Show i CUT GLASS THE VARIOUS PROCESSES THROUGH I 1 WHICH FINE WARE PASSES rr the touches tone he of r nagle by which dull i band ial lead aro are plin aged to spar crystalo tl the lirt that wet riby in lit the ati manufacture of giasi gla the tie glass makers trade practical even luid mud stolidly scientific as it Is in reality seems however to the average observer to be an exquisite art assisted by something very like sorcery Borc cry tako take for instance the very first step in the process of making glass and we have something suggestive ge stive even to the unimaginative of necromancy of alchemy something akin to tho the fabled evolution of the philosophers stone in what Is known as the mixing room we have a huge pi pile le of sand another of oxide of lead and a third of pearl ashall ash all dull sodden coarse materials containing not the slightest promise of the gleaming glittering crystal pure glass which will presently flash in show windows in sumptuous boudoirs bou doirs and parlors and on banquet boards the amount of glass manufactured varies at different times but the proportion of the ingredients is never changed A trusted trus td and careful workman weighs out for example COO pounds of berk hire sand and thoroughly mixes with it pounds of oxide of lead lend and half as much pearl ash to this compound he adds very small proportions of saltpeter arsenic and manganese and the whole well stirred together goes into one of the great crucibles cruci bles or pots as they are technically called which hold from asoo to pounds in the furnace which contains eight of these chese pots the mass is subjected to the terrific beat heat of a roaring ire fire f tor or forty hours and then the metal as it is called ia is ready for the deft manipulations of the skilled glassblowers glass blowers who hover about the furnace and at intervals remove small portions of the white hot substance upon the ends of their long tubes or blowers pipes manipulating it in a way familiar to every Pitts burger the grace ful sweeps and agile twirl ings of the rod are not made for the sake of appearance but for practical effect in giving the glowing bit of molton molten glass the peculiar shape which may be desired dependent upon whether it I 1 is to be a bottle a pitcher a punch bowl a wineglass or anyone of a hundred other things BLOWING ISTO INTO he ile swings the tu tube with varying force blows through it carefully expanding the red hot bubble at its tip to the proper size rolls it upon a polished iron plate revolves the rod while he holds a tool against the pliant mass mum to give it form heats it again and repeats the process or delim delicately tely and rapidly touches it with two or three other tools perhaps being assisted by a hel helper pee in some of these maneuvers and lol the shapeless maas mass has become a wine decanter or a salad dish or something else of most graceful form and is almost ready for the cutting room whence it will emerge with hundreds of companion pieces of flashing lashing chased and beautiful ware but first it must pass through the an furnace where with the other articles of the days output outputs it Is very gradually cooled by being slowly drawn away from the ore tire through li it brick arched tunnel about sixty feet long however picturesque and fascinating tho the icene scene around the furnace with its strong lights and heavy shadows the circles of light carved in the darkness by the sweep of the gleaming ruddy tipped wands wanda may be to the onlooker it is stem stiff labor for the operatives their tools are fewer und more primitive than those of any other class of skilled artisans they use a few rude iron implements a stick much like a narrow roofing shingle a heavy uncouth pairoh pair of iron shears and the all important blowpipe and with these they perform wonders the work must bo be done while alle X t the he glass is hot and so there is intense activity only relieved by the occasional waiting for the re heating of a partly formed object HOW flow THE GLASS IS CUT the final step in the process is the grinding and polishing tho the various objects formed by the glassblowers glass blowers as decanters bottles vases bowls wineglasses wine glasses goblets ag and acores c of other articles article sofo of ornamental or dr alj ja ware agro after undergoing tho the gradual cooling process in the glass house are arc taken ap pp p hp department they bavo form but not the be finish grace of shape nor brill brilliancy fancy and arp knon aa PA blanks A hundred workmen aro are ready at their 1 to nut th them urh tha the process which will develop luster and ana make them flash lash and gleam with prismatic light like m diamonds A hundred wheels tagged ranged in t n tva rows I 1 doati a long worn each belted to tb a great central dl shaft hn whirled by bya 4 drbal engine in tho basement below belov iii in this department as in iri the afie one already de described bribed the tools are of the simplest order and indeed there appears to be no line of manufacture involving so to much skill and productive of so rich and artistic effects which employs such primitive implements as does this the skillfulness of the workman is almost everything ab nb GLASS the glass cutters work in three divisions ind the various articles pass through three distinct grades of treatment first comes c 0 mes the roughing that is the deep cutting or grinding of the pattern of which the principal points and lines have been first marked upon the glass with ith red paint for FO r this work a thin iron wheel it 1 employed upon which as it revolves with the rapidity of a buzz saw the operator from time to time places a little sand from the tank in front of him while water drips constantly from an overhanging reservoir and now the ware te Is from tho the Is smoothers m bothers oo to the polishers 11 themen the men in tu this division accomplish their work by gentler means and their touch Is soft and almost caressing compared with the previous manipulations which the object has undergone the polishers use wheel brushe brush esaud and wooden wheels wheel of varying edge formation to fit thu the different depressions ind and the these seare are kept constantly smeared with what looks like common yellow mud but Is in reality a compound of finely ground oxide of zinc and lead called in the trade pu putty tty 11 these wheels wheel with their thin coating of peculiar polishing material after innumerable revolutions lut ions have the deep geometric lines and the corresponding I facets ieta eta of the glass aa as smooth as diamonda diamond and almost equaling them hem in brilliancy of glitter and purity ot of ligh tAlfred mathews in pittsburg dispatch |