Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Making Scientific Glassware

Chemetix - 29-8-2020 at 16:24

I'm going to try and get more posts on here on how to make your own glassware and glassblowing in general. I hope others will also post their progress and insights. It's a niche craft that takes years to get good at it and there are fewer and fewer new glassblowers who make scientific glass each year. Home based self education is where I started and could only ask a glassblower a few pertinent questions when I got stuck. Perhaps this can inspire a new generation to keep the skill alive.

There are plenty of youtube videos out there and there are facebook communities dedicated to lampworking and scientific glass as well.

A good place to start is the many societies of scientific glassblowers, and their facebook pages are a good source of knowledge and resources.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/130045015024
https://www.facebook.com/ASGSGlass/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1536707106625645

Some youtube vids to start with:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYiZok85ZbCKIJJXImiLsGw/vid...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6xJqb5C1JFE-nLQH6H9ETw/fea...


aromaticfanatic - 30-8-2020 at 01:06

Damn. I find glassblowing cool already but I saw a video of a 4 necked RBF being made and it was so cool. I always find it crazy how practically all of my glassware was made by hand. I think my 3 necked flask was made by a machine though. It seems a bit too perfect. My other RBF are definitely hand made but hold up really well.

I hope people keep up glassblowing. It's a really cool art form and a useful one as well. It's just pretty niche which has its issues sometimes.

Heptylene - 30-8-2020 at 11:58

Glassblowing is on my todo list, it's so incredibly useful to be able to make your own custom glassware. So far I've been using a small propane/oxygen torch with disposable oxygen cylinders. Each oxygen cylinder is 100 liters at STP, so it gets expensive fast. I've mostly been playing around, I made a custom thermometer adapter for my still head and a gas discharge tube with a couple glass-to-metal seals from my deceased addition funnel. Fun stuff!

Dr.Bob - 30-8-2020 at 16:36

If anyone is interested, there is a guy in NC selling a glassblowing setup, including 2 oxygen generators, on Craigslist. The 2 oxygen generators are like the things they sell to old people for medical oxygen, but much larger and must generate a huge amount with 2 of them, and they represent much of the cost. But cheaper than buying cylenders of oxygen. I'd buy it if I had somewhere to put it, and more time to learn how. I was thrilled that I was able to unstick some stuck joints at work recently using a Meeker burner and a lot of force.

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/art/d/hillsborough-lamp-worki...

arkoma - 31-8-2020 at 17:27

@chemetix. watched you videos. The craft reminds me of auto body work---a skill,art, love and aptitude rolled up. I quite enjoyed them.

Morgan - 31-8-2020 at 18:30

A quartz flask method.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VT9cmyIB61c

pneumatician - 2-9-2020 at 09:16

the tools for glassblowing are very expensive... you need a lot of space too...

In Catalonia, Ireland... you can find some co. making repairs... in scientific glass.
Now I asked for a repair, a flat flange dn 100. to cut and paste a male joint cost me 202€ with taxes.



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metalresearcher - 2-9-2020 at 11:07

Quote: Originally posted by Morgan  
A quartz flask method.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VT9cmyIB61c


Amazing ! This guy is very talented, but at the end of the video I see that he wears only goggles and no face shield. I think the radiant heat of the 1700 C glass would burn his face ?