AKRO Left-hand Twist Corks

[schmoozer]

I tried the search bar here to get info, got 6,300+ hits🥴.

I just found another that twists left. Is there a link where I can read up on this?

thanks.

Brad

[Steph]

I once posted the question about the ratios between right and left.   

I was told of some group effort by many collectors to count how many they had of each and then combine the results for a large sample.

 

I'm not seeing the link right now but I will keep looking.  I am pretty sure the result came in at about 50-50.    

[schmoozer]

Awesome info, thanks!! Had it in my head that left twists were rare, but it might have been regarding German handmades, and early MFC.

[Steph]

1 minute ago, schmoozer said:

Awesome info, thanks!! Had it in my head that left twists were rare, but it might have been regarding German handmades, and early MFC.

 

 

That sounds right.  

[wvrons]

Left hand twist handmades old and new.  But how would you have a left hand twist Akro cork ? They were machine made and made by the spinner cup. Which probably always turned in one direction only.  

[schmoozer]

9 minutes ago, wvrons said:

Left hand twist handmades old and new.  But how would you have a left hand twist Akro cork ? They were machine made and made by the spinner cup. Which probably always turned in one direction only.  

Exactly what I was thinking, which is why I asked the question. Now that I’m looking at my collection, I’m finding more lefties…

[wvrons]

More left twist what ? 

[Steph]

25 minutes ago, wvrons said:

Left hand twist handmades old and new.  But how would you have a left hand twist Akro cork ? They were machine made and made by the spinner cup. Which probably always turned in one direction only.  

 

 

Now we all need to get out our Akros and count.

I have a firm memory from back before 2010 of being told that members of one of the big marble clubs did the count of their right and left corks and the numbers came out roughly even.  

 

*heads up to the attic to find some corks to count*  

[Steph]

In the first box I pulled out, I have 17 going one direction, 14 going the other.

 

Not sure which is considered left or right, but both are coming in strong.    

[wvrons]

How could the spinner cup spin left for some and then right for some ? Then tip over and dump the marble to the machine rolls.   How do you determine the top or bottom of a Akro cork ? 

[schmoozer]

20 minutes ago, wvrons said:

How could the spinner cup spin left for some and then right for some ? Then tip over and dump the marble to the machine rolls.   How do you determine the top or bottom of a Akro cork ? 

The pattern is the same on both poles regardless of left or right twist.

I was looking at the spinner cup diagram in Steph’s Study Hall, but doesn’t show what actually spins the cup. Being an HVAC engineer, mechanical things only spin in one direction, unless you have a transmission like a car. Not sure why you would want to reverse the spin anyway?

maybe it is machine specific, some got set up as lefties and some as righties?

[Al Oregon]

I remember Dani & Ernie commenting on this subject years ago and they had close to a 50% split on left turn corks and right turn corks.

[Dave 13]

hi i read that the scissors and spinner cup worked simultaneously so i’m thinking its coming from the scissors /sheers as they go through a rotation of the glass stream one rotation of the sheers makes two blobs of glass so i’m thinking the scissors cut marks were different enough on the push cut and the pull cut it made the stream /blob of hot glass  fold different and the spinner cup would make left or right twist ? i may be WAY off but though i’d share my thoughts lol 

 

[schmoozer]

1 hour ago, Dave 13 said:

hi i read that the scissors and spinner cup worked simultaneously so i’m thinking its coming from the scissors /sheers as they go through a rotation of the glass stream one rotation of the sheers makes two blobs of glass so i’m thinking the scissors cut marks were different enough on the push cut and the pull cut it made the stream /blob of hot glass  fold different and the spinner cup would make left or right twist ? i may be WAY off but though i’d share my thoughts lol 

 

I need to ponder that one🤔🤔🤔

[wvrons]

I agree. I need to ponder on this. Was the shear actually a scissor type or a plate type moving back on forth ?  The plate shear makes two cuts as in moves across one time and two more cuts as it moves back. Each two cuts or pass are one glass glob. At about 15-30 seconds each pass or glass glob. I just checked 50 Akro corks and 24 twisted left and 26 twisted right. Maybe the fist pass across the shear made a right twist and the reverse pass across the shear made a left twist. Or the way every other glob was delivered to the spinner cup ? I think the spinner cup spun in only one direction.  I think the left and right twist was probably 50/50 on Akro corks. 

Shear blade. Some of these can have a perfect circle hole or one end of the hole straight like this one. These are operated automatic by roller chain drive and electric motor.  The scissor type shear is much different. Some were manual. Some were foot operated and some were more automatic by electric, air etc. Shear types can make differences with marbles. Much more than any machine rolls will. The distance from the furnace outlet to the shear also makes a difference with marbles.  The way the glass stream enters the shear makes a big difference with marbles and cut lines. I have said for many years that the pattern or style of marble happens before the glass glob hits the marble machine.  

Akro graphite spinner cup.

 Each much different size corkscrew marble would require a different size spinner cup and a different size marble machine with different size roll grooves. You can make 9/16 inch marbles on a 5/8 size machine. But you cannot make 7/8 marbles on a 5/8 inch marble machine. If you stray to far from the rolls actual size up or down the marbles will be roll marked, out of round, egg shaped, etc. 

[Fire1981]

WOW

[Tommy]

Awesome thread 👏 👌 

[schmoozer]

9 hours ago, wvrons said:

I agree. I need to ponder on this. Was the shear actually a scissor type or a plate type moving back on forth ?  The plate shear makes two cuts as in moves across one time and two more cuts as it moves back. Each two cuts or pass are one glass glob. At about 15-30 seconds each pass or glass glob. I just checked 50 Akro corks and 24 twisted left and 26 twisted right. Maybe the fist pass across the shear made a right twist and the reverse pass across the shear made a left twist. Or the way every other glob was delivered to the spinner cup ? I think the spinner cup spun in only one direction.  I think the left and right twist was probably 50/50 on Akro corks. 

Shear blade. Some of these can have a perfect circle hole or one end of the hole straight like this one. These are operated automatic by roller chain drive and electric motor.  The scissor type shear is much different. Some were manual. Some were foot operated and some were more automatic by electric, air etc. Shear types can make differences with marbles. Much more than any machine rolls will. The distance from the furnace outlet to the shear also makes a difference with marbles.  The way the glass stream enters the shear makes a big difference with marbles and cut lines. I have said for many years that the pattern or style of marble happens before the glass glob hits the marble machine.  

Akro graphite spinner cup.

 Each much different size corkscrew marble would require a different size spinner cup and a different size marble machine with different size roll grooves. You can make 9/16 inch marbles on a 5/8 size machine. But you cannot make 7/8 marbles on a 5/8 inch marble machine. If you stray to far from the rolls actual size up or down the marbles will be roll marked, out of round, egg shaped, etc. 

👍👍👍

[schmoozer]

Ron, do you have a video of the shear plate in operation?

[akronmarbles]

This is what the shear type would look like. Akro purchased some of these from Wm. J Miller Co. in 1915. The actual shear image is the one I have from Peltier Glass that was used on their machines.

[Al Oregon]

I'm surprised no pics of corks have been posted.  Here is one I just put together.  The four on the left are right hand twist.  The four on the right are left hand twists.  The second picture shows the opposite poles of each marble.  I have no idea how they were made but now there is a picture to look at.

[schmoozer]

34 minutes ago, Al Oregon said:

I'm surprised no pics of corks have been posted.  Here is one I just put together.  The four on the left are right hand twist.  The four on the right are left hand twists.  The second picture shows the opposite poles of each marble.  I have no idea how they were made but now there is a picture to look at.

It also seems to be independent of size. Here is a pic of some 1”, both left and right.

[akroorka]

Consider this.
Using two rollers does not explain the left vs right twist on a corkscrew. Using three or four rollers does. Left cutoff—right cutoff, left swirl, right swirl.
The corkscrew device had to be powered by a motorized mechanism of some sort. If it was an electric, pneumatic or liquid driven motor, the makers would have used the same motor on both sides of the cutoff—it just makes sense. As you oppose the motors of course they would have spun in a different direction.
I think that you have to think out of the box on this question and envision a machine making two marbles almost simultaneously on two different sets of rollers, or at least three that spun in different directions.
Left vs right corkscrew was always a trap that I thought that sellers used to lure buyers. 
Facts are that corkscrews are 50-50 left vs right---most marbles are, with the exception of the very early machine made slag’s that were hand gathered and dropped onto a single wheel or rounding device , made this way.
Now—to look at different manufacturers of these most desirable little orbs, what was best, a left hand cutoff or a right hand cutoff. I vote left without any knowledge. (I love lefties)
Earlier machine made marbles (slag’s) may have been made with one set of rollers (Miller Pelt’s for example, )  to make the marble round without the effort that it takes without it but who really knows what happened with the more advanced and get this done quickly advances that the glass makers/marble makers were always thinking of.
Akro had many secrets that are left to be revealed. Prove me wrong and be appreciated.
I am of coarse welcome any different opinions.
These are my own.
Marble—On!! And prove me wrong as well!!
 

[Tommy]

I think you nailed it....💥💥💥✅

[wvrons]

I agree with all and with the use of two sets of rolls or four rolls. Probably two running side by side to the left of the furnace and two running side by side to the right of the furnace. This equipment took up a lot of space at the end of the furnace. I see the shears were air operated and tripped by the gather person. That would be slow with all the corks made. I am not sure the corkscrews were hand gathered. I wonder if the shear was changed or a different type shear was used once they were making corks ? At some point I am sure they changed to a more automatic shear. The picture above is a 1915 Miller shear. When were the first Akro corkscrew marbles produced ? I forget the patent date for the spinner cup equipment ?