So...

i've been blowing for six years now and in the name of laying down some skills for the future when I open my shop, I want to pick up some skills in furnace building, kiln building etc...i know a little (welding, laying brick) but we're not talking nearly enough to have any degree of self-sufficiency with my own (future) equipment. Especially - electrical wiring, gas and oxygen assemblies, ventilation, refractory materials, comparitive advantages - Nada. Zilch.

...i know a lot of people pick up these skills through working in shops, but the guys i work with here in Seattle (three or four different studios) tend to need to get those repairs done as soon as possible when something goes down (can't blame em!) but in reality this translates into an unwillingness to waste time showing me how to do this stuff. You can make the argument that over the long run it would help them out if I knew more, but try telling that to someone who's panicking because the furnace just blew a rod and there are orders piling up!...in any case, I've brought it up and been gently rebuffed.

I own and have read Halem's "Glass Notes", but there is an assumption that the reader has a basic set of knowledge and skills which I don't possess. I'd be pretty ill-advised to follow the easy assembly instructions without a more comprehensive understanding of WHAT and WHY.

Any advice? How have other people here picked up their glass tech skills? Are there any existing programs geared towards this, or any university programs that include this as a major component? I know Pratt here in Seattle did a furnace-building workshop, but $1500 for a three or four-day workshop seemed a little too steep for me, and besides, I need more than just a few days.