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Tecnolux Lead Free Glass
Hi John,
Since it is official now I can jump in and offer an opinion on the lead free
glass from Tecnolux. Dave sent me some to "Beta" test and give him my
thoughts.
It requires a slightly higher heat than the lead glass before bending but not
nearly as long as the soda lime glasses. The glass is a bit stiffer but
working time is very good due to the ample wall thickness. I think overall it
is a tougher product The primary flux still seems to be sodium so there is
sodium flare from the glass in the torch which I like to visually check for
even heating of the bend. You can eliminate this with didymimum glasses which
I wear with the soda lime anyway. Glasses are another subject which we also
need to get into but that's another thread.
Cutting properties (particularly while cooling) are very good and the wall
thickness is very good and consistent. One interesting property is that lead
glass fluoresces or lights up with mercury vapor and UV where as pyrex and the
new lead free glass don't. I happen to like that look better. Since I have a
mix of pyrex and lead in the shop I use a UV color checker to tell which glass
is which quickly on my table. Now what, Dave??? Actually, it will be fairly
easy to tell it apart by color. The lead free has a slight blue green tint on
edge. I just got some samples from Dave yesterday and the glass is very nice
in terms of quality. It doesn't scratch as easily as the lead so that is a
plus also.
The other aspect is what I believe is the impetus to go to lead free anyway
which is safety. Just to make sure it wasn't a situation where we were
replacing a known hazard with another I contacted a safety source in the
Council for the Arts. Just in case there is a message length limit I'll
continue....
E-mail from: Tom Biebel, 04-Nov-1995
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