How to make a Torture Tube

[clickamouse]

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:




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

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




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:



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

[kecked]

Show the result. That’s like torture tube interuptus

[clickamouse]

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:



See y'all at SELEM!

...Mike

p.s. Got Lumia?

[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

[kecked]

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

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.

[buffo]

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

Adam

[sugeek]

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.

[hakzaw1]

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

[Displaser]

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