Where can I get a tiny piece of glass?

[matthyaouw]

Odd request time!
I need a tiny piece of clear glass, 12mm by 11mm and about 2mm thick. Does anyone know where I might be able to get one? I am trying to think of places that use thin glass for other things, but am not having much luck

edit- maybe a picture framer's shop...

 

[Evo]

Odd request time!
I need a tiny piece of clear glass, 12mm by 11mm and about 2mm thick. Does anyone know where I might be able to get one? I am trying to think of places that use thin glass for other things, but am not having much luck

edit- maybe a picture framer's shop...

Buy a tiny picture frame? You can get a scribe to cut glass for cheap at a hobby shop, which might also have the glass that you need.

 

[turbo]

Scribe and snap a microscope slide.

 

[edward]

scribe and snap a microscope slide.

Bingo

 

[mgb_phys]

Scribe and snap a microscope slide.

I immediately thought of microscope slides and then wondered if there was anywhere you (or atleast anyone without a SigmaAldritch account) could still buy them without being listed as a potential bioterrorist.

Years ago I needed to build a laser trap froma stack of razor blades and discoved that they are almost impossible to get, as are proper metal scalpels.

 

[matthyaouw]

Good ideas! I think I have a couple of slides kicking around somewhere from my sedimentology classes. I'll have to go see how thick they are and get my hands on a scribe from somewhere. Thanks!

 

[mgb_phys]

Standard microscope slides are 1.0mm, 'thick' versions are 1.2mm
The thickness isn't that important for the optical performance so the mtolerence is normally only +- 0.1mm os so.

They snap pretty weel, you can do it with any steel tool, you probably don't need a diamond scribing wheel.
Wear gloves+goggles or cover it with a cloth until you get the hang of it!

 

[matthyaouw]

My slides should be perfect, but I think I'll need to glue two together. The stuff I've seen recommended (Eukitt) is $70 a bottle. Can anyone recommend a cheaper option? It's xylenes & acrylic resin. I don't know what I really need, except it has to be clear and shouldn't distort light. The glass is going in front of a camera sensor.

 

[mgb_phys]

except it has to be clear and shouldn't distort light.

That depends on how much distortion you can tolerate - whcih depend son the angl eof the beam and the image quality.
But with a very thin gap between clean flat slides you can use almost anything that completely fills the space (ie no air bubbles) supeglue is probably the first thing I would try if you want it to be permanent.

 

[Evo]

My slides should be perfect, but I think I'll need to glue two together. The stuff I've seen recommended (Eukitt) is $70 a bottle. Can anyone recommend a cheaper option? It's xylenes & acrylic resin. I don't know what I really need, except it has to be clear and shouldn't distort light. The glass is going in front of a camera sensor.

Did you check out just buying the glass for $1-2 dollars at the hobby shop? If you use glue, there will be some distortion, just buy it the right thickness to begin with, then get a cheap scribe for a few bucks. It's just a blade that scores the glass, then a light tap and it's a smooth cut. I used to do it all of the time.

http://www.technologylk.com/product...onal-Heavy-Duty-Diamond-Tip-Glass-Cutter.html

How to cut glass

http://www.abacaglass.com/how_to_cut_glass.htm

Some more tips.

http://ghonis2.ho8.com/rebelmod.html

 

[Moonbear]

Hmm...let's see. Find a display case or window with the right thickness of glass, get a large rock... Oh, that's probably not the best approach.

You're going to get a lot of distortion trying to glue two slides together. I don't recommend it.

For such a tiny piece, a shop that sells glass could probably provide a piece that size from just scraps left from other jobs.

 

[Proton Soup]

check out a lowes or home depot. they may have glass and a cutter.

 

[Moonbear]

check out a lowes or home depot. they may have glass and a cutter.

They might even have some broken glass in the back that they'd be willing to give away. (Or at least whatever the UK equivalent of those stores is.)

 

[bassplayer142]

I don't know if this works... But I heard that you can cut glass with scissors if you do it underwater. It is supposed to damp the supersonic vibrations caused by the cutting.