pyrex?

[max16o2]

why is pyrex tubing so much cheaper then simax?

[phab]

...i wonder too, maybe because it has a green tint to it and is somewhat out of round?

there are some people that swear by pyrex though.

[max16o2]

i dont think i have ever seen pyrex tubing or heard of people using it

[slave]

because its lower quality, a foot shorter, or less tubes per case?

[phab]

...the first sample pack of glass and color i bought was from sundance and iirc it was pyrex tube. ive seen at least 1 website that sold pyrex and their pitch was 'accept no other' blah blah blah.

im interested to see what other more experienced lampers here say about it.

[Mr. Wonka]

I have a bunch of old cases of Pyrex laying around, and there is no green tint to it whatsoever… maybe the newer stuff does since it’s made overseas now?

As Aaron said, its 4’ long with less tubes per case, which could account for a lower price (?)

Tom

[nodice]

why is pyrex tubing so much cheaper then simax?

Where can you get pyrex for less then simax? How much is each per pound? Some simax cases seem like they're more expensive then other brands because they come with more pounds per case. I did a quick search and noticed that I can get a case of 44x4mm symax for $180, and a case of 44x4mm pyrex for the same price. Course the case of symax weighs 60lbs, and the case of pyrex weighs 30lbs. A while back I stopped using pyrex because for this reason. It was more expensive then other brands, not the other way around. Course I do miss their 2mm rod.

About the green tint and what not--- I have heard people say that about lots of different types of glass, course I've heard people say lots of things about lots of kinds of glass. Either it melts slower, has a tint, cracks more easily when put in the flame, bubbles easier, or whatever. I have used many different brands of clear glass(including pyrex and simax), and it really makes no difference to me as long as there aren't bubbles down the side of the tube(which I only saw once in a case of chinex which I exchanged for the same thing with no bubbles). Actually, that's not true. 99% of the time, I like the cheap stuff more.

[PortlandGlassBlowers]

was it corning or some other.
Corning is a good quality glass.
Corning is a foot shorter and less in a case.

[phab]

I have a bunch of old cases of Pyrex laying around, and there is no green tint to it whatsoever… maybe the newer stuff does since it’s made overseas now?

As Aaron said, its 4’ long with less tubes per case, which could account for a lower price (?)

Tom

...i could be totally wrong aqbout the green tint and yeah the tubes are only 4' long but how do you rate the quality of the glass?

[drewspuppet]

I have never noticed any bad quality tendencies from Pyrex. Although, I have to say I have not used it in a long while, I switched to Simax because I heard it was decent and cheaper and I haven't thought about Pyrex since I have been making mostly prodo stuff with it. I am curious if there is a definite superior brand of glass out there. I would order some stock for marbles.

[slave]

shcott scientific grade?

[colonel4bin]

Schott-Rohr is no doubt the best borosilicate glass available, but is hard to find, and can be pricey. Made in Germany(If anyone knows where to get it let me know!!!)

Simax is very good glass, and is easily available in any size. Very clean and round. Made in the cech republic. I've only really ever used simax, and Schott when I can find it.

Kimble/Kimax is a pretty good quality glass, I like it, but it is not as accesable as Simax.

Corning Pyrex glass has really suffered recently due to moving production overseas and other factors. (Made in Japan/China/maybe some USA) Pyrex was once the staple borosilicate, but the quality has really gotten bad. (Scratches and bubbles in glass) Also as mentioned, you get a foot less per tube, and not much of a price difference.

As far as I know most borosilicate glass has a green tint to it when looking down the end. Just has to do with some of the flux in the recipe, each company has a slightly different recipe and therefor have different tints, shouldn't make a difference in the end product.

Nodice has it right, I've used almost every brand of borosilicate in a scientific glass setting and can say without a doubt no glass melts faster, smoother, etc... than another brand. That statement is absurd. The recipes would have to vary so much from brand to brand for that to be true that we would all be working with different COE's of glass according to which brand we use. There is only so much you can do with a glass recipe before it becomes a different kind of glass altogether. I will say Chinex has some issues, but who knows their manufacturing standards!!

Just my opinion.

[nodice]

I think I got my last batch of schott from arrow springs if that helps any. It was a long time ago though, so I'm not sure if they sell it anymore. Also, I really don't get why everyone hates chinex so much. I've had lamworkers complement my pieces, and ask what kinda glass I was using when I was using chinex.

[phab]

...after reading nodice's first post i remembered something. the pyrex tube i had (besides what i thought was a green tint) most definitly had a visible seam running the length of the tube. yeah it was subtle but it was still an obvious mark in the tube. dont remember if it had any seeds in it.

[steven p selchow]

I started out on pyrex back in the 70's, it was a great quality then. I switched to kimax only because I was getting my glass for free to do work for a guy, and I used what he bought, then pyrex was 25lb to a case, kimble was 30lb. This was long before simax hit the market.

As far as melting goes, I noticed the difference of kimax melting smoother than pyrex, very clean and no bubbles, but its been a long time since I've used the pyrex 7740. I get it ocassionally because I do beleive that honeycombs and the crystal growth is better, could be many factors to this myth, as some swear others are better.

The newer glasses of today, simax is the bountiful glass, and cheaper, longer lenghts and more for the money. So prodo wise, its no wonder its used by a lot of blowers. I only use high quality schott for certian pieces now, but I have no preference anymore, its come down to cost unfortunatly.

steve

[Udai Hussien]

I remember corning tubes, 4 foot, green, with seams and bubbles

[max16o2]

i was looking at glasscraft and 44x4 heavy wall is $124 and is 30lbs, 44x4 simax heavy wall is $265 and is 60lbs

[phab]

...that makes the simax only slightly more expensive and its still a foot longer

4.133333 vs 4.4166666 per pound

[nodice]

i was looking at glasscraft and 44x4 heavy wall is $124 and is 30lbs, 44x4 simax heavy wall is $265 and is 60lbs

Global trading is selling that same size case of simax for $165 on sale($2.75/lb sale). Their regular price is $180.

peace

[max16o2]

well shit

[nodice]

exactly:)

[ShttrdSpctrm]

ive used simax a little, liked it. i never used shott, prolly would love it. i have used a shitload of chinese crap, garbage, only good for prodo if that. i was duped to buy a bunch of the " new eiganSHAFT", that shit sucks, boils and cracks for no good reason. im gonna buy simax from now on, and im gonna get schott when i get good:D

[willyoung]

hello....Im kinda new to this forum....(this is my first post).....I have been lampworking for 4 years now... I'm self taught with very minimal contact with other lampworkers outside of my Contemporary Lampworking book. Both wonderful and Horrible....Needless to say..this forum has been very inspiring to me and has helped vocabulary of techniques grow tremendously..>>(thanx to all of you)>>>

ANYWAYS........MY QUESTION/COMMENT IS: I have worked with mostly pyrex 20 MM HW, 1" HW, and 38mm HW.... I recently bought some Simax and have noticed a large difference in the way the colors react with the clear on I/O applications, especially I/O frit.......The colors seem to burn (wash out) less with Simax (yeilding brighter colors). This is a both a good thing and a bad thing. Because with exotic colors, the pyrex will allow the colors to change and fume(yielding amazing results) but with the simax the colors dont change at all, (sometimes boring)..........Its kinda like honeycombs....I do believe that pyrex allows for more crystal growth with fumed on color

I would love to hear other opinions on this, I think that this is a very interesting topic, if there is a lot of people interested, maybe someone could help start a thread. (because I dont know how to yet)

P.S. Sorry for the long ass post!

[smutboy420]

why is pyrex tubing so much cheaper then simax?


Because it sucks so bad. But it useally cost More then good glass pound for pound.
But pyrex is not as clear. Not as straight,not as round, not as clean and pyrex is full of extrusion lines from the extrusion die used to draw it. So it can't be used in any thing that has fume and you don't want to see radom lines running all down the sides. and pyrex has cracked off ends not fire polished so the very ens are hard to use for any thing. So the 4 foot tube don't have a full 4 feet of usable glass in them.

Simax is the lowest reguler priced quality glass I know of right now.