Anyone who has ever seen glass blowing in action can attest to how awesome of a sight it is. The control that these lampworkers and glass blowers display is nothing short of impressive. And this comes not only from their technical knowledge in their trade but also from experience and passion. Mostly, it’s passion that serves as a prime motivation, thus setting the path to years of experience. Needless to say that starting out is going to be a bit of a rough ride. Even prodigies make mistakes. The good news is that mistakes aren’t that expensive in the glass blowing industry. It only becomes costly if one doesn’t learn from the experience. Or is a total klutz at glass blowing no matter how hard they try, passion be damned.
Nevertheless, one of the best ways to make sure that a bad start isn’t going to put a dent in the wallet is to get nothing but the best glass tubes. These glass tubes are going to be used for creating the actual glass product. It’s shaped like a straw and is heated so that the glass blower can then inflate it out of shape according to their desired finished product.
One of the best ways to get a good set of glass tubes is by visiting a glass blowing community online or locally if there’s one. There’s definitely someone there who knows their stuff. And, of course, knows what to pick for glass tubes as well as where to get it for a low price. Glass tubes don’t cost much and it’s highly recommended to order a whole bunch to make it easier to start one project after another. As a novice, ending the project sooner than expected – rather, unfinished – is to be expected.
Choice of material used for the glass tubes also matter a lot. Expert glass blowers and lampworkers typically recommend ones that are made of borosilicate or boro. Borosilicate is known to have a higher melting point compared to most soft glasses. It comes in varying colors so there’s no need to worry about versatility and variance in creativity. Nevertheless, handling them should be precise and should be given just as much care and attention as regular soft glass tubes. Check out this article about colored pyrex glass tubes to know more about it.
Stock availability is a big concern for glass blowers, especially if the demand for their products starts pouring in. Fortunately, in this day and age, it’s ridiculous to limit oneself to buying supplies from local sources. The Internet is a great tool for having access to various products – glass tubes included. Perhaps the only scenario where a glass blower is to run out of glass tubes is if there is an underestimation of the demand.
Always remember that safety should be the top priority. Advancing actual skills and handling only comes after it. So even though these glass tubes are fairly expendable, it’s always a good idea to remove carelessness in the workplace. Especially in a workplace, that deals with using more than one furnace.