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Rare Road & Tunnel Slag on Ebay


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**Hijacked**

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Akro-Agate-Blue-Base-Oxblood-Swirl-Marble-Size-5-8-Near-Mint-/352202515765?nma=true&si=ET1jkNq07cQq12drv5Cf3PsA8%2BM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

What are the features of a Road and Tunnel? 

ie, long single seam, huge loops off the seam, flow towards the loops, little loop action some where else...?

Anyway, I think I have a few of these type's.  The above auction I think was a Persian Oxblood R&T....

:icon_popcorn:

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1 hour ago, William Marbles said:

 

What are the features of a Road and Tunnel? 

ie, long single seam, huge loops off the seam, flow towards the loops, little loop action some where else...?

 



I don't think it needs more than this:

bedfd3c35ba56cc4ed52fa481276899e.jpg


Though with the machine-mades I usually expect to see a flatter seam.  

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3 hours ago, William Marbles said:

**Hijacked**

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Akro-Agate-Blue-Base-Oxblood-Swirl-Marble-Size-5-8-Near-Mint-/352202515765?nma=true&si=ET1jkNq07cQq12drv5Cf3PsA8%2BM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

What are the features of a Road and Tunnel? 

ie, long single seam, huge loops off the seam, flow towards the loops, little loop action some where else...?

Anyway, I think I have a few of these type's.  The above auction I think was a Persian Oxblood R&T....

:icon_popcorn:

No, your marble was a christensen agate with nice tail action!

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What Mike said!

But seriously, I say "yes", color on the road.  A distinct road leading up to the tunnel.  However, this is not something I've spent a lot of time pondering.  It just made sense visually and I didn't think about it more.  I'm not expert on the range of variation allowed in this style. And I'm not sure if I even have one.   So I'll bow out now and welcome other opinions.  

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21 hours ago, BuckEye said:

Greg and John, does this look like a Robinson slag? It’s 31/32”.  Looks machine rolled to me but now I’m thinking he made it. 

 

Thanks!

Craig 

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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.

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Green base with single long pinch line. White swirl pattern makes half circles back to pinch line, typical diaper fold effect. In a discussion with one of the son's of Arnold Fiedler, he was asked if Christen (Cambridge) ever made any marbles over 1". He said they made a special run of large slag marbles for a rich family in town to give as gifts to their children for Christmas. He also said it was very expensive to change the machines around to produce large marbles. This marble's surface shows two as made small blowouts and three surface reflections with no missing glass.

Condition: (8.8).

Item Dimensions: 1-5/8" Dia.

 

http://auctions.morphyauctions.com/Extremely_Rare_Christensen_Agate_Large_Slag_Marble-LOT277650.aspx

 

 

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On 1/21/2018 at 10:15 PM, BuckEye said:

John,

I was reading back through this and realized I never got those pics for you.  You can see the circular indentation in the pics, any ideas?

Craig

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Craig,

No problem. Posts get buried quickly. 

As far as that indentation, I am puzzled.

Could it have sat on something on the annealer? Maybe.

Is that a concentric ring around the indentation?

Does that area appear to be more "bubbly" than the rest of the surface?

Sorry for more questions.

John

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I can't dispute that CA story since I wasn't there but I would hazard a guess that morphy slag was MFC.  Long relatively straight shear but the photos conveniently omit the end opposite the viewer.  That's where I'd be looking for a CA "ear".  It's also a known production size for MF...my $.02

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Craig,

Even more perplexed.

I can't imagine what caused this.  Sorry.

 

Now, I can tell you that when we make larger marbles (1-1/4"+), we have to be very careful about when to remove from the marble machine.

Even if the exterior seems cool and "set", the inner core can still be very hot.

If you place a marble in the annealing kiln with a super hot core, that internal heat will migrate back to the surface.

The surface can soften and the weight of the marble will create a flat spot (or an impression of the shelf material).

 

Sometimes, a marble can slip through or jump out of the rollers.

If it lands on something, it will make an impression.

I just can't think of anything on Chris' machine that would make this mark.

 

Again, sorry for not being much help.

John

 

P.S.  I have always wanted to see Andy Davis make his marble/top stands.

If you look at the bottom, they display a perfect "Road & Tunnel" pattern.

A few years back, Alan sent me some beautiful examples.

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On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 8:37 AM, BuckEye said:

There is a concentric ring around the indentation.  Like it was sitting on a finish washer.  The whole surface is mottled like an orange peel.  That area might be slightly more mottled or bubbly but nothing greatly obvious 

Craig,

I do have more information to share.

Chris informed me that this was a very early "experimental" version of the R&T Slag.

Not only was this a "developmental" marble, it was an "unusual" size (31/32").

 

Due to difficulties getting the machine to round, Chris cut the gather off the punty and into a "cup mold".

The goal was to "pre-round" the gather as much as possible "before dropping on to the rollers".

This was an early effort that he abandoned.

 

"The cup mold was not completely finished and had circular machined marks."

This makes sense, since you stated that your indentation is opposite the cut-mark.

 

Hope this info helps.

Now, I need to go look at my samples to see if there are any similar indentations!

Sincerely,

John McCormick

"Shamrock Marbles"

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John,

What great information, thanks again for all of your effort!   Do you know what kind of white glass was used?? It lights up under uv light as classic cac glass does.  That’s what led me to buy this.  It’s actully a great example to study.  Beautiful in its own right. Everything adds up as you have stated.  

 

Craig

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1 hour ago, BuckEye said:

John,

What great information, thanks again for all of your effort!   Do you know what kind of white glass was used?? It lights up under uv light as classic cac glass does.  That’s what led me to buy this.  It’s actully a great example to study.  Beautiful in its own right. Everything adds up as you have stated.  

 

Craig

Craig,

Glass was purchased from Gabbert Cullet.

So, whatever they bought as scrap and re-sold around 1993.

The scrap had animal shapes.

High probability it was Fenton.

Gabbert sold tons of Fenton.

I need to check mine under UV!

John

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