Category: Glass

Who was the first to use glass on glass joints?

Scientists.   The ground glass joint has been around for nearly 100 years. At some time someone in this industry decided to add a joint to the glass, moving away from a slide downstem with a slider bowl and grommet.  

how do you explain a reticello or RATACHELLO?

Mostly with an image.  You can see more at our terms. Basically it is stringers that are pulled and lain inside the glass in a criss-cross pattern.  

What is the most difficult percolator to make?

The one that has yet to be made. Artistic perc would be the hardest we feel as a lot of time and artwork has to be put into it.  Then it is placed inside the rig.  The bigger and more complex the perc, the harder it is to make.

How are fab eggs made?

Very carefully. This is a very complicated piece.  For the top or bottom, half a tube with a bubble is made.  Then the top part of the bubble is let to fall into the bubble making a half bubble.  Then holes are pushed to join the two parts.  This makes like a swiss cheese effect …

How is chipstacking done?

Millies are made and then they care cut into small chips.  The chips are then laid out and melted together.   Then the “sheet” of glass it turned into a tube. Or each chip can be lain on a tube and then build a tube  

What is the proper way to explain a color pull?

On the basics we line a tube with rods of color.   Then we melt the color into the clear tube and then pull the glass.  This is a line tubing pull. Vac Stack Stringer Color Method There is also a color pull dip.   This is where we have molten glass and dip a tube of …

How is a mushroom implosion done?

Mushroom imposition are done a few ways. One way is to make a 2-4mm stringer.  On the end make a round part, this becomes the mushroom head.  Then you push this into a clear glob of glass. Another way is to lay a dot and let the glass roll over it making a stem.  Then …

Are there different grades of borosilicate glass? Does it depend on the amount of silica in the glass?

There is only one type of borosilicate that we know of.  There are many manufacturers and they all act slightly different. German – Shott USA – Old Pyrex and US 33 The Czech Republic –  Simax Chinese – Indian –

can hotter temps effect glass color?

Yes, this is how the thermal chromatic bangers work.  Cadmium based glass like red, yellow, green and orange all change color when they get hot enough. Red – Black Yellow – Orange Orange – Red/Black Green – Black

What is the melting point of borosilicate?

See our Blog on Terms and Techniques The softening pointis 820 °C ( 1,510 °F )