outdoor glassblowing studio

Mark Wilson · Post by **Mark Wilson** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:27 am

my wife is always trying to get me to spend more time with her outside in her gardens. so i decided that i would build me a glassblowing studio, outside in her garden. then she can pull weeds, and i can make glass art. sounds good to me!!! so i spent the last week, and about $200 for misc parts to make this glory hole. it has a 6 inch diameter door, and holds a crucible to melt about 10 pounds of glass inside it. it runs off a 100,000 btu/hour burner that i made from modified black iron pipe fittings. the entire studio is on top of a 3x6 foot table covered with cement wallboard. i made a stand up bench using black iron pipe fittings. there is lots of room for tools. i was going to post a photo of it, but i guess that is not possible here. i have posted photos at craftweb, wet canvas, and glassblowing_topics.

Randy W · Post by **Randy W** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:38 am

Mark, your set up sounds very interesting. Where did you get the plans for it?

Randy

Mark Wilson · Post by **Mark Wilson** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 11:35 am

i designed it my self. you can get most of the stuff for it at your locak hardware store, except for the frax.

Kitty · Post by **Kitty** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 3:40 am

you can post photos here ... it'd be great to see some pix of your set-up.

Mark Wilson · Post by **Mark Wilson** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 7:03 am

here is my new outdoor glassblowing studio. the glory hole was made inside a 10 gallon steel garbage can. everything to make the glory hole can be purchased at a good hardware store except for the frax used for insulation. the entire studio fits on top of a 3x6 foot table covered with cement wallboard.

Suzan · Post by **Suzan** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 10:52 am

Your setup looks great and very compact. How does a small setup like this compare to a larger conventional glassblowing studio? What kinds of items can you make, what can't you make?

Cheers,

Suzan

Mark Wilson · Post by **Mark Wilson** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 11:01 am

i can make anything that will fit through the 6 inch door. this includes cups, bowls, goblets, fish, starfish, mushrooms, christmas ornaments, floats,...... i cannot make large things like platters, or big bowls. i have a larger indoor studio where my glory hole opens to 12 inches. 12 inches would be considered a small glory hole as some go to 2 to 3 feet in diameter. but that is way too big for a at home studio.

Alice DeGraff · Post by **Alice DeGraff** » Thu Aug 14, 2003 11:32 am

Ok that is neat. Very organized ! NOW I would like to see the garden !

Alice De

Naare · Post by **Naare** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 11:44 pm

Wimper... I want one.

It looks like a real dream come true. enjoy your summer