Just Quartz

Tips and descriptions of materials you use

Just Quartz

Postby Mark Bickley » Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:11 pm

Quartz Glassblowing
Very different from any other glass as it takes more heat and constant heat to weld,shape and bend. different tooling as well oxygen\hydrogen are the best gases for this.
After making a part it can be flame annealed witch helps keep the part from cracking. but all parts should be annealed in a kiln at 2180 F time in dwell about 20 min
even this may vary due to part size shape thickness. Any questions on it i would be happy to answer. Will make some basic step later when i have more time like bending, welding
polishing ect.

I have been a Quartz Glassblower/welder over 20 years
started my own shop named m and k.
Last edited by Mark Bickley on Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mark Bickley
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:04 pm
Location: Salt Lake City , Ut

Re: Just Quartz

Postby chrismb » Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:10 pm

I am quite ignorant on this score, I fully admit. Can I ask some junior school questions? Does quartz stay 'quartz' once you heat it up and blow it? What defines a thing as 'quartz glass' - I thought quartz was a crystal?

Sorry if those are really dumb questions to ask, but I am interested to know what the differences are to normal glass.
chrismb
 
Posts: 620
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 6:32 pm

Re: Just Quartz

Postby Jerry » Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:21 am

Quartz is just a fancy name for silica.

It handles higher temps and more extreme conditions. It is used is all sorts of semiconductor stuff that is exposed to plasma like ashers, diffusion furnaces, and even wafer boats.

It also has this nasty property of having the same refractive index as your blood so if you get a sliver in you the doctors cant see it and to find it they have to probe round. Ouch!
Jerry
 
Posts: 573
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:07 am
Location: Beaverton, OR

Re: Just Quartz

Postby Mark Bickley » Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:50 am

Quartz melding point is triple that of regular glass and as for blowing it, you can however ya almost have to keep a torch on it the whole time not quite. where borosilica glass is molten and workable for
almost 30 seconds.but there are many grade of glass even in boro.
Quartz kinda stands by itself in that its that much different it how it is worked due to it heat tolerance . however because that very reason there are so many things in the science semiconductor industry that uses it. Another reason its popular is how hard it is more scratch ressitant. = watch lenses. Tis a much higher grade glass..also the price is as well
Mark Bickley
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:04 pm
Location: Salt Lake City , Ut

Re: Just Quartz

Postby Doug Coulter » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:00 pm

Here's a picture of some of Mark's work. The picture doesn't really do it justice, it's essentially perfect. Now to unwrap the other one and put them both where the kitty cats can't play with them!
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
User avatar
Doug Coulter
 
Posts: 3515
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 7:05 pm
Location: Floyd county, VA, USA

Re: Just Quartz

Postby Joe Jarski » Sun May 22, 2011 11:51 pm

Mark, can you post a little bit more on the torches that you use? I've been doing a little boro work with my welding equipment and would like to get something a little better that's intended for glass and maybe able to do quartz as well.

I'm wondering if for a given torch size, you can work equal sizes of boro on oxy-propane and quartz on oxy-hydrogen or if quartz would still require more torch? Are the torches you use specific to hydrogen fuel or are you able to run any glass torch on hydrogen?... Assuming you use typical glass torches. My guess is that surface mix torches would be OK, but maybe not so with premix?

I don't plan on working quartz right away, but if I can kill two birds with one stone in the tool department - all the better. With the right torch (or at least the right fuel) I might have a little more success with working glass than I've had up till now.
User avatar
Joe Jarski
 
Posts: 231
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:37 pm
Location: SouthEast Michigan

Re: Just Quartz

Postby William A Washburn » Mon May 23, 2011 5:27 pm

Mark,

In addition, could you mention a little about your annealing kiln or furnace.

I have done quite a bit of pyrex glass blowing in my time (school and personal) and
my weak point has always been workpiece strains that sometimes caused cracks.

Thanks, Bill
User avatar
William A Washburn
 
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2010 8:12 am

Re: Just Quartz

Postby Doug Coulter » Mon May 23, 2011 5:50 pm

I sent Mark an email in case he's not paying attention here. Hopefully he'll chime in with better info than I can provide from my own experience and what he's told me.

Quartz has a much narrower working range than most glass, which is what I think he was trying to say above. Right near where you can work it, it will also vaporize, so it's a tighter situation needed to do it well. I usually hit the hotter side at least some, and have a white deposit nearby of condensed quartz vapor.

He uses hydrogen/oxygen, which I hear from a lot of places is the way to go. I don't have that and have used oxy-acetylene here with reasonable results.

Unlike you'd maybe think due to the small tempco, yeah you do have to anneal quartz work, or any work where there's any significant thickness variation or cooling rate variation. Always with boro glass -- always. Only on the very simplest pieces with no big thickness changes anyplace can you get away with the "carbon deposit" anneal, and even then it's not ideal. I've tested this on boro with crossed polarizers -- the Kohl book has time/temp schedules, that, unlike quartz, my heat treat oven can do. Quartz needs way above my 1000c limit for that. Mark? This is your domain, not mine!

Here's the old Kohl data on this, but the book I recommend elsewhere is better yet. Table on page 31 of the link (his numbering, not your pdf reader). But read it all.

I use oxy-propane for boro work with my little torch I made which uses a MIG (wire welder) tip for the gas tip -- works great. I use mapp gas in a big torch for pre heating larger work (up to an inch or so) and have no experience with larger than that. Acetylene is way way too much btu/second for boro glass and not usable with reasonable skills on it.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
User avatar
Doug Coulter
 
Posts: 3515
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 7:05 pm
Location: Floyd county, VA, USA

Re: Just Quartz

Postby Mark Bickley » Thu Jun 02, 2011 4:45 pm

Sorry guys things have been crazy here atm but ill try to get the Questions answered.
Torches i use victor hand torches with small removeable torch heads from 0-9 Its the j28 series. I also have a full set of these torches made from glass with same fitting so can be swaped easily.I make all my glass torches from single mixed gas head to a 37 jet torch for id polishing tubes
small work is mostly done with a 4. but 2 hand torches is a must.
Picking the right one is really up to u and your skill however always better to go smaller to save gas if u can.
Most the torches can be used for any glass however the fuel gas will change oxy/ propane soft glass to hard oxy/hydrogen for quartz
Annealing torches and big work
18mm (Must)
25mm
35mm
and one called hog nose witch is 45 mm to 65 mm witch is used for 300 mm wafer process.

Alternet heating to keep a part warm while working on it or bending ect
C burners 2810 with 2 oxy and 2 gas/hydro connection. its worth getting a good one with bother center flame and mass flame

lathe burner setup can vary so much based on what size part you and doing discing, pull down, polishing ,splicing , single wall, double wall, ect
but the industry standard now is glass torches only on lathe .some exception can happen but its best as far as contolling the parts quality . metal in a part is such a sad sight
some may be popped out with knife or diamond bit carfully. but in many cases metal in part its now garbage.

i will get some more posted anyone with question right away can drop me a line at 801-759-6480 text or call either way

mark glassblowers do it hotter!!!!!
Mark Bickley
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:04 pm
Location: Salt Lake City , Ut

Re: Just Quartz

Postby Joe Jarski » Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:05 pm

Wow! Thanks Mark... That just kind of threw a wrench into my whole line of thinking! That would be great it you could post some pictures of this stuff - in particular the glass torches. I didn't know there was such a thing.

I'm surprised that you use essentially welding torches for quartz. I would have thought it would be something larger, more along the lines of typical glassworking burners. I have a few different torches for welding, so I'll have to give those a try.

Do you just use Hydrogen tanks for the gas then, since the smaller torches don't use as much? Or do you use a HHO generator for the gas supply?

I'll probably give you call and talk a bit because it's easier...
User avatar
Joe Jarski
 
Posts: 231
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:37 pm
Location: SouthEast Michigan


Return to Materials

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests