Summary

Mayhems Glass Tubing brings something new to the enthusiast PC building community which rig builders can use to add a finishing touch to their works of art.

We found that “cutting” the tubes to length using the score and snap method produced unsatisfactory results on 2 of the 3 times we tried and so we advise that potential buyers order extra lengths to practice with.
Excellent cuts were achieved (and with no wastage) when we set up a cutting bench using a rotary tool (Dremel) with a water cooled diamond cutting wheel. This method can/does produce hazardous silica dust as a result, but using appropriate PPE and a thorough wet clean-up immediately after will eliminate this hazard.

Bending the borosilicate glass tube is not possible without special equipment so be prepared to have lots of 90° fittings on hand for building a loop with glass tubing. However, Mayhems is set to release Glass tubing with pre-bent 90° bends, but because of the issues I had with the score & snap cutting method I suspect this will be even more of a challenge to get the ends trimmed to the correct length for installation as it can not be rotated in the cutting jig that we created.

We found the clarity or clearness of the glass tube to be slightly less than that of the acrylic tube we compared against. The glass was ever so slightly darker than the acrylic. While this was noticeable when looking for a difference, the glass tube itself is very clear and this is not an issue to be concerned about.

Mayhems Glass tube was compatible with all but one of the fittings we had on hand to pressure test with. The single O-ring C48 fitting had a very weak grip and so we would not advise using C48’s with glass tubing.

Under lights and filled with Mayhems dyed water, the glass tube looked amazing. Light from an LED strip refracted and reflected light beautifully producing star like glints along the tubes edges. I imagine in a case with lots of LED lights the glass tubing could be the show-case feature.

As with all hard line tube, glass tubing is plasticizer free, and the borosilicate glass will not absorb color from dyes.

Mayhems Glass Tubing is not for everybody, Mayhems know this and we know this, BUT most importantly is it for you?

It is expensive, fragile, gets scratched quite easily with the tools required to cut and chamfer it and a cutting bench is needed for clean cuts.  In addition you cannot make your own bends with glass tubing.

If none of that is too much of a deterrent then as your reward you will have some amazing light reflections and refractions from the glass tube in your build.

It’s as simple as that, if the additional effort and learning curve/ tools required for lighting reflections doesn’t get you excited about glass tubing, we understand and you wouldn’t be the only one so we suggest sticking with acrylic hard tubing.

For those who like the challenge of a new project and want a show-case result, we thoroughly recommend Mayhems Glass Tubing.

Where to buy:

Performance PCs:
12mm (OD) 500mm Length $9.95 + shipping from USA
13mm (OD) 500mm Length $9.95 + shipping from USA
16mm (OD) 500mm Length $11.50 + shipping from USA

Mayhems Store:

12mm (OD) 500mm Length £6.50 + shipping from UK
13mm (OD) 500mm Length £6.50 + shipping from UK
16mm (OD) 500mm Length £7.50 + shipping from UK

Mayhems logoMayhems Glass Pre-chamfer

Coolant-8

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4 COMMENTS

  2. Well, after reading and watching the Dremel Jig Setup vid, I thought of a few things…

    1) I see no difference in using glass over PETG or Acrylic.
    2) PETG or Acrylic is much cheaper and EASIER to cut than glass. (Even if it wasn’t cheaper, it’s glass is STILL much harder to cut)
    3) Bending PETG or Acrylic (obviously) is much easier than trying to bend glass (and that’s if you have the $$$ to buy one and the skills to bend glass using a kiln). PETG or Acrylic is very easy by comparison.
    4) As you can see glass tubing is easily subject to chipping and cracking if it’s not cut right (over PETG or Acrylic)
    5) If you decide to use Glass instead of PETG or Acrylic, you’re going to have to spend $$$ getting a Dremel Jig Setup going. I have the Dremel 4000 and that unit (kit) cost me $98.00 at the time and although it’s a great unit to use for someone doing a one time build (or even continual builds), it’s still way too much $$$ over simply using a hand saw to cut your PETG or Acrylic tubing. Then you have to set up and build that Dremel Jig Setup. That’s too much time to make happen.
    6) In some of the pics, even the reviewer/writer stated that he saw that the Acrylic tubing was even cleaner (at certain angles) to peer through than glass tubing, so right there, what real difference does it make to choose glass tubing over Acrylic (or even PETG for that matter)? – NONE!

    Thank you for this review, but you should have entitled this:

    “Mayhems Glass Tube Review… You Gotta Be On Crack!!!”

    I already knew that I would have to face this expensive and arduous process, when all you have to do is use a basic PETG/Acrylic bender kit, that uses a heat gun and hand saw. It’s much easier to use those items than buying and building a Dremel Jig Setup (which would take hours). Then purchasing and having the skill set to learn how to use a Kiln?!?! Yeah, right!!! I know that I’m not going to waste my time with all of that. Thank you for proving this point with your detailed review (as I already knew this). I’m sticking with PETG to showcase my build(s). Later… 🙂

  3. Very cool article (pun intended).

    FYI, borosilicate glass does not contain crystalline silica which is what causes silicosis. It is amorphous. No problem with being safe though.

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