Good supplier of water gauge glass? 1/2" O.D

[McNown]

Where is a good place to buy water gauge glass? 1/2" O.D

Thanks,

Jeff

[jessebanning]

I go through a local boiler shop here in Vegas. They have great glass. You can get in in heavy wall if you like. Red line or clear. The company is Desert Boilers & Controls, Inc. www.desertboilers.com. Talk to a gentleman named Scott Goedeck 702-631-7780 and tell him Jesse from Jd Locomotive Works sent ya. The smallest they have is .500" OD but go all the way up to 1.00"+.

[McNown]

Jesse, I called them and they told me they do not carry 1/2" OD glass. 5/8ths is the smallest. Thanks.. Still looking.

Jeff

[cbrew]

Jesse, I called them and they told me they do not carry 1/2" OD glass. 5/8ths is the smallest. Thanks.. Still looking.

Jeff

Mcmaster carr does have .5inch gauge glass suitable for steam service
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/116/526/=96ackb
scroll down to middle of the page

[Harlock]

McMaster Locomotive Supply to the rescue again!

[Patrik]

too bad they don't ship international

[SteamHeaton]

Jeff , I have had good service from John C. Ernst Co inc. They are located in Sparta, NJ and can be found on the web at www.sightglass.com I bought the heavy wall 1/2" red stripe and they can cut it for you also. Ray III

[Fred_V]

i have some 3/4" OD x 1/2" ID that i want to cut to 1" length for a luber sight glass. i tried to grind a groove around it and snap it off but it just broke.
i see the tubing cutters on McMaster Carr. can i score the tube with a std. tube cutter and break it?

[jessebanning]

Hey Jeff, I'll call him. PM me your email address

[ken572]

McNown,

Check these guys out..

http://www.boilersupplies.com/gageglass ... glass.html

Ken.

[steamin10]

Short pieces of glass are tricky to break. Take a store string cord and make a loop around the glass. Make two wrappings of masking or electrical tape at the break line. With the string tied to a doornob or similar immovable object, quickly run the glass back and forth with the string in the groove, a little tension will keep the string inplace and create some heat. When the glass is hot enough to to be painfull to touch, plunge the thing into cool water, and it should snap of its own accord. If not try again with more elbo, ( you will get tired in the two minutes it takes). It is the line of concentrated heat that does the work. This works on pyrex and most boiler glass that is not terribly thick. Boiler glasses are treated to not break under pressure and temperature. Other wise a diamond glass saw is the only other way for short work.

You can fire polish the ends for more strength, as it eliminates cracking from rough ends.

[tomc]

i have some 3/4" OD x 1/2" ID that i want to cut to 1" length for a luber sight glass. i tried to grind a groove around it and snap it off but it just broke.
i see the tubing cutters on McMaster Carr. can i score the tube with a std. tube cutter and break it?

Fred, I bought a cutter for our gauge glass and found it didn't do a great job of cutting. The edge was quite rough IIRC. I went to a glass supply house and had the cut done with their Water saw. Nice cut! If you don't mind sanding, a cutter may work for you. I can't remember where I got mine.

Tom C.