What Do I Buy To Get Started?????

[IWANNALEARN]

Hello... I am about to purchase my first torch and supplies to get started. There are so many products and tools and everone claiming to have the cheapest prices and best kit.

I am confused. I only have 450.00 to purchase my first supplies with and know this will in no way purchase a kiln for annealing. I don't think my first beads will be good enough for any type of saleing so I am not worried about a kiln at this time.

I want a list and a supplier for my products. What is good for a newbie to start out with. What colors should I begin with.... Does it matter?

Ok any help greatly appreciated.

Kim

[Tanner Studios]

These Guys are a great place to start http://www.arrowsprings.com/ If your sure that you what to be a lamp-worker spend as much as you can on the best torch you can afford. Even if it means waiting a little longer to get start. It will pay off in the long run.
Scott

[Bluejeangirlnc]

You didn't say if you wanted a propane/oxygen torch or a hothead, but when I started I got something like this as my kit with my first class: http://www.mountainglassarts.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1707/.f?sc=2&category=177

It's got safety glasses in it as well and a pound of assorted glass to get you started.

[Rob]

I started on a hot head and took my first class a week later. I think a hot head is a great place to start if a you are looking only for occasional use, or are unsure if this is really the thing for you. A lot of people use a hot head exclusively and for a long period of time. It is by far the cheapest way to start. as for the rest. well I really think you need to consider what type of glass you want to work. What type of work you want to do in that glass. etc. if you just want to try making beads and play for a bit to decide where you want to go with glass, a hot head is a good torch to start with. I don't suggest the kits. This is because I found the glass was unimpressive- the very most common colors and cheapest ones too boot one rod of 18 different colors), the bead release was garbage, the rake was near worthless, the torch was the only really good part of my first kit. the torch mounted marver did not fit, the hand held marver was ok, but I replaced it with a 2x3 one asap. :P I now suggest people get what they need for tools as they need them, yeah you will want a marver most likely, but pick a good one that you like using. what works for someone else may not work for you. My favorite tool and has been my favorite tool since I started is a stainless steel knife from a knife set. its beveled but not sharp, has a rounded "point" and a slot at the base of the blade. Its not the sort of thing most people use, but it works great for me for getting the ends of barrels "flat" it is great for moving glass, its great for so many things. I picked it up the first time because I didn't have anything else to get the job done. think creatively as you can as far as your tools go. doubly so since you are working with limited funds. As soon as you decide to move beyond a hot head, buy the size torch you want to end up on and buy a good one. it'll be so much better than crawling up the scale. ;)

[Jenfire]

Hot head torch, pair of didyum glasses, mandrels 12 inches long, bead release, marver, non serrated butter knife, cheap pair of non serrated pliers from the hardware store, sharpen one of the mandrel ends to make yourself a rake, bucket of sand for your mandrels to stand up in; vermiculite and a crockpot for your beads; Then about 1/2 pound each of clear, black and white. Then GO. Good books to invest in "Passing the flame" That's about it.
OR you could do it the smart way and find yourself a beginner class to know if it is something you really want to do.
Jen

[beadbroad]

Actually I'd recommend Kervin's "More than you ever wanted to know about glass beadmaking" as your first purchase. Because you're on a limited budget, a reasonable alternative would be to get it through your local library so you can read the safety chapter before you do anything else.

Have fun!

[IWANNALEARN]

Thanks I will definately look for that video. I purchased my kit last night. I can't wait till it gets here. I need to build my a table today I have to go back to work tomorrow and wil not have time to do anything. Wish me luck. Well I will be chatting with you all soon. Blessings and thanks for all the help. I have never met a group of people so willing to help and with such passion for the art

[Emily]

What beadbroad mentioned is a book by Jim Kervin, not a video. If you want a good video/dvd for beginners, Kate Fowle Meleney's Lampworked Beadmaking -- An Introduction is excellent. She teaches on a Minor (a propane/oxygen torch), but other than torch set up, there's very little that won't be applicable to someone working on a hot head. (I don't know if you bought a hot head kit or not -- in case you did.)

Jim Kervin's "More Than You Wanted to Know" book is a good comprehensive book with a lot of information in it. It's maybe not the most user-friendly book for a beginner because it can be a little dry. Other good books for a beginner are Cindy Jenkins' "Making Glass Beads" (very user-friendly, but not as comprehensive as Jim's book) and Kimberley Adams' The Complete Book of Glass Beadmaking. "Passing the Flame" is more of a book on decorative techniques (which it does very well) than a basic introduction to beadmaking.

I agree with Jen's list pretty much (people have their own preferences -- some people like 9 inch mandrels, although I like 12 inch, too.) When she says "marver," I assume she means a handheld graphite paddle (also called a marver), rather than a marvering surface that lies on your table. You'll probably end up wanting both, but I'd say the graphite paddle is on your list of first purchases. I like one that has about a 2x3 graphite pad, but that's another personal preference.

For mandrels, you'll want a bunch -- say at least 3 dozen 3/32 diameter. Mandrels are consumables. They can last a while, but sooner or later they do bend, and it's common when you're a beginner to bend them and/or to get beads stuck to them. You can buy welding rod and cut your own. Search the forum on "welding" for tips on what to buy and what to do with them. (I'd say search "welding" and "rod" but the forum doesn't like searching 3-letter words.)

I recommend getting an assortment of colors -- transparents, opaques (called pastels), specials (which are reds, yellows, oranges, browns). I don't see a thing wrong with one rod each of a whole bunch of colors, even if they're the most common colors. (They're not "common" to you -- you've never had any of them before.) At this stage, you should be buying the cheapest colors, because face it, what you're going to be making isn't likely to be very good for a while, and there's no point in using expensive glass for practice. Also, the expensive glass tends to be fussy and finicky and to do weird difficult things, and you need to get a feel for how normal glass behaves first, so you can tell whether something that is happening is because of something that you did, or is something that is a characteristic of the glass. Get an assortment of the ordinary colors first. There are enough of them to keep things interesting, and even the ordinary colors have their quirks that you need to learn. For instance, in Effetre (a/k/a Moretti), transparent colors are stiffer than opaque colors. (I think in Bullseye glass, it might be the other way around, but I'm not a Bullseye user, so I could be wrong.) If you put a dot of transparent on an opaque bead and heat it, the dot will sink in. If you put a dot of opaque on a transparent bead, the dot will spread out. Many classic patterns are based on this principle (as are many classic failures.) Even within these groups, some colors are stiffer and some colors are softer. Ivory and white are the softest colors, and transparent cobalt and aquamarine are very stiff, if not the stiffest. Other colors react with each other to create a dark line when they meet (ivory and green, most dramatically). A couple of colors make dirt when you put them together (ivory and rubino a/k/a gold pink or gold ruby). Even if you hate certain colors, you'll find that you need a little bit of those colors to create contrast with the colors that you do like, to make your designs pop.

[CelesteK]

I actually bought my kiln first. Since it was the most expensive item and I had only a certain amount of money to play with I made sure I had that. I bought a Jenn-Ken kiln off ebay for a fraction of the cost I would have paid anywhere else. It was new, but a "second"--I think some of the exterior bricks have chipped corners or something insignificant like that. I bought my kit from Arrow Springs, but I see you already got one. If I was doing it again, I may have gone right to a oxy-propane torch. I know I'll be torching for a long time and I have frustrations with my hot head. Some instructions just don't work the same way on a hot head, so I have to practice and improvise until I get the result I want.
Celeste