January 20, 1994

Today we got to start actually working with glass. First step is to gather a glob of molten glass on a blowpipe, and then roll it on a marver to give it a basic shape. A bubble is started by blowing through the pipe. What typically followed is what's shown here, using the jacks (a multi-use tool shaped like a giant tweezer) to narrow the neck. Sitting on the bench, the pipe is rolled back and forth to keep it spinning (and the soft glass even on the pipe) while the jacks is used to squeeze the glass just past the end of the pipe. This is known as jacking a bubble.