At what temperature does glass become malleable without melting? In addition, what sort of tools/equipment would I need to work with glass this way, and what materials would I need to build a kiln of some sort?
The temperature to which you are referring is called the glass transformation temperature. This is the temperature range at which glass changes from exhibiting solid characteristics to exhibiting liquid characteristics. This temperature is ~580°C for soda-lime-silica (SLS) glass (beer bottles, pickle containers and windows are made from SLS glass). The temperature you should be looking for is the working range of glass. This is the temperature range between the softening point and the working point, which for SLS glass is between 700-1000°C. Obviously the proper personal protective equipment is needed when working with glass at these temperatures. Although you can slump glass bottles in a camp fire the temperature is too variable to make it effective for working with glass. Often times you may slump the glass in the fire but later find the glass blown apart once it cools down. This is due to the internal stresses that develop in glass upon cooling. It is important that you anneal the glass after shaping it. You must cool it slowly in order to give the glass time to rearrange itself while cooling. This is done by slowly cooling the glass from its working range down to the annealing point (~500-550°C) and holding there for a couple hours and then slowly cooling down to ~100°C. These annealing curves are dependant on the wall thickness of the glass object. If the object is thick you must cool even more slowly. I will also caution against using a Bunsen burner for SLS glass. The pipettes that Todd (above) refers to are actually a borosilicate composition (like Pyrex) which has a greater ability to resist thermal shock. A Bunsen burner typically will only heat very small glass objects evenly enough to be able to shape them without them blowing apart. A bottle may be too large for this technique to be useful.
Which martial art is best for me?
I need some direction here, any help would be great!! Can I get a "top 3" list. As some practices may not be offered in Reno. I'm a 18 year old 6'3 guy who weighs 180. I used to be 190lb, squat 350, clean 300, bench 210 and am training to get that back! Best at agility, and bending my knees. I have prior experience in Taekwon do and MMA. I'm looking for something very practical in a street fight. Maybe along the lines of Jeet Kune Do? Thanks for any opinion.
How to Unlock a roll top desk?
Roll-top desks were a popular piece of office furniture in the 19th century. Their allure to owners was their ability to temporarily file large amounts of paper and to secure working hard-copies by simply shuttering and locking a rolling door. Most of these desks included one set of matching keys. One key was to be kept on the owner's person, the other to be placed in a secure location. If you have a locked roll-top desk and no key, you can still open it. 1. Take two paper clips and straighten them completely. Bend one at a 90-degree angle, at a distance one-quarter or one-third from the end of the wire. Bend the extreme tip of the other paper clip at a 90-degree angle with needle-nose pliers. One paper clip should resemble an "L" shape, the other should look like a dentist's tool. 2. Slide the "dentist's tool" paper clip into the lock with the "tooth" portion turned upward to the back of the keyhole. Insert the "L" tool with the long side pointed to the floor under the other paper clip. 3. Push upward on the "dentist's tool" paper clip to test the deepest pin on the upper side of the lock. You should hear it move or click up and down as you apply and release pressure. Press up on the pin and set the "L" paper clip snugly below the other paper clip to catch the pin before it falls from its up or open position. 4. Repeat Step 3 until all four or five pins are prevented from falling from their up or open position. This will require a great deal of trial-and-error as well as patience. Once all pins are free, the roll-top desk should open.
How to cut license plates??
I have a bunch of old license plates I am going to be cutting up for an art project. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to cut these plates? I have been told that regular tin snips would work but some said to use a band saw that has a metal blade. I am going to be cutting these plates and making a map of the united states for my son's room but not sure what will work best. My father in law has a band saw and if I buy a metal blade I guess that would work but dont know. Any ideas???? Thanks.
Can someone please point me in the direction of an online dance guide?
www.dance.net sign up and you can ask any question you like I use it all the time!