I would like to start by stating the the headline could be viewed as clickbait, as I still haven't managed to make a functional copy.
Over the last year I have been fortunate enough to get to know a scientific glass blower (I'll call him Chris here), who have made some custom in/outlets for our scapes, and who have also been kind enough to educate us on what to look for in glassware to spot good and less good craftsmanship. What I didn't know about Chris when I first contacted him was the he is one of the few, if not the only person, outside Japan who have been trained in the technique used for making the ADA Cube Garden Superior aquariums by the master himself.
At my first visit to Chris's workshop, I spotted some items that he was working on for a museum that were to be used for displaying organs in and got very interested in what he had made. He showed me a few of the items and explained the techniques used for fusing the glass panes together, as well as the tools used. He showed me a few videos of the master himself in action and I was hooked. I asked if it would be possible to get to see him performing the techniques the next time he had to make some items the would require the use of them. Chris agreed and after quite a few months of my wife or I bringing cake once or twice a month to him in the workshop he told us about a job coming up where he would need to use the technique.
It should be mentioned that we have learned a lot about glass blowing and how to make the glassware we use in our scapes when we have visited, and on a couple of occasions we have been able to help him finding the solution to problems he have had with some of his jobs, although I am sure he would have found a solution to the problem on his own. Some times a fresh set of eyes or a 'stupid' question can help you move forward faster.
Yesterday was the big day where I was going to see how it was done live, but to my surprise Chris told me when I got to the workshop that we were also going to cut some glass panes for me to have a go at making a 15x15x15 cm aquarium. The glass we used was a fairly standard borosilicate glass as it is more suited for fusing as it is much better at withstanding the temperature gradient it will experience during the process. It is the same reason why any good glassware is made of borosilicate glass, both for the inherent strength of the glass but also the reduce the risk of micro fractures in the glass while making the glassware.
I had hoped that I would have more time to observe how Chris did the fusing, but after him having fused the first 3 panes together for his project, and placed the product in the annealing owen at 556 degrees C, he announced that now it was my turn...
Suffice to say that Chris is a firm believer in learning by doing...
I got things set up under Chris's watchful supervision and started fusing the panes using the Japanese Flat Burner (only sold in Japan and the company making them will not sell outside Japan)
The burner is made in such a way that the maximum heat is very close to the tool, giving you better control of the heat being applied to the glass. Or so I was told as I have to admit that as enjoyable as it was fusing the panes together, it was equally scary as the heat was rather intense.
Once the panes started to melt you have to use a graphite plate to smooth the edges together and make a pleasing transition from one pane to the next. The key is to do that at the right plasticity and white doing it ensure that you still apply heat to the area.
Above you can see a picture of the graphite plate I used for smoothing/fusing edges on the finished, but unfortunately cracked, end product.
Chris and I used a couple of hours in total going through the process of him making two containers, and me working on my small aquarium. Although the end result ended up with 3 cracks in it, I hope that I will get more opportunities to have a go at making a functioning aquarium for myself (We could just pay Chris to make a few for us, but what is the fun in that?). With a little luck my wife will go there in December with a fellow aquascaper and make a video where Chris will show how to fuse glass panes to make aquariums, but it all depends on how much time Chris and my wife have setting it up there.
The pictures used above are from the next day (today at the time of writing), as the glass needed to be annealed to reduce the tension in it. The reason for the glass cracking was due to me being a chicken and not going close enough with the flames both when applying the heat before using the graphite place as well as when using the graphite plate.
I hope that I will get some more opportunities for having a go at making some aquariums using this method, and will update should that happen.
Over the last year I have been fortunate enough to get to know a scientific glass blower (I'll call him Chris here), who have made some custom in/outlets for our scapes, and who have also been kind enough to educate us on what to look for in glassware to spot good and less good craftsmanship. What I didn't know about Chris when I first contacted him was the he is one of the few, if not the only person, outside Japan who have been trained in the technique used for making the ADA Cube Garden Superior aquariums by the master himself.
At my first visit to Chris's workshop, I spotted some items that he was working on for a museum that were to be used for displaying organs in and got very interested in what he had made. He showed me a few of the items and explained the techniques used for fusing the glass panes together, as well as the tools used. He showed me a few videos of the master himself in action and I was hooked. I asked if it would be possible to get to see him performing the techniques the next time he had to make some items the would require the use of them. Chris agreed and after quite a few months of my wife or I bringing cake once or twice a month to him in the workshop he told us about a job coming up where he would need to use the technique.
It should be mentioned that we have learned a lot about glass blowing and how to make the glassware we use in our scapes when we have visited, and on a couple of occasions we have been able to help him finding the solution to problems he have had with some of his jobs, although I am sure he would have found a solution to the problem on his own. Some times a fresh set of eyes or a 'stupid' question can help you move forward faster.
Yesterday was the big day where I was going to see how it was done live, but to my surprise Chris told me when I got to the workshop that we were also going to cut some glass panes for me to have a go at making a 15x15x15 cm aquarium. The glass we used was a fairly standard borosilicate glass as it is more suited for fusing as it is much better at withstanding the temperature gradient it will experience during the process. It is the same reason why any good glassware is made of borosilicate glass, both for the inherent strength of the glass but also the reduce the risk of micro fractures in the glass while making the glassware.
I had hoped that I would have more time to observe how Chris did the fusing, but after him having fused the first 3 panes together for his project, and placed the product in the annealing owen at 556 degrees C, he announced that now it was my turn...
Suffice to say that Chris is a firm believer in learning by doing...
I got things set up under Chris's watchful supervision and started fusing the panes using the Japanese Flat Burner (only sold in Japan and the company making them will not sell outside Japan)
The burner is made in such a way that the maximum heat is very close to the tool, giving you better control of the heat being applied to the glass. Or so I was told as I have to admit that as enjoyable as it was fusing the panes together, it was equally scary as the heat was rather intense.
Once the panes started to melt you have to use a graphite plate to smooth the edges together and make a pleasing transition from one pane to the next. The key is to do that at the right plasticity and white doing it ensure that you still apply heat to the area.
Above you can see a picture of the graphite plate I used for smoothing/fusing edges on the finished, but unfortunately cracked, end product.
Chris and I used a couple of hours in total going through the process of him making two containers, and me working on my small aquarium. Although the end result ended up with 3 cracks in it, I hope that I will get more opportunities to have a go at making a functioning aquarium for myself (We could just pay Chris to make a few for us, but what is the fun in that?). With a little luck my wife will go there in December with a fellow aquascaper and make a video where Chris will show how to fuse glass panes to make aquariums, but it all depends on how much time Chris and my wife have setting it up there.
The pictures used above are from the next day (today at the time of writing), as the glass needed to be annealed to reduce the tension in it. The reason for the glass cracking was due to me being a chicken and not going close enough with the flames both when applying the heat before using the graphite place as well as when using the graphite plate.
I hope that I will get some more opportunities for having a go at making some aquariums using this method, and will update should that happen.
