Back on the VC42 rebuild. The only thing left to do before reassembly is to cut the new 9mm OD x 1.5mm wall Borosilicate glass tube to length to replace the original sight glass that I stupidly broke. Luckily, the 9mm OD glass tubing just BARELY fits into the lower hole in the carb body. Apparently the OD tolerances cannot be held too closely when making these tubes; this one is slightly oversize. Here is the tubing, came all the way from China packed in a Styrofoam box; this was the smallest amount that could be ordered, but the price was still pretty cheap:
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In researching online, a diamond cut off wheel is supposed to cut the borosilicate glass. Purchased a Dremel diamond 1-1/2" diamond cut off wheel on eBay:
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But this isn't something that you cut by holding the Dremel tool in your hand. Already knew that one way or another, this would have to be done using the lathe. As a "proof of concept", I removed the tool holder and tie wrapped
the Dremel (well, it's not a Dremel but a knock-off Christmas present) to the cross slide:
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First try was with the tube held in the three-jaw chuck but with the chuck stationary. It did cut, but was not happy with the cut. Second try was with the lathe running, but the tube was cracking and chipping. For the third try, slowed down the Dremel and used a water spray bottle to cool the tube and diamond wheel. This worked well, and made a nice square cut. Used some 220 grit sandpaper while the end was spinning in the lathe to smooth it up. Here is the end result:
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Decided the "proof of concept" setup will work ok for making the actual sight glass. Will make two just in case!
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