How “professional associations” can help the glassworker

As I discussed in my other article “Do I really need to join a professional association to be a glassworker“, the idea of a non-profit organization for glassworkers is a bad one. Really bad. Professional associations in my opinion should be in the business of helping its members survive, and in order to survive in today’s world, its members need to make a profit.

So, what is the answer?

There are threads, fittings, pipes and sealant to consider…

There seems to be some confusion about which type of pipe threads need to have some sort of sealant on them, and I hope this article will help clear that up as well as a few other issues about fittings and running pipe for your oxygen and fuel gas.

Day Two…

Well, Snowball has taken a turn for the worse overnight — I didn’t mention this yesterday, but Snowball is one of my 3 cats, the oldest (at 3 years). He seems to have come down with the feline equivalent of a massive sinus infection that is not only draining out of one of his eyes but is also giving him a very deep and productive cough. If you’ve ever heard a cat cough, you know it is a vastly disturbing sound. So, Snowball and I are headed over to the Vet at noon to check things out. He’s still eating and playing, so I’m not too worried.

Well, break is over, so back to work…hopefully more later on.

 The vet is not worried — she classified it as a “normal” viral upper respiratory infection, and to just keep an eye on things. If he becomes sluggish, stops eating and playing, or the drainage turns green, then by all means bring him back in. Currently he’s curled up under my desk sound asleep…

Your eyes, the only pair you have…

I’ve been snooping around on a certain website and came across a thread called “Eye Health and Lampworking”. In it the thread starter states that she has been seeing “flashing lights” after finishing a lampworking session, and her eyecare professional has seen some minor changes in her eyes. Others commented on eye strain, halos of the torch image, etc.

Plumbing propane for the glassworking torch

This is a topic that seems to come up all the time on the various glassworking forums. Here’s a condensed version of how it is done. If you are not comfortable with doing the work yourself (or your significant other/boyfriend/husband/etc is all thumbs) show this document to a plumber who is certified (or licensed) to do fuel gas plumbing.

Ventilation Hood Height for torch workers

This is a topic that is very rarely addressed, and is one of the most important issues in setting up your workstation.

The hood needs to be high enough that you have plenty of clear area underneath so you can work safely without interference, but low enough that the hood captures the flame plume from the torch.

So, exactly how high is that? The answer is that it will vary from hood to hood, depending on the angle that the torch has to the table.