Just got to wondering (supposed to be working!!) and I was thinking if you was starting your set up again from scratch what equipment would you buy to start up with and why?
eg would you start with the HH and MAPP or go straight for something different
AND
What piece of equipment or favourite lampworking item would you save if it was on a sinking ship? (was going to say if the house was on fire but it didn't seem appropriate LOL)
Shelley
I suppose if I were starting up again I would have gone straight for a minor burner and oxycon instead of HH first. I found the change over from the HH just as bad as making beads for the first time and I only stuck with the HH for a month, but then it's a money thing too isn't it......i'm rambling arn't I? it's been a long day.
I'd be lost without my pointy tweezers.
Kath
i must be made cause i'd still go for a hothead, i used mine for a good 6 months and the hardest part of swopping over was getting the flame right on the minor, i think i may have given up if i'd had to do that as a newbie
I think I'd still do the HH thing. Not a big outlay to start, and most of my kit was still useful after I moved on. It was less of a step to start, I didn't need a permanent work place either.
And what would you save?
I would have to save my purple hollow heart shaped bead which was given to me by Ray Skene at the Hobbycraft Show at the NEC last month. I've only got that and some books and I do treasure that bead LOL
I would have definately not gone for mapp and wasted almost £150 on the cans....
I would have so gone straight to bulk propane on a HH! Not to minor straight away as it would have been too much of an investment without knowing i was going to take to it.
I started straight away with a Bobcat and oxycon - I couldn't contemplate more than 30secs of HH noise - and I don't regret it for a minute. I wish I'd had heating in my `Torcher Chamber' sooner, as the weather put me off and the cold made my back pain worse, just as I was getting into my stride. I'm still getting back into it even now...but I'm slowly getting there ;D
I'm pleased I started with a HH - I would never had made the investment in a minor as a start up. But once I'd played on a minor the conversion was inevitable. Mapp was OK for the first few goes to make sure I liked it but don't prolong the Mapp experience once you know you like it.
The deluxe starter from Martin was a brilliant way to begin - can't think of anything I'd add to it.
I would go straight to torch and oxy con, but I just didnt have the money to throw away on something I might not have liked very much. My favourites are the biggies, torch, kiln, oxycon because they make so much difference
My favourite tool is the best all rounder I have ever found, its round and angled on one end and a knife tupe edge thats angled to a point at the other and its brass so its got just enough grab and let go.
I would save my frit!!!!
My best investment was the passing the flame book, I wish I had bought it sooner but the price put me off and there was nothing like these forums around then, I would have saved a looot of money
I'm glad I started with my HH and I went straight to bulk fuel rather than using mapp so converting to the minnow meant I was just down the cost of the HH as I could use everything else. I think the best thing I found last November was the forum (though it was GH then :-\!!!) as that also gave me loads more encouragement. I think a glassy support network is as important as the equipment.
I've only used a HH - the Mapp was expensive, hard to get and ran out so very quickly. But then before you make the leap to the bulk it is ok as all connections were included in my basic kit - which wasn't too bad.
But once I decided I liked it, I bought the bulk kit as it made more sense financially and practically!!
I just dived in like an idiot with a minor, oxycon & kiln...no regrets 'cos I love it....& it would be very hard to choose what to save as it all works like a team doesn't it!
ditto what Vicki said ;D
if people ask me about set up, my advice would be to take a beginners course to find out if you like it first. I always regret not being able to do that (I care for my mom). Then if you do like it, go for a minor or similar with oxycon and kiln. Saves money in the long run. Those mapp canisters last way too short a time. After one can I changed to bulk, then shortly after to an oxycon.
As for saving something, ahh ... decisions decisions .. probably a book. 1000 Glass Beads. No instructions just pure joy too look at. If not that, my Peruvian Violet frit... cant get enough of that!
My only regret (at the moment) is that I decided last summer that I wanted to make beads. Bought the books, and then for some unknown reason I didn't buy the kit until 6 months later. I'm happy with my hothead because I can see that a huge amount that can be achieved with one (see Izzy, Naos and Gelly).
I don't know what I'd save. Either my cheap pliers that I use for pulling stringers or maybe the stringer rest that I made from a ceramic tile and a piece of metal mesh.
If I were to start lampworking all over again, I would always start with a HH, even if it means coughing out more $ for the MAPP cans in the beginning. Why? Because with a HH, the glass melts slower and allows you more time to play with the glass, control it, work it with stringers and dots without them becoming a huge glob on your bead. I agree that there is a transitional phase from HH to a pro torch but the time taken to adjust to a Minor, Bobcat, etc is relative and these torches are so much hotter than you'd imagine. For a beginner, these torches can be scary as the flame/temp is so much higher and more difficult to control the glass. As a beginner, a HH allows you to make a bead nice and round, the pro torch allows you to make asymmetrical beads easily.
What I would save if I had to jump ship? Definitely my torch and my tools lying on my workbench.