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projects:glass_sphere:work_logs:work_log_2

What I want to accomplish

  • Build a machine to polish glass surfaces very smooth,
  • Wring some smooth glass surfaces together,
  • Characterise a wrung glass join.

THE MACHINE:

Wrong machine.

The idea is to ensure that each portion of each surface of both parts touches every other part:

Using the Three-plate Whitworth method I should be able to create very smooth and flat surfaces.

What I've done

I built a few rotating platforms. The first one was too weak, using a geared DC motor. I was using water and various grit compounds:

  • Toothpaste,
  • Titanium dioxide,
  • Bicarbonate of Soda.

When the two test float glass pieces got wet and smooth-ish they would bind together very strongly, stalling the motor. I needed to build something with more power and some inertia to overcome the spiky friction.

My second pass was a bit better:

Using a scrounged office chair base, an old drill, some 3d-printed gears and a concrete round from bunnings. Shown here with some pottery on top, because it also worked as a pottery wheel. I used a variac to slow the drill down to a good speed. I ran into heat problems in the drill, and the office chair base was not as stable as I would've liked.

I ended up picking up a cheap pottery wheel off gumtree (classifieds website). I'll be using that in the future.

Videos

What I want to accomplish next time

  • Build the reciprocating part,
  • Test the process with my pottery wheel.

projects/glass_sphere/work_logs/work_log_2.txt · Last modified: 2022/01/23 00:24 by tjhowse