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sgmd

cement mixer for tumbling glass

sgmd
10 years ago

Hi all ...

i work with a local glassblower, and he has a lot of scrap glass leftovers that usually end up in the trash. I've been trying to come up with some ideas on how to recycle it.

I've made some tumbled frosted glass using a Lortone rock tumbler. But that's not practical for the large amounts of scrap glass generated at the studio. So i'm looking for a small cement mixer that i could run in my basement to process the glass, to make either landscape glass for outdoors or frosted glass for crafts. (I can't run it outside because it would disturb the neighbors.)

Does anyone have recommendations on what type of small cement mixer to get? I've heard that metal ones are very noisy, but some plastic ones can break. There's also the question of how long they can be run before the motor overheats (causing a fire hazard) or parts get worn down.

Any recommendations for reliable brands and types of cement mixers for glass tumbling would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
shireen

Comments (3)

  • texaswild
    10 years ago

    A member now passed on - FLAGTRUCK - had a small one from Harbor Freight - they were about $100 last time I checked. She used it to tumble plate shards. I suppose you could tumble glass, but I wouldn't think for very long at a time. Last time I tumbled glass was in an ice cream freezer, and 15/20 minutes was long enough. Excuse me, but disturbing neighbors wouldn't keep me from using it outside. My neighbors used to get the sound of my tile saw, which is much louder than a mixer.

  • Calamity_J
    10 years ago

    I would think if you used a cement mixer with sand and water in it, with the glass, that it would not be loud.I have some big glass panels from a table, 1/2 inch thick, 12x6inches, that I want to break into chunks, so may use this great idea too!!

  • sgmd
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you, slowdown. I really need to do it indoors. The neighborhood is very quiet, and they don't tolerate noise. The Harbor Freight cement mixers start at around $150.

    calamity_j, i've read that people use cement mixers to make frosted glass pieces. But I've heard estimates from 8 hours to 2 days for running it continuously (with sand), and it gets confusing. Is it safe to run it for long periods of time? That's my main concern.

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