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Whaddaya Know About ... Industrial Uses For Marbles?


Steph

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Here is a brass check valve I own with a marble "check" in it. Threads are about 3/4 inch and the whole valve is about 2 1/2 inches long. Also, a sign with marbles in it.

Derrick

EDIT- Nevermind, I give up trying to upload the darn pictures. Good grief!

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Way cool Derrick.

Yes, marblemiser ... it would be neat to see your pump balls. :-)

The list is getting quite long. Anyone mention applicators yet, like for roll-on perfume ...

And ballot balls. Not industrial, but not play exactly.

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  • 2 weeks later...

During World War II, engineers perfected the little glass balls to such a degree that they could be substituted for steel bearings. Tons of these glass balls go to lithographers and engravers, to be used in smoothing the surface of copper printing plates.

In the oil fields, refineries use acid-proof marbles as filters and condensers. The glass balls are injected into old oil wells to prepare them for possible further use. Consequently, millions of dollars worth of oil can now be recovered.

Some fish hatcheries put marbles in the bottom of pools for better results at spawning. Paper mills use glass balls in manufacturing. Recently has it been found out that marbles are, highly useful in the spinning of glass thread.

Some time in 1948, a telegram from Johannesburg, South Africa, reached a marble manufacturing factory in the US requesting a shipment of 100,000 marbles in "three-colour strip combinations on opalescent glass." They were to be used as currency, but were captured by warring tribes. The mibs had to be re-minted.

(I've been reading a lot of marble articles) ;-)

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Cool. I didn't know about the fish hatchery thing. And the currency marbles? I'd like to hear more about those!

By the way, thanks a bunch for making me go search for your article. LOL :-) I think I found it ... but you made me dig!

Well, it was fun searching. And as it happens, I ended up with more than one fish hatchery reference. and one of those references was very very interesting ... because it had a lot of errors. I'll be asking some questions about that one in another thread!

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  • 3 months later...

Another use was as laboratory distillation column packing. I saw a factory box of Peltier peewees that had been shipped to a laboratory. I am sure that was what they were to be used for as we used small glass spheres in my labs long ago.

Also I saw a very large slag above 2 " a few years ago - closer to 3 "- I imagine it was used as a pump ball.

By the way the last time I saw Guy, I gave him a special Peltier knowing he was a collector of these. A plastic check valve with a Peltier Rainbo in it. Hope Denise kept it...

By the way I hit the Holy Grail in a junk large Ebay lot this morning. Package had been left on front porch by mail lady! Inside a very nice Blue Galaxy- great because rest of Peltiers dinged in lot!

Don

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How about PUMP BALLS?

They were used in well casings as check valves.

My guess is: They fit into a leather or rubber seal. when the water was pumped up.

The ball rose to let it pass. then settled back onto the seal trapping it in the casing.

when the casing was replaced with a more modern valve.

The glass pump balls were smashed with another pipe & let to sink into the well it's self

I have 2, one is 2 13/16" for a 3 in. pipe? transparent red & amber,

the other is 1 15/16".for a 2 in pipe? clear with a

transparent brown swirl thruthe center, like a twister

both look to be hand gathered.

I haven't seen or heard of anyone else having one?

I'd like to seem them if they're out there>

marblemiser

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  • 2 weeks later...
And don;t forget Sling shot ammunition, half inch glass balls can really whack a squirrel at close range.

:Happy_143:

Apparently slingshots were also used for anti-espionage!

In AMMM there's a story from Blaine Lemon about how Marble King and Vitro workers used to spy on each other, peeking in windows or doors, and sometimes they'd use slingshots to scare the spies away! Wonder what ammo they used exactly. whatever was in the nearest bin? in their pockets? maybe some pretty parakeets were sent flying. (surely not parrots. Mr. Lemon said no one got hurt!)

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Must add this, Edna! thanks!

Red marbles used for encouraging chickens to eat more!!

I think the crackled clearies come from the 1950's. I seem to remember they were some kind of craft. You heated them in the oven and then cooled them quickly. However, I bought some in the 1990's that were Asian, already crackled. The little boy next door was raising chickens for an FFA project and the teacher told him to get some red marbles to throw down in the coop. It was supposed to make the chickens peck up more food. We found red crackled ones at Walmart for him. Edna

I think someone also mentioned marbles ... was it peewees? ... to help poultry digestion ... ??? but this sounds completely different.

p.s., yup, it was peewees in gizzards and yup this is completely different. Something related to teaching the chickens to recognize food as food, I think. I've read about that too now, but already long enough ago that I don't recall the details. I'll have to look that up again. Certain colors were considered more attractive than others. Red in most accounts, but one account said that turkeys prefer green.

Could there possibly be any more? It's so hard to imagine ... but then strange things like this pop up.

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  • 4 months later...

Medical use:

Grasp/Release exercises in physical therapy.

semi-historical tidbit: In a 1978 newsletter, marble king was recommended as an economical source: "sells 5/8 inch cat’s eye or rainbow marbles, in boxes of 2100 for about $10.00."

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  • 3 weeks later...

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