×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Grinding Leaded Glass

Grinding Leaded Glass

Grinding Leaded Glass

(OP)
I need to grind about(.015-.030) a quarter inch from the bottom of a leaded glass sheet so it can fit into a sliding track to make the glass thinner.  I was surprised when the I called the guy who does some other processing steps tell me he could not do this.
Is there some reason why this is a difficult undertaking?  Obviously the glass does not have to be clear for the portion that is ground.   

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

He probably declined due to the risk of lead exposure from the PbO in the glass.  You might ask him if it was a technical issue or health and safety issue that prompted his response.

Bruce
www.accuratus.com

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

You might also ask if the glass was tempered or plate.
Grinding on tempered glass tends to produce glass crumbs.
B.E.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them.  Old professor

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

Yep - to both

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

Even if wet grinding (reducing dust exposure to the operator), waste disposal might be an issue too.

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

I have to question the comments that lead in leaded glass is a health issue. Anybody got a sound basis for this?

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

Like all health issues, swall, it's arguable.  And these days, it's pretty tough to argue the "don't worry about it" side with people educated by what the media tells them.

Lead oxide is a component of true lead glass, somewhere between 20 to 40%.  Lead oxide is also the white pigment used in leaded paint, and you ought to know that anybody sanding on leaded paint surfaces these days must "suit up" and wear respirators, etc.  Lead oxide is toxic, and will leach into acidic solutions in lead glass; wine stored in a leaded glass decanter reaches unsafe limits (well, relative to drinking water standards) in a day or less.  

Lead is a cumulative poison in the human body, so avoiding exposure is fairly important.  In my town, a lot of the schools have no drinking fountains right now, they are turned off because testing showed high lead levels (probably from the use of leaded brass in the plumbing/fixtures).  Yes, the simple and smart answer is to let the faucet run for a few cupfuls before drinking, thus flushing the leachant-filled water down the drain...but we're talking public politics and that don't mix well with "smart".

Given the hassle over disposing of batteries, I'd guess there would be equivalent hassle over disposal of lead oxides, thus my comment regarding the swarf disposal.

There are non-lead versions of lead glass that give similar refractive index.  It's where I'd look, if only to avoid the hassle.

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_glass
 

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

Wouldn't grinding the edge of the tempered glass sheet craze the whole sheet instead of producing glass crumbs?  

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

(OP)
Thanks for the help everybody.  I do not think the reason is a health issue since the same supplier also cuts the class with a milling machine.  
I will have to get back with more details.  

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

Very informative, btrueblood.

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

chicopee (Mechanical)
""" Wouldn't grinding the edge of the tempered glass sheet craze the whole sheet instead of producing glass crumbs?"""

Yes the whole sheet crazes and disintegrates into little pieces the size of breadcrumbs.
 Thats what I meant when I said " Glass crumbs"

B.E.   

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them.  Old professor

RE: Grinding Leaded Glass

"I will have to get back with more details."

Did you give your vendor a drawing showing what you wanted?  Pictures, thousands of words, yada yada.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources