Shamrock Marbles

Let's suppose... When getting the glass stream flowing, the spinning cup is retracted and the marble machine is pushed away. This glass piles up on the floor, to be later dug as cullet. Once the flow is consistent, the marble machine is rolled into place. Patch marbles are being produced, while the stream is adjusted to get the right size marble. Once all looks stable, the spinning cup device is engaged. Corks are now produced with the same colors as the patches before. If you look at the patent for the spinning cup, it is not overly robust. I also speculate that this device failed regularly and required it to be disengaged during a run. Corks stop and Patch production resumes. Corks would resume as soon as the device was fixed. My belief was that Cork production was the ultimate goal, but Patches are a natural by-product. Why toss a perfectly good marble? YMMV, John P.S. Both are awesome in their own way!

Steph, The bottom right in the photo of six (first post) has not been identified. I brought some samples in bags with tags from Linda. I was busy doing something else when the marbles where pulled. Many of these runs have such a wide range in variation! Yes, maybe someone can help. John

One more ID. "The Marble Buddies" Sisterville Run at Sammy's Mountain Marbles, 09/25/2012. John

Okay, was able to identify the three marbles from D.A.S. "True North Marble Run", 09/29/2014. John

Some appear to be taken under water. Surface bubbles on some marbles. John

Okay, how to classify these? Marbles from Linda Moore Simmons and Edna Eaton from various runs headed by Dave. These samples were made while at Mark Matthews' this past October 2017. Brett Young and Larry Zengel (Hot House Glass) did the gathering. Rounded in the Shamrock Mark II marble machine. Marbles range from 1.28" to 1.34" diameter. The one run I can identify as "Wonder Woman" 10/01/2013. For reference, the three small marbles are 0.59" diameter and the large marble is 1.32" diameter. Sincerely, John McCormick New info: Top Row of three: D.A.S. "True North" Marble Run, 09/29/2014. Bottom Row Left: "Wonder Woman", 10/01/2013. Bottom Row Middle and Right: "The Marble Buddies" Sistersville Marble Run at Sammy's Mountain Marbles, 09/25/2012. Thanks Linda!

Craig, You mentioned "one circular indentation opposite of the shear mark." Do you have a good photo of that? Greg, Do you have a link or can point me to Morphy's listing? (Thanks for your other post!) Thanks, John

Craig, Here are nine of Chris' marbles. Smallest (upper left) is 35 grams and about 1.19" diameter. Largest (lower right) is 53 grams and about 1.38" diameter. Surfaces vary greatly from bumpy to smooth. John

Craig, Beautiful. The color combo, loops and striations are awesome. Would love to see the mable in hand and compare with my samples, but I would say yes. The cut line and glass wrapping are signatures of Chris' Road-and-Tunnel marbles. Please note: Others can produce the same effects. The colors are similar to those used by Chris'. The last batch of of white and purple marbles Chris' and I made had fractures. Does your marble have any cracks? Chris' machine had a series of different radius grooves that allowed him to make different diameter marbles. I will measure my samples and share those results. Happy Thanksgiving! John P.S. If Chris visits and comments, I will accept his opinion.

To All, Thanks for the generous compliments. Greg, Each marble has the distinctive DNA of the original artist and are signed by that artist. The miniature Matthews signature is a marvel unto itself. Those on Mark's website are from last year, 2016. Mark has some completely different marbles from this year's run, 2017. Mark dug way back into his archives. My favorites are his clam broth and peppermint reruns. Also, Hot House Glass has a grouping for sale. They sold their first listings (BIN) very quickly, but are going to do a second release soon. They anounce their Ebay listings via their FB account. Their construction and use of dichro make their marbles pop! Sincerely, John

You are most welcome. I presumed you were busy and didn't have time to research it yourself. After all, you did ask for help understanding why I used the adjective "rare". No raw or "rare" nerve here. It appears my usage of the word got you going first. However, I do like the way you try to twist who has the raw nerve. As far as being verbose, I do not apologize. I try to be clear. What I see on marble boards is the more an individual knows the shorter their post. This brevity, or economy, of words can come off as curt and uninviting for continued discussion. New (and old) people need slack and the chance to err. It is the job of experienced people to kindly spread any tribal knowledge. Again, it is all good here in Kansas. Sincerely, John

Mikie_T, For your viewing pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3mzj0-j2ww&t=6s Sincerely, John

Greg, Here are some large Shamrock slags (1-1/4" - 1-3/8" diameter) for reference. [Box set made by Craig aka "spara50"]. Totally different pattern than Chris'. Also, my cut lines are straight. Sincerely, John McCormick

Greg, Pretty sure it is one of Chris' original runs. It was made with Fenton transparent red and Hobnail white (Gabbert Cullet). Under hard lighting the deep red goes orange (auction photos 1-6). I guess that is why the seller posted photos under two lighting conditions. The second set of photos (7-12) show the deeper red. Just two colors and some "gravitational" twisting makes a wonderful pattern! Notice the "U" or "V" shaped cutline? That is from using diamond shears. The shears sucked out too much heat at the cutline, thus inhibiting it from completely melding into the body. Also, if you look close enough, the "sphere" is quite "lumpy". This was because the roller geometry wasn't optimal on his machine. Yes, R&T marbles are machine rounded. I took possession of Chris' machine from John Hamon-Miller at Amana, 2004. Rebuilt and returned it to Chris in 2005. He did attempt to make marbles on it, but was frustrated again by its inability to consistently produce round marbles. I too have seen R&T Slags at shows and I have bought them (if the price was right). There aren't that many in the wild. Chris' are very distinctive from other large slags. Once you develop an eye, you can pick them right out. Sincerely, John McCormick

Let Merriam-Webster help you... https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rare Definition 3: seldom occurring or found :uncommon How often do you see Robinson Road & Tunnel Marbles offered on Ebay? How often do you see these for sale at marble shows? By this definition alone, the appearance of a R&T for sale is a "rare" event. This is an uncommon marble. Definition 2a: marked by unusual quality, merit, or appeal :distinctive b :superlative or extreme of its kind Very few of the Road & Tunnels were made with enough "roundness" that Chris thought they were sellable. So, a "round" R&T unto itself is rare. Not all sold R&T marbles have such a well defined road and tunnel graphic. This exact marble is of unusual roundness, distinctive pattern with an eye appealing color combination. This is a distictive marble. *** The suggestion that Chris can fire-up the torch and crank out as many as you want, is a false premise to invalidate the usage of "rare". My statement is in the present tense. Even if Chris fires-up the torch and cranks out as many as you want, my statement holds true as when written. In the universe of marbles (data set), what percentage do you think existing Chris Robinson Road & Tunnel marbles total? Chris did not keep detailed records. After talking with him, there are probably fewer than 100 in circulation. If Chris did resume production, what number would he need to produce for his R&T Marbles not to be "rare"? Using better logic, please articulate why you think it is not "rare"? Sincerely, John McCormick , Shamrock Marbles

Just stumbled across this Ebay listing: https://m.ebay.com/itm/6672m-Vintage-Large-Red-Slag-Marble-1-01-Inches-Mint/202088847951?hash=item2f0d6f1a4f%3Ag%3A0RwAAOSwK~RZ7O2P&_trkparms=pageci%3A771ac4ca-bccd-11e7-9de5-74dbd180d0c7%7Cparentrq%3A69262eef15f0ab4c8c22dd4bfffd7423%7Ciid%3A17 Rare and nice Road & Tunnel Slag. Made by Chris Robinson, circa 1993-94. Sincerely, John McCormick Shamrock Marbles

Steph, Available on Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_blrs=spell_check&_sop=1&_nkw=cook islands millefiori&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684 YouTube Vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6joqptWl5hE John

Steph, Most of the Hot House marbles have dichro. Matthews uses aventurine or lutz to sex-up his orbs. John

Some unique marbles, made with unique friends: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-House-Glass-Mark-Matthews-Rerun-marble-1-26-32mm-519-/182350125330?hash=item2a74ea1912:g:JPsAAOSwx2dYJQyK http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-House-Glass-Mark-Matthews-Rerun-marble-1-26-32mm-523-/252631003505?hash=item3ad1fb3171:g:jqIAAOSwB09YJQ2k Fun times had by all! Sincerely, John McCormick Shamrock Marbles

Griff: Obviously, there is no perfect sphere rolling off anyone's marble machine. Glass is forgiving. Now, let's concede that I'm all wet and you're right. Your Post #7 states: Mike brings a point that my rollers really never do heat up, like a real continuous marble production run. I easily concede that, because I show that in my demonstrations by touching the surface even while the marble is rounding. The marble machine is a big heatsink. So, my machine rollers at room temperature (as low as 55 degree F) would represent the worst case scenario for "cold rollers" (as you so state). True? I have placed hot glass gobs that where heated from furnaces, glory holes and torches. Let's say that 2,200 degrees F would be a number to start. You stated in Post #24 We can safely assume that glass won't gain heat after it leaves the tank, so let's use your number of 2,100 as "hot glass" (as you so state). Can you share with us, why I don't get orange peel on my marbles when I put "hot glass" on "cold rollers"? Shouldn't I be wrinkling the crap out my marbles? Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Here's a question: When MFC made oxblood, did they mix the ingredients, cook, then gather directly? Or When MFC made oxblood, did they mix the ingredients, cook, ladle and dump glass to cool. Only to heat up Oxblood cullet again in a monkey pot from which they gathered? For Akro, did they just add Oxblood Cullet to their color tanks? Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Galen: Here are some better close up photos of a hot gob of glass ran on rough (sand blasted) rollers. Some round impressions, some elongated impressions, no scratches in the valleys. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Mike, Here is the Peltier PeeWee marble machine languishing somewhere. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Galen: Sorry but I doubt very much Vacor allows any of their rollers to get rusty and pitted, JMHO Daddy always told me, "A man's entitled to his opinion, even no matter how wrong it is." Maybe you and I should go together and see? Hopefully, one of us will learn something. Welcome back. and not so sure any of the largest types are made with chips. I now firmly believe you don't really read anything. Post #69 shows a yellow 1-5/8" diameter marble. That surface is embedded with glass frit. I toured a glass factory in W.V. many years ago. They took their still hot hand blown pieces and plunged them into water . It was really neat. The results were neat too. And how does this move the discussion forward? I've seen Ro Purser cool a murrine gather in a bucket of water. I can say his results were pretty neat, but it has no correlation to the Vacor squiggles. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Mon, Sorry for making you repeat yourself and I understand........pretty cool video and not what I expected! I don't have a surface gage but wonder how much surface deviation in some of the euro's or jolly's? No problem. I hope you didn't take me wrong. I was citing my passages to help others in reference to your question. I doubt anyone will read this thread in its entirety. Funny you mention measuring the surface. Want to go halvsies? http://www.schmitteurope.com/Surface-Roughness-Measurement/lasercheck-automated.html I'm sure glad you not investigating who stoled two bars of turkish taffy from the Kipton general store in 1967.........ok, it was me! lol If you need more... http://www.groovycandies.com/vanilla-bonomo-turkish-taffy-24-bars?zmam=61863401&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=59033&gclid=CL-psYXJpckCFQgKaQodnIkAxw Mon, thanks for your patience. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"