Anybody tried turning glass??

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tazhunter0

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Thinking about trying to turn stacked glass. I know I would not be able to use my reg tools on it and would have to use emery cloth or sand paper to shape it. Has anybody tried this before.

Gloves will be worn on this project.

Thanks
Chris
 
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Any way you approach it, you will make glass dust. This can be minimized by using a wet method.

WEAR EYE AND LUNG protection!!!!!!!!!!

I COULD give you several suggestions, but if you injure yourself, you could sue me. So, suffice to say, if you don't know what MIGHT work, DON'T attempt it!!!!!!!
 
ed4copies said:
Any way you approach it, you will make glass dust. This can be minimized by using a wet method.

WEAR EYE AND LUNG protection!!!!!!!!!!

I COULD give you several suggestions, but if you injure yourself, you could sue me. So, suffice to say, if you don't know what MIGHT work, DON'T attempt it!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Never been sue happy here. This idea came to me this morning so i figured I would ask.
My mom does stain glass for a hobby and got asked to do a show. Going to make the pen for her to use at the show.
I'll post some pictures when I get it done. Going to take my time on it to get it right.
 
How are you going to turn glass?

You'd have to have diamond tools in order to cut it, and it's brittle as all get out, and broken edges are so sharp they'll cut you to the bone in milli-seconds...

Are NUTS?!!! :eek:
 
yes, I have.

Not an easy task even using diamond grinding stones.

I've also tried the opposite method, building up glass in layers using enamel. Still not an easy task as you have to have everything just right or it simply shatters.

Then there is the fact that anything you can do in glass (looks wise) can be done in resin for the most part. I'm speaking of opaque and translucent colors here, not surface treatments such as iridized or Dichro. Not really worth the trouble.
 
Easy enough sandblast the center hole, if you do it before you stack them. I have no idea how you would do the outside shape.
 
Okay, lets assume you figure out a way to drill it, shape it, and keep the mess down to a safe and acceptable level. The one thing that keeps jumping back into my mind is the number of times my pen has hit the ground. I end up dropping it at least once a week. With glass, that is a whole different thing than with wood or acrylic.

I think I would look at doing a faux stained glass pen with colored resin. Build it up like a segmented wood pen with dark wood in between the different colors to mimic the metal.
 
If you're worried about dropping damage, you can have the final blank tempered... that gives it a little robustness, but mainly it ensures it breaks into soft-edged pieces rather than jagged stuff.
 
Early in my career I was a lens maker. The only way to reliably core drill, cut, grind, polish glass was with a water/ water-soluble oil coolant and diamond cutters embedded in various metal binders.

I would never, never, ever, ever try to cut glass any other way. Sure it can be done, but some people still sand blast with silica beach sand:confused:

Eyes and lungs are too important to me.
 
Well nothing is written in stone or glass that I will be doing this pen. I am wanting to do this because the show she is doing is all glass art. ( stain glass, etc. ). Plus it would be very different pen from what I normally do. ( 80% antler and 20% wood/corian )

I would like somebody to explain wax turning to me. I'm still new to turning compared to most on this forum and have not heard about it before.
 
tazhunter0 said:
I would like somebody to explain wax turning to me. I'm still new to turning compared to most on this forum and have not heard about it before.
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Many forms of jewelry and glass art use a process called lost wax casting. Jewelers wax, or machinable wax is carved into the positive of the desired piece. A plaster like mold is made of the wax which is then melted out - thus the term lost wax. For metal jewelry, molten silver, gold or other precious metals can be poured into the mold and will form an exact replicate of the original wax. For glass casting, powdered glass is poured into the mold, heated and fused.
 
BRobbins629 said:
tazhunter0 said:
I would like somebody to explain wax turning to me. I'm still new to turning compared to most on this forum and have not heard about it before.
Click to expand...

Many forms of jewelry and glass art use a process called lost wax casting. Jewelers wax, or machinable wax is carved into the positive of the desired piece. A plaster like mold is made of the wax which is then melted out - thus the term lost wax. For metal jewelry, molten silver, gold or other precious metals can be poured into the mold and will form an exact replicate of the original wax. For glass casting, powdered glass is poured into the mold, heated and fused.
Click to expand...

If you USE this method, you might borrow a technique from the lampwork community. If you first check temperatures involved, you could put a mandrel through the center to make your space for the refill. Do be certain to read up (or maybe your mom already knows) on the techniques to cool the glass--too quick and it will break.

Good luck, it probably CAN be done. Dawn remembers an old "kit" that was sold for this purpose. We never tried it.

FWIW,
Ed & Dawn (20 yrs of stained glass)
 
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I used Diamond Dust crushed glass as inlay in a Cholla blank. Touched it with the tip of a tool I had already ruined (just to see what would happen) and the HSS just dissolved. Low grit sandpaper worked, so did old files my uncle used as a stone mason. I managed to ruin the tube during end milling and haven't quite figured out a fix for that...yet. Honestly not sure even I would try actual pieces of glass though.
 
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