New Year Many Changes

Well to start the new year we made a lot of changes to the studio. Rearranged a bit. Cleaned a bit. Painted a bit. Things are looking good and many thanks to all those who lent a helping hand. I definitely could not do it without the great group of people at Blue Sage Studios.

Our first big change is the new furnace. It is a #200 moly melt furnace made by Cheyenne Malcolm and Canned Heat Glass. It is a beauty. It took a day to move the old one out and the new one in place and then a day to wire it up and turn it on. So very easy really. It is melting the glass great. It has required a bit of the change in gathering angle and we are trying to not rest on the sill when gathering, that is a hard habit to break.

Our next big change was the switch over to the Cristalica glass out of Germany and supplied by Spruce Pine Batch or Olympic Color Rods. It is a very clear glass. We are working at 2150. It is a bit gloopy and stiff when gathering. Going through frit it seems to not lose it's shape as much so new folks are not getting bad fold overs. Blowing with Cristalica is much easier. The glass seems to hold the heat well and the bubble moves with little effort. With solid work the glass is much different.  Paperweights take longer to shape and require more heat up in the glory hole than Spectrum Nuggets or the Spruce Pine Batch. In making some 2 inch marbles it is more difficult to get the glass to round out using the torch after knock off. This is also seen in the punty break off place not melting in as fast or as smooth with the bench torch.

Drop by if you can and check out our progress.

Keep it centered.
Andy