I wanted to post about sample cases.

Usually neon shops will have fliers or posters of neon samples from a variety of brands such as Voltarc, EGL, or Tecnolux. Sometimes they'll even have their own that they made for customers to check out when they stop by the studio. Or you could even order one from said companies back in the day. One reason that it's a good idea to make your own is because, as we know, true color matching gets lost in print when it comes to light. Most of the color charts are close but not an exact match to, say even matching for repairs (especially whites). I have met some benders in the past that were required to make their own sample case as a part of their coursework when neon schools were around before they receive their certificate. Yes, there were certificates for neon benders. 

Here are some from those companies mentioned: 

I believe this is a great way to bring back the neon sales person sample case and really make it your own. Every case is different and every color can be customized and designed however you wish to display it. Whether it's the colors you choose, how many colors, and even the shape of the glass. it also gives the client a WOW factor if you bring it with you to your next meeting. 

You can create a diagram and print it out to keep with the case to show what colors are included or even print labels right on or near the tubes. If you have color charts as well, that can be helpful to keep in the case with your samples because there are far too many colors to fit into one case alone (or are there?)

I used my grandfathers old Samsonite suitecases to make both of mine out of respect to the craftsman in him: 

The restoration of the marquee for The Echo Theater is important to Morgan Crook, co-author of The Neon Engineer’s Notebook, glass bender, and mechanical engineer. After seeing article after article on the progress being made by Rev. David Kennedy in completing his ownership of the historically segregated theater, Morgan spotted its weary neon sign in a newspaper photograph. This spurred him and his team to pick up the phone and call The Echo Project to offer their expert neon services.

'“I thought to myself, this is not way-finding signage. This is fundamentally different. This is a beacon of hope. This is a candle in the window.” Morgan Crook

We thank the entire team who worked so passionately on this project: Alleson Buchanan, Morgan Crook, Danielle James, Katherine Humphries, Bucky Giles, David Wilson/Loretta Forde, and Kayla Kling.

To learn more about this fascinating story of restoration, click here for an interview with the team. 

Video Courtesy: Neon Speaks

As a neon bender and a music lover, my ears have always perked up at the mention of neon in song lyrics. It’s something I started to notice pretty much as soon as I began learning how to bend glass. I started keeping a list and whenever I would hear a neon song on the radio, I would jot it down with the intention that once I had enough, I would make a mix tape of them Yes, I am speaking about a cassette tape :) Well, the list grew but I never seemed to get around to making the tape, and then life happened and here we are 30 years later. But now, with the help of the internet and the advent of digital music, I have FINALLY gotten around to it. Behold the Evening Neon Mixtape!  Since the original intention was to be a cassette tape, I kept this mix about 90 minutes long (which was my tape length of choice back in the day) and it’s nicely bookended with the song Soul Kitchen.

I also made a much longer playlist of songs with neon lyrics, which can be found here. It’s currently almost 7 hours long. This is by no means an exhaustive list, as it is continually growing and a work in progress. The only rule I have is that I have to actually LIKE the song in order to add it (because, you know, I DO want to listen to it) so you won’t find Neon Moon by Brooks and Dunn. :)

 Do you have a favorite “neon” song? Is there one missing from my list that you think I should know about? Let me know in the comments.

Every neon bender should have some sort of bench weight in their toolbox. It comes in handy when you are splicing with your hand torch and you need to hold the piece that you are working on in place. It’s also helpful when you are tipping off mercury traps from processed units. There are all sorts of different things a bender might use for a weight. I have an assortment of metal pieces that I use, and until recently I was using a sandbag weight I made a long time ago using a piece of nonasbestos tied up with rubber band. It’s been leaking sand all over my bench for months now and starting to unravel beyond repair. Time for something new!

I thought it would be fun to make one using one of those heat-resistant gloves, like an Ove Glove (as seen on TV!) I already use an Ove Glove sometimes when I am bending glass, like when I am trying to make a bend that requires my hand be very close to the torch flame, or sometimes I’m just too impatient to wait for something to cool down if I need to hold it in order to keep working on the piece.

Everything I used to make this I already had around my house, the only thing I needed to buy was the glove. I found mine on eBay for 12.99 a pair. I just searched for “cotton, heat resistant oven glove”, and found several options.

There are lots of things you can use to fill your weight. Birdshot and sand are both popular options but I didn’t have either one of those and I wanted to use something I had on hand, so I rummaged through my kitchen cabinets and found some expired popcorn and long-grain white rice.

Using the popcorn, I just began by pouring it into the glove, pausing periodically to push the kernels down into the fingertips using a pencil. Once all the fingers were nicely packed the glove was just about full, I sewed the glove opening closed using a needle and thread. Because the glove material is so thick, you’ll need something heavy-duty. I used embroidery thread and a darning needle.

 That’s it! It is not super heavyweight (around 1 ¼ lbs) but it’s heavy enough for making splices on the bench. I think for tipping off mercury traps I’d prefer something a little heavier, so might use birdshot on the next one.

UPDATE: After using my popcorn-filled helping hand for a few weeks I decided that it really isn't heavy enough and doesn't serve me well. I refilled it using BBs and it's so much better now! I weighed each glove for comparison: popcorn-filled glove = 1.3 lbs vs. BB-filled glove = 4.1 lbs. 

What kind of bending weight to you use? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.