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Never tried sand paper on glass but it might work. Is a shorter oring a possible solution?
Yes, wet sanding is possible with the right material, but it's gonna take a looooong time and keeping it square will be a challenge.
Right type of glass? I've no idea what it is made of (pyrex?)
Or right sandpaper? What would you recommend ?
I was referring to the sandpaper, needs to be a harder material than the glass type (carbide?) and a high enough grit count so it doesn't chip the glass (why it will take a looong time).
I think sanding will take a long time too, but I'm not sure any other way would be safer... Good luck.
Anna
Anna
It can't take longer than a slow boat from china!
When I've got a couple of hours to kill, I might see if I can make a dent on the glass.
Most of my wet and dry is just called emery paper. After a quick search it is probably aluminium oxide, would that work? Otherwise I should be able to find carbide paper.
When I've got a couple of hours to kill, I might see if I can make a dent on the glass.
Most of my wet and dry is just called emery paper. After a quick search it is probably aluminium oxide, would that work? Otherwise I should be able to find carbide paper.
I have use a diamond cut off wheel on a dremel and has good luck with cutting glass. I also have the Modfather rda and it came with a glass barrel/chuff cap and it had AF channels cut in it but it was too restricted so I used the diamond cut off wheel to make the AF larger. AF is awesome now and no cracked or shattered glass.
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I have cut down a piece of Glass to use on a Shorter Tank. So Yes, it is Feasible. Is a Humongous PITA to do that makes Big Mess that is can be Very Hard to Fully Clean Up Afterwards? Yes... Yes it Is !
I would just suggest doing a Fasttech Search for whatever Size glass you are looking for. Replacement Glass is Cheap.
But if you are Dead Set on cutting down the Glass you have, you are going to want to put something Inside the Tube to support the Walls (Like a trimmed piece of Styrofoam or Expanding Spray Foam) while you Cut/Grind it with a Diamond Wheel.
And Do It Outside. Using Full-On Eye and Skin Protection.
You can try that and spend hours trying to polish it down. Better to just get another one that fits.
You could try using a diamond grit knife sharpening stone. It would be relatively easy to keep it flat that way. I think it would be hard to get a square cut end with a power tool.
If it worked I'm guessing you would end up with very sharp edges on the glass. That would be hard on orings, and fingers for that matter. I can't think of any way of easing the edges. Maybe the outside edge, but for the inside edge you would need some kind of round shaped grinding tool. I'm sure you can buy round diamond grit sharpeners but you might end up spending a bunch of money to save the cost of a new tube.
If it worked I'm guessing you would end up with very sharp edges on the glass. That would be hard on orings, and fingers for that matter. I can't think of any way of easing the edges. Maybe the outside edge, but for the inside edge you would need some kind of round shaped grinding tool. I'm sure you can buy round diamond grit sharpeners but you might end up spending a bunch of money to save the cost of a new tube.
Probably not borosilicate glass so aluminium oxide paper will do easy, medium press down using figure of eight rubbing motion will keep it true.
I do not think a few hundreds is a problem. The main thing it to keep you glass tube vertical. I remember polishing off millimeters of glass with sandpaper, but sandpaper was attached to a polishing wheel. I do not really remember, but I think it was 100-150 grit.
I did the same thing to make a spare glass fit a different tank. I used a stone cutting wheel on a dremel, and checked every 10 seconds with digital calipers. I was in a proper rush though, so if you have time I suggest doing a quick search on ebay, amazon etc because a lot of tanks share glass sizes/diameters/thicknesses etc. Sounds like a PITA but trust me the end result looks better
I will also suggest that you stuff something (Styrofoam maybe) into the glass so help reduce virbrations and flexing while doing this. That should help reduce the chance of breaking.
Good luck. This sounds exactly like the kind of stuff that drives me absolutely insane. Using fine motor skills where precision is a must over a very long period of time. I'd probably have to take breaks to go punch a squirrel or something just from the unnerving frustration.
Cool, it is feasible.
I did not think sanding would work but I'm happy to be proven wrong
Thats what makes this forum such a great place, there is always someone who has tried what your thinking and willing to share their experience.
I don't have much luck getting glass that fits. Hence the reason that I have glass that doesn't fit any of my tanks.
The PITA is actually getting the dimensions in the first place, many shop measures are inaccurate and none that I've seen give the InnerDiameter. Most of my tanks seal on the inner surface, and need to be within about 5 (or maybe 10) thousandths or they won't fit.
Edit: On closer inspection, some of those tanks have both side and end seals, and some are more forgiving about glass size than others.
I did not think sanding would work but I'm happy to be proven wrong
Thats what makes this forum such a great place, there is always someone who has tried what your thinking and willing to share their experience.
I don't have much luck getting glass that fits. Hence the reason that I have glass that doesn't fit any of my tanks.
The PITA is actually getting the dimensions in the first place, many shop measures are inaccurate and none that I've seen give the InnerDiameter. Most of my tanks seal on the inner surface, and need to be within about 5 (or maybe 10) thousandths or they won't fit.
Edit: On closer inspection, some of those tanks have both side and end seals, and some are more forgiving about glass size than others.
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Keeping it square would be the serious challenge, its near impossible to do by hand. Any possibility the difference cold be made up by going with thinner/smaller gaskets?
How about thinner o rings. Does it fit without o rings. If so get thinner or shorten the ones your using. Gotta be easier then sanding glass
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