Press Recommendations

[aoturoa]

I'm want to venture into presses and would like to know which ones you guys like using / are the easiest for a newbie to start with?

I've had a look on Tuffnell Glass, but Martin doesn't seem to have much in at the moment. I'm limited to UK or Europian shops as I don't have a credit/debit card.

Bit clueless really 

[Sulis (Hazel)]

Hi Helen, I find my lentil press the easiest one to use - or a crunch press is quite easy too. Maria Louisa does some lovely lentil presses 

[Lush!]

I hear Tuffnell's are expecting a delivery ... any day now apparently 

[Shirley]

nugget trio is my favourite, or Cattwalk crunch as it's very versatile

[Vicki]

I would say lentil if you like the round thang or a nugget if you like corners

[SueP]

I love my pillow press from Maria Louisa I can use it "properly" to get nice sharp corners or not worry too much about the quantity of glass to get a nice "crunch" shape 

In fact I think I need to wean myself off it and try some others!

[Sulis (Hazel)]

I also have one of Martin's and it's fabulous too, very reasonable, especially if you can collect from a local show so no postage to pay.

For sure, make sure you get something where it's not too hard to judge how much glass to wind, or like the lentil trio, something that if you add too much glass, you can just make the next size up! (I'm always doing that  )

[Pat from Canvey]

If I add too much glass for a lentil and get a rim around the edge, I just heat the edge and pull the extra glass away with tweezers and reshape.

[Sherry Bellamy]

I've been known to heat it up and snip it off with scissors!

[Trudi]

I've been known to heat it up and snip it off with scissors!

That's serious!

[Soozintheshed]

Come to Carlisle and play with all mine, I have a few     It's only up the M6

[aoturoa]

Come to Carlisle and play with all mine, I have a few     It's only up the M6

Hm, I wonder if the OH needs to go up that way? 

[Rachel]

I agree - the lentil is probably one of the easiest to start with.  I've got the Zoozii trio and it's probably my most used press (apart from the piddly little 13mm cavity!)  Although I really love my nugget press from Maria Louisa. 

[Kaz]

Helen
When I was just starting out, I bought quite a few presses but then found them really difficult to use - too little or too much glass, sharp edges on the beads etc. I then went back to practising trying to get perfectly balanced beads and hand shaping beads as well. Now I can use the presses much better as I understand much more about how glass behaves (and how different the various glasses can be). So, a little word of warning from my own experience - don't get too easily seduced by the presses, you do need to ensure that you are developing your basic lampworking skills at the same time! If you are investing cash, then Passing the Flame would be a much better investment in my humble opinion!
Kaz

[aoturoa]

Good words of advice Kaz.

I hadn't realised just how much presses actually are - there's a big pillow one on Martin's site but it's 30-odd quid. Oookay, so not yet then. Heck, I've not even got a marver yet.

Must. Slow. Down. I can't learn everything at once, no matter how much I want to.

And a few lessons wouldn't go amiss if I were spending big money (and sadly £30 is big money right now).