Fire polishing the ends of your glass tubing and rod makes them safer!
Fire polishing the ends of glass tubing and rod will also seal small cracks in the end wall. This will help in reducing the chance of fractures originating from this source. Fire polishing ends will also reduce cuts and abrasions to you or anything (corks, latex tubing, etc.) coming in contact with the glass end. Try the following:
- Always wear eye protection
- Score some glass tubing into 16-inch lengths with a scoring tool. A single light score works best.
- Wet the score cut and break the tubing. For safety, you can put a towel over the score and use your thumbs on either side of the score and apply pressure away from you.
- Light your torch and adjust the flame to sharp and soft.
- Fire polish by rotating the glass tube end in the flame.
- A good fire polish has a smooth finish and the ID and OD of the glass tube remains unchanged.
- Allow the glass to cool before handling or using it.
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Tip: Hold the glass tube in a declining or horizontal position with the tube end angled away from you. This will prevent the flame from traveling up the tube and out the far end, possibly resulting in a burn. This also prevents the flame from going up the tubing creating condensation in the glass |
