Glass Ear Plugs

**ALIEN!** · 02-10-2009, 01:48 PM

OOOOOOHHHHH, all this time I was thinking "hearing protection" lol.

**KahunaGlassArt** · 02-10-2009, 02:28 PM

is the Y thing you guys are talkin about the same type of thing as the the way this guys shapes his rings?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxAU-CsO02k

**themoch** · 02-10-2009, 02:46 PM

no. the Y that they're talking about is literally making a Y holding rod

so you would have an rod that looks like this ---------<

and the < section would have a span of about 4 inches

**KahunaGlassArt** · 02-10-2009, 05:18 PM

o nice thanks

**themoch** · 02-10-2009, 06:53 PM

excuse the picture quality... taken on the quick side for reference. will take much better ones of the finished products.

so here's some that have been on the successful side:

**KahunaGlassArt** · 02-10-2009, 07:18 PM

really nice man!!!!! do these sell well?

**Swampy** · 02-10-2009, 07:28 PM

So which technique did you end up trying in the end then Andrew?

**themoch** · 02-10-2009, 07:59 PM

okay,

so the ones on top are not 0 guage... but they're like size 2 or something... they're 6.46 mm.. so yeah, ~ 2guage.

those i made buy just pulling some twisted cane, and following a pre-made one (somebody needed a fix for 1 broken one, so i made 2 to match it). if i say so myself they're damn close, like +/- 0.15mm on some of the curves.

the horn ones i did the red by bulling 2 equal length spirals
flattening 1 end.
pointe up
then doing the bend in a large marble mold
pulled to the side so they were 3d curves

the blue ones i made buy:

pulling cane
flatten one side of each
then put them on the end of the Y
then heated both at the same time and used a paddle to put them in place
pulled them "3d" while i could line both of them up.

so the blue ones are the most "similar"

i'm happy with them and would use this tech again should i need to make more... they are fun to make in a weird tedious way... they take about 40 min a pair.... but for some reason find them fascinating to make... makes me wish i had some large holes in my ears... although i'm sure i wouldn't be able to pull it off.

**KahunaGlassArt** · 02-10-2009, 08:18 PM

i made myself some thinner diameter plugs, same shape as your blue ones. theyre probably like 4mm with the cap on the end. didnt want to stretch my ears too much.

is anyone able to take pictures or a video of the "Y" technique? still a bit confused but really want to make some sweet plugs and whatnot.

**The Cheese** · 02-10-2009, 10:03 PM

These are pretty cool. I'll have to put some sets together. Good way to work on that whole cane thing that I haven't practiced too much.

**Greymatter Glass** · 02-10-2009, 10:20 PM

suggestion:
...make 40, pick out 18 sets, throw the odds/seconds away.

I can make them in under 5 minutes a set (not counting cane prep) that way, as long as I am not trying to match one to the one before it, and just going to a certain size range and look, I find I can make many more in an hour, and pick sets from those.

**KahunaGlassArt** · 02-10-2009, 10:35 PM

yeah but that way you wont have selection, just one colour (that is if i'm understanding what your saying)

**Greymatter Glass** · 02-11-2009, 12:32 AM

so make 40 pairs each in 5 colors in a day....

**CripSkillz** · 02-11-2009, 01:34 AM

sounds like a good idea if you can sell that many..

those are nice andrew, , i made some like the first set for my niece she loves em, orange n black tho..

**KahunaGlassArt** · 02-11-2009, 09:30 AM

do you guys use rubber stopper type things to hold them in place?

**amanofmusic** · 02-11-2009, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by themoch

The Corning Glass Company of New York was established in 1868. Among their first products were colored lenses for railroads and the earliest light bulbs. Much later they formulated Pyrex® brand glass, one of the most significant developments in glass technology this century. Pyrex glass a.k.a. "Corning 7740" set the worldwide standard for scientific and medical glasses. Its resistance to large temperature shifts and chemical reactions have made it a laboratory mainstay.

found this on a glass jewelry site... i trust it over metals, plastics, or wood any day.

yea me too

**KahunaGlassArt** · 03-02-2009, 03:02 PM

had to bump this.
Still not geting the whole "Y-tech."
cant get them uniformly shaped. and still not geting the whole marble mold thing either.

help anyone?

**themoch** · 03-02-2009, 03:59 PM

yes,

sorry, i meant to make some pictures for you.

in the mean time maybe my explanation might help.

you take a 10in rod (8mm in my case) and attach a V to the end of it. so it looks like a Y

the V should also be made out of 8mm rod drawn to points.

i then take the twisted cane and gather/flatten one end so that they look like 2 equal length nails (the kind you use with a hammer)

i then attach the nails to the Y by the heads at 90 degrees. so that if i were to pretend they were opera glasses i would be looking down the length of the nail.

this way it's like you have one puntied up and ready to make a smooth curve in, but you can heat/shape both of them at the same time.

for this you don't need to use a large marble mold, just a paddle that can make the span between the 2 points on the Y.

heating very slowly/evenly is going to be the hardest part here.

will draw pictures if i get a chance tomorrow.