old 2013-02-14, 4:49am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Molly Bird View Post
I was afraid of lighting the torch. My hubby insisted I use a striker cause it's much safer. Yea, right. It seems I always had to turn my propane up so high it would almost explode when I lit it. Now I use a Bic lighter & it works so much better & doesn't scare me any more.
As long as you keep your Bic lighter up and away from your torch you are good, a Zippo is much safer.
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  #187  
Old 2013-02-15, 3:44am
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I checked shocky glass, but really my biggest fear was burning down my studio space, which was in someone elses house! I made an entire floor of plywood covered in metal for the the room they let me use because I was so paranoid! Also I think when you first start people like to tell you the stories of studios that blow up...or at least in my case that was so....Major Nervous Nellies!!! Thankfully it wasn't as scary as I thought!
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  #188  
Old 2013-02-17, 11:46am
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I was afraid of the kiln! Seems so silly now but it sat there for months before we fired it up! I guess I thought it would just get so hot that it must be very dangerous..
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  #189  
Old 2013-02-17, 2:45pm
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I guess Im lucky, Im a newbie who is, apart from spiders, not afraid of much. Just make sure you keep your hair up!
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  #190  
Old 2013-02-20, 6:50pm
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I was terrified that my safety skills were not up to par. I live in the boonies, and didn't have anyone to check out my studio, torch, etc., and I almost had nightmares about it!

Finally, after messing around for almost a week, I lit the torch and it worked! I turned on the exhaust fan and it worked so well that it sucked up any bugs in the room!
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  #191  
Old 2013-03-12, 7:22am
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My uncle who I was apprenticed to LOL
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  #192  
Old 2013-03-12, 4:39pm
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Finding out that there really are dumb questions
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  #193  
Old 2013-03-17, 1:30pm
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Definitely the popping glass. I was pretty terrified until I realized that yes it's true that it almost always pops away from you. I just had my dad light the torch for me at first so that wasn't an issue. I was 15 when I started making beads so I had a bit of parental supervision.
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  #194  
Old 2013-04-17, 12:43pm
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I just started out and I'm surprisingly not afraid of the torch at all, or shocky glass cause I have experienced a lot of that but it has tended to fly away from me, I guess the flame blows it that way. I'm mostly scared (very very scared) of breathing in toxic fumes working outside right now, looking into hiring a HVAC guy to install a ventilation hood and install it
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  #195  
Old 2013-04-17, 12:46pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Molly Bird View Post
I was afraid of lighting the torch. My hubby insisted I use a striker cause it's much safer. Yea, right. It seems I always had to turn my propane up so high it would almost explode when I lit it. Now I use a Bic lighter & it works so much better & doesn't scare me any more.
Lol same here I tried te striker 4 times without it working so I said ah hell I will use my bic. Has worked fine for me
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  #196  
Old 2013-04-17, 2:42pm
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Make sure you don't keep it near the torch. I heard a story recently where the lighter exploded after a while near a got torch, and the person scorched their their face & eyebrows. Thank goodness for safety glasses!
I use one with the long nose like for the fireplace, but I walk straight to the shelf 6 feet away & put it down there after the torch is lit. It never is put on my work surface, so I don't forget to move it.
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  #197  
Old 2013-04-17, 2:53pm
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It's only there for a second after I turn the gas on, poof and it's out of there for sure lol
The striker scares me I'm not sure I know how to use it properly
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  #198  
Old 2013-04-17, 2:59pm
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Ah yeah and I hate hate hate spider webs and spiders and I hang my apron in a spider-webery area, I'm afraid of getting spider webs on me yuck! I need to put nails in a different area to hang my apron. Will do that today maybe.
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  #199  
Old 2015-03-07, 6:06pm
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Ive used torches for over 16years now, and lighting my mirage for the first time was one of the scariest things ive done lol I think the reason i was so worried tho is because its my forst triple mix and also the single most expensive purchase ive ever made after a vehicle!
Another fear ive really been dealing with lately is a sheer fear of glass, mostly clear rod and tube. Ive been terrified if it breaking in my hands. Ik being a glass artist this sounds pretty stupid, but ive been feeling this way since i got badly cut and needed stitches. I could see the tendon, bone, and arteries...
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  #200  
Old 2015-03-14, 12:13pm
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Thank you all for this dscussion - it made my day this Saturday I had all beginner's supplies in hand for about a couple of weeks but could not get rid of the fear that the glass will shock. I am not new to working with glass and had some good burns while soldering a SG lamp as well as deep cuts but thermal shock seemed to me as something completely different and much more horrible. And the prepared mandrels were just waiting as well as the lovely glass...

But after reading this topic (twice, frankly speaking) I decided to try. Didn't want to stay alone with my fear anymore and wanted to join you, brave and creative. Spent half a day to provide as safe corner as possible, screw the canister support, etc.

Well... Managed to produce 2 pretty ugly beads - uneven, when I was doing the first one my hands were shaking, the glass was peacefully melting but I was waiting for some disaster, forgetting to rotate the mandrel evenly... "LOL". But when I took them out of the blanket and laughed looking at them I realized that all I now want - to go on. But I will anneal them in the kiln and save for shaking the bead release
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  #201  
Old 2015-03-14, 4:38pm
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Congratulations, Katia! Be sure and save those first beads so you can look back at them in a little while and see how far you've progressed!

Mimi
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  #202  
Old 2015-03-19, 2:44pm
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Mimi, thank you, I definitely will It's finally happened - got 3 or 4 small shards on the desk Recognition of this have not yet made my beads perfect, but the visible performance have already done a lot - it happens - yes, but if to consider it to be a point to turn off the torch - no, for sure
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  #203  
Old 2015-03-19, 10:32pm
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Running out of oxygen. it made me rush my work and learn less.

I had to get a concentrator in the first 4 months and save some money and work longer hours.
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  #204  
Old 2015-03-22, 6:31pm
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I began with a very used Bethlehem torch/ everytime I would turn on the center ports it would bang and pop! Very scary/ sent it in for repairs , it was so old it was not repairable. But hey, it was a start!
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  #205  
Old 2022-02-02, 2:17pm
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I am most afraid of failing, to be honest.

Failing and realizing that I won't ever be an artist. I can't draw or paint, but I am obsessed with art. So, I am buckling down and doing daily sessions where my dots aren't pretty, and reading as much as I can and watching people on youtube do their dots to try and understand how to get it even every time. That's my first goal.
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  #206  
Old 2022-02-02, 2:34pm
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Kathy, it takes a lot of practice for most of us, so don't feel bad. Everyone has to learn, it is a new skill for sure. So hang in there, and hold on to a few of your first beads so you can see your progress later.

In case you have a pile of beads where you think the dots are not perfect, or your design is wonky, check out the BeadsofCourage.org website. The kids in the program are not picky about perfection, as long as the beads are not too fragile and the ends are not sharp, etc.!
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  #207  
Old 2022-02-02, 3:04pm
Kathy_Sheridan Kathy_Sheridan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eileen View Post
Kathy, it takes a lot of practice for most of us, so don't feel bad. Everyone has to learn, it is a new skill for sure. So hang in there, and hold on to a few of your first beads so you can see your progress later.

In case you have a pile of beads where you think the dots are not perfect, or your design is wonky, check out the BeadsofCourage.org website. The kids in the program are not picky about perfection, as long as the beads are not too fragile and the ends are not sharp, etc.!
That's a good idea, because I am pretty sure I will have a real collection of funny dot beads after a while. Lol

Hanging in! I have seen progress, so that's good. My husband says I am in the training portion of a Kung Fu movie where we see the montage of failures before he suddenly kicks ass. Ha
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  #208  
Old 2022-02-02, 5:42pm
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I've really got to go along with your husband on that one Kathy.

For me, my best stuff comes when I relax and let my muscle memory take over.
But first I had to do that forty bead challenge thing to allow my body to learn how to play with molten glass so that my muscles had some memory to work from.

I really suffer from the "gets in his own way when learning" problem.

I had to forget about trying to accomplish something and just play until I stumble on to happy accidents like that painter guy was always going on about.

I still have to mentally sit on my hands while I let the glass play in the flame.
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  #209  
Old 2022-03-20, 11:42am
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Transporting up a full, K-sized oxygen tank from Chicago to Des Moines. I kept picturing having an accident and it literally rocketing through the front of the car. Oh and the cost, it's a big leap from a hothead to even a beginner oxygen setup and I'm afraid of losing interest.

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  #210  
Old 2022-09-20, 4:45am
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Kids, Cat, shocky glass and toes..

Studio space was in the utility room initially, but after one too many glass shards being removed from toes it went into a caravan on the front.

Picked up some CiM Orange Crush and its even shockier than trying to recycle a glass jar! That was the decider to move..

Oh, and ventilation.. that scared me!
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