Evening journal., 1910-05-06
TO TELL GLASS
FROM CUT GLASS
Pressed Ware on Market at
Times DeCeiVeS Even
Experts

Buyers OF large houses are some-
times deceived when buying cut glass
and find they have bought what is COM
mercially known as pressed glass in
stead Of the genuine article.
Yet there are few simple rules
that will safeguard the ordinary buyer
at retail The chief one is to pick
out only what the manufacturer calls
closed in articles. BY this he means
vases. jugs, pitchers, bottles and the
like.
These cannot be duplicated I'm pressed
! glassware, which is first moulded in
patterns and the edges ground. This
process gives it so close a resemblance
to real cut glass that even experts may
be deceived.
But in the "closed in'' article some
way is yet TO be devised by which the
/ pressed lines can be followed through
the opposite side when put on the
wheel TO be cut, as the pressed part
interferes with the workman seeing
through the glass, which he has to do
in order to follow the lines of the de-
sign on the cutter.
The kind Of cut glass that is coun-
terfeited is called open work. such as
plates, naples or any fiat article
through which the workman can read
lily see when finishing it.
Another help in selecting cut glass
IS its weight. The genuine is made
from pure lead glass. made chiefly in
America, especially for cutting. This
lead glass is very heavy.
The first step toward cutting is tc
mark on the "blank"-that is, the dish
in the clear glass-in red or other paint
the design that has been selected fol
it.
The most common designs are dia.
monds shapes, stars of various points
crosses and squares and other geomet
rical patterns.
The design must be marked on tho
glass exactly to stand the test of com
pass and rule When all lines are in
perfect accordance with the patterr
and also fit the blank the "roughing'
begins. This is cutting the heavy worl
such as the necks of vases and bottles
and the heavy lines on the stars.
This is done on a machine called th'
"mill," a big wooden framed affair
on top Of which is a hopper holding
about half a ton of Berkshire hill
sand. This sand is the only kind II
this country that has proved satisfac
tory for this work.
The sand runs down through tn
hopper, is moistened with water AM
: comes out of a large steel disk. tn
edge of which is sharp. This disk
turned by power at a very high speed
! The wet sand of the disk gives IL
4 tooth" which when the glass is hel
3 against the edge of the disk cuts ver
a rapidly.
All the coarse and heavy cutting
done on this "mill."
The cutting in Of the finer work be
gins on a mill with a stone disk re
sembling an old-fashioned grindston
but much narrower and with a bevele
edge. These stones come chiefly frol
Italy to Scotland. They are very han
and carry a keen edge a long tim
They are used for the fine cutting a
together.
There is a stone found in Nova Scot
much softer that cuts quicker and
used for fiuting on water bottles an
compotes where heavy cuts are desires
Very often as many as fifteen {
twenty different stones Of varying d,
grees Of hardness are used for the cut
" ting of one article.
This is done on the outside of tn
+ work with a very high speeded brus
4 wheel covered with moistened pumiC
stone powdered. This stone is Law
thrown off by a volcano.
Large wooden disks made TO fit Il
cuts and fed with pumice and wat,
N are used for polishing the fine work
and around the delicate tracery of Il
pattern.
The hand of the glass cutting e.
pert must be steady. strong and accu