Shamrock Marbles

Galen, Great photos! Notice the "S" on the side of the marbles? This is an exact construction feature that causes one to scratch their noggin'. This is something that can be created by the turning of a punty rod between cuts. There are patent records showing a gob feeding mechanism that has a spinning rod set at an angle. I will have to find the exact patent number for reference. However, even though there is a patent record showing a mechanism, one would have to prove that a certain company either owned or licensed that technology. Remember that most machinery was designed to replicate a manual function. The main idea was to remove labor costs. This may be an element that is lost to time. CA may not have been cost competative with their peers. How could one compete with a fully automated Akro spinning cup machine when you 're trying to do it manually? The glass industry was ruthless back then, and Hartford-Empire was known not to play fair. Anyhow, let's keep the discussion alive. I'll look through my stuff and take a few more pictures. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Chris, Nine days and still no bites. You may want to try different bait! LOL! Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

I'm a little surprised this thread died before it's prime! Galen, You bring up a very interesting point. Very few actually look at the "construction features" and try to determine how they are made. Now, at times, we are quick to point at certain patent records to state our case. From my limited research of the patents, I could not find any relavent "guinea" patents. I would love to be pointed in the proper direction if they did exist. However, based on my actual real-life experience, I would have to agree with Brian Graham. Guineas are Hand-Gathered and Machine-Rounded. Now, one of the interesting dynamics of Hand-Gathered glass is the need to keep the punty rotating. If you stop rotating, the molten gob will begin to flow off the end of the pipe due to gravity. Looking at double cut line CA marbles, the cut off lines sometimes exhibit two unique characteristics. First, one cut line looks completely melted in and the second cut line looks less melted in or rough. Second, each cut line is not on the same angle or plane. That is, if they were single stream fed, then I would expect that the cut lines would be 180-degrees apart and roughly on the same plane. I would like to see a picture of the other cutline on the marble you posted. Also, it would be interesting to see a photo (or photos) that would show the relative positions of each cut line. As far as applying frit during the rounding process, this would not net you a real CA Guinea, but it would get you a marble that is identical to a Vitro Spotted marble (it don't remember what these are actually called). I'll post a special marble that had frit applied during the rounding process, but I'll need to take some pictures. Sincerely, John McCormick "Shamrock Marbles"

Les was larger than life. My first interaction with him was Hannibal 2003. Chris Robinson and I shared a table next to him. We talked about patents and variations in different marbles. I went into overload with all he shared. He didn't know me from adam, but he handed me a CA Cobra so I could see what beauties they really are. He was a giver, an educator and an ambassador. The next time we met was in KC for Marble Crazy 2004. I brought a gun case of marbles I made and a box of cast-offs. Initially, he looked them over and handed them back with a non-plus look on his face. After talking awhile about marble construction, he asked to see the marbles again. He picked through the marbles and set aside a few for someone special. The following day he came out to Moon Marble to see a demonstration on the marble machine. We talked more about marbles and glass. A few months later at Amana 2004, I stopped in his room first to show him some new developments. He opened the case and said he had to call a friend of his. I left the room so that he and his buddy could look over the marbles in private. As I walked down the hallway from his room, I ran into his friend. After making the rounds, I stopped in an we made a transaction. He even took the time to tell me why he bought what he bought. I never saw Les after that show. I owe him a debt of gratitude for being honest with me. God speed. Sincerely, John McCormick Shamrock Marbles