How to Expand the Top Hole in Glassblowing

Glassblowing is as much an art as the final glass product you'll produce. A glassblower blows white-hot glass into a circle that he or she will stretch into a vase or jar or any kind of glasswork imaginable. Every process in glassblowing has to be done with precision in order not to ruin the piece. Expanding the top hole to make the opening larger is one of the more difficult steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Reheat the glass piece you are working on. Throughout the glassblowing process, the glass will have to be reheated, as it cools quickly and hardens just enough to be unworkable. You need to keep it soft and workable.

2. Stick the end of the blowpipe with the glass on it into the furnace or in range of the blowtorch, if you are using one, and reheat the glass enough to become workable, but not so hot that it loses the form you've just created.

3. Transfer the glass piece off of the blowpipe onto a solid iron rod known as a puntil. This is pronounced "punty," which is also the term sometimes used for the heated blob of glass.

4. Stick the end of the puntil right onto the end of the glass vase or jar as close to the center as possible. Gather a small bit of hot glass on the end of the puntil first to help it go in easier.

5. Break off the end of the piece from the blowpipe now that it's on the puntil rod. This is where the top of the glass jar is going to be, at the break. Reheat the opening or top and stretch, shape and trim the hole of the glass piece to where you want it.