Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1907-10-25
GLASS FOR WINDOWS
Art Of the Man Who Manipulates
the BIowplpe.
SHAPING THE MOLTEN MASS

The JuaaIsr Before The Fiery Furnace
Must Have Skill and Strength and
pextsrity-Ths FIattsnlns and Clean
ing Process.
In different towns in the gas belt OK
Kansas there are great factories where
window glass Is made. 1t Is an inter-
esting process.
Entering the factory, we see great
bins Of sand, carbon and lime mixed
together In fine powder ready to be
dumped by a swinging crane, 2oo
pounds at q time, into the crucibie or
tank of melting glass near by. AT
hand also are heaps Of broken glass
the trimmings and debris Of the fac
tory. These are also melted up and
used again.
The furnace fire, fed by gas, CLOVIS to
a brilliant white.
The crucibies Of baked clay are bath
ed in this heat Of $500 degrees. Into
these crucibles a placid Belgian loads
from time to time the mixture OF sand.
carbon and lime until, when melted, 1t
makes coo tons Of molten glass. 1t Is
this molten glass ut the other end OF
the furnace that the blowers take out
on their bIowpipes to use. The Bel
gian wears smoked glasses to protect
his eyes from the fiery light.
Passing to the other end Of the fac
tory where the blowers are, you feel as
If approaching great stage prepared
for some highly spectacular scene.
The dozen terrible furnaces throw Il
brilliant light across the floor, but cast
strange bobbing and crouching shad-
ows up among the dark rafters. There
is no talk. Breath Is precious where 1t
is used to make window glass. Scan
tily dressed men hurry here and there,
carrying great wads Of soft glass 30
white as to throw out slight violet
glow.
Each man Is q clear cut, rosy silhou-
cite against dark background II you
see the furnace side of him or sharp,
black silhouette against light back
ground If he stands between you and
the furnace.
Possibly the most picturesque part OF
1t all Is the place where the blower
takes the lump of glass with its cavity
possibly eighteen inches long and skill.
fully increases that cavity by further
initiating 1t with his breath until 1t u
fully as large as himself.
He stands before the open door OF q
furnace. A swinging screen Is be-
tween him and the fire. The screen II
! notched, on which he may rest his
blowpipe with its long glass weight at
the end.
Resting the cylinder 30, he may push
it into the fiery furnace IL It has grown
slightly hard or by a movement draw
It out again.
The melted glass Is taken by a man
called a "gatherer" on the end Of q
blowpipe-that is, hollow erowbar-
like instrument. The mass OF soft
glass to be worked weighs perhaps
fifty or sixty pounds. The blower In
jects air by blowing through his pipe
into the middle of 1t to initiate 1t like
a balloon, except that the hollow glass
is much longer than wide and looks
like q monstrus bottle FIVE feet long
dangling by Its neck from the end OF
the blowpipe.
In manipulating the glass the blower
! must keep the huge bottle suspended
and moving almost constantly, and for
this long opening into the basement
Is made In the floor before him. Here
he swings back and forth bis great
six foot blowpipe with six feet more OF
glass at the end. Now and then he
twirls 1t gayly upward and, resting It
on the screen, swings 1t lightly into the
fire, blows Little perhaps and before
you know it has 1t back down In the
opening In the floor, swinging 1t skill
fully back and forth. twirling 1t light
", as though 1t did not weigh. blow
pipe and all, something like seventy
| pounds.
Just before the glass becomes too
hard to manage the blower, by one OF
those simple twists which he is paid
good wages for knowing how to do
manages to cause q hole to appear N
the bottom of the bottle, and It widena
and widens for minute until there ia
no bottom to the bottle. A helper then
takes the blowpipe with the now hard
! bottomless bottle and carefully breaks
OF the one from the other.
Along comes the snapper" who
winds little string Of soft redho'
glass around our big bottle at just the
point where the sides begin to narrow
toward the neck. A little rap on the
glass, and the neck drops OF, cleavine
-, q way in perfect line just where the
[ redhot glass touched. We now have
left q great perfect cylinder Of glass
FIVE feet long and fourteen or eighteen
I inches in diameter and weighing about
sixty pounds, blowpipe and all.
As It lies on the table another mar
reaches into It with redhot iron look
ing like a. poker. He traces with thii
redhot point straight line on the side
Of the cylinder from end to end, and
at once the glass splits on that line
Now you have a cylinder with craci
down one side, and you can readily
see that IL the cylinder can be per
suaded to flatten out 1t will be near
iy square sheet. -,
Here comes a reckless boy with
spring pushcart. He loads ten Of thes'
cylinders on, placing each IN q restool
Of two leather straps, which are strunt
on springs, and away he goes full gal
| -, -, . ol,ohf incline to the grea