Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-02-21

mlFrOFS NucW WudJ an cnOFinOuS
amount of grinding toll it takes TO trim
off and polish those glossy edges they
would not wonder that the beveled
plates are so much more costly than
the plain. A plate of glass. TO be
beveled. has TO pass through the hands
OF eight or ten experienced workrnen.
Ordinarily it occupies the time of each
of them for half an hour or moro. The
fancy shaped plates require even
longer time. The silvering process by
which the glasses are prepared Us
mirrors adds four or five more workmen
to the list. The old mercury process
OF making mirrors has almost entirely
gone out OF date. However, the silver
ing method is hardly perfected as yet.
The big mirror factories employ, as
a rule, about l2j men and boys in
each. The men are mostly French
men, who learned the business in the
big glass factories OF France. Most o.:
| them educate their sons to the same
trade, and make it almost Il French
monopoly. Most of the plate glass. il
| indeed not all, that is made into mir
rors in this country is imported from
France. The American glass is but
little used for tlne work, for generally
1T will not take necessary polish.
The first operation III beveling a
plate OF glass is one that is known as
''roughing," and is done by worlSmen
called "roughers." This Is done by
| grinding the plate with the aid of sand
and water on rapidly revolving iron
plate. Great skill is necessary to
make the bevel the same width on the
four sides OF a piece OF glass and to
keep the line straight on each separ-
ate side. The small sized plates are
silly handled but the large ones are
placed on big table and moved over
the iron grinder as saw log is SHOW
ed back and fourth when being sawed.
Nearly the whole process OF beveling.
roughing, smoothing, polishing, etc.
Is carried on with revolving wheels.
The 'emeriers" are the next after
the "rougherS" in the work. They do
the first OF the smOothin; and even up
any little defects that may have bsen
unnoticed by the others. They do their
grinding on a fiat iron wheel, but they
use very fine emery powder instead
Of sand.
Polishing is the next thing in order
after the smoothing has been finished.
| This in done on what is called u
white wheel" though why it should
have that name is hard TO explain. for
| it is as black and dirty us the rest.
! Pumice stone is used with this wheel to
induce II high polish, and it is us ually
supplied by Il little French boy. whose
business seems to be to keep every
thing us wet and sloppy as possible.
The,neXt work in the polishing process
is done on felt wheel and with the
aid Of French powder-like arrange
ment known as rouge" This rouge
IS n soft, tioury sort OF substance, and
brings very bright, shiny polish.
After the bevel has been cut, smooth
ed and polished, another set of work.
men 60 to work at polishing the sur
face. The rear surface equires a very
! high polish that it may receive silver
solution. The slightest defect would
/ be noticeable in the reflection and
would make the glass practically
worthless as a mirror. The glass on
passing from the beveling roo ms goes
TO an examiner, whose sharp eye de-
tects many little blemish that would
not be noticed by any one unframed in
! the business. He marks each defect
with a soap line and sots some OF his
assistants at work to wipe it out The
surfaces are polished both on felt
wheels and with blocks OF the same
material Sometimes the plate con-
tains a deep scr Itch that mot be re-
moved in the ordinary way. 1t is then
necessary to make what the polishers
call ''ducie. This reluires piece
Of glass, some wet sand and rouge and
n great deal OF muscle. The polish
has to be removed, the scratch ground
out and then the plate is rubbed out
and then the scratch is rubbed back to
! its original smoothness and polish.
III the 'ducie" is not we'll made it
leaves hollow on the plate which can
be easily noticed whan the silver is
put on the back.
When the glass has passed the in
spection OF the examiner it is sent into
the silverlng rooms. Here it is thor
oughly washed and scrubbed with "a
fine brush, and then laid out on one Of
the big iron tables that make the place
look like a billiard room. Those tables
are warmed by steam, which also aids
in drying the glass. Then the silver
solution Is passed over them. 1t runs
over the surface evenly in every direc-
ton, and stops abruptly at the edges,
where il is as thick as in the center.
The solution is poured out of big
earthern pitcher, and looks more like
water than like ANYTHING else The
plates are left on the iron tables till
the silver FORMS" and then all the
foreign matter is run off by tipping
the plate up on edge The silver be-
comes OF dark color in the forming,
and when it is thoroughly dried IL is
painted TO preserve its smooth surface.
Before the silver hardens il is moved
into a room so carefully ceiled and
battened as to exclude all particles OF
flying dust The room is kept closed
constantly till the hardening takes
place, for during that time the silver
surface is extremely sensitive. The
least jar or speck OF dust, or even tho
breath of a person talking above it.
would cause blemish that would in
jure the glass. The plates are usually
left in this room over night aud then
painted, when they are ready for use.