More Heaton !!

[Chad G.]

A small curio I filled with Heaton. One shelf of misshapen double ingots', baseballs, hats, pancakes, barbells, pee - wee's, nearly every oddball shape you could name. The other just some outstanding examples and the third shelf I believe are all named. Anyway all from the last dig.  Had to put em somewhere, might as well display em, the containers are all Akroware, I think a couple Houze a few salts & some Imperial end of days glass, found a use for those too. Better than collecting dust in a cupboard or on a shelf somewhere. I try to display everything I have, I emphasize the word try very emphatically. Please excuse the blur, this curio is mounted on my wall about 5 feet up, kinda hard to take pics with a 12" tripod at that height..................................

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Chad G.

[Ric]

Nice display. I like the signs too. I have flats of stuff I sorted years ago. A couple of weeks ago I came across one and it took me a few minutes to figure out what they where. But then, there's a real good chance I have way too many marbles.

[Chad G.]

A Good friend made 2 signs for every manufacturer, Pelt, MK, Cairo, Alox, Akro, Alley etc...etc..., got something started now I need more. 

[wvrons]

My favorite Heaton,. The Razzel Dazzel !

Close second- Heaton oxblood, found right next to one of the Razzel Dazzel's. 

So many to pick from !

Wood case made by Cheese, for me from wood found at Heaton .

 

 

[Chad G.]

Thanks Ron you saved me taking pics of flats, Razzle Dazzle still a fav..... Heaton made some killers that's for sure, very happy I got at least a slice of the pie...... Thanks again all for the hard work, sharing & generosity, true marble Brothers & Sisters...... 

[wvrons]

Some odd things found at Heaton. 

[Tommy]

Is that thing all covered in glass where the glass flowes out to the rollers ?

And what was the other thing for stirring...

Awesome photos . Never dug a mib but I have dug a gold nugget lol

[wvrons]

The last two items are the round furnace outlet orifice cup.  The long pointed item is known as a plunger.  The plunger would work up and down as needed to help force the glass flow into the furnace outlet the outlet orifice cup or furnace bushing as marble makers call it.   

As you can see the last marbles ran through this furnace outlet were clear base, transparent green and white swirls. For some reason, blue and green can do what they call take over the furnace or tank. A small amount of blue or green will color 5 to 10 times the numbers of marbles as the same amount of other colors.  When I would add blue and sometimes green at Jabo. I was reminded often do not use as much blue or green as normal with other colors. Add 1lb. of blue and make marbles with blue for 45 minutes. Add 1lb. of yellow, brown or orange, and make those marbles for 15 minutes. Add 1lb. of red and make red marbles for 5 minutes or one minute. When you find or dig old furnace bricks anyplace they are most often coated with blue coloring or glass and some with green coating or glass.  I have plungers and orifice cups from Akro and others. I have a Alley furnace outlet orifice cup. Not all companies used the plunger system. Some relied on gravity flow only. 

You can see in the first picture that the green and white color going into the furnace outlet is more of a straight line flow. As the flow exits the outlet in picture two, you can see the green and white beginning to twist to make a swirl type marble. The longer distance this glass stream falls to the shear the more twist it will have. Most swirl marbles were made with a longer hot glass stream to the shear than patches and ribbon marbles. As the stream is sheared and it folds over on itself on the shear blade, it twist more again making the swirl twist. Most swirl marbles do not show cut lines. With most swirls the cut line is folded over into the inside of the marble. After sheared the then elongated red hot glass glob falls into a cup or down a chute to the marble machine rolls which rounds the glob into a marble.  

[wvrons]

The round piece is where the glass flow out of the furnace to the shear. The glass falls or flows maybe 3 to 8 inches straight down to the top of the shear block. The shear is two hallow blocks of steel with holes for the glass to enter and exit.  The shear blocks are hallow in order to be water cooled. The shear needs to be water cooled , steady flow of cool water to prevent the steel blocks from   warping. Between the two steel shear blocks is the flat shear blade. The shear blade runs flat horizontal back and forth fast. The shear blade can be timed faster or slower. The shear blade makes on cut as it begins across the block and a second cut just before it exits or reach the opposite side of the shear blocks. Then it returns to the original side where it started, and making two cuts on the return trip  The shear blade is sandwiched between the two steel shear blocks. The shear blade makes two cuts for each marble. The shear blade makes four cuts, for two marbles, on a single pass across and return back across the shear blocks.  Then each glass glob falls into a cup or chute towards the marble machine rollers, about 16 to 24 inches away.  One glob goes to the left roll and the other glob goes to the right roll. All at 250 per minute. Snap your fingers 250 per minute. Everything happens fast. Marbles per minute was always the number one concern, and still is. Marbles per minute was a higher concern than quality control, colors or designs. When problems occur it is fast and often. Many places for problems to happen from the glass going into the furnace, until the marbles are cool.  Everything, steel, furnace bricks, etc. is 800 to 2000 degrees F. Most things are moving in different directions, plus the constant noise and fumes. 

Not easy to explain just a portion of the process. There were different types of shears.  Some of the older styles were more like scissors blades. Some were very complicated. The above info about a shear, is one of the more simple methods with good speed. A new shear set up like above todays cost new is about $7000.00-$10,000 , just the shear. 

Now if you view a U tube video of machine made marbles being made. You will notice the shear blade going back and forth cutting the hot glass stream coming from the furnace outlet orifice or furnace bushing.  

[Tommy]

2 hours ago, wvrons said:

The round piece is where the glass flow out of the furnace to the shear. The glass falls or flows maybe 3 to 8 inches straight down to the top of the shear block. The shear is two hallow blocks of steel with holes for the glass to enter and exit.  The shear blocks are hallow in order to be water cooled. The shear needs to be water cooled , steady flow of cool water to prevent the steel blocks from   warping. Between the two steel shear blocks is the flat shear blade. The shear blade runs flat horizontal back and forth fast. The shear blade can be timed faster or slower. The shear blade makes on cut as it begins across the block and a second cut just before it exits or reach the opposite side of the shear blocks. Then it returns to the original side where it started, and making two cuts on the return trip  The shear blade is sandwiched between the two steel shear blocks. The shear blade makes two cuts for each marble. The shear blade makes four cuts, for two marbles, on a single pass across and return back across the shear blocks.  Then each glass glob falls into a cup or chute towards the marble machine rollers, about 16 to 24 inches away.  One glob goes to the left roll and the other glob goes to the right roll. All at 250 per minute. Snap your fingers 250 per minute. Everything happens fast. Marbles per minute was always the number one concern, and still is. Marbles per minute was a higher concern than quality control, colors or designs. When problems occur it is fast and often. Many places for problems to happen from the glass going into the furnace, until the marbles are cool.  Everything, steel, furnace bricks, etc. is 800 to 2000 degrees F. Most things are moving in different directions, plus the constant noise and fumes. 

Not easy to explain just a portion of the process. There were different types of shears.  Some of the older styles were more like scissors blades. Some were very complicated. The above info about a shear, is one of the more simple methods with good speed. A new shear set up like above todays cost new is about $7000.00-$10,000 , just the shear. 

Now if you view a U tube video of machine made marbles being made. You will notice the shear blade going back and forth cutting the hot glass stream coming from the furnace outlet orifice or furnace bushing.  

Thank you Ron. That was very informative 👍. Must have been amazing to make some marbles. You are a treasure to the marble community.