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Step 8Smash that spark plug
We're now going to break our spark plug to obtain a shard from the ceramic insulator.
For safety sake treat ceramic like glass, it splinters and shatters when broken. These slivers can fly everywhere and can embed themselves into your skin if you are not careful.
Wear goggles and gloves!! this is not an option, you are putting your juicy eyeballs in peril.
Put the spark plug inside an old sock to prevent splinters flying when impacted, then take it outside and smack it a couple of times with a hammer, it took me about 3 solid swings to break the ceramic apart. Carefully turn the sock inside out and empty out the broken pieces, select a shard that is small enough to fit on your project.
Ceramic shards have sharp sides which can cut fingers, carefully file down the sharp edges of your shard. Sanding down the sharp edges of ceramics using regular wood sandpaper isn't going to work that well, try using emery cloth instead.
Once the edges are smoothed out mix up some more epoxy and put a dab on the ceramic shard, then place the shard onto the end of your belt cutter.
edit:
Through some post-published field tests it's been determined that a smooth rounded surface does not work as well as an exposed edge. Your edge does not need to be as sharp as a razor, so you can sand off the hard edge so it doesn't cut you. I have also discovered that the shard size can be very small, half the size of your fingernail would work. Check out the video in step 10.
edit:
there's been some discussion in the comments section regarding the composition of spark plug insulators.
My research has uncovered that insulators can be (and are) manufactured from both ceramic and porcelain. The insulator tip at the bottom of the plug is almost always made from ceramic.
Checking the definition of porcelain it says that it is a type of ceramic, though with a Moh scale rating lower than just ceramic due to the added minerals. This makes porcelain a poor choice for this project, make sure you check before you start smashing.
In any case the idea of this is that we are looking for a ceramic shard to shatter the glass. If you are unsure of the composition of your spark plug insulator you can either use the insulator tip (located at the end of the spark plug) or simply find another source of ceramic. There's a few household ceramics that come to mind, however carrying around a shard from your toilet is kinda gross.
For safety sake treat ceramic like glass, it splinters and shatters when broken. These slivers can fly everywhere and can embed themselves into your skin if you are not careful.
Wear goggles and gloves!! this is not an option, you are putting your juicy eyeballs in peril.
Put the spark plug inside an old sock to prevent splinters flying when impacted, then take it outside and smack it a couple of times with a hammer, it took me about 3 solid swings to break the ceramic apart. Carefully turn the sock inside out and empty out the broken pieces, select a shard that is small enough to fit on your project.
Ceramic shards have sharp sides which can cut fingers, carefully file down the sharp edges of your shard. Sanding down the sharp edges of ceramics using regular wood sandpaper isn't going to work that well, try using emery cloth instead.
Once the edges are smoothed out mix up some more epoxy and put a dab on the ceramic shard, then place the shard onto the end of your belt cutter.
edit:
Through some post-published field tests it's been determined that a smooth rounded surface does not work as well as an exposed edge. Your edge does not need to be as sharp as a razor, so you can sand off the hard edge so it doesn't cut you. I have also discovered that the shard size can be very small, half the size of your fingernail would work. Check out the video in step 10.
edit:
there's been some discussion in the comments section regarding the composition of spark plug insulators.
My research has uncovered that insulators can be (and are) manufactured from both ceramic and porcelain. The insulator tip at the bottom of the plug is almost always made from ceramic.
Checking the definition of porcelain it says that it is a type of ceramic, though with a Moh scale rating lower than just ceramic due to the added minerals. This makes porcelain a poor choice for this project, make sure you check before you start smashing.
In any case the idea of this is that we are looking for a ceramic shard to shatter the glass. If you are unsure of the composition of your spark plug insulator you can either use the insulator tip (located at the end of the spark plug) or simply find another source of ceramic. There's a few household ceramics that come to mind, however carrying around a shard from your toilet is kinda gross.
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Otherwise buy an automatic center punch at the Pawn, FleaMarket, Hardware store or Auto Parts House. Press hard against Tempered Glass Side Window and let the spring do the work with its tempered point. Results almost guranted. Pocket size & cheap.
http://www.ridelust.com/obscure-burglary-tools-of-the-day-ninja-rocks/
You'd still need a little force, probably, since thieves toss them at the window, but not as much as if you were using something else to break the glass.
Your concerns have merit, as a rounded end will not work as well as an exposed edge, though it does still work. The edge does not need to be razor sharp but does require something more than the rounded end I show in this instructable (though with slightly more force the rounded end would also work).
As discussed somewhere else in these comments, the method of applying pressure will not work, there needs to be a striking action. Holding your keys like nunchucks with the ceramic end loose you can achieve this striking motion and easily break the glass.
You make an interesting point when you mention that commercial available hammers use a point to shatter glass. It is important to also include that these types of hammers have a tip made from hardened steel, not ceramic (though I've seen those too). The point on metal hammers is to focus the striking action and overcome the hardness of the glass (steel has a Moh of 6.5, the same as glass), hammers using ceramic tips which are also pointed are doing so to add that extra dimension and focus the impact further, though as demonstrated is not entirely mandatory.
If you still have reservations about the methods and how well ceramics work against glass and the shapes needed to complete the action then I suggest you locate an auto wrecker and try it yourself, there really doesn't need to be much pressure to get it to shatter, just a direct impact. Thanks again for your insight!