terryw67•12d agoProlific Poster

I used to think a big glory hole was always better, but a demo in Asheville changed my mind

For years I worked with a 12 inch glory hole on my bench, thinking the extra space was key for big pieces. I saw a guy at a studio in Asheville using a 6 inch hole for a complex vase and it looked so much easier to control the heat. He told me, 'You're fighting the heat, not using it,' and that stuck with me. I switched to an 8 inch hole last month and my shaping got way better because the heat is more focused. I'm not losing glass to the sides anymore and my pieces are more even. It was a simple change but it made a huge difference in my work flow. Has anyone else found a smaller glory hole helped them with control?

3 comments

3 Comments

roberts9512d ago

You're fighting the heat, not using it" is the real key here. A smaller hole forces you to work with the heat you have instead of blasting the piece. My control got way better when I stopped letting all that heat escape around the sides.

king.robin12d ago

My buddy tried that and melted his piece into a weird blob, but he swears he learned more from that one mess than a month of perfect beads.

parker_price12d ago

A smaller hole can help, but sometimes you need that extra heat for thicker glass. My 10 inch gives me the range to work fast on big orders without losing detail. It's more about how you manage the space than the size itself.