Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-09-26
Cut Glass.

L Hc iustlluldCluIt Vi glass ldS always
been an attractive and interesting
study, and many of your readers will
doubtless recall with pleasure. prob
ably. the only insight they have ever
had into the details of its production
as they fingered around the glass-works
of our Centennial Exposition, so fasci-
mated with the process by which the
falry-like shapes were formed in crys-
! tai, they were loath to pass on to other
attractions so patiently waiting to alb
sorb their attention in some new quar-
ter. 1t will probably be news to some,
but nevertheless a fact, that the cut
glass now being produced in America
rivals the very finest specimens impor-
ed. in cutting as well as in purity and
brilliancy of material
The present demand upon the manu-
facturers, from the leading houses in
New York and Philadelphia, and, in
fact, all large cities, is so great they
require a long time for delivering of
orders. One of the largest furnaces for
the manufacture of glass, from the
most ordinary lamp chimney to the
largest fruit bowl, destined to adorn
some aristOcratic sideboard on Fifth
avenue, or perhaps our own West End,
is located at Corning, in the State of
New York, where one may follow the
sand, creamy white and clean, to its
fiery bed, note the addition of the
''fiuX, " and then turning to other aper-
lures in the great stack, see the molten
mass drawn from crucibles in incande-
scent bulbs deepening rapidly to orange,
as it rolled, blown, and shaped into
something comely and useful.
This pure white sand comes from
Cheshire, in Berkshire county, Mass
That it may be melted there is mixed
with it oxide of lead, sulphurate of
potash, saltpetre, boraX, and arsenic
in proper quantities. This is put into
crucibles, which are subjected to the
fiercest furnace heat for thirty-six
hours before it becomes clear. These
crucibles are made of clay from Mis-
souri, called Christie fire-clay." This
is mixed and softened by treading with
the feet and then moulded into shape
by hand. Each cruciDle will hold a
ton. Ten of these are built into each
furnace. In these furnaces fires are
kept burning constantly, ten tons of
coal being consumed in each one daily.
The crucibleS require filling up every
twenty-four, hours and time given for
melting. When the glass is melted 1t is
taken out III quantities needed, on the
end of an iron tube, about five feet
long and an inch in diameter, the glass
being of about the consistency of mo-
lasses candy when ready to pull. BY
blowing in this tube the glass is made !
hollow, and of almost any shape which |
may be desired. After the glass is |
shaped it must be put into ovens and |
heated, and gradually cooled in order |
to anneal or tougher it. The best |
skilled workmen receive as high as S24 |
per week for their services.
The same deep interest follows the |
process of cutting. First comes the |
horizontal iron wheel, upon which !
water and grin or sand, drip continually. |
On this the edges of the glass are
squared or smoothed. Then the arti-
Gle passes into the hands of the skilled |
artisan, who grinds out the glass into |
any desired figure, upon grindstone |
brought from Cragleith, Scotland. This |
Is thin stone, brought down to an |
edge, and upon it the workmen grinds |
the glass according to the pattern be- |
fore him, the glass often being entirely |
unmarked. This process Is very slow, |
and therefore very expensive, many |
days being required upon elaborate |
places. If a mistake is made, ever SO |
slight, or any flaw occurs, the whole is |
to the waste as broken glass,
tit only to be remelted. SIS precise are
these manufacturers that some pieces |
upon which $40 worth OF labor have |
been expended are frequently con-
demned for flaws which an unskilled |
eye would not detect. The cut dish |
goes next to a wheel made of wood of |
willow, for polishing, and then from
and finishing to wheel of |
brush, wet with putty. The |
cutters receive from s., 80 to 81 a day.