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Water Glass: Ground Flints Boiled in Caustic Soda Lye, Ure 1839
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Charlie

Created by

Charlie

14. October 2026DE
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Water Glass: Ground Flints Boiled in Caustic Soda Lye, Ure 1839

Water glass is silica dissolved in caustic soda: a thick, syrupy liquid that sets to silica gel when acidified. Andrew Ure (1839): boil ground flints in strong caustic lye until the liquor is nearly twice as heavy as water. Hot caustic lye burns skin and eyes: goggles and gloves. The picture: our diagram of the boil and the hydrometer check.
Intermediate
Two days

Instructions

1

Grind the flints

Break flint nodules small with a sledge, grind them to a powder and sift it (ours).

Materials for this step:

Flint NoduleFlint Nodule1 kg

Tools needed:

SledgehammerSledgehammer
Mortar and PestleMortar and Pestle
Fine Mesh SieveFine Mesh Sieve
Balance ScaleBalance Scale
Dust MaskDust Mask
Safety GlassesSafety Glasses
2

Boil in lye

Boil the flint powder in strong caustic soda lye in an iron cauldron, stirring, topping up with water as it boils away.

Materials for this step:

Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)2 liters

Tools needed:

Large Cast Iron CauldronLarge Cast Iron Cauldron
FirewoodFirewood
Wooden PaddleWooden Paddle
WaterWater
Chemical Splash GogglesChemical Splash Goggles
Rubber GlovesRubber Gloves
3

Boil to strength

Keep boiling until a cooled sample reads close to 2 on the hydrometer, nearly twice as heavy as water.

Tools needed:

HydrometerHydrometer
Large Cast Iron CauldronLarge Cast Iron Cauldron
Chemical Splash GogglesChemical Splash Goggles
Rubber GlovesRubber Gloves
4

Strain and store

Let it settle, strain the syrupy liquor through cloth from the undissolved grit, and keep it in a closed jar.

Tools needed:

Cloth (Straining)Cloth (Straining)
Glass JarGlass Jar
Chemical Splash GogglesChemical Splash Goggles
Rubber GlovesRubber Gloves
5

What it holds

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Materials

2

Tools Required

15

This blueprint makes

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Water Glass (Sodium Silicate Solution)

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