It is difficult!? Do you get a burn from exposing your skin to the high temperatures!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
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Position:Home>Visual Arts> What is it like to blow glass?Question: What is it like to blow glass!? It is difficult!? Do you get a burn from exposing your skin to the high temperatures!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: There are two kinds of glassblowing, furnace, which I do, and torch!. Torch glassblowing or lampworking involves holding cold rods or tubes of glass in the flame of a torch, building pieces from various color rods!. Most of the work is smaller in scale though it doesn't have to be!. Neon tubing and scientific glassblowing are also lampworking!. A solid setup that will last for a career costs about $500 (torch and tanks) and can be used in a space as small as 3x5 feet!. Classes for beginners are available in most cities, especially if beginning with glass bead making!. Furnace glassblowing exposes the worker to much more heat, requires much more space, and costs a lot more!. It is an elaborate juggling or dance act to keep the glass workable and in shape!. It can be done alone although it is more common to have a team of 2 or more people and some elaborate pieces would be very hard to complete alone!. A person building all their own equipment might make a $2000 setup work although twice that is more common!. In some parts of the country (Texas), classes are few and far between while high quality classes are available in 1-2 week long sessions in 5-6 places for numbers like $2000 including room and board!. Weekend beginner classes typically cost $250-350!. While there is a risk of burns, the greater threat is dehydration!. Most burns do not come from the glass, but from accidentally picking up the wrong part of something that is hot!. I used to find it curious that 4-5 people could be moving on the blowing floor with molten glass on pipes and punties and they didn't burn each other, until I realized that a person who didn't watch the glass closely found it dripping to the floor, thus keeping it from hitting people was easy!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The heat from blowing glass can be managed!. You should wear long sleeves and this will be more comfortable but it will still be very warm!. You can use fan's but do not blow cool air toward you instead blow the heat away drawing a draft across you!. There are only a few steps to blowing glass and once you learn them the rest is like playing the piano!. Practice ,Practice , Practice!. Your hand will need to become more practiced so they move exactly together when you rotate and bend the tubing so that it does not twist closed!. Then you need to learn to blow inside with the proper pressure to keep the glass from closing or to make the glass grow!. It takes about 5 years of practice and you can be a fairly good Glassblower!. How good depends on what kind of jobs you get exposed to!. If you work on a few jobs over and over you will get good at only those jobs!. If you get exposed to very complicated jobs you will learn more!.Www@QuestionHome@Com you don't get burns if you are careful!. Inevitably you are not careful at all times!. Actually the main problem is not the glass, but to remember that metal which was/is in contact with the hot glass is hot too!. Most burns are from the metal of the blowpipe!. It's long enough that it's cool at one end, but if you let your hands slide too far towards the other end you will end up with burnt fingers!. Otherwise the main danger is too your eyes, the radiation of the glass is not healty, so you have to wear glasses!. Blowing glass does not require strong lungs, it's quite easy - but it requires a lot of practice to learn how to keep the glass at a correct temperature and how to move the glass!. If you have to blow hard, your glass is not hot enough!. If you heat it too much, it will all slump!. If you don't heat it enough you can't work with it!. This also means that especially as a beginner there is not much you can do with another person helping you!. e!.g!. if you want to make a handle, another person has to bring you the glass for the handle, as it is too hard to keep your current piece of glass at the right temperature while you go and get another piece and shape this as you want!. It does require a lot of practice to get good at it (which I never did, I just took one class) and it is also rather expensive!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I agree with Tigris!. You do not get burned if you are careful!. I was required to sign a waver of liability to the studio!. In the beginning and the advanced stages of glass blowing, teamwork is part of the experience!. The first glass blowing class I took the instructor and a helper took turns with each student!. The second glass blowing class the instructor started teaching the class to assist each other while going between the 2 groups working at a time!. The person assisting would open doors, get tools, steady when requested!. Later on people can work by themselves or in groups!. I stopped after the second round of classes!. It is very expensive!.Www@QuestionHome@Com From what I've seen, depending on what you're doing, there are usually two people working on the same piece!. They wear gloves and use a long tube or pipe to distance themselves from the heat!. Yes, you have to be trained because it's an an art!.Www@QuestionHome@Com i remember doin that at school!.you gotta blow hard enough to make ya fa*t, most amusing i tell thee!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I don't know, but i'll bet the glass likes it *wink wink* Lol, sorry, that wasnt helpful!.!.!. but I couldn't resist!Www@QuestionHome@Com better than sucking woodWww@QuestionHome@Com Its very warm and and tiring!. but when your finished its worth it!Www@QuestionHome@Com |