Bell Jar Shatter Guard

[Jerry]

Finished my bell jar shatter guard tonight. Made it from a piece of perforated steel from a 24" rack cabinet door. Top was some sheet metal at my dads shop. Cut it into a circle with a Beverly shear. A piece of 1x1/8 steel strap was rolled to fit the OD of the top. Then tacked them together. Today I broke the clamping edges and mig spot welded the perforated steel to the top and made a hook for the jar lift to grab on to. Hit it with some black paint and called it done. It clamps on to the jaw with some very soft rubber around the bottom edge.

Finished belljar shatter guard by macona, on Flickr


New shatter guard by macona, on Flickr

[Doug Coulter]

Well, that's just extremely impressively nice indeed -- Go Jerry!
Here's hoping you don't actually need it!

[Jerry]

Well, that's just extremely impressively nice indeed -- Go Jerry!
Here's hoping you don't actually need it!

The guy that used to own this system told me he saw glass shards go through a car door. Scary!

As the friend I got the bell jar from told me, "'plosions are bad, it dosn't matter if they are in or ex, 'plosions are bad."

He found the bell jar in a dumpster at Princeton probably 20 years ago. Perfect condition. Had it down to the -8.

[Doug Coulter]

No question they are bad, any kind of plosion. I've been fairly lucky though. I have been right next to a guy who dropped a big, new 25" CRT, and we both got covered in little bits of glass, and the ceiling had a few chunks in it, none of that would have gone through a board, though, but then the geometry was a little different. I 'ploded one of my wine jug bell jars with a stray beam heating a spot (about 3 liters) and it was a mess, but my blink reflex saved my eyes, and I got hit, but no cuts. That thing is a lot bigger, though -- more time for the bits to be accelerated. Avoid things that may spot-heat it and you'll probably be OK. Nearly all deposition processes should be just fine in that. At any rate, you sure don't want to have to buy one new!