The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-06-05
Manufacture of Pressed and Cut Glass Ware

Having described, i'll former articles the
bottles and window glass, our readers will
understand the methods employed for press
ed glass ware by a very blief description.
The pressed glassware is made by pressing
glass into mods of iron. and the articles
thus formed Approximate in beauty and reg
ularity of form to those of cut glass, de-
scribed further on. The operation requires
less skill in manipulation than glass-blow-
ing, but is, nevertheless, interesting.
1t will be best understood by describing
the manufacture of some special article
say a fruit dish, the bowl of which is saucer
shaped, and its foot formed like the bell of
a trumpet. Such an article would be made
in two parts. the bowl and the foot being
pressed in separate moldS, and afterwards
Joined together A boy takes upon the
end of an iron rod OF ''punty,' a quantity
of glass from the melting pot, and holds it
over the open mold. The weight of the
molten glass causes it to depend i'll the form
of a large pear-shaped drop. The princi-
pal workman, who has charge of the mold
cuts off this drop with pair of shears as
soon as, in his judgement, enough has de-
pended to exactly fill the mold AS soon as
the glass has fallen into the mold, it is clos
ed with lever which forces the glass into
made in two parts corresponding to the con-
vex and concavc sides of the piece. SO ac-
curate is the Judgment of the skilled opera
tors i'll this process that they rarely fail to
properly apportion the glass to the capacity
of the closed mold. The glass is removed
from the mold as soon as it coOlS enough to
become rigid, and is carried by an assistant
to the annealing oven, if complete; or, if,
as in the particular case of the fruit dish,
it requires to be joined to another portion.
it is cemented to its fellow by a small por-
ton of plastic glass, and then placed in the
annealing oven. Varieties of form and
pattern may be attained by this method
which are impossible in the blowing process,
and the larger portion of goblets, salt-cel-
lars and other glass table ware, in common
use, is made in this manner.
The finer and most costly articles of glass
ware, are finished by process called cut
ting, which is, however, really grinding
process. performed by means of iron, sand
stone, or copper disks, of various sizes and
forms. according to the nature Of the work
to be performed. The disks are fixed, by
proper chuckS, to lathes and are supplied
with sand for rough grinding, and emery
for finer work. A stone wheel is also used
to efface the sand marks, and wood disks
are used for polishing, supplied, at first
with 4 mixture of pumice and rotten stone,
and finally with putty powder, prepar-
alton of tin and lead Flint glass is the
best for this purpose. as its superior hard
ness enables it to take finer polish. Great
skill and artistic taste is shown by the arti-
sans, in this department, and cut-glass
wares command a higher price than any
others.
Plate glass constitutes 4 large and i'm
portant branch of the glass manufacture,
and may form the subject of future article
The numberless uses to which glass is now
applied, render all information, respecting
its manufacture, of value, and although
the manufacture of plate glass has not yet
been successfully introduced into the Uni
ted States, the extent of the demand here
would seem to Justify further attempts at
home production.-Scisntifc An'eriean.