Cutting glass floats

Has anyone ever tried this? The idea is to suspend a lighted blowfish inside of it, ala the one at Oceanic Arts that they won't sell to me. I'm sure somebody out there has done this before, I ran a search but came up empty. Hook a brotha up!

Oddly enough I was getting ready to revive this thread to ask Polynesiac to give me some idea on how he's cutting the floats to make lamps. I understand the glass drill bit part but not the glass cutter part.

Puffer lamp inside a glass float? Sounds great, but what did they do, cut the float in half, insert the fish and glue it back together or did they just cut a really big hole in the top?

I got the glass globes and I'm ready to start drilling and cutting. Need your guidance Polynesiac (or anyone else)!

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2012-05-01 20:18 ]

I don't know how they made the one at OA but I didn't see any seams,although I wasn't looking too closely, I just knew I wanted it. They must have cut a circle in the top and glued it back very precision-like. I'm gonna try it that way unless anybody has a better idea. The fishbowl of which Chip and Andy spoke would work but the colored ball effect is so cool, and I've never seen a colored fishbowl. Anyhoo, I'll let you know how it turns out.

This is a time consuming method, but it will work. Cut a small one inch hole into the glass float and submerge it into a stable salt water aquarium. Get a baby pufferfish and then grow it inside the sunken float. After a few years, voila!

Kono wrote:

Puffer lamp inside a glass float? Sounds great

It is ~

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2004-12-16 16:00 ]

I can't find my post about making your own pufferfish lamp, but you can:

• Catch one yourself (they like corn),
• skin it while making as small an incision as you can,
• put an uninflated balloon into the skin,
• put the skin into the float through the small hole you drilled to put the lamp into the float,
• blow up the Balloon,
• tie off the balloon & suspend the puffer in the float so it doesn't touch the sides or bottom,
• let the puffer dry & cure,
• deflate & remove the balloon,
• cut a small hole into the puffer's dorsal region,
• and insert your light through the hole in the float & into your puffer.

I'll try to find my step-by-step DIY pufferfish lamp instructions, I might still have them around.

DawnTiki, that's the one!! How the $#!+ did they do that? Look closely...no seems, right? I'm stumped but I'm gonna try to make one. Mr. Hakalugi and Mr. Freelance, you were absolutely no help whatsoever(lol)! C'mon, somebody must know how to make one of these puppies. Or is it one of those "closely guarded TIKI secrets" that only "GRAND POOBAS" (or whatever the're called) are allowed to possess? Don't make me beg.

I've put a lighted glass float into a puffer fish...if that's any help.

I figure that if you ever expect to replace the light bulb, then there must be a hole in the float big enough to remove the pufferfish. No glue should be involved. If you look closely at the photograph, there does appear to be a hole at the top which is very close to the size of the puffer. The hole looks like it is not "centered". I say go back to OA and get an up close look.

[ Edited by: Hakalugi on 2004-12-19 00:07 ]

Maybe some sort of "lid" on float that does not require glueage, just sets there for more uniform appearance, as netting provides the support...you might be onto something 'Lugi.

WOW Dawn! Where did you find THAT? Do you own it? Im having a tiki-O!

Luff ya girlie! :wink:

Lenore

Silly girl! No the lamp isn't mine :D It's home is at Oceanic Arts under Bob and Leroy's watchful eye. As it should be. Although the image is my wallpaper on my computer which is in my lounge. So I guess, in a way, it is part of the decor. Glad to see you poking around here Lenore.

Not giving away too many secrets here, but the OA fish float lamps have a 5 inch hole cut in the top, but, that that may not account for the way the puffer in float lamp is done.

There are a lot of different round globes out there. They were much more common 30+ years ago, but should be around now. They would be white though. So you could find a way to color them and add a net and you have the lamp, sans fish, but the lamp part.

Sorry, to beat a dead thread. I been scouring TC for good instructions on just getting the hole in the float but I'm still coming up empty.

Please let me start at the beginning: Got a 12" diameter glass float with rope netting. Don't need to get a whole puffer fish in there, just make a hole about 1 1/2" for a wee light. Do you make the hole at the "navel"?

muito obrigado!

Here's a thread with some instructions from Tiki Jeff on using a diamond drill to cut the float:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=1119&forum=1&hilite=diamond%20drill

And here's one with instructions from Kono from when he made a Suffering Bastard lamp, but I'm sure you could use the same info for a float:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=8621&forum=7&hilite=diamond%20drill

Thanks. Well, I'll either have a lamp to show off or Mrs. Pappy will be taking me for stitches!

BTW, as far as frosting the outside, it would seem to me, the most authentic way to do it would be sandpaper on the outside--no? Isn't the idea of the thing that it rolled around in the surf and for months and months and got frosted on the OUTside?

mahalo,
Pappy

Hi pappy,

Last year I had a large glass ball blown for me by a local glass blowing shop. They sandblasted the outside giving it a wonderful glow when lit. If you have a local shop they might do it for you at a reasonable price. I paid nothing extra to have mine done.

I've got to get around to posting a picture, all I need to do is darken the rope a little with some tea.

Wanna see those pics wahine :). That lamp on the previous page is sweet

On 2005-09-20 10:41, Tikiwahine wrote:
Hi pappy,

Last year I had a large glass ball blown for me by a local glass blowing shop. They sandblasted the outside giving it a wonderful glow when lit. If you have a local shop they might do it for you at a reasonable price. I paid nothing extra to have mine done.

I've got to get around to posting a picture, all I need to do is darken the rope a little with some tea.

Thanks, Tikiwahine. I would go that route but I already got
the float and the last thing I wanna do is peel the net that's on there off. I don't think I could get it back on on a bet!

One more question (for anyone): I was planning on making the hole right in the float's belly button where the glass is thickest. Is that the place to do it?

a million thanks,
Pappy

Go to a stained glass store and get a diamond bit there. You will want to use water on the bit when cutting the hole. Go slow when attempting. The knot on the glass would be the hardest place to cut through. The stress on a glass ball is everywhere.
Wesley

Can you stand one more question? It's kind of a big one now that I think of it. The diamond head bits are pretty small. What do I do to get the hole big enough to use? Is it safe to keep nibbling the edges until it's big enough?

thanks,
pappthequestionman

I got a solid glass float at Michael's last year to make a lamp and used a dremel diamond bit to cut a hole in it. I used a marker to trace the size of the hole using a quarter as a template.
Using a diamond dremel bit, I traced over the circle until the dremel ate away the glass and I got a hole. Probably took about 30 minutes. I had a little tiny c7 type christmas fixture with prongs and it fit perfect.
Now, I didn't do anything so drastic as a 5 inch hole, so I don't know how that would work. I've heard that glass balls have a lot of stress and that you can shatter it as easily as cut a hole in it.
One of the previous posts about lots of water is good advice. I kept the bit wet the entire time I did mine.
And definitely go slow, don't apply too much pressure. I think not pressing as hard might help keep the float in one piece as you cut it. Did I mention to keep the bit wet? The water helped cut down on the amount of glass dust, too.
I want to see one of those lamps!

OK! (As soon as I find my Dremel...)

Mahalo everybody.

Yes you will need to grind out the hole. It may take a little time. Keep water on the bit, it will cut smoother and cleaner. Also it will extend the life of the bit.

[ Edited by: polynesiac 2006-01-02 19:20 ]

If you are cutting the float in order to hang a puffer fish lamp in side, you will need to do way more than grind out a hole from a point (like you would a drill). You will need a diamond cutting wheel and cut a round section out. I doubtr that you could grind out a hole that big from the center of a small diamond bit. That would take way too long woudn't it?

As far as netting, that seems to be the big snag for me. I don't know how in the world I'm going to get the net tied back the way it was before!!

In the end, I think I just did my own thing. I did go through the belly button of the float where the glass was thickest. I just figured this was the toughest spot. I didn't use a diamond cutter or even a Dremel tool. I used a roto zip. I did use lots of water. Cutting at the belly button also provided a depression for the water.

I got up the nerve to untie the top and found I could get the rest of the net off. I knew a real beach-combed float would be rough on the outside so I really didn't give any thought to sandblasting the inside nor any kind of chemical etching or frosting. I just grabbed some sandpaper and went to town. It took all night but was a pretty good upper body workout.

The light was from a busted Christmas candle I got his morning at the flea market for a quarter.

I planned on doing a couple this week. Then I was wondering will the heat from the bulb crack the glass? What wattage bulb did you use??
I have 3 that I'll do so I'm going with the glass beader. It's much faster!
Wes

Pappy - nice looking globe! and a real one to boot! score!

[ Edited by: Polynesiac 2006-06-05 13:47 ]

Nice looking lamps! I love em.

good job! Now that I'm inspired, I gotta try doing this to a much bigger float next time.