№ 07 Studio docs

Describe a studio through its components.

A hot shop is a system — gas, air, power, heat, exhaust, and the controls that tie it together. Documenting yours as a scene sketch, an electrical one-line, a piping & instrumentation (P&ID) diagram, and a bill of materials with real part numbers makes it far easier to fix, order, insure, and teach. You don't draw any of it by hand: describe your studio to an AI and have it render the diagrams and the parts list. Then publish it here so the next person can find the part in one search.

Safety first. These are schematic documentation, not engineering drawings. Gas and high-current electrical work must be designed, installed, and inspected by licensed professionals to your local code. Mark anything uncertain as TBD — the examples do.

Publish your studio →Estimate running costs →

Publish your studio sends your sketch, diagrams and parts list to us for review; Estimate running costs opens the Studio Cost Calculator.

01 Worked example

Raging Buffalo Glass, on paper.

Generated from a plain-language description (the prompts below). Schematic, not to scale; unknown pressures and ampacities marked TBD.

Electrical one-line diagram of a glass studio: main breaker, panelboard, annealer branches, and a furnace feeder to an SCR and SiC elements.
Fig. 1 — Electrical one-line: service → panel → annealers + furnace (SCR → SiC).
Piping and instrumentation diagram: natural gas, propane, oxygen, air, combustion air, and exhaust runs with valves and instruments.
Fig. 2 — P&ID: gas / air / exhaust with valves, regulators, and instruments.

02 Prompts

Four prompts to get you started.

Copy a prompt, fill in the bracketed parts for your studio, and paste it into your AI of choice. Start with the scene, then the diagrams, then the parts list. Each Copy button puts that prompt on your clipboard.

1 · Describe the spaceDraw a schematic top-down floor plan (not to scale) of my glass studio. The space is [24 × 24 ft]. The glory hole is in [one corner], with forced/combustion air along [the back wall] from a [squirrel-cage blower] in [a closet outside], plus [natural gas from the city]. The furnace is [to the right of the glory hole], with [4 × SiC elements] wired through breakers to an [SCR] controlled by a [Novus PID] with a [K-type thermocouple]; [160 lb] crucible; crucible access via a [pneumatic lift] fed by [a small quiet compressor in the opposite corner]. To the right are [three annealers: a 40″ coil unit on a 60 A breaker and two Paragons on 60 A breakers with mercury 60 A relays, all on one Novus controller]. Ventilation above the hot equipment is a [large exhaust motor behind the utility wall]. The bench is [between glory hole and furnace, facing the equipment]; the marver is [3′×2′, ~5′ right of the bench]; viewing area [~8′ back at the wall]. Label each device; show gas / air / power / exhaust in different colors; mark unknowns TBD. Output one clean SVG.
2 · Electrical one-lineFrom the scene above, produce an electrical one-line diagram as an SVG: service and main breaker, panelboard, each annealer branch (breaker → mercury contactor → coils), and the furnace feeder ([100 A] feeder → subpanel → two [60 A] breakers → SCR → door interlock → SiC elements). Put amperages on each run; label unknown ampacities/wire sizes as "TBD, verify with an electrician." Include a legend.
3 · Piping & instrumentation (P&ID)Produce a P&ID as an SVG for the fuel/air/exhaust systems: natural gas (city → meter → regulator → shutoff → glory hole & furnace burners), propane and oxygen if present (tanks → regulators → torch station), compressed air, combustion/forced air (blower → burners), and exhaust (hoods → duct → exhaust motor → outside). Use valve/regulator/instrument symbols; color each medium; mark pressures TBD where unknown; include a legend.
4 · Bill of materials (real part numbers)Build a bill of materials table with columns: System · Component · Manufacturer · Part number · Spec · Where to buy · Notes. Include controls (PID, SCR, thermocouples, relays/contactors), heating elements, blowers/motors, gas regulators and valves, and safety interlocks. Use the REAL manufacturer part numbers I give you (read off the nameplates); where I don't have one, leave it blank and note what to check. Do not invent part numbers.

Reference: common hot-shop parts & where to find real numbers · these prompts as plain text · the SVG generator.

03 Publish it

A shared library of how studios are actually built.

Got a description, diagrams, and a BOM? Add them under The Directory → Add to the database → Studio. Everything is reviewed before it appears; contact details stay private.

Publish your studio →Estimate running costs

Publish your studio opens the submission form; your entry is reviewed before it appears.

What a published studio carries

  • i.A scene sketch: where the heat, air, gas and people are
  • ii.An electrical one-line with amperages, unknowns marked TBD
  • iii.A P&ID for gas, air and exhaust, with the valves and instruments
  • iv.A bill of materials with real manufacturer part numbers