Back when I started, I'd spend hours trying to get a perfect seal on a simple cup

I'm talking like 2008, in my first shared studio space in Asheville. I'd heat the whole piece forever, mash it together, and pray. The join was always thick and ugly, and I'd lose maybe one in three to cracks. A few years back, I watched an old head at a demo just heat a tiny ring at the very lip of each part, barely touch them, and puff. That was it. I tried it that week and felt like an idiot. Now I use almost no heat, just a pinpoint flame for maybe 30 seconds, and my seals are clean and strong every single time. It's faster and wastes way less glass. Why did nobody explain this to me sooner? What's one basic move you learned way later than you should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason52413d ago

Honestly, that whole "pinpoint flame for 30 seconds" thing sounds like a recipe for a cold seal to me. I tried a similar method last year and had a whole batch of cups fail at the join after a few weeks. Ngl, sometimes you need that good heat soak to get a strong seal, even if it looks a bit ugly at first.

williams9012d ago

Wait, a whole batch failed, @jason524? That's brutal.