Shamrock Marbles

A pillar of a man that cannot be replaced. My heartfelt condolences to loved ones and friends. May your hearts carry his memory in witness of who he was. Blessings to those who knew him. A shame that another generation will never get the direct experience of his knowledge and friendship. Call those who are far away. Hug those who are near. Tomorrow is not promised. Godspeed, dear Ron.

Interesting difference in patina in the section engraved with “Dept of Parks”. Yours appears to be machined/ground off then engraved with gratuitous nomenclature. Explanation for the difference in surface condition?

Hmmm… Considering that this went through a fire, then the lack of carbon or char embedded on the melted surfaces is most intriguing. Had the marbles been in a cardboard box, wood box, cloth bag or leather pouch (all organic materials), then their burning would have left carbon residue on all the surfaces. Even the interior surfaces. The corrugated surface reminds me of ceramic kiln paper. Remember to buy the item, not the “story”. -John

Ric, True UV is invisible to the human eye. The purple/blue you see from your light source is of the wavelength that does not cause the elements in the glass to react. Reactive components need invisible wavelengths of 400nm or shorter to fluoresce. Uranium is not the only element to fluoresce under UV. Selenium, Cadmium and Manganese do react to UV, but not as intensely as Uranium. These three components are very common in modern glass. Selenium is found in yellow and orange glass. Cadmium in red glass. Manganese is used to make purple glass. So, it is a misnomer to say you see glass reflecting UV. -John

Merry Christmas everyone!! May you be healthy and have success in 2023!

This goes back to my original conversations with Les Jones in Hannibal 2003, KC 2004 and Amana 2004. We all are constrained by the current laws of physics. Add Occam’s razor to that mix and you have a great conversation on “how did that happen”?

The “Watermelon” (Bullseye) and the Green/White/Yellow Patch (Spectrum) marbles are mine without a doubt. Need better angles of the others to rule completely out. The colors, patterns and cut lines tell a tale. I can explain how I got two cut lines on some of my marbles. 😉

Yes, some are and some are not. -John

Well…. Hand-gathered and machine-formed marbles are predominantly single-shear marbles. Christensen Agate (CAC) existed at the period were both Hand-gathering and Hearth-fed marbles were made. Many Guineas and “Exotics” exhibit true single-shear marks. -John

Like fine Champagne. Lovely mib! (Something went wrong with my Apple.)

Three and five. Courtesy of Larry Zengel.

Ron, I believe you are seeing the poly bag deteriorating from oxidation. The outside of the bag gets handled and the oxidized plastic dust gets knocked off. The dust inside the bag is contained, with nowhere to go. Newer polymers have additives to reduce oxidation. Vintage plastic, not so much. I suspect the differences one will find between marble companies is based on who was their supplier and the purchase price or quality of the bagging material. Those vintage bags are on a slow death march, but they will still outlast us both! -John

Scott may you Rest In Peace and rejoice in your reunion with your daughter, Heather Lynn.

Yes, sweet examples. That board of marbles would be nice to have!

Additionally... The website "The Glass Marble" is Bruce Troeh's. Bruce has been a perennial demonstration artist at Moon Marble's Marble Crazy. Bruce T. basically added the detail design from Craig Snider (Spara50) to his website. You can see an email exchange at the bottom of that page. The genesis for the plans (I believe) came from some details shared by Leroy Johnson, but Craig fleshed it out into a complete DIY Instruction Kit and shared it. I am open to any correction by Craig (or others). John

If you are inclined to build this machine, one can currently find substitute gearmotors at Grainger or McMaster-Carr. These will not be identical 1:1 replacements nor will they be cheap. Grainger 52JE35 McMaster-Carr 6142K49 The MC unit is beefier than the GR unit.

These make my heart skip a beat. I enjoy the simplicity of a white opaque glass with a colorful transparent glass. Simplicity at its finest. -John

A fantastic "Toe Breaker"!!! John "Shamrock Marbles"

Great job!! Such enthusiasm and knowledge!!! Much appreciated. John "Shamrock Marbles"

You only gave yourself 3 hours to ponder. 😃 Anyhow, I will let Ron speak for himself, but I think he is trying to convey that the marble didn’t completely spin/rotate on multiple axis. The whole concept of a marble forming machine is to rotate the glass gob on multiple axis as it cools. If the gob doesn’t do this, you can get multiple varieties of errors, of which, a rams head is one. -John Shamrock Marbles

No, that was not my plan. It should be understood that the patent does not describe how the invention shall be effectively used. It wouldn’t take a great leap think that the operators/maintenance people would alternate the spinning cup direction periodically, so as not to wear out the gears or spinning cup. You could effectively double the mechanism life if properly switched. Think about rotating your tires. The motor direction could be easily changed using a reversing motor starter, which was common technology at that time. -John Shamrock Marbles

Here is the other ensuing patent (US1828229): There are a few things to note here: 1) Gone is the "reversing" cup claim as stated in the prior art. 2) The mechanism is much simpler and less prone to drive failure. 3) Spinning Cup speed is constant, unidirectional and not dynamically changing during operation. 4) The Pitch Diameters of the Pulleys (Item 12) are adjustable and can deliver a range of rotational speeds. 5) The "Inventor" is no other than Gilbert C. Marsh. The President of the Gilbert-Marsh Shoe Store!! 6) The marble machine silhouette is the machine used at Akro. -John Shamrock Marbles