On a quiet afternoon here at the shop, Mike and TJ unwittingly invited great spectacle. The enterprising duo occasionally accept projects for designers interested in making custom lamp fixtures. Since I'm always asking them to push the glass off center or yank out a tip this way or that, these little projects help them to keep their more traditional chops - blowing centered and delicate forms in an efficient way that doesn't waste the heat that keeps the glass molten.
On this afternoon, they were noodling how to blow a very long but narrow cylinder. It's not impossible or anything, but they just wanted to get a handle on the best way to approach it before bidding the job. They tried a couple of different techniques but ultimately decided to give this way a shot. And Arlen just happened to be rolling the old video when things got interesting. I love the way Mike just takes his sweet time (the guy who jumps up on the table) and TJ gingerly makes several attempts to solve the situation:
Arlen particularly liked the smoke pouring from the small vent holes drilled along the length of the tube. And, yes, Arlen said stamping out the fire was just fun as it looks.
