Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1907-04-24
GLASS FOR widows
Art of the Man Who ManipuIates
the BloWpipe.
SHAPING THE MOLTEN MASS.

pextsrity-The Flattenins and Clean
ing Process.
In different towns in the gas Delt OIL
Kansas there are great factories wnere
window glass is made. 1t is an inter
esting process. o+
entering the factory, we see great
bins of sand, carbon and lime mAeu
together in q fine powder ready 10 pe
dnmped by a swinging crane, 2oO
mounds at q time, into the cruciole or
tank of melting glass near by. AT
hand also are heaps Of broken glass;
the trimmings and debris OF the rae
torv. These are also melted up anu
used again.
The furnace fire. fed by gas, CLOVIS 10
a brilliant white.
Tho crucibles of baked clay are Dath-
ad in This heat Of $500 degrees. Into
these crucibles placid Belgian ioaus
from time to time the mixture OF sand'
carbon and lime until, when melted II
makes 600 tons of molten glass. III Is
This molten glass at the other emu Vi
H,e furnace that the blowers take out
on their blowpipes to use. Inc Del.
gian wears smoked glasses TO protec'
his eyes from the fiery light
Passing to the other end OF the iac-
tory where the blowers are, you feei 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 snad-
ows up among the dark rafters. There
Is no talk. Breath Is precious where 1t
is used to make window glass. Scan
tilv dressed men hurry here and there
CARRYING great wads Of soft glass SO
white as to throw out a slight VioieC
glow. ill.,,
Each man is O clear cut, rosy slihou-
cite against dark background II you
see the furnace side of him or sharp
black silhouette against a light Dack-
ground if he stands between you ana
the furnace.
Possibly the most picturesque part OF
II all is the place where the blower
takes the lump of glass with It's cavity
possibly eighteen inches long and skill
fully increases that cavity by further
initiating it with his breath until II Is
fully as large as himself.
He stands before the open door OF q
furnace. A swinging screen Is De-
tween him and the fire. The screen Is
notched. on which he may rest his
blowpipe with Its long glass weight al
the end
Resting the cylinder so, he may push
IT into the fiery furnace If 1t has grown
slightly hard or by movement ara"
1t out again.
The melted glass is taken by maj
|, called q "gatherer" on the end OF
blowpipe-that is, hollow crowoar
like instrument. The mass OF SOL
glass to be worked weighs perhaps
: fifty or sixty pounds. The blower IN
, iects air by blowing through his pip'
into the middle of it to initiate 1t Tx
a balloon, except that the hollow gas
4. IS much longer than wide and look
: like n monstrus bottle five feet ioni
r dangling by its neck from the emu o
I the blOWpipe.
D In manipulating the glass the blowe
J., must keep the huge bottle suspende'
8 and moving almost constantly, ana 10
] this a long opening into the basemen
|, * made in the floor before him. Her
i he swings back and forth his grea
e six foot blowpipe with six feet more 0
Y glass Mt fhe end. Now and then b
: twirls it gayly upward and, resting
s on the screen. swings it lightly into tn
It fire. blows d little perhaps and befor
n Won know it has it back down III ID
l. opening in the floor, swinging 1t ski
fully back and forth, twirling 1t llgh
g ". as though it did not weigh, blov
d nine and all. something like sevent
IS pounds.
h Inst before the glass becomes tC
X hard TO manage the blower, by one
le those simple twists which he Is pa
Of good wages for knowing how TO q
,e manages to cause a hole to appear
In the bottom of the bottle, and 1t wider
IN and widens for minute until there
,s no bottom to the bottle. A helper the
Id takes the blowpipe with the now ma
n bottomless bottle and carefully Dreal
Id off the one from the other
n. Along comes the snapper" WI
Of winds a little string of soft redh
I'll glass around our big bottle at just t
ey point where the sides begin to Mario
ST toward the neck A little rap on I
,le glass and the neck drops off, cleavi
N. a way In a perfect line just where l
10. redhot glass touched. We now ma
he left great perfect cylinder OF gla
ve five feet long and fourteen or eighte
ar. inches in diameter and weighing abe
Nh sixty pounds, blowpipe and all.
bo AS it lies on the table another IN
MI reaches into It with redhot iron LOO
ing like a poker. He traces with q
N. redhot point straight line on the 81
10 Of the cylinder from end to end, a
~ at once the glass splits on that IL
~ Now you have a cylinder with a era
nj down one blucs ollN wv
I'D see that If the cylinder can be p
ON suaded to fatten out It will be ne
n. ly square sheet. -,
~ Here comes reckless boy witt
70 spring pushcarts He loads ten OF III
I,n, cylinders on, placing each In fest'
On, Of two leather straps, which are str'
no on springs, and away he goes full
,ot lop down slight incline to the 81
oon fattening room. There our Gym
not will be coaxed out fat by a gel
tho heating, great enough to soften
ai,o not enough to melt the glass.
UNIV A great, low oven is the fatton
Mace A. boy lifts into the oven o
travelling table one Of the huge cy
ders. You remember it has been c
ed. so now the end of the oven
which it enters is not very warm,
1t is moved along by hidden machlii
through greater and greater heat u