Back At It Again

Yesterday I finally got back to the torch. I haven’t used my torch since last December. I just haven’t been motivated enough to get through all of the things that got on my way. I must have been really motivated this time since so many things tried to stop me.

Once I arrived at my husband’s shop (which is where I make the beads), I had to go theough a lot of glass to find the colors I wanted to use (not that unusual). Someone decided to use at least one of my mandrels and bent it into a hook. I wasn’t too happy as I have a limited supply of them. Annoying but not the end of the workd. Then the problems began.

I turned on the kiln and continued to get organized. After a few minutes I realized the kiln wasn’t making its usual noises. It wasn’t working! Ugh! I gave it a few more minutes, still nothing. Hoping it was just a glitch, I turned it off and then on again. It started working. Not sure what the problem was. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

So the kiln was working. I turned on the oxygen concentrator and it was very sluggish. Likely the filters need cleaning. The guages said it still provided the correct amount of oxygen so I continued on.

I turned on the propane. The flame was very bushy and didn’t look quite right. I turned on the oxygen and the propane virtually disappeared. I checked the tank and thought maybe it was empty. My husband removed the regulator so I could fill the tank but then we realized it was actually quite full. Customers came in so I waited for him to put the regulator back on. Once he did, I turned on the torch and there was no propane at all. He fiddled with the regulator and finally it worked! Hallelujah!

I sat down and hoped I could still make a bead. It’s like riding a bike, right? Thankfully it is, more or less. I was just finishing up my “pracitce” bead and my daughter calls. She is very upset so I try to console her. My husband had to run home and deal with the problem (a mouse in a mouse trap) and brought our daughter to the shop. I watched for customers while he was gone.

Once they arrived at the shop I was able to sit back down at the torch. I made 3 long beads and 2 specialty beads then it was time to go. At least I tried and completed something. And I want to go back again. Soon.

The beads I made (above) and some special order seam rippers (below).