Glass beads sterilizer

["Aaron J. Hicks" <ahicks51@COX.NET>]

It's also possible to make your own bead box, although the safety 
of such a potentially incendiary device is questionable.

Glass beads (http://www.ceroglass.com, grade GSM-20) suspended in a 
machined steel container, wrapped in fiberglass, with an aluminum 
shell. Use ceramic tile for the base.

Find the largest soldering iron you can find. I have no idea how many 
watts mine runs. Insert into the pile of beads, point-down. Use candy 
thermometer to determine equilibrium temperature. Larger wells 
require larger input wattage.

The soldering iron may be replaced by any one of a number of silicone 
heating wraps (http://www.cole-parmer.com), in conjunction with a thermostat. 
An overtemperature thermostat is strongly recommended if the device 
is to be unattended at any time.

Naturally, constructing and using such a device is insane, and I offer 
this merely for information purposes- except the Ceroglass beads. 
Grade GSM-20 is a drop-in replacement for the beads normally 
employed as such. Last we bought some, a 10-pound pail cost $20, 
including shipping. Bargain.

Cheers,

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ