The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-09-13
A MEDLEY OF. MARVEL 8
fhe Processes Employed in the MAKING .,
Flint Glass.

Flint-glass is the general term for al,
the multiform utensils. and ornament,
(apart from windows and dark bottles>
which make glass an omnipresent bless
ing in modern life. The distinctive ne.
culiarity of flint-glass is the presence in
it oflead. which imparts brilliancy IN.
like that Of most other glass. The
lack-luster surface of all the old objects
OF glass made before the English inven.
ton Of a lead formula is noticeable
Lead oxide was originally used only in
most expensive glass prepared from
calcined lints. But gradually it has
crept into many grades. down to the
most common materials for household
and fancy wares, and for all transpar.
emit bottles. giving them all a finer lus.
ter than was otherwise obtained until
the recentinvention of lime glass. And
the cOstliest of all glass, that used for
optical lenses and imitation gems, still
gains its extraordinary weight and re.
fractive power from lead. The honors
OF skill in 1int-glass production are
broadly divided among the nations
England taking the lead in the CRYSTAL
or purest fiint-glass used for cutting:
Italy (Venice) in colored designs more
brilliant than any made in the DAYS of
the republic, when flint glass was not
known; Switzerland in imitation gems:
Germany in cheap vases; France in lens
disks; and America in pressed glass
and cheap tableware. Recently a
cheaper fint-glass has been introduced
into American pressed ware. in which
lime is substituted for lead. yet which
retains much of the luster and clear.
ness of lead flint.
Flint-glass is either blown, nodded
or pressed, and frequently all three
methods may be seen together in the
same establishment.
A flint-glass factory is most enter
tanning medley of marvels. As you
enter the great building that surrounds
the huge chimney the first impression
is that you are in human ant-hilI
rumbling with inordinate activity. Or
perhaps the sensation is better de-
scribed as plunge into a purgatoria.
chamber of industrious demons. In
the center the openings in the gigantic
furnace dazzle you like glaring eyes
from soul of fire; but the glow comes
really from molten glass in the dozen
''monkey-pots" about the blaze. Scores
OF workers, boys, youths and men.
throng in restless confusion. 1t looks
as if every one were running about on
some impish deed of his own fancy.
But stand still and watch closely, and
you will see it is all great system OF
human clock-work each movement fit
ting nicely into the whole effect. The
men at the furnace, who seemed at
first to be devils thrusting pitchforks.
into the blazing depths to toast their
victims, are only gathering metal on
their punties. When a sufficiently
large lump has been collected the man
wanders off with it. You think he will
certainly burn some one with that
burning ball of fire, they are all bust
ling about him so necessarily. But
follow him carefully and you see him
silently hand the tube to an older man, ,,
who blows the glass into a large GLOBE.
and sits down to play with it at bench,
which has horizontal iron bar on
each side of him to roll the tube on.
Back and forth he rolls it like a toy,
and the glass keeps curiously changing.
its shape. He has made hole in the,
globe and has enlarged it into SYM,
metrical opening. and now the glass is
cooled so that he can do nothing more.
Will anybody in all that hurrying
crowd help him? Instantly a young
man appears. and without a word he
holds up to the cool glass his long tube
with disk of red-hot glass on the end.
which fastens to it. The man at the
bench scratches the globe, jars it, and
it leaves his bar. OFF the other man
runs with it to the ''glory-hole. where
the broken end is quickly heated again
into softness. Then he hurries back
with it to the bench man, who renews
his play. A couple of minutes more
and suddenly you perceive that he has
made d perfect lamp shade, which a
stroke detaches from the iron rod into
. small bed of sand. A small boy car
ries it off on stick to the annealing
furnace, and now the gatherer is on
hand again with fresh lump of metal
to begin the process again. Turn to
the next man sitting at his work. and
you notice him finishing a smaller
charge into lamp chimney, shaping.
the top by a mold. Here Is man
amusing himself with small bunch OF
soft glass on his rod. You are sure he.
can have no serious purpose in turn
ing and bending it into those ridicu-
lous shapes. Quickly boy seizes it
from him, and you can not trace him.
It has gone over to fancy vase, where
it was needed to complete the Orna-
ment. So each bench has its own lit
tie task of skill. and keeps repeating 1t
over and over, and each boy OF the
multitude (there are two or more to
every many has his own particular
duties. He pops up always in the mo-
ment and place where he is needed.
All the workers are busy as their wits
can make them, for they work by the
piece, and the number of things made
determines their wages. They are
grouped into sets or "shops" of three
or four, who work together and share
profits together on well-understood
grade Of division. Generally four con-
stitute a shop. the most skilful work
man (the b!ewer) at the head. the
gatherer Ca young fellow next, and
two boys, one handling molds or
tools, and the other carrying the prod
ucts to the annealing oven. The only