Thanks Ian.
I thought it was a terrificly informative thread .
I would stress the part about wearing eye protection. Not worth losing vision over.
I've cut my own brass
slides from pipe with good results and minimal labor.
Having worked with a few bottles in my time I must say glass is far trickier and requires more trial and error.
Its kind of amusing to be sticking your pinky into empty wine bottle necks at dinner parties. I suppose if the bottles aren't empty you may not be invited back.
Also, after using hand blown glass slides now for a while, I'm quite spoiled by the weight. Even the heaviest 'bottle glass' seems lightweight in comparison. I suspect once you've moved on to hand blown glass you don't go back.