Paul Ewing
2006-07-12, 9:26pm
I just realized I posted in the wrong forum earlier. So here goes again.
My wife wants to start making glass beads. We do silver jewelry, so have a basic shop area and are used to working with torches and hot things. I would prefer for her to have a setup that will allow her to proceed on into production type work if she really likes it without having to replace hobby level equipment. I have also always been fascinated with glass work and will probably try it out too.
I already have a spare 40 cubic foot oxy tank that I use when I am casting. Most of my silver work is done with acetylene / air torches so the oxy tank is free most of the time. I have been reading several glass forums and it seems that many people use medical oxygen machines instead of tanks though, so if that is the better method, I might look into it.
Our current desires are to work on the following types of glass objects:
Wife - beads from 1/2 inch to 2 inches (soft and hard glass)
Wife - small sculptural items (hard glass only?)
Me - sculptural pieces in the 2 to 6 inch range for now, maybe bigger later (hard glass only?)
I have heard that sculpture needs to be done in boro glass, so I am assuming that I will need a torch that is able to work with hard glass.
After reading several forums, I am leaning towards the CC Mini or maybe a bit larger. I am trying to decide if a bigger torch will be worthwhile or is needed for what we want to do. I am seeing the following prices currently:
CC Mini – $150 to $190 at most places. On sale for $135 at glasscolor.com but I’m not sure about them.
Mid Range - $269
Mid Range Plus - $370 to $380
CC Wildcat - $295 sale at Arrow Springs
Major with Premix top - $340 from Frantz
I am wondering if I want to go with one of the larger torches for the boro work. The price on the Wildcat is very interesting, but I am not sure if it will be overkill for a lot of work. Can I get some opinions on how these different torches will work for what we would like to do please?
Also how fast will the above torches go through a 40 cf tank?
Thank you,
Paul
My wife wants to start making glass beads. We do silver jewelry, so have a basic shop area and are used to working with torches and hot things. I would prefer for her to have a setup that will allow her to proceed on into production type work if she really likes it without having to replace hobby level equipment. I have also always been fascinated with glass work and will probably try it out too.
I already have a spare 40 cubic foot oxy tank that I use when I am casting. Most of my silver work is done with acetylene / air torches so the oxy tank is free most of the time. I have been reading several glass forums and it seems that many people use medical oxygen machines instead of tanks though, so if that is the better method, I might look into it.
Our current desires are to work on the following types of glass objects:
Wife - beads from 1/2 inch to 2 inches (soft and hard glass)
Wife - small sculptural items (hard glass only?)
Me - sculptural pieces in the 2 to 6 inch range for now, maybe bigger later (hard glass only?)
I have heard that sculpture needs to be done in boro glass, so I am assuming that I will need a torch that is able to work with hard glass.
After reading several forums, I am leaning towards the CC Mini or maybe a bit larger. I am trying to decide if a bigger torch will be worthwhile or is needed for what we want to do. I am seeing the following prices currently:
CC Mini – $150 to $190 at most places. On sale for $135 at glasscolor.com but I’m not sure about them.
Mid Range - $269
Mid Range Plus - $370 to $380
CC Wildcat - $295 sale at Arrow Springs
Major with Premix top - $340 from Frantz
I am wondering if I want to go with one of the larger torches for the boro work. The price on the Wildcat is very interesting, but I am not sure if it will be overkill for a lot of work. Can I get some opinions on how these different torches will work for what we would like to do please?
Also how fast will the above torches go through a 40 cf tank?
Thank you,
Paul