Fin molds

[John Riepma]

Does anyone have any experience with the Jim Moore fin molds with the interchangeable fins? I'm considering buying one and would like to know if anyone has used them and an opinion of how they work and hold up, i.e. do the fins warp over time, how difficult is it to change over etc. I've worked with one or seen one up close at another studio or in his booth at GAS so I never got a chance to actually kick the tires on one.

[Pete VanderLaan]

Your gather needs to be perfect , upright and centered when you use it. So, operator experience required. I use Steinerts these days when ever I do this sort of stuff, which is really rare. Michael Christman had some of these things for sale in Arkansas a few years back. They looked pretty rusty.

[Jordan Kube]

Jerry Kung makes some really excellent inside and outside fin molds in several sizes. You can probably get a hold of him via instagram @jlinhsienkung or facebook. You can scroll down his instagram profile to see some of them.

[David Russell]

The jim moore fins hold up well and are sturdy. Easy and relatively quick swap out. Lift off the retaining ring and the ribs slide out easily.

[Rich Simmons]

I've never liked them.
What are you going for? - Pumpkin's, there's better options out there. The normal fin molds, I use for Venetian and are just fine I have Jim's "8 Facet
3-7/8" tall x 3-1/2" wide at top and 5-1/2" wide at base"

I don't think the detachables are worth the $$. My 2 cents...

[Art Freas]

I got them with the shop when we bought the shop. The are nice if you are a glassblower, not for make your own pumpkin events. The comments about being centered and having the correct gather are right on, those things matter with this mold since there is nothing to stop uneven blowing between the fins. The flexibility to change the number of fins and the shape of the fins is really nice. The fins are holding up fine. The are easy to change over so no drama there.

[Paul Thompson]

Originally Posted by John Riepma

Does anyone have any experience with the Jim Moore fin molds with the interchangeable fins... .

They work fine. It's possible to blow too much and get wrinkles on the inside. I use them for merletto (sp?). The fact that it doesn't always turn out is more a reflection on my meager skills.

[Rich Simmons]

Originally Posted by Paul Thompson

They work fine. It's possible to blow too much and get wrinkles on the inside. I use them for merletto (sp?). The fact that it doesn't always turn out is more a reflection on my meager skills.

I find the price too high. If you have even meager skills at welding you can save a lot of money. Meager skill can also be attributed to a host of glass blowing failures, we all start out meager - practice then crash, practice then wonky, character building.. .

I made something like this for under $50 What bugs me about about Jim's molds is that they come with one set (Straight, etc) if you want different shapes it's another $200 for each set.
I don't know about you, but what Pete spoke about setup is everything, and he said is spot on, only thing he didn't mention is (and I don't know if this is right or wrong) technique is you gotta push the bubble waay down the piece and keep those sides overly thick.