Honestly, I think everyone's wrong about using a glory hole for everything

Tbh, I had a major fail last Thursday trying to make a big vase. I was working on a 12 inch piece and tried to use the glory hole to heat the whole thing evenly like everyone says. Ngl, it cracked right down the side after about 15 minutes. I think for large, thick work, you need to go way slower on the bench with the hand torch. Has anyone else had a big piece fail from glory hole heating? What's your method?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamiemiller3mo ago

James92 is giving textbook advice, but man, an hour in the glory hole for a 12 inch vase sounds like a recipe for a puddle. My garage is drafty too, and I've had pieces go from cold to cracked just from a door opening. Sometimes the bench torch is the only way to baby a thick bottom while keeping the top cool. You get more control, even if it takes forever and your arm wants to fall off.

james923mo ago

Your failure was a heating schedule problem, not a glory hole problem. That tool gives you the most even, gentle heat you can get for a large mass of glass. A hand torch on the bench creates wild hot spots on a piece that size. You likely ramped up the temperature too fast or had a cold spot in your garage. The correct method is to use the glory hole but give it a full hour of slow, incremental heat.

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campbell.robin2mo ago

Man, an hour just to warm up a vase? That's a whole shift at my bar lol. James92 is talking like this is a NASA launch. If your garage is cold and drafty, that glory hole is fighting a losing battle from the start. Sometimes you just gotta use the torch and deal with the hot spots by constantly moving it. It's not perfect, but it's better than watching your piece crack because the air changed.