Lead-free (left) vs. Lead (right)

I wrote a blog post for the Neon Makers Guild, which is an organization I co-founded with several neon cohorts, dedicated to preserving the craft of neon tube bending. This post is geared toward beginners in the field, but seasoned benders and even those of you who don’t know much about neon at all may find it enjoyable. It talks about lead-free tubes vs. old leaded tubing, how to tell the difference between the two types, and why I suggest to NOT use lead tubing to practice with if you are a beginner to neon. Click here to read it!

Here is an example showing one difference between the two different types of tubing. In this case, using clear neon tubing filled with Argon Hg, with lead-free around the outer edge and tubing made with lead used in the center, you can see how the lead in the glass affects the color.