After looking at the steps to build a simple polariscope in Straining the point and Strain in the neck, this time we’ll run through the use of the device to visualise and recognise strain in typical neon bends, as well as some basic annealing techniques that can help to reduce strain and lessen the chances of breakage.

Scientific and industrial polariscopes can be used to make numerous accurate measurements of strain and its properties in a wide range of transparent materials. In this post we will concentrate on using the kind of simple polariscope shown in the last two posts to make fairly simple determinations of the level of strain in glass. For typical neon work this is more than adequate (although scientific and industrial glassworkers may want something more refined).

Continue reading “Taking the strain” →

In the last post we looked at the steps to build a simple strain viewer, or polariscope. In this article we’ll try to improve on that design to produce a more robust, smaller, and more usable device.

The principals are exactly the same – the light source and two polarising filters to produce plane polarised light, and to filter out the light that passes directly through the sample. The only difference is that this time we’ll use a larger stage area, and a more sturdy case to house the unit.

Continue reading “Strain in the neck” →

Welcome to the UNeonised blog. In May 2016 I attended an event in London run by the amazing folks at Neon Workshops. Although folks who know me will probably have seen my other high voltage projects (Tesla coils, Marx generators, Jacob’s ladders and the like), this was my first foray into the world of neon lights. Watching Richard and Julia bending glass in the fires was mesmerising and inspiring: it’s probably fair to say I was already hooked at that point.

In the summer, I happened across a bombarding transformer for sale for just a couple of hundred pounds on eBay (don’t worry if you don’t know what that is – I’ll have plenty more to say in future posts!). After winning the auction and lugging the massive 118KG monster all the way back to Aldershot (thanks Axel!), I started a project to build my own little neon workshop – building as much of the equipment as I could to keep costs down, and to learn how everything worked.

 

Once I’d gotten the major parts of the shop built in March 2017 it was time to really begin the long, slow, tricky, and sometimes painful process of learning to bend neon like a pro.

I plan to use this blog to publish photos and posts of my adventures in bending and bombarding, as well as technical details of my equipment and set up for anyone who either wants to just follow along, or to get stuck in building and using their own gear.