Making Glass Pipes

 - and vessels too!

Class and Workshop

with a torch using Borosilicate glass (Pyrex) - Class Number 2110

This class is far more than just another beginners lamp working class. It is a  weekend long session crammed the with information, demos and hands on experience you will need to get started making Pipes for Cash. The glass pipe industry is a multi million dollar a year industry and is growing strong. Making glass pipes from home can be an awesome way to make extra cash or make a sustainable living. Getting started with your own glass shop can cost under 2k and your profit potential is unlimited. The industry is still in a very quick growth state and there is ample room in the marketplace for competition. In recent years consumers and retailers have become more aware of the inferior quality of imported glass. This has put a premium on American made glass pipes. Start your exciting career in pipe making with Sundance Glass and get the information and tools neccecary to succeed.

Goal of this workshop: To teach you how to use a torch to turn glass into glass pipes. You will learn how to work with Borosilicate (Pyrex) clear glass rods and colored glass rods. This type of glass, as opposed to "soft glass", allows you to sculpt medium to large pieces. This is because Borosilicate glass is not as sensitive to cracking or breaking while working glass on a torch. This is a beginners class. How far you can progress in this workshop will vary from student to student. We accept beginners in this workshop but of course any previous experience you have in working glass with a torch will help you progress more quickly in this workshop. You will start out learning the basic techniques of working glass. Further on in the class you will have the opportunity to make glass pipes.

Some things we do in this workshop

Workshop I (Two day Saturday and Sunday)

In this class we will approach these subjects in lecture. Bringing a note pad or tape recorder is highly recommended. (No filming is allowed during the class and audio recording will only be permitted during lecture time for your own personal record.)

• Discussion of
  • Safety
  • Shop set-up
  • Equipment selection, torches, and kilns
  • Material Selection
• Shaping Pyrex type glass with a torch.
  • Stringers
  • Pull points
  • Manipulating glass
  • Learning how glass moves
  • Make basic cane work.
  • Pull points from whole tubes to increase production volume.
  • Make small, outside decorated glass pipes
• Blowing Glass with a torch
  • Vessels
  • Ornaments
  • Make small, outside decorated glass pipes.
• Coloring the glass
  • Using Northstar and Alchemy color glass
  • Fume glass with metals to achieve a color changing effect.
• Marketing Your Glass
  • Finding your marketplace locally and nationally
  • Pricing and marketing your glass pipes
  • Setting goals for future growth
  • What to do after this class is over.

The end result will very from student to student. Some of you may go home with a nice stash of pipes to sell right away. All of you will go home with the basic understanding necessary to set up a pipe shop and the knowledge to grow your skill-set with hard work and practice.

Techniques shown in this workshop can be used to make the following projects.

Same pipe, different lighting.

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Our classroom and equipment

Our classroom and workshop area has perhaps the latest and most complete setup available anywhere. Each student has a well lit comfortable work area with plenty of room for working. Every Student gets to work on a double gas (oxygen/propane) torch like the National Torch, annealing kilns and all of the latest tools. Most important in a workshop like this, is ventilation. With so many large torches going at the same time, the quality of the air quickly becomes heavy which can induce headaches, difficulty in breathing and fatigue. Even one torch could cause this. Our area at Sundance has an excellent ventilation system keeping the air fresh. A note about temperature: because of the need for fresh air, the temperature of the work area will be the same as the temperature outside. California has pretty mild temperatures but occasionally it could be cold or warm depending on the season.

A note from Brian, the owner of Sundance: I remember taking a Torch working Workshop many years ago in a well known teaching studio in the San Francisco Bay Area from the biggest known lampworker. It was terrible, dirty and cramped. They stuck me at the end of a table on a rickety short stool with no elbow room. It was so cramped that the instructor couldn't reach me except for once during the entire 2 day workshop! Not only that, but I was taking the workshop with some pretty now famous people, a click group. So much for any attention for me. So much for my $385 fee! But I did have the best lighting, only because I was the closest to the grimy window. I've been told it hasn't changed. Actually I was glad for that experience. I was determined not to expose my students to that type of atmosphere in my teaching studio! I personally make sure our classroom and workshop area has the latest and most complete setup available. You will be guaranteed a well lit, ventilated workspace with plenty of elbow room and at half the price! And EVERYBODY gets and plenty of attention and the best instruction!
Compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. If you are shopping around for a class, we have been told some "classes" are not organized. You throw down a few bills and are allowed to "hang out" in their studio and watch them work, and maybe you get to use a bench when open. OUR class is organized, showing you step by step from the beginning how to blow glass. Plus our instructor is there for you the entire time.

Most of our students are from out of town. There are nice affordable accommodations close by.

Other workshop information

Sundance provides:

• All basic materials!
• Space
• Knowledge
• Inspiration
• Basic Equipment (you can bring any of your own favorite tools if you like)

What you provide:

• Initiative
• Motivation
• Artistic Talent
• Any other specialized tools - you will have the opportunity to purchase in class

What to wear and bring:

• Cotton clothes that cover from the neck to the foot
• No open toed shoes (sandals)
• No loose clothing (we have a previous students baggy sweater with a big burn hole as a reminder)
• No loose hair, tie it back or wear a hat
• Bring your favorite sunscreen
• Bringing your lunch allows you to be able to work during lunch break.
• IMPORTANT - as described above, the classroom may be hot or cold depending on the weather, so be sure to bring cool and warm clothing just in case!
  

Above our most productive student. Her weekends take home booty.
Some students take home almost nothing. It's all up to you.

Tuition:

• $325 - Materials Included
• Sign up with a second person and take 15% off both

Location

• Workshop Location: Meet at the School Saturday at 10 AM
  • Class is at our Paradise CA Studio Location: 1010 Bille Road, Paradise, CA 95969 (Click Here for Google Map) This is different from our main store location.
    Studio Phone  (we are not always there, please don't leave messages) 530-872-5081
  • Main store phone 530-872-3021 (We are always there during business hours)  Call here to sign up or for questions.
  • Our main supply store location is also in Paradise, CA at 6052 Foster Road 95969.
  Reserving your space: We have many people who ask us to put their names down but your spot is reserved only when your tuition is paid. The only way to reserve a date is by paying the tuition.
  

  Class Dates: Click Here

  Class Times: Saturday and Sunday

  • Paradise
    • Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM
    • Sunday from 9AM to 3 PM

  Deposit, Refund and Cancellation Policy   Click Here to see our deposit, refund and cancellation policy.

  The text books for this workshop are:

  Click Here for Details.

  Click Here for Details

  

  Click Here to See all about the Paradise California Area