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Rare Road & Tunnel Slag on Ebay


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Winnie,

I don't know if anyone can definitively answer your question with a 100% "Yes" about your German sample.

I don't recall ever seeing anyone post information as to what technology the German's employed and the relevant time-frames.

 

It would be safe to say that the consensus was that 100% of MF Christensen marbles were "Hand Gathered" and "Machine Rounded".

 

It would be safe to say that early Christensen Agate marbles were "Hand Gathered".

It would be safe to say that later Christensen Agate marbles were "Machine Stream/Gob Fed".

Now where it gets dicey, is what varieties were "Hand Gathered" or "Machine Stream/Gob Feed".

All is open to argument.

 

Others might add that early Peltier and Akro marbles were "Hand Gathered".

Some might argue that the early Akro "Hand Gathered" marbles were actually purchased MFC stock.

 

I think what Chris is stating that his marbles derive their pattern from the "twisting", "stretching" and "folding" actions done while "Hand Gathering".

He is also implying that the MFC 9 and CA Diaper Fold patterns were generated by "Hand Gathering".

Personally, I agree.

 

Here is an Andy Davis Marble/Top Stand.

ANDY-DAVIS-STAND-01.thumb.jpg.481021b259612a0dfab69f642294d9e2.jpg

I believe these are single "Hand Gathered" and then sheared off into a press/mold.

Notice the beautiful striations and "Road and Tunnel" pattern?

 

Obviously, Chris' marbles and Andy's stands have a single shear mark.

Your German marble exhibits two shear marks.

It is this twin feature that lead some to believe that this was "Stream Fed" and not "Hand Gathered".

My belief is that a "Hand Gathered" marble can have a single shear mark, but also two shear marks.

 

Sincerely,

John

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50 minutes ago, akronmarbles said:

Akro Agate: April 1918

april-1918-akro-agate.gif

Brian,

Always a wealth of knowledge!  Thank you for sharing.

 

So that may explain a variation in Slags.

At the beginning, when the color pot (transparent purple, blue, green, amber, etc.) is "fresh", the marbles made would have a nice clean transparent base with white striations.

After running for some time, any excess white not picked up in the gather would start to bleed and mix with the transparent base.

So, slags toward the end of a pot would have a "cloudy" or "milky" transparent base.

Thoughts?

 

The comment "do not gather but dip the glass" is very interesting.

Thoughts on what this means?

 

Hope all is going well with you.

Sincerely,

John

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I agree on the blending of the glass over time with working John. I saw this with my hand gathered slag making experiments. I am not sure what to make of the "gather" vs "dip". It would certainly be quicker to dip and pull than dip twist and pull (this is how I gather) - but you still need to let the tail of the gather run off which is usually achieved by rotating. This may explain the reason why there are Akro examples with a fine hair like thread wrapped around them - sometimes not even completely melted in. On a side note - Arnold Fiedler was the glass chemist /maker at Akro when this article was published. He may be responsible for the dip method mentioned above - the attached article shows that he was responsible for hiring marble makers and it would not be a hard stretch to think that the methods utilized would be ones

fiedler-akro-Sep-1917.jpg

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1919 - "gathering small ware" - I think the workers did whatever they had to do to make the most marbles per hour. I know that the punty rods used at MFC were much longer than 2.5 feet. All of this discussion may relate to a link between similarities in certain Akro marbles and CA's.....

akro-gather-1919.jpg

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On 1/27/2018 at 7:32 AM, akronmarbles said:

I agree on the blending of the glass over time with working John. I saw this with my hand gathered slag making experiments. I am not sure what to make of the "gather" vs "dip". It would certainly be quicker to dip and pull than dip twist and pull (this is how I gather) - but you still need to let the tail of the gather run off which is usually achieved by rotating. This may explain the reason why there are Akro examples with a fine hair like thread wrapped around them - sometimes not even completely melted in. On a side note - Arnold Fiedler was the glass chemist /maker at Akro when this article was published. He may be responsible for the dip method mentioned above - the attached article shows that he was responsible for hiring marble makers and it would not be a hard stretch to think that the methods utilized would be ones

fiedler-akro-Sep-1917.jpg

Brian,

Again, thank you for sharing your experiences.

The "Twist" versus "Dip" definitely has me thinking. Surely, they would result in different patterns. The "Twist" would be a "9" and the "Dip" could give you a "U"?

The production rates, also, have me thinking.  More later.

Do you have a date on the 2nd article? It appears that the number of machines has grown from 6 to 10. Also, it appears they have moved from manual feed to automatic.

You bring up a point. Do Akro Slags have similar construction features as CA Slags?

Now, I have always been curious about the working time of the glass used to make marbles way back then. A longer working time would allow the glass to stay plastic and minimize a shear mark, while allowing the forming machine more time to form a sphere.

Thoughts? 

Sincerely,

John

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On 1/26/2018 at 10:26 AM, winnie said:

That is new info for me,I did not know that the road &tunnel slags are handgathered.

So if I understand correctly,The German road & tunnel are also handgathered,kind of transition?

Here's a German 1 inch str/tr.

5.stri.tr.jpg

Winnie,

Your marble is fantastic!

I am wondering if you have a double tunnel marble. There isn't a clear photo of how the "clear" tunnel is truncated at the 1st shear mark. The base of the white tunnel is what I would call the 2nd shear mark.

John

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John,I,m afraid I do not understand what you mean by 2 tunnels,do you mean a tunnel at a shear mark and another tunnel at the second shear mark?

Maybe you can post a pic- of an example.

Here's an other str/tr that was in the same bargain from Germany same size.

4.str.tr.jpg

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Winnie,

Sorry, let me try again.

Screenshot_20180128-154750.jpg.9af0ecbddaa36953863902d2ac914023.jpg

Above is your photo.

Let me define "Cut Line 2" as the one that is the focal point of the Road & Tunnel.

"Cut Line 1" will be opposite and only shown on the marble in Row 2, Right.

I've tried to outline the "Road" with a dashed red line. It appears that the road doesn't completely make it to CL1. I've placed a question mark on the view in question.

John

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Part 2

20180128_162824.jpg.7223155da0cd4accf3afb2f8f95c8ae7.jpg

Above is a sketch where I've tried to cut, unfold and flatten your marble.

What I was tying to say is that you have a short "U" (Tunnel) and an elongated "U" (Road).

If the first shear had removed more glass, any remnant Road U would have been cut off and the lines would appear to be parallel.

Look at that marble and follow the lines. Imagine if your marble only had one cut line. You can trace some of the lines as they loop around the sphere. 

John

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9 minutes ago, akronmarbles said:

Second article is September, 1917.

Okay. I'm confused.

April 1918 - 6 machines is clearly stated.

September 1917 - 10 machines. True, I am extrapolating the quantity. 150,000 per day and each machine doing 15,000 per day. Simple math.

Being quite familiar with trade magazines, I am going to have to claim some exaggeration or artistic license is going on by either Akro or the writer.

Thoughts?

John

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Thanks for the sketch,I think I understand what you mean.

Almost all my German str/op and str/tr do have 2 seams on the opposite sides of the marble.Only e few have a sort of road & tunnel pattern.

What striked me is they all are so different from each other.

Here's the other side of the marble,I've followed the lines,can you call it a road & tunnel or just a str/transp?

 

1.stripe-tr (Medium).gif

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the rarity of nice nines and tails on Akro handgathered slags Peltier handgathered slags and many CAC handgathered marbles(American Agates Especially) leads me to believe Arnold did not always teach a swirling method of gathering. I believe he preferred a dip method.  Although at 10,000 marbles a day for an experienced team of 2 it appears the swirling method used at MFC and other places worked very well for speed.  

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