ASGS Midwest Section
Fall 2024 meeting
Tickets for our Fall meeting on October 26 at Argonne National Laboratory are live.
Buy tickets by clicking on this link.
Ticket sales for current midwest members are available immediately. Ticket sales for non-members are available beginning October 7.
Important information
- After your ticket purchase is complete, you MUST also register as a visitor on Argonne’s website by October 16. Register by clicking here. If you have any problems registering as a visitor, please contact Kevin Moeller at kmoeller@anl.gov. Failure to register will prevent you from being allowed through security.
- You MUST bring a photo ID. Review acceptable forms of ID by clicking here. Failure to provide acceptable ID will prevent you from being allowed through Argonne security. Please review the “Required identification” section in the link carefully to ensure safe passage onto campus.
- As with all glass shops, please wear appropriate attire including long pants and closed shoes. There will be at least one fused quartz demo so please bring appropriate eyewear for quartz as well as didymium for pyrex demos.
Additional Information
- We still have some slots to fill for demonstrations. If you haven’t yet, please consider contributing by doing a demo. Yes, you. This is not hyperbole, we literally need you to demo and invite anyone with something technically notable to share. Please reach out with your demo idea to Mike at mikedscientific@gmail.com
- We will have an informal gathering after the meeting for some more social time and dinner, location TBD.
- Our dollar auction activity will not be conducted at this meeting because of the nature of this tightly controlled secure campus as a federal site; property being brought through security either coming or going is subject to question and investigation or even seizure to prevent nefarious activity and theft. The dollar auction will be resumed at upcoming meetings.
- For those of us travelling from out of town, there are a handful of hotel options nearby:
Crowne Plaza Chicago SW- Burr Ridge 4.2 stars $104-135
300 S Frontage Rd, Burr Ridge, IL 60527
Ihg.com (630) 325-2900
Delta Hotels Chicago willowbrook 3.9 stars $135-143
7800 Kingery Hwy, Willowbrook, IL 60527
Marriot.com (708) 290-0006
Best Western Plus Chicagoland – Countryside 4.2 stars $111-119
6251 Joliet Rd, Countryside, IL 60525
Bestwestern.com (708) 354-5200
LaQuinta Inn
855 79th St.
Willowbrook, IL 60521
630-526-3992
Econo Lodge
820 W.79th St
Willowbrook, IL 60521
630-323-8811
Red Roof Inn
7535 Kingery Highway
Willowbrook, IL 60521
630-789-6300
LaQuinta Inn
855 79th St.
Willowbrook, IL 60521
630-526-3992
Econo Lodge
820 W.79th St
Willowbrook, IL 60521
630-789-6300
Red Roof Inn
7535 Kingery Highway
Willowbrook, IL 60521
630-323-8811
Any questions about any aspect of this meeting may be directed directly to me. Look forward to seeing you there!
Aaron Kirchhoff
Chair Midwest Section ASGS
FUTURE MEETINGS
Would you like to become a member of the Midwest Section?
If you are interested in us, we are interested in you. It’s easy to do. Pay with your credit card, dues are $20/year. The Midwest Section welcomes anyone interested in learning or sharing scientific glassblowing technique, materials equipment and tools. No prerequisite necessary. You will get advance notice of future meetings, priority registration when seating is limited, and a price break on meeting costs. PLUS a good feeling knowing that you support the preservation and sharing of this knowledge which is so hard to find. The online registration link is currently broken. You can email the webmaster for more info until it is working again.
Would you like to host a meeting?
We are always looking for research or technical glass facilities to host a meeting either via Zoom or in person. If you are interested in hosting please contact the Midwest Section Chair.
Would you like to sponsor a meeting?
Got a service or product to sell? Want to connect with the scientific glassblowers market? Please consider becoming a sponsor of a section meeting or a section video. Contact the section chair for more information.
Video Library
The Section maintains a library of videos relating to scientific glass construction, tools and techniques on our YouTube channel. Some of these are from past meetings, some are worthwhile ideas submitted by interested people, all are available for free to anyone interested. If you have a video you would like to share please contact the Midwest Section Communications Chair. You can find a listing of our video library here: Video Library You can also look for them on our YouTube Channel here: Midwest YouTube
The Midwest Section includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and anyone else who would like to be a member. This very active Section meets twice per year, typically in the Spring and Fall. Meetings are a great way to collaborate with glass colleagues to learn new techniques and procedures. Join us at a Section meeting to meet your glass neighbors. For more information or to become a member please contact the Section Chair
Past Meeting Locations and demonstrations.
Highlighted demos are available for online viewing.
♦ Spring 2024
Antique neon electrodes
Tungsten to boro seal without intermediate glass
Brazing tungsten to dumet
Add a side arm to a 50 liter flask
♦ Fall 2023
Erich Moraine, Wild Rose Glass – How to make your own polished ball and socket joints
Aaron Kirchhoff, Strong Force Scientific Glass – Outboard Side Seals and Side Seal Axial Alignment for the undersized lathe
Chris Reddy, Pope Scientific, – Construction of a shallow “suck-in” style dewar
Robin Degroof, Pope Scientific – Construction of a 210mm OD classic style dewar
Jordon Smith – A novel approach to reheating a reactor with big ring seal for repair
♦ Spring 2023
♦ Fall 2022
♦ Spring 2022 (Canceled)
♦ Nov 12 2021 University of Nagoya Japan Co-hosted by Hideko Natsume and Kazunori Watanabe
University of Nagoya Campus Tour
University of Nagoya Glass Shop tour
Sidearm seal on the lathe – – Hideko Natsume
Adaptor for holding glass threads while sealing on the lathe – – Hideko Natsume
Splash guard for diamond lapping wheel – – Kazunori Watanabe
No blow sidearm seal on the lathe – – Hideaki Hashimoto
Tooling and grinding a high vacuum standard taper joint – – Kazunori Watanabe
♦ Mar 27th 2021 Yale University jointly hosted with the Northeast Section (Online only) – Daryl Smith host
Yale Campus Tour – – Erich Moraine
Yale Glass shop tour – – Daryl Smith
Blaschka glass models – – Sally Prasch
Sapphire tubing to N51 borosilicate tubing seal – – Patrick DeFlorio
Fireshield hand protector construction and use – – Tracy Drier
♦ Oct 24th 2020 Kansas State University – James Hodgson (Online only)
Kansas State Campus tour – – James Hodgson
Kansas State Glass Shop Tour – – James Hodgson
Wet Working Area of the Kansas State Glass Shop – – James Hodgson
Brief tour of the Kansas State Glass Shop workbench – – James Hodgson
Convert a 90 Degree 1 arm Stopcock to a 45 degree inline at the bench – -James Hodgson
Flawless star crack repair – – Kyle Meyer and Tracy Drier
Hammer welding platinum – – Tracy Drier
Precision resizing tubing OD – – Benjamin Revis
Coil winding at the bench – – Kyle Meyer
♦ April 13 2019 University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Chemistry Dept Glass Shop: Neal Korfage
Kovar to glass seals on the lathe: David Fox,
Internal bellows: Bill Wasmiller
Perfect vacuum tip-offs: Tom Galbraith
♦ Oct 27th 2018 U. of Illinois Champagne-Urbana Chem Dept Glass Shop Urbana Il: Andy Gibbs
Winding coils by hand: Andy Gibbs
Tee seal on 2″ process pipe: Jordan Smith
Short form double wall beaker: Corina Guerra.
♦ April 28th 2018 Mayo Clinic Glass Shop Rochester MN Steve Anderson
High vacuum tungsten to boro seals: Tracy Drier
Drilling holes in boro with tungsten: ??
♦Oct 14 2017 Millipore (formerly Aldrich Chemical) Milwaukee WI Michael D’Aquisto II
Center neck on a 72 liter flask: Ian Meyer
Custom holder for a separatory funnel: Erich Moraine,
♦ April 29, 2017 University of Notre Dame Radiation Lab Glass Shop Kiva Ford–
Polishing carbon tools: Erich Moraine,
♦ Sept 24 2016 University of Wisconsin-Madison Art Dept Tracy Drier
Hand pulled tubing from the time of the Blaschkas
The worlds first piece of purpose built scientific glass: Dr. Cathrine Jackson
♦ April 9, 2016 Western Michigan Glass Alliance Kalamazoo, MI Frank Meintz
Vac stacking to make colored tubing: Kyle Meyer
Glass tubing crack off machine use: ??
Basic seals in quartz: Paul Doyle
♦ October 10, 2015 Argonne National Laboratory Joe Gregar
Hand tooling a joint at the bench: Kyle Meyer,
♦ April 18, 2015University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee Neal Korfage
Bends on the lathe: Tracy Drier.
♦ October 18, 2014 Wild Rose Glass Erich Moraine
Tooling a 5mm dia flange on the lathe: Benjamin Revis
♦ April 12, 2014University of Iowa Benjamin Revis
Angled ring seals on the lathe: Erich Moraine
Glass formulation chemistry: ??
♦ Oct 19, 2013 University of Wisconsin Madison Chemistry Dept Glass Shop Tracy Drier
Hydroflouric Acid safety: Erich Moraine
♦ Apr 13,2013 Western Michigan Glass Society Frank Meintz
♦ Oct 12, 2012 University of Notre Dame Radiation Lab Glass shop Patrick Bennet