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Serious question, old school glory holes vs. modern gas furnaces
I learned on a wood-fired glory hole back in the 90s, and it was a real fight to keep the heat even. You'd get a good gather, then spend 5 minutes just trying to get the glass back to a workable temp without shocking it. When I finally got a chance to use a modern gas-fired glory hole at a shop in Seattle, it was a total game changer. The heat was so steady and controlled, I could reheat a piece in under a minute and get right back to shaping. It cut my working time on a simple vase from like 2 hours down to maybe an hour and a half, just because I wasn't fighting the heat source anymore. The consistency let me focus on the form instead of the flame. Anyone else make that switch and notice how much it changed your workflow?
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masonm855mo ago
My uncle's old wood stove had that same uneven heat problem.
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maryh965mo ago
Oh man, that's just how it goes with old tools versus new ones. You spend more time fighting the gear than actually doing the work.
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joseph9324mo ago
Wood-fired glory holes don't actually use wood inside the glory hole itself, they use gas too but with a different burner setup. The real old school way was just a big pile of coals you'd scoop into a metal furnace, which is even harder to control than what you're describing. That Seattle shop probably had a regulated propane system with better insulation, which makes way more difference than just the fuel type.
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