The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-11
Problem HAS been SOLVED
Is Now Possible to Manufacture Glass
Water Pipes.
50 INVENTOR BONITA SAYS
Model of His Invention Attracts Many
Prominent Business Men-May RcvO.
lutionizc tho Use OF Building
Matcrials-InvcntiOn Described

The model Of an invention whicS
may within comparatively short time
completely revolutioniZe the use OF GER
tain building and other materials, rests
in an insignificant looking hardwood
box I'm an office on the second floor OF
the building at Franklin and LacEa-
wanna avenue. The model Is just as
insignificant looking as the wooden box,
nevertheless many prominent Scranton
business men and high-salaried me-
chanics called to take squint at the
thing yesterday.
1t is claimed by the inventor, j. w
Bonita, that he has solved the problem
of making tubular or hollow glass
pipe of any thickness or length
and which can surely be used
pipe and possibly for building
purposes. At all events If the claim is
substantiated that the pipe can be
manufactured and can be used as a
water carrier it viii reduce mine ex-
penses alone millions Of dollars per
year; in fact, the money saving will be
limitless. This explains why the inven-
ton was examined so closely yesterday.
An uninformed person might imagine
Ii very easy thing to make glass pipe
by pouring a quantity of molten glass
into mold and withdrawing the inner
mold or core after the glass had cooled
or set" That Is just what cannot be
done Such process IS impossible from
the fact that when molten glass cools
1t shrlnks more than any other known
substance. SO mechanic will readily
see that glass cannot be moulded the
same as iron. The glass would contract
in cooling until 1t clutched the inner
mold as in a wise and would break into
bits. This explantion Is necessary, in
order to understand why inventors have
labored to produce some kind of inner
mold which will yield to the pressure
upon 1t. Mr.. Bonita seems to have hit
upon the idea and patent Of his inven-
ton is now pending in Washington
Idea OF The inventor.
The idea of the invention Is very
simple. The mechanical part is a little
more difficult to understand, yet It, too,
Is simple. Briefly 1t consists of a round
core in four sections running length
W
outer mold. The slight spaces between
the sections of the core are each occu-
pied by a piece Of metal Of the same
length as the section -
The melted glass Is poured into the
flask and over the sectional core. The
glass begins to shrink or contract and
1t is during this critical period that it
might close about the core with such
force as to break into bits BY Mr..
Bonta's invention the core can be made
to also contract and the breakage is
prevented
AS soon as the melted glass begins
to cool. a workman turns a lever which
withdraws the long keys occupying the
space between the sections of the core.
By turning the lever still further the
sections of the core sink slowly toward
the center, being controlled, of course.
by the lever. The glass has then thor
oughly cooled, the core Is Withdrawn
and there you area piece of glass pipe
| several feet long has passed through
the principle process of manufacture.
The rest is easy. The pipe is showed
into an annealing oven. the heat of
which swells the pores together and
makes the pipe air and water tight
1t Will be understood that while the
glass is hot a thread is cut on each end
of the pipe, by q process similar to
that Of cutting thread on an iron bolt.
The lengths of pipe are Joined together
by glass collars" made by the same
process as the pipe.
But there yet remains another i'm
portant thing. VIII the pipes leak
when they are Joined together by the
collars? No, they will not; but they
might leak only for cement made out
of pulverized glass and chemicals
which hardens like flint and which cam
not be softened or rotted by any known
chemical except acid made out of ether.
They win Not CorrOdc.
The Tribune has one especial motive
in describing the invention so minute
ly. Why may not glass pipes be used
to take the place of iron pipes in the
mines and which have to be renewed
every six months or year because of
the corrosive action of sulphur water?
If the cost of pipes made of glass were
greater than the cost of iron pipes, or
If the glass pipes had less strength