Shamrock Marbles

Fixed your photo. 😉

Some can “see” the geometry, but others may need an illustration. Glad you have the capacity to create in the mind’s eye.

It is one of those things that need a diagram.

In the Fall of 2003, I publicly demonstrated the “Genesis” machine at Moon Marble in Bonner Springs, KS. Most people wanted to buy the marble that they saw me make during the demonstration. It wasn’t until the Spring of 2004 that Les Jones looked at my marbles and the “Junk” that people started buying my 50-cent creations. Les saw similar features in my rudimentary marbles that caused him to question me. (That is a whole different story!)

Not exactly. It is a function of the Blade Thickness and Bevel Angle. Trigonometry.

Let me set the stage… I’ve demonstrated the marble machines since 2003/2006. I’ve let people make marbles at those events. Craig stepped up on the smaller machine (“Genesis”). It is a completely different mindset versus using a graphite marble mold that he was familiar with. I told Craig he had to get the glass molten so he could cut it off the punty. He got it so hot that it extruded off the punty. By the time he cut it, it was about 1.5” long. It landed on the rollers and formed a “Loop”! We were all flabbergasted!! That loop danced on the rollers. I knocked it off and put it in the kiln for annealing. I used to sell the “screw ups” for 50-cents, then later 1-dollar. Those anomalies made people very happy.

I get the same “fingerprint” when I cut with my Fiskars. One could actually measure that distance and determine the thickness of the shear blade.

I’m just a sucker for blue. Super marbles!! -John

The polar opposite of the “Football” or “Dumbbell” is the “Loop”. This example is a rarer variant. I never saw a “Loop” until Craig Snider made one on my “Genesis” machine. I was amazed!! Keep that specimen close! Just lovely. -John

Fire, I just love posts like this! For starters, great marble! What gets me excited is I see is a “Shear Shadow”! The leading edge of the shear is the actual “Cut Line”. The trailing edge is the “Shadow Line”. It is such a subtle feature that is often overlooked. As someone would say, “Marble On!” -John

Question: Is there a specific post that discusses “Quality” versus “Quantity”? This spectrum is quite interesting.

Agreed, but we can’t defeat the trend that UV marbles deserve a premium or if a back-lit marble shows a hidden ribbon or bubble. I have tried to understand the perspective. Some people are genuinely excited to see something new. On the other hand, there are those that hype to extract maximum cash. Luckily, you have matured and defined your criteria. Hopefully, others will scale their learning curves quicker! Thank you for your insightful posts!

I see it. But which one?

@Alan Somewhere in this house I have a Gerry Colman VHS tape on making marbles. Sadly, I have no VHS player. Oh, the irony!

If there was anyone that had one, it would be you. Thank you for sharing! If I recall correctly, he had a monkey face, too. True? How early would you say the momentum started for contemporary marbles? 1995? Sooner? Help me with the makers in your picture. Fritz Lauenstein? Gerry Coleman? Hot House Glass? John Hamon Miller? Geoffrey Beetem? Harry Besett? Others?

Not my face, but I would pay dearly to have one like it.

Don’t forget that the 2025 Marble Championship in Wildwood, NJ begins this coming Monday, June 16, through Thursday, June 19! Enjoy the Boardwalk and Beach. Get a Hoagie, Curley’s fries or a slice at Mack’s pizza.

A few questions… What would you call the base glass? Yellow Alabaster? Yellow Moonstone? Other? Lastly, is the wispy white part of the base glass or considered a third glass? Thanks in advance for your input.

Please, keep having your magical bike rides. 🚲 Stories take on a life of their own. I was reading the information about MFC marbles on different websites and marble books. Lots of literary/poetic license can be found. Heck, any newspaper article should be taken with a grain of salt. “Yellow Journalism” was used to create revenue. Writers were paid by the column inch and rewarded with front page news. Anyway, I’m still researching… -John

I would get a specimen display case (black cardboard, glass window and white batting). I would get some foam boarding and stack 2-3 layers. Then cut out a Christmas Stocking shape in the foam boarding. Put the boards in the box. Overlay with the batting. Put most of the marbles in the bag and insert into the cutout. Place some of the “spilled” marbles in the toe of the stocking.

Let's take a look at Patent US-0632336-A: From a machining point of view, the Inner and Outer Cones would be very expensive to make. How long would they last before having to be replaced? From a production point of view, imagine if there was a jam inside. You would have to completely dismantle the machine to get at the problem. Not all babies are pretty. ** My question still stands: "He may have sold 80% of his patent rights, but can anyone point to a company that used his device successfully in a commercial adventure?" Getting a Patent doesn't mean the idea will become commercially viable. Current viability rate is 2%-4%. Wouldn't you like to know what company or companies employed Patent 632,336? ** Your question: "Do you have reason to believe that his improvement/variation was not employed in manufacturing ball bearings?" Well, that is an interesting question! I came across this... Machinery's Reference Series - Google Books On pages 6 & 7: Things like this create more questions. 😀

Bearing balls were made long before MFC’s patent. In fact, there was prior art to his patent. US and foreign. He may have sold 80% of his patent rights, but can anyone point to a company that used his device successfully in a commercial adventure? Don’t get me wrong. I like a good story, but the plot has to be rooted in fact. MFC was NOT the inventor of the bearing ball machine. He just had a variation on the theme.

Thank you for your effort. Honestly, I cannot give credence to an “article” where they use the term “anynonymous”. First, that is not an actual word. Second, I would suspect they meant “synonymous”, if interpreting their context. Obviously, these “researchers” did not do their due diligence. Definitely not a peer reviewed scholarly work. Sad. 😢

I do make marbles, but I don’t make glass.😉

What is the difference between Flint glass and Lime glass?