Should You Buy A Dab Rig Made With Handspun Glass or Lathe Glass?

Buy A Dab Rig

So you go to an online head shop to buy a dab rig, and you see dozens of dab rigs. Some are made of glass, and some are made of other materials. When you choose glass rigs, you find out that some are made of handspun glass while others are made of lathe glass.

Confused, yet?

Most people are. So, we thought we would give you all the information about the two most used types of glass and which one suits you.

When the more extended straight tube section is being built, it is essential to keep the glass constantly rotating in the torch’s flame for the process of glassblowing. Two of the most common ways the glassblower uses is to make the glass by handspun or lathe-made glass.

In making the handspun glass, you have to rotate the piece of glass in the flame using your hands. On the other hand, lathe-made glass is created when the artist wants to change the rotation speed by attaching the mechanical lathe.

You can figure out the difference between the handspun and lathe-made glass by looking at it. It is a popular topic among some people whether it is better to use the Handspun glass or the one spun by machine.

Let’s find out all the nitty-gritty details of both glasses and which would be best for the dab rig. But before understanding them, we have to know about the glassblowing process used to make the handspun glass and lathe-made glass.

Read along to find out more.

What is Glass Blowing? 

Glass blowing is a technique used to shape glass. Glass blowing techniques have been used for a long time. In this technique, the molten glass is inflated using the blowpipe, creating a glass bubble. Now, you can mould this glass bubble into glassware for different purposes.

Firstly, we need to place the glass into the furnace, which is required to heat it and provide temperature up to 2000 degrees, making it malleable. The glass is then collected by putting one base of the blowpipe into the furnace and running it across the molten glass until it forms a “gob” of glass.

Rolling the glass

A flat metal slab is referred to as a marver and is used to roll the glass. With the help of the marver, we can control the shape and temperature of the glass.

Adding Color

Nobody likes a simple plain glass, right? After rolling the glass onto the marver, we can add colour by fusing it with the coloured glass, which mixes to give it a beautiful colour instantly due to the high temperature.

Blowing the glass

Finally, this is the step that gives the final shape and size. This is done by blowing into the blowpipe, which creates a bubble of glass. While doing that, you have to place it on the stand. The artists have to rotate it and also blow into the blowpipe at the same time.

Characteristics of Handspun Glass 

As discussed earlier, the handspun glass is made by rotating the piece of glass in the torch’s flame by hand. Generally, the fundamental difference between the two is that the handspun is headier than the lathe-made glass. The straight tube section of the handspun glass isn’t straight most of the time, and the length is also short compared to the lathe-made glass.

If we talk about the angles in the handspun glass, they are more rounded and swollen. This looks nice as it is difficult to produce many of them. The process of diffusion is better in the handspun glass than the lathe-made glass. It is due to the simple design the handspun glass has, unlike the lathe-made glass, which has a complex structure that makes the diffusion a little complicated.

Moreover, the handspun glass is not as expensive as the lathe-made glass. You can get it from most places as it Is common and sold more often than the lathe-made glass because of its low cost. Secondly, there is a high overhead cost to make the lathe made glass which includes high electricity cost. Apart from that, it also requires ample space in the glass blowing studio. Without a doubt, the handspun glass can have a very lovely balanced base if an expert artist makes it.

Characteristics of Lathe-made glass

The lathe-made glass spins according to how fast or slows the artist wants it to turn. In the making of the lathe-made glass, you have to attach the glass to a mechanical lathe. Some of the advantages of lathe-made glass include the sharp, crisp lines and angles. Both the downstem and the percolators are aligned perfectly.

Making the lathe glass is mechanical. It offers excellent sizing and spacing, which can not be achieved with a handspun glass. Apart from that, we shouldn’t miss that it has a nicely well-balanced and thick flared base. Are you wondering about the cons of getting a lathe-made dab rig? Well, the answer is that there are no disadvantages of lathe-made glass. However, if you want to get a cheap dab rig in Canada, you have to go for the ones made of handspun glass.

Conclusion

Now, you must be familiar with both of the methods used to make the glass. Both of them have their pros and cons. If you want to get something that is not expensive, you have to go with the handspun glass. The budget might be the most significant deciding factor. Nevertheless, you can get good dab rigs from both of these glasses.

The Lathe-made glass is expensive because it takes up a lot of space in the glassblowing studio, and also it consumes more electricity. That means that the monthly expenses are more for the artist who is making the lathe-made glass. On the other hand, the Handspun glass doesn’t take up much space in the glassblowing studio and doesn’t use much electricity. That’s the reason why it is cheaper than lathe-made glass.

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