How to make a Torture Tube

Greetings, all;

(Warning: contains blatant sales information - maybe should be on the Buy/Sell forum and/or the SELEM thread, but I decided Lumia enthusiasts would find this the most useful. Feel free to moon me if I am out of line.)

I needed to make some TTubes for a project, so I decided to make a bunch of them and bring them to SELEM 2019 for sale. They come equipped with steel washers on them to enable attaching them to a magnetically-equipped motor (which I am also bringing to sell).

Bill Witcher and Draco stopped by to plan our trip to SELEM, so I put them to work:

Attachment 55755


Video here: https://youtu.be/B-3XgaSk1Pc

This is the rotating stage I threw together to do this:

Attachment 55756


The object I use to torment the glass is an awl I inherited from my grandfather, probably around 100 years old.

Here is a close up of the completed tube:

Attachment 55757

I will be bringing a lot of small parts for lumia to SELEM for sale: discs, Tubes, motors, speed controllers, etc. I will have parts and complete DIY kits available. I believe I will be setting this up backstage, with a test projector you can use to evaluate the various disks.

I will also have larger Wobbulator disks, as well as complete units.

Please stop by and check me out.

I am bringing six of my large-scale Lumiators, which Bill Witcher recommends splitting up 3 and 3 -3 for the auditorium and 3 for the cafeteria. I will have controllers available for people to play with, and will move the cafeteria units to the auditorium for the Shpongle Jam on Friday.

See you there!

...Mike

Show the result. That’s like torture tube interuptus

Due to popular demand, here is more video of the lumia produced by a MondoDyne Photonics Mark I TTube.
The jumpiness here and there was a result of me moving the pointer to hit different areas of the tube.

https://youtu.be/n3lMIwn_w1A

Here is the sophistipated test rig:

Attachment 55759

See y'all at SELEM!

...Mike

p.s. Got Lumia?

Countfunkula made some torture tubes at a SELEM demo a few years ago, and I seem to recall MixedGas also making some before that. But yeah, all you need is a torch, the glass, a pair of pliers, and a screwdriver or pick to deform the glass once it's soft. Glass tubing (or a pipette) works well, but sections of a test tube can also be really fun to work with. Once you have everything set up though you may as well make a whole bunch of them, as you can't really predict which ones will be great vs which ones will be just "OK". (Well, unless you're *really* into Lumia and are using a mold, that is.)

Adam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by buffo

Countfunkula made some torture tubes at a SELEM demo a few years ago, and I seem to recall MixedGas also making some before that. But yeah, all you need is a torch, the glass, a pair of pliers, and a screwdriver or pick to deform the glass once it's soft. Glass tubing (or a pipette) works well, but sections of a test tube can also be really fun to work with. Once you have everything set up though you may as well make a whole bunch of them, as you can't really predict which ones will be great vs which ones will be just "OK". (Well, unless you're *really* into Lumia and are using a mold, that is.)

Adam

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Is a torch a good idea in that space......best outback I think. Like three phase and water are not enough. Don't forget the plastic damn for the backdoor when it rains.

The torture tubes were made on the loading dock out back. I agree that operating a torch indoors is asking for trouble.

Adam

We made a few with small bottles at TexLEM... If I ever get my glass torch and kiln out I will make a pile to give away.

I use a pair of map gas (yellow can) torches to heat both sides fast- fire extinguisher is there- an old toaster oven allows me to cool hot tubes slower- cheap needle nose pliers can be bent to make a great tool. gloves and face shield are a smart way to be safer. I drilled two holes in a pc of wood which hold my two torches (they cannot fall over)

we have great members here to answer your questions--
good luck and be safe!!--hak

Friends,

When using borosilicate glass to fabricate torture tubes and other things being melted, etc. I always wear a pair of Didymium glasses to not only protect my eyes from anything that could suddenly go wrong, but also from sodium flare, IR and UV light.

Be safe,
Greg