glass lathe

Nikki ONeill · Post by **Nikki ONeill** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 12:41 pm

Hi all!
My dentist will sell me his 25-30 year old glass lathe, called a Red Wing, made by Handler. It is a smooth-running, heavy, top quality machine with a 3/8" shaft coming out both the right and left sides. Two speed, comes with a splash guard. It's their first, basic model, not refurbished or upgraded. The problem is that the sanding disks that can be bought for it have a larger arbor size. (HIS has quite a few). I suppose a machine shop could make an adapter to bring the diameter up to 1/2 or 5/8" but I don't know if it would work. Has anyone tried to retrofit a machine like this for glass work? It's a really nice old machine but it may not be worth the cost of refurbishing. If I hang the spindle over the edge of a table or sink, it will accomodate 6-8" diameter disks.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated. I have to decide whether to give it back this week.
Thanks.
Nikki

Bert Weiss · Post by **Bert Weiss** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:20 pm

Nikki O'Neill wrote:Hi all!
My dentist will sell me his 25-30 year old glass lathe, called a Red Wing, made by Handler. It is a smooth-running, heavy, top quality machine with a 3/8" shaft coming out both the right and left sides. Two speed, comes with a splash guard. It's their first, basic model, not refurbished or upgraded. The problem is that the sanding disks that can be bought for it have a larger arbor size. (HIS has quite a few). I suppose a machine shop could make an adapter to bring the diameter up to 1/2 or 5/8" but I don't know if it would work. Has anyone tried to retrofit a machine like this for glass work? It's a really nice old machine but it may not be worth the cost of refurbishing. If I hang the spindle over the edge of a table or sink, it will accomodate 6-8" diameter disks.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated. I have to decide whether to give it back this week.
Thanks.
Nikki

Nikki

I don't have any direct experience with the equipment you need to adapt, but I'll offer my opinion. It is probably worth messing around with. I would speak with Bob Stephan at HIS. HE can guide you about what you need to do to get it up and working.

Look in to "the spherical miracle" diamond wheel. It can make a really interesting "hammered" looking texture on glass.

Jack Bowman · Post by **Jack Bowman** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:21 pm

A good machinist could make the adapter and I see no reason it wouldn't work IF the smaller spindle can handle the load you intend to place on it.

Does it look like this?

http://www.wellsdental.com/Techbull/Cat ... .11-14.pdf

This isn't what I think of when I hear "glass lathe". Seems more like a center post grinder but they do call it a lathe.

Sounds like a great find. What do dentists use these for?

Jack

Nikki ONeill · Post by **Nikki ONeill** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:50 pm

Burt: The spherical miracal does look interesting. I called Bob last week but he wasn't in. The person who answered suggested finding a machinist shop to make the arbor adapter.
Jack: it does look a little like the one in your photo, without the arm attachment on the right. If you type in "Handler glass lathe" in google you can see a photo. We would call them grinders, but dentists call them lathes. They're used to polish porcelain teeth for implants and for polishing other restoratives. They use pumace and cerium oxide, using procedures not unlike we do for beveling and polishing. My dentist wants $100. for it.
Thanks for the information.
Nikki

Nikki ONeill · Post by **Nikki ONeill** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 2:20 pm

Ooops.
That should have been "Handler red wing lathe"
In google it'll come up and you can see pictures. they're not unlike glass grinder models from Covington or Glastar that sell for hundreds.
Has anyone adapted or modified the red wing for glass grinding purposes?

Nikki

Jack Bowman · Post by **Jack Bowman** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 2:35 pm

Nikki,

For $100 I would grab it and ask questions later. I think I feel a toothache coming on, time to talk to my dentist. It looks like what I see at the high end jewelry supply shop here in Salt lake.

I was thinking something like this. A flameworkers/labglass blowers tool.

http://www.littonengr.com/Floor%20Model ... Lathe.html

Good luck and enjoy.

Jack

Bert Weiss · Post by **Bert Weiss** » Tue Sep 02, 2003 5:43 pm

If I remember this correctly, the top of the line German made Merkur glass lathes sell for around $3000. All they are is a bearing and an axle and a hunk of metal that holds it all together. Good though. I used these in the cold shop at Pilchuck.

For a hundred bucks, got it!!

jim simmons · Post by **jim simmons** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 12:19 pm

Jack Bowman wrote:Nikki,

I was thinking something like this. A flameworkers/labglass blowers tool.

http://www.littonengr.com/Floor%20Model ... Lathe.html

Good luck and enjoy.

Jack

This is also what I envision when the frase "glass lathe" comes out.

Jim

Carolyn Ledbetter · Post by **Carolyn Ledbetter** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:06 pm

Ebay has one for $175 (with 15 bids so far). Yours sounds like a great deal. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... egory=4066
eBay item 3239637469 (Ends Sep-03-03 14:58:24 PDT) - Dental/Dentist RedWing Polishing Lathe

Carolyn Ledbetter · Post by **Carolyn Ledbetter** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 1:26 pm

Taking the shop tour of Faour Glass in Tampa (during GAS) I got to see their industrial glass lathe. They don't have a picture of it on their web site, but here is a picture of the large columns they can produce. They are something like a foot in diameter and only take a few hours. http://www.faourglass.com/pg1.jpg

Nikki ONeill · Post by **Nikki ONeill** » Wed Sep 03, 2003 4:20 pm

Carolyn:
Thanks for the information. It's a good point of reference for comparison. The one on ebay has the Wells quick chuck (expensive) and has 1/4 horsepower. The older model my dentist has doesn't have the special chuck and is 1/6 horsepower. So I guess $100 is about right.

Real glass lathes, that turn glass tubing, are amazing and run in the tens of thousands of dollars. Flame workers that have them do incredible scientific and artistic work. There are a couple of artists that are like human lathes, they've refined their skills so well (Roger Parramore and Robert Mickelson). The learning curve in that field is extremely steep. I practiced a little on a one-sided lathe rigged up from an old rotoevaporator and condenser apparatus; it's lots of fun, but hard to do well.
p.s. Thanks for giving me a call when you were in Washington. I'm sorry I wasn't around most of that week. Hope you had a good visit with your relatives.
Cheers
Nikki

watershed · Post by **watershed** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 12:44 am

In the olde days, they would make a Lead center, then thread that on. I have a number in my (school) srudio. The wheels were not even threaded, just poured a lead collar in, then force threaded it on.

Greg

Brock · Post by **Brock** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 12:48 am

watershed wrote:In the olde days, they would make a Lead center, then thread that on. I have a number in my (school) srudio. The wheels were not even threaded, just poured a lead collar in, then force threaded it on.

Greg

I just used one of those at Corning. Merker has a sweet little lathe, way better than Denver or Glastar, sells for approx. $1,600.00. We're looking into it. Add the price of stone wheels and it gets pricey quickly. Brock

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