ground glass joint bit

[STROKER]

has anyone made their own ground joints?
i see abr has bits for $90 and figured it may be a worthy investment in stuff you just dont want to see the color of a factory joint in the piece.

let me know your thoughts, jay

[skip]

There are tube companies that grind out the holes on tubes using a diamond bit. I am planning on gettin the setup but I believe a decent bit will run you more like $200 and they only last so long before they need to be re coated. Thats one of the reasons I haven't got one yet (the $200 price tag).

[goldmanglass]

for a couple dollars id much rather buy a joint then have to waste time and energy and get the shop full of glass dust.

[skip]

I think he's talking about grinding a finished piece so a male ground joint will fit into the piece and not need a female attached to it.

[STROKER]

for a couple dollars id much rather buy a joint then have to waste time and energy and get the shop full of glass dust.

i am talking about using them on pieces where i dont want to see clear or any factory gong joint color. i guess more of the high end art side where the joint is almost indistinguishable.

as for glass dust. it should be minimal as you would do this with water to preserve the bit and keep everything cool while doing it.

my thinking is that you make the hole a little smaller than you need then drill out the rest with a wet grind set up.

even the one at abr will probably make 50 or more joints before the bit is burnt out. more than pay for itself for what i want. i guess i will most likely be the sucker to find out as i just dont like clear gong joints.

later, jay

[nicko0]

what i was told by a company that sells the more expensive bit it can be dressed many times and should last many hours of use. when dressed it gets a little smaller but the angle is the same so it still fits. the water feeding chuck was like 300$ but not necessary, they said alot of people set it up so the entire area of the glass piece being worked is underwater. dressing stones are inexpensive and it doesnt seem unusual for individuals to dress their own bits.

i havent asked abr about their bit (is it coated? with what and what method. is it solid abrasive, what material, if these ques. cant be answered, who is the manufacturer.

i have really enjoyed how helpful a few of the glass tool and material suppliers have been.

[Islandglass Man]

Tooling and grinding ground joints is a skill that needs lots of practice. It can be very dangerous to your hands if your technique is not correct.

We use to tool and ground most every size of ground joints in the scientific glass shop that I use to work in. Until the big glass houses started making them so cheap it wasn't worth make your own. Maybe someday I will have a chance to teach these skill to the art world the skill should be pasted on.

Be carful

Bear

[themoch]

check out this thread:

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29099

specifically posts:

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=461885&postcount=8

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=461886&postcount=9

[JLF]

That bit will last a long time if it is used properly and well cared for. With what you are thinking, it will be difficult to line up the hole of your work perfectly straight with the bit. This will cause problems. Including destroying your whole project.

Another problem is the ground joints are first tooled at a bench by hand using straight rollers and a special tool coated in aquadag (this tool is referenced by themoch), These are essentially ground glass joints that have not yet been ground. The key thing is they already have the taper of the joint so when the bit goes in it is simply grinding the surface and not really drilling much of anything at all. The un-ground joints are also still on straight tubes so it is easy to keep the joint perfectly staright and centered while it is being ground.

If you wanted custom joints the best approach would be to make some custom tube the same diameter and roughly the same wall weight as a standard tube for making joints. Then make the joint blank using the special tool covered in aquadag. Then grinding just like normal joints are made.

This is a realtively large investment in new tools, time, self training, and materials.

Another method which is more practical is to make your custom piece with the proper flare and taper. Then take an already existing male or female joint and some wet grinding compound. Coat your custom piece of work and the pre-existing ground joint with the wet grinding compound and twist them back and forth inside of each other. After a few minutes the un-ground surface will be ground. This is also a good way to fix ground joints that don't seal properly. I would only use that original ground joint maybe a few times as each time it will also be ground smaller very slightly.

Hope any of that may help.

[STROKER]

i was thinking it would be hard but i like the idea of no noticable joint .

for some reason i can get the links that andrew put up. says i dont have permission?

i am thinking the way you are with prepping the blank in the color i want and making the ground joint on it ahead of time. that way i dont risk loosing an entire piece i am working on.

i have an old small lathe that i am gonna chuck up a piece of graphite on and make a taper on end.ill do it outside since it is so messy. and yes i know graphite dust is hard on the machine so i will work in front of ginat fan and blow it off into the air. once i have the profile close, i can build the color i want on it and use that as my blank to drill the taper. then i am gonna use the bit to get the final taper/shape/profile i need.

im gonna use my drill press and a jig to hold the blank at 90 degrees and really i dont see it being all that hard to do.

i have played around with some other diamond bits i have from my foredom and it cuts glass pretty quick and doesnt seem too hard to be accurate. imho.

compared to some of the shapes i grind in wood, this is a piece of cake. once again, imho.

now i have to see if it will indeed work for me.

will look up aquadog in another search since i cant see the post from mr.moch.

thanks guys, jay

[JLF]

331 stroker - sounds good. Some octogonal (or hexagonal) reamers are already standard taper. Maybe you could use that? Let us know how progress goes!

[HOSS]

I hear there's a guy in California (can't remember the name offhand) who will make you ground joints of whatever size out of any color you want. Never bought from him myself but there's a glass co. here in town that uses him regularly so I could probably find out more details if you're interested.

[STROKER]

I hear there's a guy in California (can't remember the name offhand) who will make you ground joints of whatever size out of any color you want. Never bought from him myself but there's a glass co. here in town that uses him regularly so I could probably find out more details if you're interested.

hoss, it is not a big hurry but i would really appreciate the info you speak of.

maybe that is the best route for me?

thanks bro, jay

[HOSS]

I'll probably be talking to one of the guys who would know later this week, I'll see what I can find out. I think he will grind them onto either tubes or on pre-shaped blanks, as long as they meet a few requirements (like the hole being on-axis with the body.) That's apparently how a "Helix" (http://www.helixpipe.com/) is able to be made with no seams at the joint.

[STROKER]

I'll probably be talking to one of the guys who would know later this week, I'll see what I can find out. I think he will grind them onto either tubes or on pre-shaped blanks, as long as they meet a few requirements (like the hole being on-axis with the body.) That's apparently how a "Helix" (http://www.helixpipe.com/) is able to be made with no seams at the joint.

thanks alot hoss.

repped for sure!

[nicko0]

winship and others have graphite joint holders that can be used to pre shape the place to be ground. use a cross slide vise to lock the piece in place once you have slipped the piece snuggly onto the bit in a drill press.

[Islandglass Man]

I would not use a drill press to grind you can't feel if the glass is going to grab. You need a horizontal grinder with a foot pedal to control the speed to do the job properly .

Well anyway have fun just be carful I have seen some very bad hand injuries tooling and grinding I have had safety drummed into my head for many years, just trying to help.

Bear

[fyrsmith]

I make a tool specifically for making both the seat and the plug for glass on glass stoppers. However, the largest size my tool makes is about 1/2 inch across. Check it out on Etsy, search "fyrsmith" or follow this link: www.etsy.com/shop/fyrsmith

-Don-

[Rowdy]

I know E.Ross has done some recessed looking gong joints, probaly the nicest i've seen done on the internet. Personally I would love to see one to more examine how he did it, very smooth almost "frenched". Good luck, great thread.

[HOSS]

Sorry Jay, I tried to get that contact info but I guess its a secret. :bummed: Hope you figure something out, good luck!