Making the Cylinder 2: Beginning Glass Blowing: Free Online Video Lesson

"Hi! I’m Jim McKelvey with Third Degree Glass Factory in St. Louis. You can check us out on the web at www.stlglass.com. Today, we’re going to learn about glassblowing for expertvillage.com. So, I’ve got the piece and I roll it on the marver. Notice, you might not be able to see this on the camera, but I’ve actually go my thumb or my finger over the end of the pipe as I’m rolling it. So, I’ve got this going on while I’m marveling it. That traps some air in there and gives it a little bit of stability. Now, we’ve rounded those sides into a nice cylinder. You’ll also notice another thing, and that is the bottom of the piece is slightly indented. And that’s a good thing because when we punty to the bottom of the piece and break that punty off, sometimes we leave a little chip of glass on the bottom. And if we’re okay with a bottom that’s slightly convex, then if there’s a chip on there, it will still allow the piece to sit up right. So, it’s now time to punty the piece. Fern is going to make me a punty, and we’re going to attach it."