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Jim's bending lessons

Hi Jim,

 >> I would be interested in hearing how some experienced benders learned.
 How did you start,  how long did it take to learn, <<

 I can tell you something about how long it took me to learn and how.  I was
fortunate enough to learn from some of the "old timers" who were still working
when I started working in neon shops.  By old timers I mean that generation of
benders that learned the trade after WWII before plastic faced signs of the
'50's and '60's were their undoing.  Most were at retirement age or near that.
All had a lot of time bending and were very experienced.  About 10 years ago
after the "old timers" were gone and before the new proliferation of "6 week
wonders" I was in considerable demand for my abilities to do difficult work. 
That was when quality meant more than price.  I specialized in rare glass work
and graphics rather than text.  I still do but no one wants to pay for it
anymore.

 I went to school for hot glass sculpture and worked out of a tank of glass
with a blowpipe.  We opened a new neon shop in the school and I was hooked
ever since. My friend Dave Ablon of Technolux fame talked me into working for
Rudi Stern in lower Manhattan and that is where I met some great benders. 
Rudi didn't know how much rare glass was worth and he had the best collection
I'd ever seen.  I'm talking OLD rare glass.  We used to work it like it was
clear.  We kept telling him how rare the stuff was.  One day he realized it
and freaked!  But it was great experience at HIS expense.  That'l teach him to
pay $6.00 / hr. <g.> I also studied glass chemistry and made my own batches of
glass so I know a bit about the properties of different glasses.

 As for how long it took me to learn,  it was one of the hardest things I'd
ever done.  I am generally a very fast learner to the point where I take it
for granted.  But the glass will beat you into submission.  It was about 2
years before I felt comfortable with bending with accuracy.  It doesn't take
long to make tubes that light but if you make glass for a profession it
requires precision.  That took me about 5 years to become very consistent to
the point that I no longer wasted glass and time.  And the glass was strong
and fit the pattern.  I now use techniques which I call " chess bending "
where you make bends up to 5 or 6 in advance so you don't bump into yourself
with the stick.  It saves having to make more splices but requires
considerable accuracy. It also staves off the boredom by making a game out of
it.

 As for the schools,  I always tell people to earn while you learn.  Even if
you make a paltry sum for wages it beats paying someone a considerable sum for
a short course.
 But I repair a lot of tubes made wrong for one reason or another.  Pay me now
or pay me later.

 If you do work for someone,  do NOT set your prices cheap just to get the job.
 You will not be efficient at bending at first and while you will get
practice, you won't make money.  This common mistake is why there are so many
used plants for sale in the Times.

 Don't be afraid to ask if you are having a problem in a particular area of
bending. Most always it is something simple that may take you a long time to
figure out through trial and error that someone else can tell you in a minute.

  E-mail from: Tom Biebel, 27-Sep-1995