Standing inside YESCO sign company's Natomas warehouse, Jinbo Xia heated a four-foot long glass tube in an open flame called a ribbon fire. He kept the empty tube from imploding by blowing air through a thin hose running from his mouth to one end of the tube. Xia gently rushed the tube to a work table and began bending the material before the glass cooled. Working with both hands and mouth, he used a disappearing craft to form the "C" in the Crest Theatre's landmark neon sign. He later added ... Suzanne Suzanne Hurt comment-10735 2009-07-15T17:48:23Z 2009-07-15T17:48:23Z Thanks for the question, Jenn. I did get to watch Jinbo Xia add electrodes to the ends of the neon tubes and do a whole lot more as he made and repaired the units by hand. He also super-heated the old tubes using electricity and tested those units for leaks and impurities, such as the existence of mercury in the wrong tubes. Suzanne Hurt 2009-07-15T17:48:23Z Jenn Walker comment-10706 2009-07-14T20:58:12Z 2009-07-14T20:58:12Z I'm just curious, did you get to watch Xia heating the tube and adding electrodes first hand while you took pictures? The first paragraphs provide a really detailed description of the neon sign-making process, it's a fascinating read. Jenn Walker 2009-07-14T20:58:12Z Mathieu Über comment-10659 2009-07-14T05:03:18Z 2009-07-14T05:03:18Z That sign will outlast us all if we don't do something about the swarm of rascally rabid rabbits at the edge of alkali flat. Mathieu Über 2009-07-14T05:03:18Z