Herbivore How To: Repairing your cracked glass pieces!!!!

Ok, so my Luke Wilson 15 Arm Tree seems to actually have a hairline crack forming around the join between the mouthpiece tube and the 'can'.

So I was referred by the eminently helpful @Frederick McGuire to an Aussie Glassblower, Veronique Southand - who suggested that for this purpose, it is better to use a product called Hextal.

Hextal is used for museum restorations of cracked/broken ceramic/glassware. It is the stuff you can inject into a windscreen crack that will fill it in and dry hard. It is a clear epoxy which dries clear and doesn't yellow. It is apparently safe for being used in glassware (although I would not use it on a GonG or something at the start of a hot vapor path without consulting someone in the know as to whether this is safe).

It can be used to stick together a part that has outright broken off the rest of the glass piece, or to fill in a gap so that it is invisible and strongly bonded.

See the following for more info:

http://hxtal.com.au/hxtal-usage-instructions/

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no financial interest in Hextal.

Well... Did it fix your piece?

Why not just find a glassblower and have them repair it without chemicals?

Everything is chemicals my friend, you, I, everything. The question is are they safe. After looking at the MSDS, it appears safe to eat off when cured, and there is very high heat resistance with no known upper heat limit. thank the bong gods! Will report back when I get some!

By the way, Hxtal was recommended by one of the better glassblowers in this country, and she said she wouldn't want to try repair the glass herself, for fear of damaging Luke Wilson's work. She said that hxtal is the best way to fix it without risking causing other, worse cracks.

herbivore21 said:

Everything is chemicals my friend, you, I, everything. The question is are they safe. After looking at the MSDS, it appears safe to eat off when cured, and there is very high heat resistance with no known upper heat limit. thank the bong gods! Will report back when I get some!

By the way, Hxtal was recommended by one of the better glassblowers in this country, and she said she wouldn't want to try repair the glass herself, for fear of damaging Luke Wilson's work. She said that hxtal is the best way to fix it without risking causing other, worse cracks.

Click to expand...

this makes allot of sense - if you have a simple hairline crack or a chipped piece u can go with this option to fix it yourself - i know some artists don't want to touch other peoples work out of respect so it can be hard to find sum1 to do repairs ( not everyone is a whore like me =P )

that's what I found man

Soflo said:

Why not just find a glassblower and have them repair it without chemicals?

Click to expand...

Why send it to a glassblower if, say, just the base is broken? It's not like you'll be inhaling through the base...

Where's a good place to buy this stuff? I see prices varying from $30 or less to $100 or more for a 60gm kit.

Wow! Where did you find it for $30? I can find it in Melbourne from Blue Dog glass for $70 AUD

Cheers man, I just ordered a kit today. Should have it early next week

Will report my results. Can't do before and after pics unfortunately, the crack is absolutely microscopic, my camera won't capture it.

So the Hxtal arrived today, I quickly and carefully mixed the precursors as per the instructions, and dropped out some thin viscous hxtal resin onto the apparent crack on the glass piece. The resin did not seep inside the cracks and fill them in.

However, I am wondering if the actual crack is on the inside surface of the glass, rather than the outside? @Frederick McGuire is this the line that you were saying had always been there?

@redglassgallery given your expertise as a reputable glassblower, do you think this is a crack, or is it too unclear from the picture? How would you fix it if it is a crack?


As you can see, there are 2 lines (one more visible than the other) in the more orange part at the start of the mouthpiece tube leaving the can.


Here is another shot with less light reflecting - on the right of the start of the mouthpiece tube, you can see a line, this line goes around the full circumference of the glass.

My new Mobius Ion Matrix has a similar line around it's neck too, pretty much in the exact same place. I actually noticed it the day I got it, but I figured it was some kind of weld line or something to do with the glassblowing process. Now this thread has me paranoid lol I hope someone with knowledge helps explain soon

Edit: I also just checked my Aliexpress HC Bubbler and it has a line as well! @herbivore21 The line actually splits in two like the one on your Luke Wilson. It's unlikely that both my bubblers are cracked (knock on wood), so judging from it's location I think the line just might be where they welded the neck to the can. Still, I hope someone who actually knows can chime in.

I hope so too man, the piece is fine and the line is airtight, so hopefully it is just where the fused the join!

its hard to see - u have to look at it in sunlight

if it sparkles then its a crack
if not then its a a bad weld that wasnt fully melted thru so there is a "wrinkle"

the first photo was taken in direct sunlight, I am hoping that means it doesn't sparkle?