Glass Blowing

I'm looking for a new, challenging, yet achievable pastime to hopefully keep the dementia and whatnot at bay as I continue to cruise through the grey years. This seems at first sight to be something that could prove very beneficial. Has anyone given it a bash? If so, what degree of difficulty does it score?

Reply to
Cursitor Doom
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I had a bit of a look at this - I think the main thing is having all the gas kit to get hot enough to melt the glass (lampworking), and then learning the techniques. You can do 'glass fusing' with a microwave (see Youtube) - but that's not hot enough to blow the glass.

Depends how dedicated you are, I suppose. Not enough (and a lack of somewhere to do it), in my case.

Theo

Reply to
Theo

I did some at school, trying to make a cold cathode tube, but wasn't successful. At university, there was a technician who made all the custom glassware for the physics department. He did a fantastic demo of what sort of things he could make for the new undergrads. Afterwards, I did get to make a cold cathode tube, and it worked (and it had proper cathodes, and metal/glass seals which I hadn't known about at school).

Probably not quite the glass blowing you were thinking of, but hey, why not have your name in neon lights?

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

There seems to be one of those at every Uni ...

Ours did an introductory course for undergrads, which I did. Glassblowing is another one of those things that's a lot harder than it looks. I still have the fermentation lock I made, somewhere, I think.

Reply to
Huge

I did lab glassware when I was 12, and it's easy. I expect CD has something else in mind though. There are plenty of glasswork vids out there.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

What do you mean by 'beneficial'? Is there something specific you are trying to make?

I might suggest an oxy-propane torch. You sometimes (affordably) see them on eBay.

I use oxygen generators rather than oxygen bottles. Much safer though generators are not cheap, even when second-hand. So I guess you might start with a bottle?

Didymium Glasses to cut out the sodium glare and UV.

Reply to
Fredxx

Well seeing as it was something I could have done at my school in the 1960s, its probably been health and safetied to destruction by now, Naked flames using your lungs to expand molten glass, I mean, .....

All I remember was keep on rotating the glass tube and only just heat it enough to make it plastic. Tip, do not breath in!

Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Look for a local craft workshop. may tourist places offer places for trainees to get started on this sort of thing, of course doing this for a company means you share any profit, but on the plus side no investment in equipment!

Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

I visited a glass works when I was at school. I remember being told that originally the glass blowing staff had been given free beer by the company. The company had been able to persuade the staff to stop this practice, probably because it was not particularly good for the staff.

Reply to
Michael Chare

There was an HMRC case around the free beer for glass blowers. HMRC tried to claim it was a perk and should be taxed, but I think they lost that case.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

The national glass museum at Sunderland do experience days if you want to try it out without a massive investment in furnaces and other kit.

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There are others. I come from a family of glass blowers. I still have one family piece by my GGF and collect things made by their works.

Reply to
Martin Brown

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