"dave" wrote in message

Suggestive subject - strange but true - does anyone know where I can get
some
glass balls from (really).

How about one of those 'New Age' shops that sell joss sticks, crystals etc?

Dave

Dave

Not sure what you are trying to do with these but:

If you are looking to fill each ball with different liquid, then we have a
similar display at work.
Can you get away with not seeing the bottom of the balls ie conceal them in
the display?

I work for an engineering company making process plant for the edible oil
industry.
To show off the large range of raw materials covered by our processes, we
have a display which appears to be loads of glass balls containing cooking
oils, seeds, nuts etc. These are actually inverted "specimen??" bottles,
with the narrow neck and bung hung downwards within the support.

May be possible to achieve your result with this method

Phil

In article , "dave" dave@
127.0.0.1 says...
Suggestive subject - strange but true - does anyone know where I can get some
glass balls from (really). I want them for a shop display idea. They will be
filled with liquid (much like those chemists displays) so must be reasonable
strong. Size wise about 4" to 6" diam would be ideal, and plain glass or
plastic. Preferrably as near spherical as possible (that's why I don't want to
use goldfish bowls).
Thanks


Have a look for round-bottom flasks from laboratory glassware
suppliers.

Have a look for round-bottom flasks from laboratory glassware
suppliers.

often get 1l round bottom flasks on ebay usually pretty cheaply

Nik

Have a look for round-bottom flasks from laboratory glassware
suppliers.

Quickfit have ground-glass stoppers and these seal well. fisher.co.uk
Do not forget to put an anti-microbial in the liquid, there is a fair
risk that they will go mouldy and ruin your display otherwise.

John Schmitt

Dave said
Ah interesting idea Phil. Do the specimen bottles have flat bases then?

No these have round bottoms - must be flasks as mentioned by other posters.

Phil

A Plasma lamp globe was another idea, but again too expensive for experimenting
with - and too big anyway. I may try Dave Lang's suggestion as those shops sell
mighty weird stuff :-)

What about clear light bulbs?
If you want something a little bigger, 200W, 300W and 500W ones
used to be available, but at increasing prices. I got several
dead ones from a squash court many years ago, but they would be
unlikely to use suitable lamps nowadays.

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
A Plasma lamp globe was another idea, but again too expensive for experimenting
with - and too big anyway. I may try Dave Lang's suggestion as those shops sell
mighty weird stuff :-)

What about clear light bulbs?
If you want something a little bigger, 200W, 300W and 500W ones
used to be available, but at increasing prices. I got several
dead ones from a squash court many years ago, but they would be
unlikely to use suitable lamps nowadays.

60w & 100w globe bulbs are about 4", and look like theyre coated inside
with something white rather than frosted - either way you may be able
to work with them.

If you need to mount them too wood, one could cut the bulb bases off,
fill with chosen gloop, then glue the baseboard on top, and invert all
once dry. Perhaps.... I'd expect failures.


NT

In article . com,
writes:

If you need to mount them too wood, one could cut the bulb bases off,

I used to do this by filing a ring around the base of the
glass with the edge of a small triangular file, and then
applying the tip of a soldering iron with a blob of solder
on it to the ring. If you're lucky, a crack runs round the
ring and the base and innards are easily withdrawn. May need
to apply the hot solder on a few points round the ring to
make the crack go all the way around. Sometimes the crack
would run off in some other direction and you end up with a
pile of broken glass -- this is more likely to happen if
the ring you filed in the glass is not continuous.

--
Andrew Gabriel

In message , dave
writes
Suggestive subject - strange but true - does anyone know where I can get some
glass balls from (really). I want them for a shop display idea. They will be
filled with liquid (much like those chemists displays) so must be reasonable
strong. Size wise about 4" to 6" diam would be ideal, and plain glass or
plastic. Preferrably as near spherical as possible (that's why I don't want to
use goldfish bowls).
Thanks

Fishermans floats from a junk shop ?

--
geoff

Looks like there's quite a few glass balls on Ebay. Although most seem to
have something weird in them like a fairy, dragon or a teddy.

In message , dave
writes
Suggestive subject - strange but true - does anyone know where I can get some
glass balls from (really). I want them for a shop display idea. They will be
filled with liquid (much like those chemists displays) so must be reasonable
strong. Size wise about 4" to 6" diam would be ideal, and plain glass or
plastic. Preferrably as near spherical as possible (that's why I don't want to
use goldfish bowls).
Thanks

Florists wholesale supplies, "globe vase".
I bought a dozen last week at 12 quid each from 'Country Baskets' in
Glasgow, for wedding reception table decorations. Very similar to a
goldfish bowl, but without a 'foot'. There's a choice of sizes, from 6"
to 10".
--
Keith