Review: Jim Moore Glass Tools
Review: Jim Moore Tools
Web Site: ToolsForGlass.com
All photos © by Jim Moore, used with permission
Clicking on each photo will open up a new window with a larger view.
I met Jim Moore in October 2006 while in Port Townsend taking glass classes with Andrea Guarino-Slemmons and Michael Barley. I was also fortunate enough to tour the machine shop where these tools are made! Jim truly knows about tools and various metals. This review will cover the presses and glass shears that I have used and purchased for my own glasswork.
Prior to this trip, I was not a big user of hand tools for glass. I make most all of my beads with a tweezer masher, stump shaper, dental tool, poker and a couple of pliers from Harbor Freight. Nothing fancy. I have tried table-top bead presses before, but quickly became frustrated with breaking bead release and the "fussiness" of having just the right amount of glass on the mandrel to get the desired final shape.
When I saw Jim’s tools, I loved the fact that they are art in themselves — so beautiful to look at and incredible craftsmanship! After trying out several of Jim’s tools at Andrea’s studio, I became a tool user convert! Jim’s tools work much like my beloved tweezer masher, and any size of mandrel and any amount of glass works! I can also easily "re-mash" beads after adding design details. The additional glass (from the design) is easily accommodated by the press, and the final shape is beautiful.
Additionally, if you have a torch-mounted marver, you can slide just one side of the press (i.e. the spiral press) to the glass for a design just on one side or offset from the other side of your glass. Versatile!
I had only cut glass a few times when I was starting out with glass in 2003. It was frustrating, because I was just using a cheap pair of garden cutters, and the glass kept slipping away from the tool. Jim’s shears grabbed and cut the glass so well that I made longer cuts that I thought I would! It cuts hot glass so smoothly! I am now exploring several new directions with my beads using the shears…
Both the presses and the shears fit easily into my hands. They aren’t cumbersome – they are easy to hold and use. One suggestion: wash the tool with dishwashing detergent (take care to dry thoroughly, especially the shears) prior to use. Otherwise, they have an oily residue from the machining that can spot the beads a bit.
In summary: these tools are well crafted and well worth the money! As a non-tool type of person, I LOVE my Jim Moore tools, and love the new directions that I can explore with my glass work.
Please visit Jim’s web site for more info or to contact him with tool questions. Tip: the lampworking tools are new to his site, and photos have yet to be added (as of 11/10/06) click here for lampwork tool ordering info.
