Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-03-04


Sand and Lead Are Changed to Spar
killing CrystaIs-Tke Part That Heat
Plays IN the Manufacture Of Glass.
The glassmaker's trade. practical, even
prosaic and stOlidly scientific as it is i'm
reality, seems, however, to the average OBJ
server to be an exquisite art assisted by
something very like sorcery. Take for in
stance the very first step in the process of
making glass and we have something sug-
gestive, even 70 the unm1giuative, Of nee.
romancy Of alchcmy-something akin to
the tabled evolution Of the philosophers
stone In what is known as the mixing
room we have huge pile of sand, an
other of oxide Of lead and a third of pearl
ash-all dull, sOddan, coarse materials con.
tanning not the slightest promise Of the
cleaning gItreriug, crystal pure glass
which will presently flash in show win
dows, in sumptuous boudoirs and parlors
and on banquet boards
The amount of gla-, manufactured va
ries at different times but the proportion
OF the ingredients is never changed A
trusted and careful workman weighs out,
for example, COO pounds Of Berkshire sand
and thoroughly mixes with it 400 pounds
Of oxide Of lead and half as much pearl
ash. To this compound hc adds very small
proportions Of 5aI,peter, arsenic and man
ganese, and the whole well stirred to
gether goes into one OF the great crucibles
or pots, as they are technically called.
which hold from 800 TO 3. 900 pounds
In the furnace which contains eight Of
these pots the mass is subjected to the
terrific heat Of a roaring fire for forty
hours, and then the metal " as il is called. |
is ready for the def manipulations Of the |
skilled glassblOwcrs, who hover about the /
furnace and &c intervals remove small /
portions Of the white, hot semiliquid sub |
stance upon the ends Of their long tubes or
blowers pipes, manipulating it in a way .
familiar TO every Pittsburger The grace
ful sweeps and agile writings OF the rod
are not made for the sake Of appearance
but for practical effect in giving the glow
ing bit Of molten glass the peculiar shape
which may be desired, dependent upon
whether it is TO be a bottle, a pitcher, a
punch bowl, a wineglass, or any one of a
hundred other things
BLOWING INTO SHAPE
He swings the tube with varying force.
blows through it carefully, expanding the
red hot bubble mt its tip to the proper size,
rolls it upon polished iron plate, revoves
the rod while he holds q tool against the
plant mas- Co give il form, heats it again
and repeats the process, or delcately and
rapidly touches it with two or three other
tools, perhaps being assisted 10y a helper
m some of these maneuvers and lOi the
shapeles- mass has become a wine ocean
ter or q salad dish or something else Of
most graceful form, and is almost ready
for the cutting room, whence twill emerge
with hundreds of companion pieces Of
flashing chased and beautiful ware
But first it must pass through the an
healing furnace, where, with the other ar
ticles Of the days output il is vtfy gradu
ally cooled by being slowly drawn away
from the fire through a brick arched tun
mel about sixty feet long
However picturesque and fascinating the
scene around the furnace with its strong
lights and heavy shadows the circles Of
light carved IN the darkness by the sweep
Of the cleaning, ruddy tipped wauds may
be TO the onlooker. 10 is stern. stin labor
for the operatives Their tools are fewer
and more primitive than those OF any other
class of skilled artisans. They use "A few
rude iron implements "a stick much like
narrow roofing shiugle, a heavy. uncuuth
pair Of iron shears and the all important
blowpipe and with these they perform
wonders. The work must be done while
the glass is hot and so there is intense
activity, only relieved by the occasional
waiting for the reheating Of partly formed
object.
now THE GLASS Is CUT
The final step in the process is the grind
ing and polishing. The various objects
formed by the glassblowers. as decanters,
bottles vases, bowls, wineglaSses, goblets
and scores Of other articles OF ornamental
or table ware-after undergoing the grad
n in trT.t h D
taken TO the cutting department They
have form, but not the finish, grace of #.
shape nor brilliancy, and are technically =,
known as blanks" \
A hundred workmen are ready at their
wheels TO put them through the process
which will develop luster and make them
flash and CLEAN with prismatic light like
titanic diamonds. A hundred wheels :
ranged in two rows down long room,
each belted to a great central shaft. are +,
swiftly whirled by a great engine in the
basement below. In this department, as
in the one already described, the tools are !
of the simplest order, and indeed there ap-
pears to be no line Of manufacture involv.
ing so much skill and productive Of so rich
and artistic effects which employs such
primitive implements as does this The
skillfulness Of the workman is almost a
everything. .
CARVING THE HARD GLASS. 7
The glass cutters work in three divisions Z
and the various articles pass through three I
distinct grades Of treatment First comes 5
the 'roughing," that is the deep cutting v
or grinding Of the pattern, Of which the y
principal points and lines have been first .
marked upon the glass with red paint. For Z
this work a thin iron wheel is employed. Z
upon which, as it revolvcs with the randi c
ity Of a buzz saw, the operator from time
TO time places little sand from the tank
in front Of him while water drps con
stantly from an overhanging reservoir. Z
And now tine ware is passed from the a
''smooth hers TO the ''polishers." The men i
in this division accomplish their work by d
gentler means, and their touch is soft and &
almost caressing compared with the previ- 5