The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1890-02-01
A GLASS FACTORY
How the Glass is Melted, Rolled and
Blown.
Liability Of the Workmen to Burns
and Blisters.


Entering a glass factory, the first
object which attracts attention is the
great central furnaces in which the
glass is melted. The most unobser-
want person will have noticed that or
binary glass presents itself III three
aspects-brown, green and stainless
white Of flint glass. The former tints
are due to the presence of lron-oAlde
in the sand. which is one Of the prill-
cipal ingredients. When colorlesS
glass is desired the iron has to Dc
eliminated, on the color masked hy
suitable means. and it is i notewol-
thy fact that a proportion Of iron III
the sand too small to be indicated by
the most delicate assay will %ilnIart a
distinct hue to glass. Different
metallic oxides inipart different hueS !;
thus tin OF arsenic will render the
product white and Opaque: gold will
give a ruby red copper. in the form
Of black oxide with d little iron ore.
Will yield an emerald green product !;
cobalt-oNide i blue manganese 4
purple oxide Of uranium i yellow.
and so on.
1t follows that where colorless glass
is desired the greatest care has to he
taken to insure the use of sand iii which
the metallic OK DIES referred to are dis
trnsulslied BY tlieirabsence.
The furnace takes up quite 4 large
part OF the room III a glass factory.
anu is circular i'll form. to enable the
operators to approach the pots from
all sides. A. these melting pots are
OF large size tsome are 80 inches iii
dlameterl and nave to withstand con
tinuously Il heat which will easily
melt Iron Or steel. it follows that they
have to DC made Of we'll kneaded. tenn
pered aud innealed tire-clay. There
i y glorious uncertainty about the
life OF a melting pot. 1t may give
way and break up in eight hours Ill
last for months. In any ease I'LL.
sides Wear through and get thin. III
the lapse OF tim from the absorption
Of the clay into the vitrified molten
mass within. just so long rs Il GOOD
pot can be patched up and fortified il
Is kept III USE. out when a pot has ii
be removed. no matter under What
circumstances, 1t means a hot hard
days work for all hands. Tie frs
thing Is to di>lodgc the broken f1ag-
inents Of the pot. on the whole affair
bodily il not broken. by battcrin--
ram blows directed with Il gigantic
eroWbar into the interior of a furnace
heated like unto that into which Shad-
rach, Meshech and Abednego were
cast III the days Of old. When tile
work Is completed the new DOT. al
a%nnealed and heated to white
ness has TO By placed in position and
- pot and contents may weigh many
hundred pounds. the ordeal is neces-
sarlly j; severe one. Burns and bis
tiers are every day occurrences III Il
glass factory.
It is i busy scene. this interior Of i
glass factory IN fall blast. About i
hundred hands, mel and boys in near
~ equal proportions. are employed.
an operator sticks the end Ut Il
long iron tube into il glowing white
hole and draws the Instrument forth
with a ~gllstening gelatinous looking
mass at the end. He rolls this mass
actively for 4 tc moments on il flat
slap called Il ''lnaryer.n The marver
is placed in asligIltly inclined position
on II wooden slab, and the rolling of
the glass on tile surface, easy as it
is quite an art.
While the glass is still i'll the soft.
pasty condition. the operator blows it
and guides the lump into the
interior OF a mold closed by il treadle,
blowing it all the time. The trans
is almost instantaneous, and
When the pressure on the treadle is
released the tube is withdrawn, with
IL ''full-bloWn" bottle ut the end of it.
As already remarked, this bottle
mould Is an American invention.
and the saving in the ease of cheap
goods Is very great. The bottles are
annealed-a process of ~re-heatins and
gradual cooling-and finished off. 1T
the necks, etc, by manipulation III
glory holes smaller furnaces.
In another part Of the factory the
visitor witnessed the making OF ear
boys, Or the huge Jars employed to
hold acids and liquors III bulk. tile
shape III this instance also he
sIveE ny pressure i'll i suitable
mold The earhol, before being tax
to the annralin- furnace, is detacIl-
q from the blowing rod by a dexter
ols tilp on the neck with il stream Of
water. which cuts off the carboy Is
as if a knife or i file we're
lsed. y similar expertness is exhibited