Pebbled Glass/Hens Teeth

[Sorvan]

I think I could mold some up but the acrylic I use that cures hard will yellow over time so I don't know how long it's out door life expectancy is.

It yellows over time because it's not UV stable.  From what I've seen, the stuff to use is Urethane casting resin such as the Crystal Clear series from Smooth-On.  It's not the sort of thing you want to use without proper safety equipment though.

I've also only found once place for the pebbled look that is pictured in this thread by Timegirl but the're inst realy a size referance so I don't know if the pebbleing effect is too small or not.

The retail website you point to shows that this is made by Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co., Inc. but they don't specify the scale either.  Looking on their links page I did find a local retailer which sells their glass so I'll see if they have a sample I can look at.

Colin

[pod]

I was talking to my boss the other day about my pebbled glass woes, and he used to be in the glass business for years. He said all you have to do is take a sample or a photo to a glass maker and they can replicate it for you to any size you need. He did add though, "It depends on how much you want to pay ... and how much he wants to charge you."

[Rox]

Having a look round the farm buildings here, and I thought I'd struck lucky - but ended up unlucky!

There's a couple of panes of what (if we're calling that pebble glass) must be boulder glass!  The bumps are much bigger (and probably the size of real beach pebbles).  So not quite there.  But if I find anything, I'll let you know.

[Scarfwearer]

Well, I've managed to find a glazed door in a reclamation yard, with quite a lot of pebbled glass in it. I've visited several reclamation yards recently, and they've all had doors with pebbled glass in them at varying prices. Unfortunately of course you're paying for the whole door, not the glass, so ideally you want a shabby old door with lots of glass in it. The door I bought had one pane that had been replaced with hammered glass, so I can show a direct comparison.
Here's a picture:

Pebbled glass on the left, hammered glass on the right.

Pebbled glass looks like a lot of glass balls that have been melted in a tray until they join together (though I don't think it's actually made like that). Hammered glass, by contrast looks like soft glass that has been hammered with a small round-ended hammer, and is much like a negative mold taken from pebbled glass. Actually it seems possible that it happened the other way around.
I suspect that both kinds of glass were actually molded, even when they were in production.

My TARDIS currently has Spectrum Hammered Clear in it, which of the three you showed above is now the one I'd be least likely to pick . The hammer effect is very shallow and not very round.

Crispin

[Darksyde]

I ordered 3 different hammered glass pieces to see what they looked like and here they are -

Kokomo Hammered Clear from Southerfront Stained Glass

http://www.southernfrontstainedglass.com/index.php?cPath=154_156

Front:

[noIMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/hightde/th_GlassKokomo01.jpg[/img]

Back:

[noIMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/hightde/th_GlassKokomo02.jpg[/img]

These two are from Warner Stained Glass

http://www.warner-criv.com/search/search.aspx?type=dept&strSearch=385

Spectrum Clear Hammered
Front:

[noIMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/hightde/th_GlassSpectrum01.jpg[/img]

Back:

[noIMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/hightde/th_GlassSpectrum02.jpg[/img]

Wissmach Clear Hammered

Front:

[noIMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/hightde/th_GlassWissmach02.jpg[/img]

[noIMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/hightde/th_GlassWissmach01.jpg[/img]

Don't know if this is terribly helpfull but if these look anywhere close mayhaps these brands can be found local to you.

Chears!

[Darksyde]

They also have a new product called encapso-k but it dosen't cure totally hard, it looks like it stays about hard rubber stiffness, but it's uv stable.  Only other clear casting product I can find that is not 'industrial' rated.

[warmcanofcoke]

Are there any leads on Pebbled Glass, or pebbled glass substitute?

[galacticprobe]

I don't know how "close enough" you're looking for, but I remember seeing some builds where people used those drop ceiling light trougher diffusers (not the fancy ones, but the ones with the pointy side to them) as substitutes for the pebbled glass. I think one or two even lightly sanded down the points to sort of round them off a bit so they looked more the part, and not as harsh. Those are available in clear and frosted (translucent white) at any home improvement store. I think the 2' x 4' one should be enough to complete one full set of TARDIS windows.

Dino.

[warmcanofcoke]

drop ceiling light trougher diffusers ? .... did a search on google
is this what you are talking about?

http://www.lightingplastics.com/index.php?option=com_products&product_id=60

[Volpone]

Similar to that. The stuff I've got is just a flat sheet.  Lowe's and Home Depot will both have them.  I went with the "crackle" pattern.  If you're doing a "close enough" build, it will work.  If you're doing a better than screen accurate build, the price for it is good enough that you can buy it to use until you can find the good stuff.  It is fairly flimsy and brittle and difficult to work with but it got the job done for me.

One source I've considered (if I can come up with an excuse to do another build) is the glass for a patio table.  Of course I still haven't figured out how to get the glass without buying a patio table, but that's another story. 

[warmcanofcoke]

I think I know the stuff your talking about now - I just couldn't place it by the description. Perhaps I never heard the proper name before.

The sad thing is I have a buddy that has loads of pebbled glass in his building - its just in use at the moment. 

still if there are other alternatives I'd love to get the real stuff. Many of the links on this thread no longer go anywhere. I was hoping someone might have "a source" they knew about. 

[tony farrell]

Hi Nate,
I don't know if you have such things on the other side of the 'pond', but architectural salvage yards would seem to be a good place to start.
My mum lives in a house which was built in 1929/30 (so correct era) and she still has the original stained glass in the front door surround (art deco geometric patterns of coloured glass set in slightly translucent pebbled glass 'lights'. I don't think that she'd be too impressed if I started removing bits of it though - there'd be a terrible draft!
Unbeknown to me, one her neighbours recently had double glazing fitted and simply threw the original glass panels away (almost criminal really).
Bear in mind that the original Police Box prop was constructed by the BBC. It's unlikely that real glass was used - it's much more likely to have been patterned/pebbled Perspex similar if not identical to this.



In the UK similar - though not identical - Perspex (used for light diffusers in suspended ceilings) is widely available from places like B&Q (Home Depot).
I hope this is of use.
Kind Regards
Tony

[galacticprobe]

Similar to that. The stuff I've got is just a flat sheet.  Lowe's and Home Depot will both have them.

Yeah... That's what I was referring to. I had no idea what to call it so I just used as many descriptive words as I could to get the main point across. (Next time I'm in one of those places I'll get the actual name they use for it, and the pattern.)

Dino.

[warmcanofcoke]

I don't know how "close enough" you're looking for, but I remember seeing some builds where people used those drop ceiling light trougher diffusers (not the fancy ones, but the ones with the pointy side to them) as substitutes for the pebbled glass.

Well after a quick visit to my local Home Depot - I discovered those diffusers you were talking about have a seriously weird name - I doubt most people would even call them by their proper name - I basically just said I need that diffuser material you put over kitchen florescent lights.

They call it - Metalux Troffer Replacement lens .... I assume Metalux is a brand name. (I already have loads of this material - I was just curious to know the proper name.) .... Still I look a picture of the Pebbled Glass reference Crispin provided and asked if they had anything similar ...... they suggested it was possible their might be something in the Bathroom tile department but didn't really sound convinced themselves. And the assistant said he had never seen anything like it before .... yeah I knew going in there it was a long shot, but sometime you will be pleasantly surprised with a long shot.

[warmcanofcoke]

Hi Tony,
I was hopping to find a substitute that didn't cost an arm and a leg - most of the architectural salvage shops in my town charge outrageous prices for original knobs, gum wood and windows and such. I may just expect a huge sticker shock on something that may not be exactly right in the first place. I suppose Tardis Building never promised to be an inexpensive hobby -  And thinking on that last statement all hobbies are rather expensive in the first place. I will do as you suggest and see I there is something vintage that may in fact be what I am looking for. Thanks Again for your advice.
Nathan