Glass Blowing Supplies - What Equipment Do You Need For Your Glass Blowing Project?

Whether you are thinking about taking glass blowing courses or filling up on your supplies, having the right glass blowing supplies can mean the distinction between creating a gorgeous piece and running short of a certain item when you need it urgently.

After all, since this is such a time sensitive art, it is unlikely that you will have the opportunity to just stop what you are doing and run out to get more of what you require. Your art work would be destroyed if you do that. Here are a few things to think about when you are buying glass blowing supplies.

The classes usually supply you with most of the supplies you need. Bring your personal supplies to ensure you get the correct texture you want if you plan to do something different. Use powders for a consistent look. Use colored glass rods or frit to get a different texture. Creating unique pieces of art is easy when you know the benefits of powders and glass rods.

Here are some other supplies you should take into consideration before you start. Make sure you have everything ready.

Tweezers
Shears
Molds
Crimps
Torch Tips
Torches
Repair Kits
Punties
Pipes
Coloring Supplies
Specialized Tables
Paddles

All the above are very important. You will need the torch tips and repair kits to assist the torch to last considerably longer. If not, you will end up spending much more in the long run as your equipment may require repair or they may break down. With such an extensive list of glass blowing supplies, make sure you have a list to get them all.

The furnace is an crucial factor of your supplies. In many cases, glass blowers use a series of three furnaces: one for the initial heating of the glass, one for shaping and molding, and one for cooling gradually. It could take up to a few days if the glass blown art is big. For smaller pieces, a few hours would be required before your work is ready.

Since glass blowing can be used to produce industry supplies, or great works of art, you definitely need to have quality tools with you. This is extremely important in order to achieve the desired outcome. Different brands have different types, and you will get more knowledgeable with the different brands.

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Scuba Diving Equipment - Essentials You Cannot Leave Out

Are you are a scuba diving enthusiast and looking for some help deciding what to buy to complete your scuba diving equipment? Well, fret not. We will outline the four major things you must have for a safe and enjoyable scuba diving expedition.

Mask

The mask is a very essential tool to complete your scuba diving equipment. The mask helps you in more ways than one. First and foremost, it takes the pressure off you while breathing. Another benefit of the mask is that it guards your face against any pressure or element underwater. Moreover, it also helps enhance your field of view.

One must take care of a lot of things before zooming in on a particular mask. You must check to see whether the mask is of a size that fits you, whether it is too tight or too lose or just about comfortable. To check that, simply wear the mask before buying. More importantly, if you wear prescription glasses, then you may have to get a mask with prescription lens so you can traverse under water comfortably.

Fins

Any scuba diving equipment is incomplete without the fins. The fins compliment your swimming so that you are able to swim under the water quicker, better and easily. Again, you need to check that the size fits you before you buy.

Wetsuit

The above mentioned tools complement particular parts of your body; however the wetsuit complements your entire body. It not just makes you feel comfortable and warm, it also ensures that your motion underwater is super efficient and smooth like a snake.

Regulator

The word regulator may make you wonder, what's it got to do with the must-haves list of scuba diving equipment? Whilst you may not be wearing it on any parts of your body, it plays an equally important role as the other tools. The role of the regulator is to manage the pressure and flow of the oxygen. This way you can relax and breathe nice and easy underwater. So don't even think of venturing underwater, without a regulator.

So go ahead and complete your essential equipment with the above four important pieces. However, there are several other tools that are available and depending upon what you fancy you may want to buy those as well. You can also consider buying discount scuba diving equipment, and all you need to do is some research by spending some time.

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The Importance of Police Equipment

Police gear is fundamental to daily police life. Without this equipment, our streets would be a more dangerous place. The gear that can be found in many outlets can be of a high quality and includes belt equipment such as pouches, holders and belts as well as police apparel including trousers, shirts, base layers, outer layers and boots. There are many other necessary pieces of kit such as ASP batons, police torches and handcuffs and keys.

When writing about police equipment it is well worth discussing belt equipment! This equipment includes torch holders, duty belts, notebook pouches and pen holders. Some famous brands include Price Western Leather (PWL) and ASP who manufacture amongst other things, baton holders (scabbards). Other belt equipment includes key holders, cuff pouches and holders, carabiners, radio pouches and cell phone pouches. This is just a small sample of the belt gear that officers use daily.

Other gear that you will find in police shops include handcuff keys and cuffs as well as ASP baton accessories. As for batons, they can only be supplied in the UK to police or government agencies as they are prohibited weapons ASP batons range from 16 inches to 26 inches in length and ASP are renowned for producing batons that are almost indestructible. They are used by the world's elite police teams and are a first choice many advanced police agencies. A very common bit of police kit are police torches. There is a range of torches on the market to suit many budgets. Torches are crucial for police personnel, not just for lighting dim places, also for momentarily disorientating criminals by temporarily affecting their night adapted vision. ASP provide a high quality, new generation of torch which deliver an amazingly bright beam and a strong build in a compact design. Other torches worthy of mention are Surefire torches which are extremely popular and have a greater output than a D Cell. They offer tailcap controls, which is perfect for firearms use. Other manufacturers include Gerber, Inova and of course, Maglite.

There is also police gear such as baton and cuff holders, including ASP sidebreak baton scabbards, trifold restraints, twin duty cases, Blackhawk collapsible baton pouches, Blackhawk crossdraw baton pouches, PWL (Price Western Leather) expandable baton holders (3 position swivel), PWL side handle baton sleeves, PWL speedcuff loops (3 position swivel) and PWL Speedcuff pouches ( 3 position swivel and cup). Other police gear that can be found includes utility belts and other leather products, torch loops and sleeves, notebook covers, fixed penalty folders, warrant card wallets, warrant card wallets with badge flaps and Viper slash resistant gloves.

This is just a small insight into the world of police gear.

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Buying Diving Equipment - Looking at the More Essential Diving Gear That Might Interest You

Assuming that as a new diver you have already purchased your own mask and snorkel, then it is time to start looking at the rest of the gear available to purchase and see what you might want to buy. My first stop at this point would be to purchase a diving torch.

Why a torch next? Well, there are many dives when a little illumination can be a great benefit. Night dives are an obvious use of a diving torch, but also on many daylight dives the faithful diving torch can come in useful. Looking into a cave or illuminating a piece of coral to see the best possible colour are just a couple of uses. But if you are trying to point something out to a fellow diver underwater, then a diving torch can be used as a suitable pointing aid.

My next recommendation is the first of the larger price tag items. Thankfully, choose carefully and this one will not need a load of maintenance to keep it on the right track. But you have to do your research as my next piece of equipment on the to-have list is the diving computer. It sounds so easy, but some models do not have changeable batteries. Bad enough if you are on a diving holiday and the battery dies on your, but even at home you then have to post it off to the repair centre and pay for new batteries to be installed. My own diving computer simply has an unscrew panel, then a battery is replaced simply and quickly.

But why a diving computer next? Well it is part of your personal safety equipment. Used properly, alongside another timing device, it will log your time and depth and indicate whether your have completed sufficient stops. It will also calculate the cumulative effect of diving to keep you safe over many dives in several days.

At some point you will probably also want to look at buying your own fins. Again, these are quite personal but the size of them can make them a little difficult to take on holiday with you. Make sure that your suitcase is large enough to accommodate your fins before you start packing! Depending on where you are visiting for your diving trips, you might choose open or closed foot fins. If you go for the open foot variety, which is what you will require if you are ever likely to use a dry suit or any kind of footwear in colder water, then it is also probably worth buying your own diving boots. Why? Well it means that if you ever want to jump into the sea and go for a snorkelling session, you can use your fins. Also, if the dive centre you are using provides only closed foot fins because they are used to warmer weather, then they might not have any boots to hand.

There is loads more diving equipment to be buying once you are established as a diver, but before you take the plunge and start to buy anything make sure that you carry out your research and read some diving equipment reviews. You might just discover a pearl of a piece of equipment, or learn not to buy a dud.

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Start a Welding Business - How to Buy Used Welding Equipment

One of the things that seems to confuse welders who want to start a welding business is the purchase of welding equipment. There are so many options available that its hard to know where to begin. And you do not want to make any mistakes here because unlike buying a car or a new set of golf clubs, this decision can really make the difference between being successful or failing. For example: Should you buy new or used welding equipment? What brand is the best? Miller, Lincoln, Esab, Hobart? Should you get a multi process machine like the Miller Shopmaster that is capable of Tig, Mig, Flux core, and stick welding? Or should you buy a separate machine for each process? Oxyfuel cutting outfit or plasma cutter? Air compressor or electric grinders? You see what I mean?

This article about starting a welding business is strictly opinion but it is based on solid experience. It is only because I have a welding business that I feel qualified to weigh in on how to start a welding business.

Here is what I would do in a down and dirty nutshell:

Stay away from multi process machines like the Miller Shopmaster unless you get a smoking good deal on one and intend to use it for only one process. Why? It just takes too much time to swap processes and the hoses, torches, and cables are downright unmanageable.

For your main Tig welding machine, try to locate a Miller syncrowave 250 on eBay or craigslist. If you are patient, you can find one with all the accessories for 2000 bones or less. A bargain.

For a Mig welding machine, again shop eBay or craigslist for a Millermatic 250 or 251.

Somewhere around 1000 bucks is a good deal. Anything less is a steal.

If you are cramped for space, a foldable welding table or two is the ticket. They are strong and you can hang them on the wall to get them out of the way.

You can get by with electric grinders at first and I would definitely get a couple of straight grinders and 4 1/2 inch angle grinders with a good assortment of consumables.

If you have a shop and not just the garage in your home, I would recommend an oxyfuel cutting, welding, and heating kit. Very useful. Owners size cylinders are roughly 175 each and the torch kit along with cart might cost another 300. Thats a total of 650 dollars. But you need it.

In fact, you really need to have a spare cylinder for all your processes. Welding gas cylinders are available in basically two kinds: leased cylinders which are the full sized cylinders used in industry, and owners cylinders. Owners cylinders are usually about 125 cubic feet or roughly half the capacity of the big ones. I recommend getting two owners cylinders for everything. Why? Because running out of argon on Saturday evening when the job is due out Monday morning is not bad for business. Having an extra owners bottle will not add to your monthly expenses and buys you time in getting your main cylinder refilled.

2 argon, 2 argon/co2, 2 acetylene, 2 oxygen at roughly 175 each = 8x175=1400

So here is the breakdown:

Used Miller syncrowave 250 2000

Used Millermatic 250 or 251 1000






8 gas cylinders 1400






4 grinders 2 straight, 2 angle 500






Oxyfuel kit 300






Miller spectrum 375 plasma cutter 1400






2 foldable Welding tables 300






Total 6900

This list is a great beginning toward starting you own welding business.

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How to Use Oxy Fuel - Oxygen Acetylene - Cutting Torch Equipment Safely

An oxygen acetylene torch flame is around 6000 degrees F. Considering Steel melts at around 2800F that is pretty freakin hot!

You can make a lot of things happen with an oxygen acetylene torch kit. You can braze air conditioning line sets, solder copper water pipe, silver braze stainless steel, weld 4130 chromoly tubing, and even heat and bend metal thicker than 1 inch. But oxy-fuel torches can be extremely dangerous if not used properly. OSHA even requires employers to ensure workers that use oxyfuel equipment to be properly trained and qualified for oxy-fuel welding, cutting, heating, and brazing. (see 29 CFR 1910.252)

From my 30 plus years in the welding field, I am constantly surprised by the lack of training in the safe operation of oxyfuel equipment.. Even seasoned welders are often deficient in use of oxygen acetylene torches unless they have received hands-on training where demonstration of proficiency was required

Safe operation of oxygen acetylene equipment requires training, willingness to follow basic safety guidelines, and understanding some basic safety principles:

o Oxygen cylinders are pressurized to over 2500 psi and can become a projectile if knocked over. Always , always, always keep the cap screwed on when the cylinder is not secured.

o Acetylene cylinders are filled with acetylene gas compressed into a porous substance saturated with liquid acetone. They should remain upright to prevent liquid acetone from damaging the regulators and restricting gas flow. If you have to lay them down to haul them, let them stand upright for a while before using.

o Never transport or store cylinders in an enclosed space (i,e, trunk of car, or truck tool box) Welding supply stores often display pictures of cars demolished by the explosion of oxygen and acetylene cylinders hauled in the trunk of a car. They even make you sign a waiver if you want to haul cylinders yourself.

o Never use damaged equipment.

o Always open oxygen cylinders very slowly. Opening them quickly is very dangerous and can cause the regulator to explode. Yes I said explode. (if you don't believe me, just Google "regulator burnout")

o Use check valves or combination check valve/flashback arrestors to prevent reverse flow of gases and to prevent mixing of gases.

o Never use oil on any part of the equipment. Oil in the presence of pure oxygen can ignite easily

o Always bleed down the gases and back out the regulator screws when finished using the torch

There are several different manufacturers of oxyfuel equipment: Victor, Smith, and Harris are 3 of the main brands and each designs their equipment differently with certain features in mind. So the operation of each manufacturer's torches is different. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions.

The first thing to do when preparing to operate a oxyfuel torch is to inspect the equipment. Make sure the cylinders are fastened securely to prevent them from falling over.. Next, inspect the hoses to make sure they are not cracked or dry rotted. Feel the brass connectors to make sure they are all tight and ensure the cylinders valves are closed with the regulators reading zero.

If the regulators are not reading zero, one of two things is wrong: The gauge or gauges have been damaged or the previous user failed to bleed the pressure from the line. To release the pressure , open the appropriate valve on the torch and turn the regulator screw clockwise until the needle moves to zero. If the needle does not go to zero, the gauge is damaged and must not be used.

If the gauges are determined to be operating properly the next thing to do is make sure the regulator screws are backed out where you cannot feel spring pressure on them.

Here is a simple ABC, 123 checklist to use for setup and shutdown of oxy-fuel equipment.

o Wear proper Personal protective equipment i.e. shade 3 to 5 ANSI eyewear, gloves etc.

o Inspect the equipment for : Overall condition of hoses, zeroed gauges, check valves, torch, chains on bottles

o If gauges are not reading zero, purge lines to let gauges zero out

o If gauges are damaged replace them

o Open oxygen cylinder valves very slowly. (This is the most important step on this page)

o Select proper tip according to manufacturers guidelines

o Use manufacturers tip chart to determine pressure settings

o Set gauges

o Purge lines individually

o open acetylene torch valve to ¼ turn and Light torch

o Increase acetylene flame high enough to where soot disappears.

o Add oxygen to flame until blue cones define creating a neutral flame.

o Perform work

o Extinguish flame by turning off gas valves on torch (manufacturers differ on whether to turn off acetylene or oxygen first.)

o Turn off cylinders

o Purge lines

o Once gauges are zeroed, back out regulator screws

o Return torch to storage place

o Secure oxy-fuel equipment for next user

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