The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-05-15
GLASS For WINDOWS
art Of the Man Who Manip0Iates
the Blowpipe.
SHAPING THE MOLTEN MASS.
The Jussler Before the Fiery Furnace
Must Have Skill and Strength and
pOxtsrity-Ths Flattonins and Clean.
inn Prnehss.

tnp Process.
In different towns In the gas belt Of
Kansas there are great factories where
window glass is made 1t is an infer
esting process
Entering the factory, we see great
bins OF sand, carbon and lime mixed
together in fine powder ready to be
dumped by swinging crane, go
pounds at a time, into the cruclhle 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 Are. fed by gas, glows to
a brilliant white,
| The crueibles OF baked clay are bath
ed In this heat Of $500 degrees. Into
these crucibies a placid Belgian londs
from time to time the mixture Of sand,
carbon md lime until. when melted, it
makes Coo tons Of molten glass. 1t is
this molten glass at the other end OF
The furnace that the blowers take out
on their blowpipes to use. The Bel
glan 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
Tor some highly spectacular scene,
| The dozen terrible furnaces throw a
brilliant light across the floor but cast
strange bobbng aud crouchtng shad
ows up among the dark rafters. There
lis 10 talla Breath ls precious where it
lis used to mnke window glass. Scan.
! tiiy dressed men hurry here and there,
carlying great wads Of soft glass so
white as 10 throw out slight violet
glow.
| Each man II clear cut rosy silhOu.
slle against q dark background If you
| see The furnace side OF him or a sharp.
biacE silhouette against light back
lfrouul II he stands between you and
tie furnace.
| Possibly The most picturesque part Of
il al is the place where the blower
I,aics the lump o. glass with its CARLY
lp9@ibly eighteen inches long and ssi!I
fully increases that cavity by furthet
pn1atmg it with his breath until 1t il
Efclly as large as himself.
no sia9nas y! nsl -a.;.- t4s open goor q a
furnace. 4 swinging screen Is be-
Tween him and the fire. The screen is
polehed, on which he may rest his
Iblowptye with it9 long glass weight at
ILiie end. -,
Resting The cSltader Sd. lie may push
u into the fiery furuBee II It has grown
Islightly hard or by a movement draw
ii ont again.
'rhc melted glass is taken by A mgn
called "gatharer" on the end Of Il
Iblowpipc-that is. hollow crowbar.
like instrument The mass of soft
glass to BE- worked weighs perhaps
IGfty or sixty pounds. The blower in.
fleets air by blowing through his pine
linto The middle Of 1t to initiate 1t like
a balloon, except that the hollow glass
Is much longer than wide and looks
like monstrus bottle five feet long
dangling By It's neck from the end Of
| the blowpipc.
in manipulating the glass the blower
tmust keep the hugo bottle suspended
land moving almost constantly, and for
his > long Opeuing into the basement
Is made in the door before him. Here
ne swings back and forth his great
six foot blowPtpe With six feet more OF
Glass al the eud Now and then he
twirls il gayly upward ana, resting It
on the screen, swings it lightly into the
IRE. blows q little perhaps and before
| you know II las 1t back down in the
opening in the door. swinging It skill,
fully back and forth, twlrIing it light
~, as though 1t did not weigh, blow.
Ipipe and all, something like seventy
pounds.
lust before the glass becomes too
hard 70 manage the blower, by one Of
those simple twists which he is paid
good wages for knowing how to do,
manages 10 cause a hole to appear in
the bottom Of the bottle. and It wldens
and widens for minute until there is
no bottom TO the bottle. A helper then
takes the bIowpipe with the now hard
bottomless bottle aud carefully breaks
off the one from the other.
Along comes the snapper" who
winds a little string Of soft redhot
glass around our big bottle at just the
point where the sides begin to narrow
toward the neck. 4 little rap on tile
glass, and the neck drops off, cleaving
a way in a perfect line Just where the
redhot glass touched We now have
left great perfect cylinder of glass
five feet long and fourteen or eighteen
inches in diameter and Weighing about
sixty pounds, blowpipe and all.
AS it lies on the table another man
reaches into it with a redhot iron looks
ing like a poker He traces with this
redhot point a straight line on the side
Of the cylinder from end 10 end, and
Mt once the glass sp.lss on that llae.
Now you have cgiinGer Win crack