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Gear

Lampworking gear & accessories

A torch is only part of a working setup. These are the supporting pieces: gas and oxygen plumbing, safety gear, ventilation, bench tools, and annealing. Treat this as a checklist of categories to research, not a shopping list. We deliberately do not point you at a generic marketplace search for parts like regulators and flashback devices, where the wrong item is a safety problem rather than an inconvenience. Buy those to your torch maker's stated specification.

Disclosure: We are not currently part of any affiliate program and earn nothing from this page. The list below is an unpaid editorial checklist of what a station needs. If that changes, this notice changes with it.

Gas & connections

The plumbing between your fuel, oxygen, and torch. Match thread sizes (most lampworking torches use B fittings) and use grade T hose for propane or natural gas. Flashback protection is the one item here that is not a default purchase: premix torches need an arrestor, surface-mix makers may not require one, and a conventional arrestor must never go on an oxygen concentrator output. Check your torch maker first.

Oxygen regulator (CGA-540)Grade T twin welding hoseFlashback protection (only what your torch maker specifies)Oxygen hose Y-connector / splitter

Oxygen supply

Most lampworkers run an oxygen concentrator rather than refilling tanks, but buy the concentrator itself from a specialist or refurbished-medical-equipment supplier, not a general marketplace. Below is the plumbing that connects it to your torch.

Oxygen tubing & barb fittings

Safety & eyewear

Non-negotiable. Didymium filters the sodium flare for soft glass; boro work adds a welding shade. A CO detector and an extinguisher belong in every torch room.

Didymium glasses (soft glass)Boro shade glasses (ACE / shade 3 to 5)Carbon monoxide detectorABC fire extinguisher

Ventilation

Active exhaust pulls combustion byproducts and metal-oxide fume away from your face; remember make-up air to replace what you push out. Duct size alone does not size a system: match the fan to your hood, duct run, and static pressure, then measure the installed airflow.

Inline duct fan / blower (6")Flexible ducting (6")

Bench tools & glass

The hand tools and consumables that turn a flame into work: marvers, picks, mandrels, and the glass itself.

Graphite marver padTungsten pickStainless bead mandrelsBead releaseBorosilicate glass tubing (clear)Soft glass rods (104 COE)

Annealing

Glass that isn't annealed carries residual stress and can crack, sometimes days later. A small kiln with a digital controller lets you batch-anneal beads and small boro.

Glass annealing kilnDigital kiln controller

Specs and ratings vary by brand; always confirm thread sizes, hose grade, and oxygen output against your own torch before buying. Safety information on this site is general and not a substitute for the manufacturer's instructions or a qualified professional's advice.