Well, the switch to propane has proven two things to me. I need a ton more practice, and I don't realize how much time has gone by when I don't have a tank freezing up on me after about an hour. I guess that means I am torching longer, but still having some adjustments to make. I did make some beautiful silvered ivory stringer, though, with some silver foil a secret santa on my favorite site, Wet Canvas, sent me. What a nice surprise, especially when I had just been given a tutorial that called for silvered ivory stringer. Coincidence? I really doubt it. Just a nice surpise. Since I had never really understood what it meant to pull stringer I was glad the tutorial had a tiny bit of info on it about at least how to begin. Pulling stringer, for you non-glass folks, is taking a rod of glass which begins from 5-10 mm in size and heating and stretching it to be in the 1-3 mm range for using in detail work, or as dots or decoration on lampwork beads.
I made one bead based mostly on the tutorial I had been gifted, with a couple of color changes to suit the colors my daughter, Tess, likes. The bead I am talking about is the bottom one in the group shot, I am also including a solo photo of the back / front side of the bead. I love it, and the tutorial was a huge help. The rest of the beads were again experimental stuff using the silvered ivory stringer, or other techniques I have been working on. Not to bad for a newbie.
Hoping to get on the torch tomorrow night. I really think I am too tired to go back to it tonight. We shall see. The new annealing bubbles in the crockpot, on high, helped save my beads today, even the giant one. Yea!!!!
2 comments:
I know I found a huge difference too Rita when I stopped using the 1lb tanks. Did you find the flame seemed hotter as well?
Louise, Yep, hotter and a different sweet spot much farther out. I seem to keep forgetting how much farther out and smoking my clear. I haven't boiled a bead yet, though, so I am definitely improving. I know it is just a matter of practice, but dang it, why couldn't there be instructions somewhere that say 7.25" from the torch head, or turn the knob on 1/2 a rotation. You know the stuff people take for granted. :D
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