A few questions from a newbie.

[Eithman]

Hello everyone. I am new to the form and apologize if these questions seem basic or trivial. I have tried googling them but haven't had much luck. I presume because I don't know the lingo.

1. What type of device would I need to melt glass into a liquid to pour into molds?

2. Could I melt down beer/wine bottles to use for glass blowing and to pour into molds?

3. Do I need to make a glass mold out of steel? Is there a less expensive rout I could pursue?

I don't have a lot of money to spend on this hobby and am trying to find some crafty ways to save some cash. I would really appreciate any help! Thanks for your time and help!

[hawkglass]

Ur looking for a furnace blowing forum lol most people here are lampworkers and lathe workers what kinds of things do you plan on making? If they arent to big then we could possible lead you more twards lampworking or lathework where you use a torch to heat and form glass instead of gathering glass on a long metal blowtube in a furnace

[hawkglass]

Also most molds now are made from graphite or alluminum

[menty666]

First off, welcome!


Second, glass in general is never cheap to work with. Maybe stained glass is a little better, but in general, glass that gets molten is an expensive pursuit.

You'll need to do some research into crucibles, you might consider a crucible kiln if you're doing this small scale. Depending on what you're trying to make, you might consider doing sand casting. You'll still need the crucible, a way to melt it, tools to move the crucible, some heat protective gear, and mold making/breaking time. You'll want a kiln too to slowly cool your new creation so it doesn't crack as it cools.

Have fun, play safe :)

[Skipjack]

1. Usually a kiln, possibly a burner depending on your application
2. Yes, but you are probably limited to one brand and color of bottle at a time, and even then cracking is likely if more than one bottle is involved
3. Glass fusing and slumping molds are usually made of clay. You can carve a shape out of wax and then cover with clay.

You will probably be more successful with the search phrase "glass casting". However, without more specifics, such as the shape in which you are interested, it is hard to answer your questions except in general terms. For example, if your shape is not hollow, then you don't need to pour molten glass. Just put the glass pieces in the mold, in a kiln, and bring to temperature (probably about 1500F to 1600F, but I'll have to look up the temperature based on the type of glass used). (Then you'll have to cool it slowly, but that is beyond the scope of this post.)

Here's a description of one thing you might be trying to do, but if you tell us (the forum) a little more, we can be more specific:
http://www.bullseyeglass.com/methods-ideas/tipsheet-8-basic-lost-wax-kilncasting.html

There's more information here:
http://www.warmglass.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=7

[PyroChixRock]

Ur looking for a furnace blowing forum lol most people here are lampworkers and lathe workers what kinds of things do you plan on making? If they arent to big then we could possible lead you more twards lampworking or lathework where you use a torch to heat and form glass instead of gathering glass on a long metal blowtube in a furnace

There are glass workers of all kinds here, hence our forum name.

Welcome Eithman! Menty and Skipjack have given you good answers but if you have other questions, please let us know. Have fun! :)

[Eithman]

Hey guys. Thanks so much for the answers so far. Sorry for the lack of details. What I am trying to do is build "tobacco pipes". They will be hollow and in different shapes and sizes. I am trying to build molds for basic shaped ones to make them easier to mass produce. My thought is that I would make the molds out of clay, takes a bunch of bottles that are smashed into small pieces, melt them (in a furnace?) and pour them in the clay molds. Then let them set in a kiln. Do you think that would work? Am I missing anything? Thanks again for the help!

[dustyg]

Hey guys. Thanks so much for the answers so far. Sorry for the lack of details. What I am trying to do is build "tobacco pipes". They will be hollow and in different shapes and sizes. I am trying to build molds for basic shaped ones to make them easier to mass produce. My thought is that I would make the molds out of clay, takes a bunch of bottles that are smashed into small pieces, melt them (in a furnace?) and pour them in the clay molds. Then let them set in a kiln. Do you think that would work? Am I missing anything? Thanks again for the help!

That's not how people mass produce glass pipes, and there's a good reason for it. That might be an ok thing for an artistic venture, but it will be a long, hard road, and unless it happens to be your passion, I don't forsee you ever seeing a self-made cast glass pipe.

[snoopdog6502]

glass is expensive start to Finnish.

I do backyard metal casting of aluminum and zinc that cost me nothing at all. Scrap metals and wood fire are all I need.

Glass is magnitudes more difficult and expensive unless you want to do slumping in a microwave.

[PyroChixRock]

That would definitely be a hell of an expensive way to make a pipe. You might want to consider the traditional (ha! we are old enough to be called traditional now!) way of making a glass pipes which would be on a torch.

Check out our photo tutorial and video section of the forum to see some examples.

[menty666]

If I were going to try to pour one? I'd make a mold with a cone shape at one end and run a thick piece of cotton line saturated in refractory material from the cone to your pour spout to maintain a center chamber. That's to do something simple like a peace pipe type of shape.

But like folks said, its really not a good way to try to do this. Even if you managed to pour something nice, you'll have a lot of cold working time at the other end to clean it up and make sure you haven't left anything in the center chamber that someone could draw into their lungs.