The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-04-12
HOW WINDOW GLASS IS MADE.

lPeunsylyania, you must go into the
window glass factories there; you
will find them very curious. Their
furnace, in the first plsce, Is built IN
the ancient style; it has no chimney,
and the smoke from the bltuminous
coal they burn pours out in o cloud
into the room. There are openings
in the roof for it to escape through,
and continual draught OF air from
the doors carries it upward, so that
it is not so bad for the workmen As
one would think. Besides, they 90
not begin to blow until the smoke Is
all burnt of.
There are five pots on each side Oh
the furnace; and you will see hve
men in a row, blowing all at once
with the regularity OF file Oh SOL
diers exercising. Each gathers ~ or
40 pounds OF metal on his pipe, which
is very long and strong. They stand
on platforms to get room TO SWING
the glass as they blow it. The hye
men begin to blow and swing all
together. Each blows q great globe
of glass, which is stretched out grad
ually by the swinging motion into
cylinder or roller, as it is called, tye
feet long. Then the five rollers are
swung up towards the furnace holes,
and five other soldiers spring forward
with their guns-which in this case
are iron bars, that they set upright
under the five blowing pipes to sup
port them while the rollers are being
reheated in the necks OF the pots.
The blowers blow in the necks Of the
pipes with all their might, then clap
their thumbs over the holes to pre-
vent the air from rushing out again;
in the meanwhile the end Of the
roller is softened, so that at last the
air, forced in and expanded by the
heat, bursts it outward. The glass
is then cylinder, open at one end.
1t is whirled in the heat until the
edges become true, then brought
away-the five irou supporters drop
ping to the ground with simultane-
ous clang. The cylinders were laid
IN tables, where the imperfect spher-
cal end about the blowing pipe is
.racked off from the rest by q strip
# melted glass drawn around it.
The cylinder is then cracked from
I'D to end on one side by means ofa
ed hot iron passed through it.
In the adjoining building is what
8 called the fattening oven. The
ylinders brought there are lifted on
he end of lever, passed in through
circular opening just large enough
o admit them, and laid on tiattening
tones on the oven bottom, with the
rack uppermost. The oven bottom
3 circular, and it revolves horizon
ally. As the glass softens it sepa-
ates at the crack, and lays itself
lown gently and gradually on the
tone. The long cylinder is then
lat sheet, three feet wide and nearly
i've feet in length. There are four
openings around the sides Of the
wen, at one the glass is put In,
trough another a workman sweeps
he stone for 1t, q third workman
mooths. it down with a block as it
ONES round to him, and fourth, at
be last opening, which is close to
be one at which it was put in, lifts
he sheet-partly cooled by this time
upon q carriage in the oven. This
10 does by means of lever furnished
With sharp broad blades at the end.
which he works in under the glass.
When the carriage is full it is run
trough an annealing oven beyond.
The opposite end of the annealing
ven opens into the cutting room
here the carriages are pushed along
central track, and unloaded at the
tails of the cutters. The cutter has
table before him with measure
marks on its edges. He lifts one Of
be sheets, lays it on q table, and
ommences ruling it, faster than
chool boy rules his slate. His ruler
} q wooden rod, Eve feet long, and
lis pencil point is diamond. Every
troke is a cut. Not that he cuts the
lass quite apart; indeed he seems
carcely to make a scratch. Yet
hat scratch has the effect of cracking
he glass quite through, so that it
'reaks clean off at the slightest pres
ure. In this way the sheets are cut
p into panes of the requisite size.
/ remember, one workman told me
hat single diamond would last
i'm two or three years 1t has l5 or
6 different edges, and when one is
7orn out he uses another. South
american diamonds, such as he uses,
ost, he told me, from six to thirty
ollars each; and when they are
rorn out for his purpose, he sells
hem orjewels to beput into watches.
j. Z. Ioso6ridge.