Shamrock Marbles

Raymond, When I get them boxed and weighed, I'll send you a message through the board with a grand total. I lost your card that you gave me at Amana. Once we exchange addresses I'll send you copies of those Peltier patents in a separate envelope. Sincerely, John

Wow! Just came upstairs after makin' some Pee-Wees! Jane, Glad you got yours and you're happy! I've got your selection down. Raymond, Didn't I meet you at Amana last summer and we talked about the Peltier patents? Thanks for you purchase. I have you down also. Sincerely, John P.S. By my accounts (which can be wrong), we have the following still left: Group 4: #2 & #4 Group 5: #4 & #5 Group 6: #4 <<<<<(Correction, I had #5 here before) Let me know if I'm incorrect.

Carole, Thanks! Scoop, Thanks! And no questions. Sincerely, John

Carole, Okay. GROUP 6 MARBLE 3 Right? John

Carole, Please clarify. PHOTO GROUP #? MARBLE #? Thanks, John

Rounds 4, 5 and 6, as promised a week ago... First come, first served. Make your claim under this post for all to see! Each marble is $10. I will combine shipping. Insurance is optional (but recommended). The last batch was sent in boxes via USPS 1st Class Mail. However, I will ship as you wish. --------------------------------------------------- PHOTO GROUP 4 1) Transparent Clear Guinea (0.677" dia) 2) Transparent Amber Guinea (0.660" dia) 3) Transparent Cobalt Guinea (0.654" dia) 4) Opaque Red Guinea (0.690" dia) 5) Transparent Cobalt Guinea (0.618" dia) 6) Opaque Mint Green with White/Cobalt Stripes (0.668" dia) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PHOTO GROUP 5 1) Transparent Pink with White Stripes (0.694" dia) 2) Transparent Clear with White/Yellow/Orange/Red Stripes (0.622" dia) 3) Transparent Dark Green with Yellow/Orange Stripes (0.646" dia) 4) Transparent Lime Green with White/Yellow Stripes (0.645" dia) 5) Transparent Lt Amber with Lt Blue Stripes (0.642" dia) 6) Transparent Lt Green with White/Red Stripes (0.667" dia) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PHOTO GROUP 6 1) Transparent Amber with Yellow/Orange/Mint Green Stripes (0.638" dia) 2) Transparent Lt Blue with White/Yellowgold Stripes (0.673" dia) 3) Transparent Amber with Yellow/Orange/Green Stripes (0.678" dia) 4) Transparent Wirepull with Pink and Lt Blue (0.647" dia) 5) Opaque Orange/Turq. Catepillar Fold (0.676" dia) 6) Transparent Amethyst with White/Yellow Stripes (0.622" dia) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for playing! Remember! "Only Lucky Boys and Girls Get Shamrock Marbles."TM Sincerely, John

Carole, Yeah, I know how hard it is to nail jello to a wall! LOL! Unless something comes up, I will post a few more pictures next Sunday at 6pm Central. This mornings postings blew my marble makin' plans out of the water. Hope this works for you. Sincerely, John

Ken, I understand your hesitancy and I appreciate your input. As far as being able to "make them even closer to the real thing", well I personally don't believe my skill set would allow me. I consider each marble a miracle! As far as I "could easily make them less resemble the "exotics"", well I already do. First, Shamrock Marbles are rounder! LOL! (Sorry Mr. Jenkins) Second, I use modern glass made by Spectrum, Kokomo, Bullseye and Effretre. No old marbles or cullet are harmed! Third, each are engraved with a Shamrock. Come to KC for Marble Crazy and see the machine in action! Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Thanks everyone for the sell out! I will box your marbles and weigh them tomorrow at work. I will send you a message showing the grand total late tomorrow evening. Thanks for your patience! Carole, I will post a few more next Sunday. Hopefully you'll get a chance at them. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Group03 Here's the last picture for the day, because I really have to get to makin' some mibs! 1) Opaque Mint Green with Cobalt/White Stripes (0.663" dia) 2) Transparent Dark Amber with Blue/Yellowgold Stripes (0.608" dia) 3) Transparent Aqua with Yellow/White Stripes (0.610" dia) 4) Transparent Pink with White Stripes (0.658" dia) 5) Clear Base with White/Yellow/Blue Stripes (0.660" dia) 6) Transparent Lime Green with White/Rustred Stripes (0.624" dia) First come first served basis. Post your picks here. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Oh wow! Thanks to all for such a response! Current marble availabilty: Group01 - None, Sold out! Group02 - None, Sold out! Please keep these pictures on your hard drive for future reference! Thanks, John I'm going to take one more picture before I head downstairs to the glass factory! LOL! Please stand by...

David, Just to clarify... That's of Group 2 right? Thanks, John

Group02 Ahh.... A stunning array of mibs looking for a loving home: 1) Transparent Dark Amber with Light Blue Stripes (0.647" dia) 2) Transparent Bright Blue with White/Yellowgold Stripes (0.650" dia) 3) Transparent Lime Green with White/Yellowgold Stripes (0.640" dia) 4) Transparent Lime Green with White/Cobalt Stripes (0.655" dia) 5) Transparent Lt Amber with Whie/Orange/Yellow Stripes (0.642" dia) 6) Transparent Amethyst with White/Yellowgold Stripes (0.664" dia) First come first served. Place your request here in this post. I'll respond as soon as I can. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Okay, I'm learning. Upon further review... Post your claims here instead of via email or PM. This way I'll let the board be the traffic cop and all can see what was sold. Kris, Thanks! Dis-regard my PM! LOL! You have marbles 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 of Group01. Poor old #1 os so lonely. Sincerely, John

Here is the first group. Working Left to Right then Top to Bottom. Each marble is $10 plus additional shipping & insurance. 1) Transparent Cobalt Guinea (0.635" dia) 2) Transparent Aqua Guinea (0.675" dia) 3) Transparent Cobalt Guinea (0.650" dia) 4) Transparent Clear Guinea (0.625" dia) 5) Transparent Amber Guinea (0.658" dia) 6) Opaque Red Guinea (0.652" dia) First come first served. Place your requests in this forum (no emails or PM). This way the board will be the traffic cop and everyone can see what has been sold or what is still available. I will respond when I take breaks from making marbles today. I will post another grouping soon. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Carole and all, Sorry, but at this time I don't have my marbles in my possession, so, I can't take pictures. I do have "production" scheduled for the next 4 days. This Sunday afternoon I will post photos of marbles for sale under this thread. There will be marbles in this grouping not seen at New Philly. No obligation to anyone. If you see something you like, then great! If you don't something you like, then better luck next time! Right? Jay, You bought those babies on Ebay back in January 2004! I haven't sold on Ebay since that first round. Glad to see you still have them! Mod, It's always a good idea to know whats out there! Sincerely, John

Chris, I think you got that marble from Craig when he ran an auction for the KC Marble Club. Right now I'm gearing up for Marble Crazy 2007 the first weekend in March. I really don't have a good way to sell marbles other than let people look through trays. I thought about Ebay, but I think all here can attest to the hassle. I thought about using the website, but you already heard my lack of time for the website. Guess I could take an "over all" picture of a tray or a group and let people who inquire to ask for better photos of individuals. Just to give all an understanding on pricing... 1/2"-11/16" marbles sell for $10. 11/16 and larger sell for $15. Really good "Flames" sell for $20. (The last flame I made was sold last year to Terry at Marble Crazy 2006). I sell peewees and rejects for $1 apiece, but you have to dig through the pile in person. Thanks, John

Oh wow! Great photos everyone! I consider myself a "lurker", but feel a little compelled to be a "poster". To all that have some "Shamrocks", I hope you enjoy them, because I enjoy making them. One thing for sure is that they have a tendency to get the "exotic" conversation going. Yeah, my website (or lack of one) sucks! I find myself pulled in multiple directions by competing interests and commitments. Shamefully, the website happens to fall into one of the "cracks". Anyhow, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I won't be able to respond until later this evening. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles" P.S. Sue, I can't wait for Wheaton! Hope to see you there! P.P.S. Come see the Shamrock Marble Machine in action at Marble Crazy 2007!

Brad, Thanks for the idea! I wonder what it would be like to make a Guinea-Nine? Thanks for adding to the discussion. Bill, Great points! The monkier "Hand-Gathered" has been a sticking point for some. Maybe we should drop this term, since no "hand" actually touches the hot glass?! LOL! To "think outside the sphere" is what it's all about. You should make a t-shirt for Amana 2007 that has that slogan! Or, do one with Benny that says, "Think Fresh!" Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles" Bill, I feel you pain! Stop! Do no more harm! Send me all your CA's and I will get them split for you at no charge. Yes, that's right. NO CHARGE. LOL! Sincerely, John

Buddy, Your pictures of marble fragments are quite excellent dude! I forgot one element about the frit inside the Guineas. When making glass objects, the craftsperson has to be concerned with the COE (coefficient of expansion) of the glasses used. Today, I use 90 (Bullseye), 96 (Spectrum) and 104 (Moretti). I was told that you could get away with slightly different COE glass if it was applied to the surface. But, if that glass got down into the matrix, then watch out! So, maybe the reason we have Guinea artifacts that show the frit down in the matrix is because some of the frit is incompatible glass. Another reason, may be that the center was too cool and caused unreasonable stresses during the rounding process. Just some thoughts to chew with the Tennesse Twist. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Galen, I see your perspective. The classic "9" and "tail" is a natural result of the gathering process. When you lift your gather out of the pot, the molten glass will flow and drip. To stop this, the gathering boy would turn his rod "clockwise". The gathering boy uses viscosity, surface tension and gravity in his favor. He would also raise the gathering end higher and the glass "tail" would wind toward his hands around the gather. This will result in a standard "9" with a "tail". Try this with honey. For contrast, add a couple drops of food coloring to the top of the honey and try to do a gather. See if you can get a "9" to appear on the end of the wood dipper. For slags, white was added to the pot of transparent base. The punty was inserted, turned and lifted. The gathering boy then brought the single gather to the machine for shearing. Simple and quick. ----- The German ground pontil marbles took a lot of time to finish. Just imagine having to go back afterward and cold finish each marble. This is were Leighton made his mark (no pun intended). Leighton improved on this process with his hand tool and melting the pontils. M.F. Christensen further improved this again by automating the rounding and finishing process into one final step. ----- So, why would it appear that CA went backwards and spent more time making marbles? My answer is simple. If you are making blue and white onyx marbles along with Akro and Peltier, what would you do to stand out? The Guineas definitely stood out. I only wish we could get some marble prices for the day and compare them. Another strength that CA had was color. But my belief is that whatever strengths they had, they couldn't compete financially over the long run. ----- Back to the Guinea. So, if you do an initial gather of cobalt glass, since it is single color, there will be little or no evidence of a "9" (kind of like single color opaques). Once it is rolled in frit, any signs of a "9" will be covered. After this point, there is nothing in the manipulation process that would create a discrete "9" like those on slags. Galen, I agree this is a great thread and we should keep exploring how's and why's. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Buddy, You bring up a great point! First, I hope I didn't confuse the situation with my second "sprinkled frit" marble. There are three distinct marbles that are each constructed differently. 1) CA Guinea 2) Vitro 3) Mega/Vacor CA Guineas (Hand-gathered and Machine-rounded) A gather of base glass (cobalt, amber, clear, etc...) is collected on the end of a punty rod. The gathering-boy then rolls the gather in frit laying on a marver. Now, because the frit is cold, the dots need to be heated to melt in with the base glass. There is not enough heat in the base glass to integrate the frit completely. The gathering-boy then reheats the complete gather in the glory hole. Once the glass is back up to temperature, the gathering-boy removes the gather from the glory hole and brings it to the forming machine. A gob (or gobs) are cut off into the machine for rounding. The first gob will have one cut-line and each successive gob will have two. Vitro (Gob-Fed and Machine Rounded) Basically, a base color gob is sheared from a stream of glass extruding from a nozzle. Once the gob is free of the stream, glass frit can be sprinkle on it as it travels down a trough to the rounding machine or at the rounding machine. There is enough heat in the base glass for some of the frit to adhere, but not enough to completely melt the frit smooth. These marbles are very rough. The edges of the frit are still sharp and could cut you. Also, some of the frit is not stuck well, so it can fall off during shipping or handling. Mega/Vacor (Gob-Fed and Machine Rounded) These are most likely made the same way as Vitro, but the went one step further. As the gob with frit is rolling down the marble machine, flame (heat) is re-applied to melt in the frit better and also smooth over the rough edges. (They could have also be tumbled or acid etched smoothe the frit edges.) _____ Now, both the Vitro and Megas/Vacor marbles have exterior decoration. CA Guineas sometimes have color inside. Now, Bill did a fatastic job of describing how color gets inside. Thanks Bill! I have transparent marbles that show frit inside and that was the result of manipulating the glass like Bill described. The green Guinea has color inside, but the photo doesn't show it. There is at least one other way for color to get inside... _____ Remember that these gathering-boys at CA are moving fast. No motion is wasted. They got paid on what they made. Imagine that it was the last gob cut off the gather. Either there wasn't anymore glass to cut or the glass got too cold to keep cutting (see Bill's first picture in this post). The gathering-boy would immediately go get another gather. If there was remnant glass on the rod, who cares? He'd just pick up some more base glass and start the process all over again. The "old" gather with frit was then enveloped in a "new" gather of base glass. Hence, frit inside. Hope this helps. ISincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Big John, I get hose marks on some of my marbles. It is from the scissors, but I don't understand what is really happening. Then again, I haven't really thought about it too much. LOL! Bill, Stunning pictures! I would have to say that I believe your photos show "First of Gather" marbles. (Notice I didn't use "End of Cane" there?) I really love that last one. If you rotate the cut line 180 degrees, it would give you the Eyes-on-the-Side look of your second marble. If you take that second marble and rotate the cut 180 degrees, you'd get the looping folds like the third marble. Again, great macro work! Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Rick, How are you doing? Let's break the marble making process in two. The first half concerns the gathering of glass and it's manipulation. The second half concerns the rounding process. I have absolutely no evidence to support my theory, but I would hazard a guess that Bullet-mold marbles were hand-gathered. There are only so many ways to get patterns on (or through) the glass. I speculate that a gob of base color was gathered. Multi-colored frit was spread on a marver. The gob was rolled in the frit and then reheated to melt the frit into the base. After the desired pattern was achieved and the gob was thoroughly heated, it was placed into a mechanism. This deviced had two separate and equal hemispheres. So, when it closed down on the gob, it made a spherical marble. Now, if there was a little too much glass, the excess was squeezed out the edges. (Kind of like overfilling a waffle machine.) Sometimes there is a wide band around the equator of the marble. Now, there are different ways one could remove the excess flash. The mechanisms that I've seen can also be used to make glass beads and buttons. Clearer? Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Galen, Here's that marble with frit. It was made with a gob of clear glass dropped into the marble machine. As soon as it started rolling, multi-colored frit (room temperture) was sprinkled onto the marble. There was enough heat for the frit to adhere, but not enough to heat the frit so that it "blended" into the surface. I went digging through my patent files at work today. Patent number 1,828,226 was a very interesting read (Hartford-Empire). It was applied for on October 15, 1927. The patent was assigned on October 20, 1931. This patent was for "feeding glass charges of different colors". Patent 1,828,226 states: "My invention relates to apparatus for and methods of feeding molten glass and is particularly adapted for use in the manufacture of toy marbles or other objects wherein glass of several different colors are embodied." "In the manufacture of marbles, for example, it is the practice to imitate as closely as possible the color effects of agate and to that end it has been the practice to supply the marble forming machine with charges made up of glass of two or more colors so collected as to provide a basic color having streaks or striae of other colors therethrough, it being desired that the streaks be more or less irregular and to thus more closely imitate the natural colorig of agate." Here's the good part... "Prior to my invention, it has been customary to feed glass for this purpose by hand, the gather collecting on his punty portions of each gather from two or more supplies of different colored glass. It is the purpose of my invention to provide means and methods by which glass of several different colors or kinds may be automatically mixed in a manner desirable for the production of glass marbles and automatically fed to the forming machine in charges of proper size, shape and viscosity and with uniformity in weight and shape but non-uniformity in distributionof color between successive charges." This patent gives us some insight to the art of gathering prior to this invention. You can download this patent at www.uspto.gov. Anyhow, I'm still digging through the patents and will post more when I get time. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"