Glass Community

Tool Name

Gas can be either compressed bottle gas e.g. Propane or natural gas. Some artists also use MAPP portable gas bottles.

Oxygen supplies come in a variety of sizes and can be rented from local gas shops. Some lampworking forms do not require oxygen, such as soft lead glass (typically used for neon) and soda lime.

Rather than buying bottles, they are usually rented with a deposit from gas outlets. For natural gas, you should hire a qualified gas plumber to install the setup for you.

Used to control the flow of of gas/oxygen.

The type of regulator you need depends on your gas setup. You will need two regulators for gas + oxygen.

The one pictured to the right is for a propane gas bottle setup.

You will also need the hoses to connect from the oxygen/gas and the connectors to attach at either end.

There are two major types of torches for lampworking:

• Pre-mix: gas and oxygen enter the torch in separate lines and mix inside the torch.
  
• Surface-mix: gas an oxygen travel completely separate to the tip point and then mix.
  

$30-100 for Hot Head Torch (attached to LPG gas hose & handheld)

$200-400 for integrated torch & stand (pictured)

A kiln is usually used for annealing items after they have been worked in the flame.

Which kiln you buy really depends on what type of work you are going to be doing. It is recommended you attend classes and practice glass for at least 12 months before you decide as kilns are generally the most expensive tool for glass artists.

Alternately most places that run glass classes will allow you to 'hire' their kilns to fire your work.

Tweezers can be used for a wide range of activities including rolling glass marbles, positioning your work, and using it as an extension of the hand generally.

For working in the the heat of flame, the best materials for metal tools are stainless steel and brass, and at least 5-6" in length.

There are a number of different tweezer styles including standard pointed tweezer ends with serrated and non-serrated grip, and mashers with flat ends (plus many more!).

A Tungsten pick will help you manipulate glass in a variety of ways because while the glass is hot, the tungsten sticks to the glass. When it is cold it releases.

You can buy tungsten picks with handles or just purchase a stick of tungsten and add your desired handle.

You can also buy them with straight or bent ends. The bent ends are used for raking through glass to manipulate design.

Marvers are surfaces upon which you can sit your glass and manipulate it, or use it to control temperature. They are usually made of graphite or steel.

Marvers come in a range of styles including a flat marver for benchtops, marvers with holes and grooves for pattering glass, and specific-shaped marvers like round marvers for shaping glass balls and marbles (pictured).