Something Different

Penguingeoff · Jan 23, 2010

In my spare time my wife and I have a Glass studio where we fuse and Cast glass. I cast a lot of Engine parts in Lead Crystal. In the photo there is a Yamaha WRF 450 piston, Con-rod (Freelance size), Cylinder (Freelance 2 Stroke) and a Freelance Valve all out of Lead Crystal.

Why might you ask, cos I like the challenge.
Is it possible to do a complete engine in cast glass? Yes it is, but there are a hell of a lot of trials and tribulations. For instance, the firing time for the Cylinder was 3 days, Grinding and Polishing another 8 hours.
Process involved Cylinder - Wooden Model, 2 Piece Silicon Mould for Wax. Cast wax. Encapsulate it with mixture of Plaster and Silica. Steam wax out so I can use it again. Fill cavity with Lead Crystal chunks. Fire to 890 degree C. Crash cool (Open kiln) to 580 C. Fire down over 70 Hours to room temp. Carefully break plaster silica to release glass. Grind and polish using a flatbed grinder and magnetic diamond discs (down to 1200 grit) then polish with Cerium Oxide.

So far the largest piece I have cast is an Egyptian head weighing 6 Kg's, 4" thick. This was over a 10 DAY firing run.

precisionmetal · Jan 23, 2010

Wow..... SUPER cool!! I like this a lot!

stevehuckss396 · Jan 23, 2010

Penguingeoff said:
Is it possible to do a complete engine in cast glass? Yes it is, but there are a hell of a lot of trials and tribulations. For instance, the firing time for the Cylinder was 3 days, Grinding and Polishing another 8 hours.

So what are you waiting for? Hahaahh!

Why not try to make a simple wobbler engine. Most are less than 10 pieces. I have plans for a Horizontal that is 7 pieces and if you come anywhere close to size, it will run.
There is a thread somewhere of a fellow making an engine from stone. Glass would be very original also.

shred · Jan 23, 2010

Those are cool! Glass is fun to play with, though you can't be impatient getting the parts out. Easy to play with if you've got a programmable kiln or heat-treat oven, though it takes a lot of trial and error to get good. I've only done a few parts, but it's fascinating. Some metals can even be integrated with glass for structures that wouldn't work well in glass. Hmm... have to consider trying some more of that when it gets cold again around here. Wear might be a problem however. Most of the easy-casting glasses scratch pretty easily.