I got bit

[Alison D]

I have been stalking this thread. I have been coilpotting soft glass ornaments. They are really nice but what a chore to keep everything hot enough not to crack.I pulled my first boro points last night and had a blast. No shocky, shocky. No spending 95% of the time just keeping it warm so it won't crack. I blew a few ornaments that are nicely round but ugly as sin,PPP, and need to figure out how to work inside out. I am having a blast. Thanks for the wealth of information you have all contributed to so that I could start to figure this out on my own.


Thanks, I am having a great time,

Alison


ps. How do you keep your fume from dissapearing in the heat when you are decorating the inside?

[fyrsmith]

Hi Alison,
Welcome to the dark side!If you saw the fume on your piece once, it probably is still there. It can appear and disappear depending on whether your flame is oxidizing or reducing, although it is possible to burn it off with a very oxidizing flame. I have been doing ornaments since forever, and never use points, waste of time. Seal a 15 mm med or heavy wall tube and work from there.

-Don-

[Alison D]

Those are beautiful Don.
How do you blow them if you don't pull a point and have the glass pulled out to a blow pipe? I'm such a newb. I know most people hate to pull points but I was just tickled that I could do it.I have to get used to the boro glass, the color never seems to want to melt in. I will try more propane in my flame for the fume. The only tubing I have is 19mm heavy wall. I keep telling my mini cc you can do it baby.

Thanks so much,
Alison

[ruca]

as long as you can get your mouth around it you can blow it! (LOL that sounds so incredibly wrong) i blow straight off 26mm heavy wall without pulling a point, so save yourself some time on that 19mm. i've actually never pulled a point but i've never worked tubing larger than 26mm.

[fyrsmith]

Hi Alison,
I'll post a pic of my show & tell unfinished piece I use during demos when I get home tonight.
-Don-

[menty666]

Originally Posted by ruca

as long as you can get your mouth around it you can blow it! (LOL that sounds so incredibly wrong) i blow straight off 26mm heavy wall without pulling a point, so save yourself some time on that 19mm. i've actually never pulled a point but i've never worked tubing larger than 26mm.

wow, that really does sound wrong

*I* for one don't find points a waste of time since they're good practice, particularly if you want to make goblets some day (as I aspire to!). For one thing, points are a lot lighter than a 3' section of 25x4, and you don't get lock jaw

If you practice pulling points on 25, larger stock's easier to pull points from later.

Now if I could just figure what the heck I need to do to enable myself to use my blowhose....I'm still working the kinks out of that.

Oh, under 25 I don't pull a point, but my next size down is also 12mm (then 10mm)

[fyrsmith]

Hi Alison,
This is the basic setup for my ornaments. 15 mm std wall tube covered with dots and wraps. Most of the clear dots would be colored, and the wraps wouldn't be that ugly green stuff. I then rake through the dots and wraps and reheat to smooth out the surface. Then I cover the middle with clear so I can blow a larger bubble (my own "outside in" technique, revealed here for the first time!) and blow it. When I blow it, I have a punty on the bottom so I can keep it centered. Separate it from the tube and add a loop, take off punty, done. I have a whole notebook with drawings of various patterns and color choices.



-Don-

[fyrsmith]

The ornaments in the pictures are about 5" long; The setup piece pictured is on standard wall, but you might want to use med or heavy wall for more stability while practicing. I'm not very good at points and I agree that it is useful for some forms, I just meant that for this style of ornament it's faster off the tube. I keep telling myself I should practice pulling points, but never get around to it.

-Don-

[Alison D]

Thank you all so much. Ohhhhh the old outside, inside out. You are a tricky man Don, thanks for the new direction. I will try blowing them without the points next time I torch. I am supposed to make fruitcake and rugula today so no glass. I keep saying that over and over. NO glass today bad girl nooooo glass. I have to get a handle on this Christmas stuff 'cause I am falling way behind.

Thanks everyone for the input. I will try it all eventually so I'll keep practicing with points also.

very gratefull,
Alison