oxy-acetylene torch

Since glassblowing is on topic here, especially if one doesn't necessarily
mean scientific glassblowing, I have a question about preparing for that
activity. There are no glassblowing courses I can take but there is an art
course on welding that, among other things, would teach me how to use
oxy-acetylene torches safely. So, I'm wondering whether that exposure to
the use of oxy-acetylene torches would be sufficient preparation for using
an oxy-acetylene torch for glassblowing (apart from the glassblowing
techniques themselves). Or is the way one uses an oxy-acetylene torch
for glassblowing one of the things they would explicitly tell me not to
do in a welding course?

I've seen someone sitting in the middle of a lobby with an oxy-acetylene
torch and glass rods and tubing making lots of little sculptures. So, that's
why I have this in mind as an added benefit of possibly taking the welding
course. The only exposures I've had to glassblowing a
(1) a single class I took once several decades ago in which I used a bunsen
burner;
(2) the chemists at Tata Institute were nice enough to let me do some
glassblowing and to give me some instruction and I did this once or
twice a week for a couple of weeks until I stupidly picked up a
hot piece of glass and got a big burn on my thumb, which put an end
to the activity. This also used a bunsen burner.

There is no way I am qualified or allowed to set up a bunsen burner for
myself in any that I have access to, so acquiring the knowledge, under
supervision, to provide myself with suitable flame for glassblowing is
of interest to me. Once I can do that, I can in principle experiment on
my own with simple glassblowing projects, although finding a suitable
venue for this would still be a problem.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.

I think you would be wasting your time. There are glass blowing schools
all over the world.

http://www.steinertindustries.com/In...orsSchools.htm


Jack

All the safety rules are the same, but you wouldn't want to use acetylene.
It is to hot and to dirty. Most people use propane/mapp because it is
easier. Or you can use natural gas. Problem with natural is that your
standard house pressure is lacking to operate a bench burner correctly.

Good luck,

Randy Hansen
SC Glass Tech
San Diego, CA


"Allan Adler" wrote in message
...

Since glassblowing is on topic here, especially if one doesn't necessarily
mean scientific glassblowing, I have a question about preparing for that
activity. There are no glassblowing courses I can take but there is an art
course on welding that, among other things, would teach me how to use
oxy-acetylene torches safely. So, I'm wondering whether that exposure to
the use of oxy-acetylene torches would be sufficient preparation for using
an oxy-acetylene torch for glassblowing (apart from the glassblowing
techniques themselves). Or is the way one uses an oxy-acetylene torch
for glassblowing one of the things they would explicitly tell me not to
do in a welding course?

I've seen someone sitting in the middle of a lobby with an oxy-acetylene
torch and glass rods and tubing making lots of little sculptures. So,
that's
why I have this in mind as an added benefit of possibly taking the welding
course. The only exposures I've had to glassblowing a
(1) a single class I took once several decades ago in which I used a
bunsen
burner;
(2) the chemists at Tata Institute were nice enough to let me do some
glassblowing and to give me some instruction and I did this once or
twice a week for a couple of weeks until I stupidly picked up a
hot piece of glass and got a big burn on my thumb, which put an end
to the activity. This also used a bunsen burner.

There is no way I am qualified or allowed to set up a bunsen burner for
myself in any that I have access to, so acquiring the knowledge, under
supervision, to provide myself with suitable flame for glassblowing is
of interest to me. Once I can do that, I can in principle experiment on
my own with simple glassblowing projects, although finding a suitable
venue for this would still be a problem.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions
and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near
Boston.

"Allan Adler" wrote in message
...
There is no way I am qualified or allowed to set up a bunsen burner for
myself

Most mental institutions DO tend to limit the inmate's access to hot/sharp
things.

There is far to many do and do not do in this field to start anywere
else than by learning. Tips and triks for this field is most often
based on good tools. You have to be able to focus on what you want to
do. Not invent the wheel to get there.

You should ask around in your nebourhood. You will be surprised how
many glassartist is around. If you are bold in of to ask qustions here
I am sure this artist will help you to get trough the first steps and
help you get on your way to developing your own handcraft.

If there is a will there is a way.

It is not just that propane or natural gas is easier, oxy-acetylene is too
hot and also discolors some of the glasses used in lamp working. A welding
outfit usually produces a small precise flame while lampworking torches
produce a larger flame. Take a proper class or start by buying a good book
like Contemporary Lampworking by Dunham which you should be able to get on
Amazon. Ignore some of the dummer comments on this newsgroup, some people
need their fingers tied.

--
Mike Firth
Furnace Glassblowing Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/
"Allan Adler" wrote in message
...

Since glassblowing is on topic here, especially if one doesn't necessarily
mean scientific glassblowing, I have a question about preparing for that
activity. There are no glassblowing courses I can take but there is an art
course on welding that, among other things, would teach me how to use
oxy-acetylene torches safely. So, I'm wondering whether that exposure to
the use of oxy-acetylene torches would be sufficient preparation for using
an oxy-acetylene torch for glassblowing (apart from the glassblowing
techniques themselves). Or is the way one uses an oxy-acetylene torch
for glassblowing one of the things they would explicitly tell me not to
do in a welding course?

I've seen someone sitting in the middle of a lobby with an oxy-acetylene
torch and glass rods and tubing making lots of little sculptures. So,
that's
why I have this in mind as an added benefit of possibly taking the welding
course. The only exposures I've had to glassblowing a
(1) a single class I took once several decades ago in which I used a
bunsen
burner;
(2) the chemists at Tata Institute were nice enough to let me do some
glassblowing and to give me some instruction and I did this once or
twice a week for a couple of weeks until I stupidly picked up a
hot piece of glass and got a big burn on my thumb, which put an end
to the activity. This also used a bunsen burner.

There is no way I am qualified or allowed to set up a bunsen burner for
myself in any that I have access to, so acquiring the knowledge, under
supervision, to provide myself with suitable flame for glassblowing is
of interest to me. Once I can do that, I can in principle experiment on
my own with simple glassblowing projects, although finding a suitable
venue for this would still be a problem.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions
and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near
Boston.

Allan Adler wrote in message
...

Since glassblowing is on topic here, especially if one doesn't
necessarily
mean scientific glassblowing, I have a question about preparing
for that
activity. There are no glassblowing courses I can take but
there is an art
course on welding that, among other things, would teach me how
to use
oxy-acetylene torches safely. So, I'm wondering whether that
exposure to
the use of oxy-acetylene torches would be sufficient
preparation for using
an oxy-acetylene torch for glassblowing (apart from the
glassblowing
techniques themselves). Or is the way one uses an oxy-acetylene
torch
for glassblowing one of the things they would explicitly tell
me not to
do in a welding course?

I've seen someone sitting in the middle of a lobby with an
oxy-acetylene
torch and glass rods and tubing making lots of little
sculptures. So, that's
why I have this in mind as an added benefit of possibly taking
the welding
course. The only exposures I've had to glassblowing a
(1) a single class I took once several decades ago in which I
used a bunsen
burner;
(2) the chemists at Tata Institute were nice enough to let me
do some
glassblowing and to give me some instruction and I did this
once or
twice a week for a couple of weeks until I stupidly picked
up a
hot piece of glass and got a big burn on my thumb, which
put an end
to the activity. This also used a bunsen burner.

There is no way I am qualified or allowed to set up a bunsen
burner for
myself in any that I have access to, so acquiring the
knowledge, under
supervision, to provide myself with suitable flame for
glassblowing is
of interest to me. Once I can do that, I can in principle
experiment on
my own with simple glassblowing projects, although finding a
suitable
venue for this would still be a problem.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL.
My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere
near Boston.

A.A.:

Approximately where are you located?

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

"Edward Hennessey" writes:

Allan Adler wrote in message
...
activity. There are no glassblowing courses I can take but
there is an art course on welding that, among other things,
would teach me how to use oxy-acetylene torches safely.

A.A.: Approximately where are you located?
Regards, Edward Hennessey

I assume you're asking because of one of the following two reasons:
(1) You are considering offering to teach me glassblowing, in case that
would be geographically convenient.
(2) You think you can locate glassblowing classes I could take if you
know where I am located.

As regards (2), I was incorrect my original statement: I just did a google
search and found, contrary to what I had thought, that there are a few
places near me where I can, in principle, take a glassblowing course.
From the prices I've seen, the courses are pretty expensive, definitely
beyond my discretionary capital at the moment, but there are indeed courses.

As regards (1), approximately where are you located?
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.

"Randy H." writes:

All the safety rules are the same, but you wouldn't want to use acetylene.
It is to hot and to dirty. Most people use propane/mapp because it is
easier. Or you can use natural gas. Problem with natural is that your
standard house pressure is lacking to operate a bench burner correctly.

I just found an article by C.L.Stong in the Amateur Scientist column of
Scientific American from the 1950's in which he explains how to do
glass blowing. He shows a setup using a propane tank. I'm under the
impression that this would only be good for soda glass, not for pyrex.
I haven't used mapp gas but I'm under the impression that it is used
exactly the same way as propane but burns hotter and can be used with
pyrex. Are these impressions correct?

Unfortunately, I don't have any place I can actually do any of this.
Stong doesn't talk about safety except for advocating the use of
asbestos! My apartment is definitely out of the question and it
is probably illegal to do it on the streets without some kind of
permit.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.

In article N5NLg.18809$RD.1592@fed1read08,
"Randy H." wrote:

All the safety rules are the same, but you wouldn't want to use acetylene.
It is to hot and to dirty. Most people use propane/mapp because it is
easier. Or you can use natural gas. Problem with natural is that your
standard house pressure is lacking to operate a bench burner correctly.

Interesting. I know someone that used a bench torch here in Minnesota
and it seemed to work fine off the house system. Does this vary by
location?

Mike Beede