C'mon, Let's Do The Twist...

This is the one most important thing my students learn in the Beginning Lampwork class. Latticino, twistie, !@#$%... whatever you want to call it. While "latticino" is not the proper name for this type of cane, many use the term interchangeably. I think this particular part of the process in glass work can teach a new lampworker the most about understanding how glass behaves and how you can control it with heat, observation and patience.

Supplies (2 color twisty)

Tweezers
Jar of water
2 metal punties, 1/8” mandrels work great for this

2 glass rods of one color, one will be used as the core rod and the other will be an application rod

1 glass rod of second color, used as an application rod

Basic Information

Two things that are critical for successful flamework, in general, are your location in the flame and reading the heat.

Working areas of the flame:

Heat scale:

This is an approximation of what I’m talking about when I say…

NOTE: This scale relates to the glow in the glass rather than the color of the glass itself.

Procedure

1. Heat two rods of the same color in the flame.
The core rod should be heated in the back-flame so that it does not become soft.
The application rod should be heated in the mid-flame area and dipped deep so that a length of approximately 1” becomes soft like toothpaste.
2. When the application rod starts to droop, briefly heat the area on the core rod that the application glass will be applied to.
3. Come out of the fire, rotate the heated section of the core rod to the top, dip the application rod in the flame one more time and apply the softened application glass to the core rod. Let gravity help you. Avoid leaving air space between them.
4. Flame cut the application rod off by heating the application rod close to the end of the core rod. Pull to slightly thin the application rod so that it will heat faster and separate more quickly.

Side View	End View

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 on the opposite side of the core rod. Your glass should look like this.

Side View	End View

6. Pick up the second color and repeat steps 1 through 5 so that you have a structure that looks like this.

Side View	End View

7. Pick up a punty and heat the tip until orange while heating the tip of the glass structure. Hold the glass at an angle to the flame so that the heat is focused on the tip.

8. Place the punty into the center of the end. Hold for a moment while it sets.

Side View	End View

9. Flame cut the core rod off and attach the second punty to the center of that side (repeat steps 7 & 8).

10. Go back to the cooler end of the gather and heat at an angle so that the heat runs up into the center. Alternate sides until the gather maintains a mid-orange heat color.

11. Once the gather maintains a mid-orange heat color, begin to heat the center of the gather. Remember to rotate the gather at all times. The goal now is to melt all the valleys out of the gather and make it a smooth, football-like shape.

Some tips for getting the gather ready to pull:

a. Do not stop rotating the gather. Whether in or out of the flame, continue to rotate.
b. Take your time. Patience is a virtue.
c. Rotate the gather slowly and watch the heat color.
d. If the heat color becomes too yellow, come out of the flame and continue to rotate the gather. Allow the skin to cool to dark orange before going back into the flame.
e. Do not pull or push the punties. Molten glass is a liquid and wants to behave like a fluid. So, it will try to become a sphere, pulling itself in. Hold the punties gently and allow them to pull in with the glass.
f. The gather may begin to twist before you are ready to pull. Watch for this and untwist as it occurs.
g. Remain calm. If your glass feels like it's out of control, simply come out of the flame and let it cool to dark orange before going back in.

12. When the surface of the gather is smooth, heat to a consistent mid-orange heat color. You are now ready to pull!
13. While still rotating the gather, come out of the flame and watch the color drop into the dark orange range before twisting. This will take 3 to 5 seconds.
14. Slowly begin twisting the gather, watching what it is doing. If it is too molten, stop twisting for a second, then begin again. After the twist has begun and looks good, start to pull as you twist. Feel the glass!

15. Troubleshooting:

a. Pulling too fast – latticino is thin and the twist is stretched out
b. Twisting too fast – twist is too tight, latticino may become too thin in places and lumpy
c. Pulling too slow – latticino is too thick, lumpy
d. Twisting too slow – lumps, not twisted enough.

16. When you have your gather pulled and twisted, flame cut the punty off the end held by your dominant hand.
17. Dip tweezers in water and grab the other end of the latticino at the punty and break off.
18. After allowing the cane to cool, cut it into workable lengths with a nipper or by flame cutting.