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Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:51:56 -0500
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From: List Moderator <ecgrants**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: 3 Re: [DCHAS-L] Tool selection for removing hoses from glassware
From: Pierre Chantal
Date: November 10, 2009 3:33:54 PM EST
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Tool selection for removing hoses from glassware
Just to add to the above...
When tubing get hold and hard, I might use a few drops of the lubricant
WD-40 to soften the plastic or...
I might use a sharp blade and remove small layer at a time operating
the blade in an horizontal plan away from you... never add an injury
Thanks
===
From: Stephen Stepenuck
Date: November 10, 2009 3:50:06 PM EST
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Tool selection for removing hoses from glassware
Step 0: Instruction of lab personnel re how and how not to do it, viz.
THINK about what can/will happen if/when a knife slips.
What has worked well for me and my students is
1. Keep a short [1=972-foot?] piece of 2x6 or so lumber in the lab, or
better yet, a small cutting board with legs, to allow room for part of
the glassware, e.g. a suction flask to clear the lab bench. This will
minimize or eliminate the free-hand stuff that in my opinion causes most
of the slips and cuts.
2. Use a utility scissors to cut off the tubing as close as possible to
the end of the glass ferrule or sidearm. You now have the problem area
localized, and are no longer dealing with several feet of flailing
tubing, that is distracting, and thus dangerous.
3. Place the glass sidearm-with-1-inch-stuck-tubing-on-it flat and
firmly upon the edge of the cutting board. [Left edge if you=92re
right-handed.]
4. Keeping the appropriate fingers away, slice the rubber or polymer
tubing lengthwise along the glass sidearm. A retractable razor knife
does work well here, but if it slips, will dig into the board.
5. With no tools, use the side of your thumb at the site of the slice
to peel off the stuck tubing by rotating it around the sidearm. Some
water lubrication can be helpful here.
There is also an electrician=92s tool for making a longitudinal central
cut in the sheathing along ordinary [NM?] electric cable, in preparation
for inserting the individual conductors into a workbox. That uses a
recessed triangular blade. However, that blade is so short in the
models I have seen, that I doubt it would work on thick tubing. It
might work or at least help with PVC or similar thin-walled tubing.
Perhaps an electrical supply store might have one with a longer blade.
Good luck! That is indeed a potentially dangerous operation.
Steve
--
Stephen J. Stepenuck, Ph.D.
Professor of chemistry emeritus
Keene State College
Keene NH 03435-2001
sstepenuck**At_Symbol_Here**ne.rr.com
603.352.7540
===
From: "Koster Sandra K"
Date: November 10, 2009 3:54:44 PM EST
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] Tool selection for removing hoses from glassware
You might try glycerol (glycerine) for lubrication to help remove the
tubing. Besides being a great lubricant, it is water soluble so it=92s
easy to get rid of after you=92re done.
Sandra Koster
Univ. of Wisconsin - La Crosse
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