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RE: windows
I would have to agree with the majority on this one. It is a much safer
bet to use plastic, preferably with an external dish shape to put the
material in compression.
That said, I do know of a two man sub built by a professional diver in
upstate NY in the 70's which used a glass view port and was supposedly
good for 300'. The design used a metal conical machined ring as a
holder. The diameter on the inside was about 4" and the diameter at the
outside was about 8". The thickness was about 3". (I don't remember
the actual numbers, these are all rough approximations) He put the
glass in place with grease at the interface to "float" it and sealed it
against the water pressure with an o-ring on the outside face under a
clamp/retainer ring. This meant the glass was always in compression
(theoretically). The interace surface was also "lap" fitted to the
holder to elimenate high spot "stressers". It made a reasonable port
with about 100 degrees of viewing angle, very clear.
I hope you are getting the picture here, it is much easier and safer to
just use plastic type ports made for your pressure requirements. I like
the glass table top idea!
> ----------
> From: STEVE McColman[SMTP:steve_mccolman@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 1998 6:41 PM
> To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
> Subject: windows
>
> I know that most of you use acrylic for your portholes. I was
> wondering
> if anyone has tried using actual glass? Now, I know that sub windows
> are not something to skimp on, just to save a couple of bucks! But I
> already have a big piece of 1.25 inch glass, and 1 square foot of the
> same acrylic will cost me 75 clams! If I had a 10 inch diameter glass
>
> window that was 1.25 inch thick, what depth would be safe???
>
>
> Steve McColman, Vancouver Island
>
>
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