Opaque, Translucent & Transparent based marbles and the process that made them.

[westcoast_dave]

Why do some marbles show filaments in a transparent base?  Sometimes filaments of a color different than the base glass.  Were there two colors for the base?  Or just one?  

 

This Peltier has white subsurface filaments in an orangish-yellow colored glass, is it part of the base?  Or something else?  Any technical info anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated as it is a mystery to me.  

 

 

[Royal3]

Interesting question Dave. Occasionally some of those tiny filaments in Akros are UV reactive too - not sure about Pelts, not my thing - so I always wondered if they were some kind of precipitate from the batch, intentional or serendipitous. 

[wvrons]

One base glass, the other colors are added to the base glass. You could have white base glass and if the temperature got to hot for to long and it may go clear ? You could have clear base glass and when that gets low switch to white base glass.  As the white begins to flow some of it(filaments)could end up in the last of the clear base. Different situations could produce white filaments or another color filaments in a transparent base. Some of it was planned and some not planned.  Very few people could run a divided base glass tank. Dave McCullough did it a few times at Jabo. A divided tank is two equal amounts of totally different colors in one main base glass tank. He did this during a Tribute run to show Boyce Lundstrum that it could be done. Many times this can or will turn to a mud brown or black color. So most times I think the base glass is separate and other colors added someplace downstream or at the far end of the tank towards the outlet to the shears. Base glass is made from raw ingredients or cullet added to the rear or back of the furnace or tank. The additional colors are added(many ways or methods)downstream as the glass flows from the back of the tank to the front near the shears. The furnace or tank is on a slight angle or sloped so as the hot glass melts it flows towards the outlet and shear. Someone else may be able to explain it better. This is the basic or more simple method. Addition of the colors can vary greatly. Some used complicated and expensive extra equipment. There were single stream methods and multi stream methods. 

[westcoast_dave]

Thanks for the response.  ....So the temperature changes affect the base glass, this is great info and explains why there is so much variance in the bases.    Considering bifurcated based marbles such as the peltier below.................would this occur from a change in base glass or from a divided base glass tank?   

[machinemades]

What a marble! Don’t know if they were made intentional but few of the same color combo are around. Some of my favorites.