How to Make a Glass Sink Polishing Stand

It’s amazing how much art and engineering have in common. Art concepts are born from a small spark. But it takes hot, burning desire, coupled with ingenuity, to actually transform such obscure ideas into physical reality.

There’s got to be an easier way.

I’ve been making fused glass sinks for years. In the beginning, I constructed them using the layered method. This type of construction has a beautiful, round finished edge when the fused glass comes out of the slumping mold.

It wasn’t long before I expanded my techniques and started building sinks using the cast method. This sink style is much thicker. The glass comes out of the mold with a slightly texture edge. This type of sink construction requires grinding and polishing to make the edge smooth and shiny.

Sinks are advanced projects that involve a considerable amount of time to construct, a sizable amount of material and a skilled craftsman to complete successfully. When it comes time to cold-work your masterpiece, you want to feel confident that the job will go smoothly. And so it was our intention, to build consistency into this otherwise unstable task. That’s why we modified a readily available carpenter’s roller stand, into a customized sink support/guide that would provide us with reliable results time after time.

If it worked for me, it’ll work for you.

This new, re-purposed tool significantly streamlined my workflow and improved my success rate. Here’s how you can make your own sink stand/guide.

Start with your standard, home improvement store variety roller stand. Remove the metal roller. It comes off easily by depressing two buttons, one on each end of the roller. The mechanism works similar to toilet paper roll holder. Cut a 2” x 2” block of wood to fit between the uprights. Secure the wood in place with wood screws, one on each end. Cover the surface of the wood with a strip of nylon, like the white cutting board used in your kitchen. The nylon holds up longer than the bare wood and it won’t scratch your glass as the edge becomes shinny. Hold the nylon strip in place with two wood crews. Be sure to countersink the screws so they don’t come in contact with or damage your glass. Pre-drill two holes for the dowels behind the nylon strip. Press two hardwood dowels into the holes in the wooden base. These dowels serve as stops that help you maintain a consistent distance from the grinding wheel throughout the grinding and polishing process. Tip: Don’t glue the dowels in place. They wear out quickly, and therefore will need to be replaced every few sinks.

Once you have one of these stands, you’re certain to find multiple uses for it. So don’t hesitate to add this handy tool to the supply of tools in your studio.

Supplies

Roller stand

Wood screws

2” x 2” strip of wood cut to size

1”- 1 ½” wide strip of nylon cut to size

3/8” thick hardwood dowel cut to size

Happy Fusing!

Lisa

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