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Mike Foti asked:




If you’re a craft professional looking for something unique to sell, a non-profit fund raiser working to secure donations in exchange for a unique gift, or just an individual looking for a personalized present for Thanksgiving or Christmas there is something new and different to consider - glass block lights, banks, and vases. Below you can learn more about these products and their benefits and features for your project or gift.

Pre-drilled Glass Block Lights for Crafts & Gifts

If you’re looking for a cool nightlight for a bedroom or bathroom, a lighted block for a cake or table at a wedding or convention, or a Christmas decoration to put on your kitchen counter, a lighted block can be perfect for you. Here are some key features and benefits of this product:

1. Available with pre-drilled holes - Cutting and cleaning out the inside of a block is not the easiest or safest thing in the world to do. With pre-drilled ½” to 5/8″ holes the block units are craft-ready without needing to invest in a drill press or expensive diamond drill bits. The 5/8″ holes are create a snug, secure fit for lights. The holes can be put either on the face of the block for upright projects or the side of the block for flat gifts.

2. Any size or pattern of block can be pre-drilled and illuminated - The block can be ordered in 4″ x 8″, 6″ x 6″, 6″ x 8″, 8″ x 8″, or even 12″ x 12″ sizes with any pattern of block. The different sizes can actually be quite helpful. One crafter looking to save on the ribbon cost going around the block unit chose to work with 4″ x 8″ and 6″ x 6″ sizes to save money. A homeowner in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania was looking to finish off his “man-den” with two yellow colored 12″ x 12″ blocks to support shelving in Pittsburgh Steelers themed basement.

3. Several blocks can be put together for unique gifts or home accessories - Glass block lamps, furniture, telephones, and Christmas decorations have been created by assembling more than one pre-drilled block together. One woman in Cincinnati Ohio creates block snowman with lights running through multiples blocks. Glass shapes and images can be purchased at crafts stores and put onto the faces of the block with contact cement to make a stylish paperweight or book end. You might also consider cementing several blocks together to make a spice rack or bookshelf. A rub on appliqué can be put on the block face for a unique design as well.

4. Nationwide shipping for craft enthusiasts - Since the block are a very solid 3 1/8″ or 3 7/8″ thick they can be shipped from Maine to Oregon without a problem, allowing you to source hard to find block patterns and sizes that are professionally drilled and ready for your project.

Glass Block Banks For Fundraising and Christmas Gifts

There’s nothing quite like a glass piggy bank where you can watch your money grow. The following benefits and features of the product have expanded the block specialty sales greatly.

1. Available with pre-drilled coin slots at the top and plugs at the bottom - Older style block banks only had a slot at the top of the block - making it a tough exercise to get the money out! Now block banks come with slots at the top and plugs at the bottom making coin removal painless.

2. Sizes and patterns for unique looks - Most common glass block banks come in 6″ x 6″ x 3 1/8″ and 8″ x 8″ x 3 1/8″ sizes in a Wave pattern. There are also some availability of 6″ x 8″ sizes and Icescapes, Mist, and Bubble patterns.

3. Personalized engraving for a unique touch - The faces of the block units can be personalized with any type of image or logo to make a unique gift for a family member or donor to your organization.

Glass Block Vases for Floral Shops and Home Decorating

If you’re looking for a cool, contemporary, and sturdy vase all wrapped into one a glass block vase is for you. Here are some of it’s key features and benefits:

1. Multiple sizes for square and vertical vases - Available in 6″ x 6″ and 8″ x 8″ square sizes or 4 ½” x 9 ½” for a vertical look.

2. Can be safely shipped - Since the blocks are sturdy with thick faces on the glass they are safe to ship anywhere in the nation.

3. Your cat will have a hard time knocking this vase over - Ever come home and find your cat sniffing the flowers from a vase they’ve recently knocked down and broken while you’ve been away? Block glass vases are more sturdy and heavy than traditional vases and much less likely for your pet to knock down.

If you’re ready for something new, fun, and personalized for your crafting business, fund raising events, or gift for a family member consider pre-drilled glass block lights, banks, and vases this upcoming holiday season.

David Tishko asked:




In bracket racing is there advantages of running a big block over a small block? It all depends on what you really want to do. There are plenty of small blocks out there with standard 23 degree heads that keep up with the big blocks. With the inches you can get out of a small block these days you can have a small block appearance, but really have as big and in some cases more cubic inches than a big block.

From my experiences and what I’ve seen at the track most small blocks will outrun the big blocks in the short times early in track, but the big blocks will run bigger mile per hour. With the small blocks weighing less and having almost as much if not as much stroke as some big blocks they are able to take off better, but with the flow from the big block heads they are able to get more horsepower and turn that into big mile per hour. In order to get a small block to run as good as a big block in the long run it would probably take more $ to be able to keep up with the big blocks.

To get a fairly light car to run in the 10 second range it would take a pretty good built small block with aftermarket heads to accomplish that. With the big block you can take a basic motor with 10:1 compression, little head porting and mild cam and still be able to run on pump gas to go in the 10’s. When you get down the 8-9 second range it’s much more difficult to get a 23 degree headed small block to go especially into the 8’s unless it’s in a very light car. You can spend almost as much money for a 434 c.i. small block shortblock as you would spend on a 565 c.i. big block.

In my opinion big blocks are the way to go bracket racing. It takes less work to go as fast if not faster than a small block. It’s alway great to see a fast small block but big blocks are the way to go.