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![]() Top 10 Must-Haves For Your Neon Shop
By Randall Caba
What is the Top 10 Must-Haves? It’s a list of my favorite ten elements to incorporate into a neon shop. I’m talking tangible elements over which we have control. Not intangibles like always having friendly customers, or a wonderfully giving boss or overwhelmingly admiring coworkers though those are nice elements too.
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10) Music
Music also can set tempo, develop rhythm of movement that aids even heating of the glass. Naturally, it helps to choose suitable music to maximize the benefit. So, consider classical, concert, folk, rock, jazz, even conga music if you think it might help.
9) Supplies and tool placement
8) Jigs
7) Multiple patterns and tools
6) "T" or "Y" connector
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5) Proper lighting Too much direct light glares off the tube making it difficult to judge its position in the flame. Even offset direct light can make the flame unseeable and thus impossible to position the tube properly. Insufficient light or lighting that causes too many shadows is a problem too; it makes the pattern tricky to see. How do you match molten glass to a pattern you can't perceive? So, consider using neon as a light source - which was its inventor's intent. Neon border tubes, signs or art pieces mounted around the shop offer diffuse, colorful light and simultaneously add mood and reduce shadows.
4) Bending table datum Constructing a worktable the suitable height reduces potential back, shoulder and leg strain. And adjusting it is as simple as cutting down the length of a table's legs or blocking them up. If the craftsman is much shorter than the table or the legs cannot further be trimmed, build a platform for the craftsman to stand on. Then while you're at it, run under the platform all hoses connecting to the burners. This effectively clears the workspace. Build a large tabletop for manufacturing channel letters and border tubes, five or six feet deep by ten or twelve feet long. If you like, construct a smaller surface for manufacturing window signs. But the extra space is always welcome particularly when mass-producing signs. Finally, add a layer of heat resistant sheetrock to help cool the molten glass evenly then cover all with heat resistant, non-asbestos fabric. Properly positioning the table in the shop helps avoid slow downs and safety hazards. Busy pathways are a distraction for the craftsman and open flame and molten glass a danger to passerby. So, position the table out of the way but not such that typical movements are restricted by low ceilings or otherwise protruding obstructions. Consider additions to the table like an attached cooling rack and yard stick. A cooling rack provides a safe place for hot bends to evenly cool strengthening the glasswork. It also clears the space so other work may continue. A yardstick attached to the table makes for quick calculation and tube marking.
3) Anti fatigue mats Use a good electrical insulating mat in front of the bombarding station. This offers comfort and lessens chance of minor shock or even electrocution.
2) Proper ventilation and air conditioning Molten neon tubing is around twelve hundred degrees Fahrenheit in temperature. Slap that onto a wood table and although its surface is protected with non-asbestos covering, you'll still see and smell smoke. Breathing only fumes from scorched insulating material and a smoldering tabletop is not only unhealthy; it's unnecessary. Proper ventilation is important. And finally, working over the top of a blue flame is only comfortable in the dead of winter. Air conditioning doesn't just add comfort it also increases productiveness. Ever witness what happens to molten glass when a bead of sweat strikes it? It's an unsafe and shattering experience.
1) Properly operating burners Position well-operating burners away but not far from the bending table. Well-placed burners allow sufficient room for maneuvering the tube during heating. It also allows room to move while matching the bend to a pattern. Little is more frustrating than running the tube into a burner while attempting to form that perfect bend. Well, I hope you agree with at least some of my favorite Top 10 Must-Haves. But more importantly, I hope you have already incorporated them into your shop.
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