How to Make Beach Glass
Hiking along the beach and finding pieces of beach glass is always a treasured moment, especially if spent with a child. Those days, however, are fading fast due to the fact that glass bottles simply aren't being used in the quantities they used to be. For beach glass enthusiasts, there is still a way to obtain it: Make it yourself. With a rock tumbler, some glass and some patience, you could have beach glass that is great for projects, art or just for displaying. Beach glass is created when broken bottles or other glass objects are pushed and pulled through the sand as waves and the tide surge water over the top. It takes years for beach glass to develop naturally, but the process can be done at home in just a couple of weeks.
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Things You'll Need
- Colored glass Bucket or basin Towel Hammer or heavy object Rock tumbler Coarse sand Water Fine sand
Instructions
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Break the glass. Put a variety of colored glass bottles or stained glass scraps---which can usually be bought by the pound at a stained glass dealer or manufacturer---into a large bucket or basin. Cover with a towel and break the glass through the towel, using a hammer. Smash the glass until the pieces are the size of small rocks and pebbles.
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Prepare the tumbler. Load the barrel of the rock tumbler about three-quarters full with broken glass. Add water to the barrel, just until it submerges all of the glass. Add coarse-grit sand until the barrel is nearly full. Close the barrel of the tumbler and secure it.
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Turn on the rock tumbler and let it work for three or four days. The coarse grit sand will wear at the sharp edges of the glass, smoothing it and rounding it. Check the tumbler each day to see if you're satisfied. According to the Rockpick Legend Co. in Salt Lake City, glass is not as difficult to tumble as rock is, so the process will be much faster than other projects you may have done in a tumbler.
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Remove the glass from the barrel, take it outside and rinse it. Wash the glass, the tumbler barrel and lid, and your hands.
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Place the glass back inside the clean barrel and fill it with enough water to submerge the material. Add a fine-grit sand until nearly full, then close and secure the tumbler. Turn on the tumbler and let it run. Check the glass every day until its appearance appeals to you. Wash all the materials and let them dry.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want a cloudier look, repeat the tumbling process a third time with an extremely fine grit of sand for just a couple of days. The larger the tumbler, the larger pieces of glass you can work. Small tumblers can work glass around an inch in size, while the largest tumblers can do three-inch pieces and can handle a much larger load.
When breaking glass, always wear eye protection. Use gloves when handling broken glass fragments. Do not rinse the glass in a sink---the sludge can clog the drain.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Mark Epstein via Wikipedia
