Jump to content

Akro Friday


Recommended Posts

42 minutes ago, schmoozer said:

Yes, it was a 1935 Xmas lamp. Ron wanted it but we couldn’t agree on the price.

Do not get me wrong, 
Ron was probably “right one”—they  are rare—but, considering the stamps, the construction and the amount of efforts of cost, production wise, I would be surprised if not one but a few thousand of these were made, at least a few hundred imho. There was too much money invested to find a few of these!
I will find one—I am sure!!
Keep looking all-these are very rare indeed!
Marble—On!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, akroorka said:

Do not get me wrong, 
Ron was probably “right one”—they  are rare—but, considering the stamps, the construction and the amount of efforts of cost, production wise, I would be surprised if not one but a few thousand of these were made, at least a few hundred imho. There was too much money invested to find a few of these!
I will find one—I am sure!!
Keep looking all-these are very rare indeed!
Marble—On!!

The listed number was maybe 20. They were gifts for employees.

Ron already had one…

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW ! I lived in the El’ Presidio Barrio downtown on Franklin St. Right around the corner from El Carros on Count St. In 2001- 2006. I did pretty good back then with the Flea Market. Antique stores and the Gem and Mineral Show was a bonus🔥

RAR

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Fire1981 said:

WOW ! I lived in the El’ Presidio Barrio downtown on Franklin St. Right around the corner from El Carros on Count St. In 2001- 2006. I did pretty good back then with the Flea Market. Antique stores and the Gem and Mineral Show was a bonus🔥

RAR

We are near downtown. 4th ave and Speedway area. The gem show just started this weekend. We take the kids every year! Looking forward to it. 

  • Award 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Finest & cleanest Akro limeade oxblood I've eve owned. Not even an asmade dimple or crease, @ over 3/4ths also the biggest for this "Akro Friday" The camera wasn't moving, I had it on a tripod & took pix under several different sources of light including natural sunlight, the ox gives the illusion of movement, I thought it was me @ first that's why I decided on the tripod. All the pix show the same thing.

 

8 (3).PNG

29 (2).PNG

     308.PNG

          49.PNG

                     a7.PNG

  • Like 5
  • Wow 1
  • Award 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, akroorka said:

Some nice Akro Corkscrew halves.
How deep did the spinner cup spin the glass? 
Quite deep, according to the examples that I have shown below.
 

I suggest not thinking of spinner cups as a predictably standard item.  They were made of graphite and delivered to the factory as smooth blanks.  The notches that "catch" the glass and get it spinning are then hand-carved by the machine's operator.  Each spinner cup is unique.  They wore down from the hot glass and had to be replaced with a new one.  So how much spin was put into the glass was highly variable because of these factors.  A worn spinner cup put less spin on the glass than a fresh one.  A deeply carved set of notches imparted more spin. 

Additionally - the glass was often in flux due to batch temperature, weather  etc.  So what flowed from the pot could have different density.

So there are few conclusions that can be reached when those factors were always changing.

 

rKtYJU.jpg

 

  • Like 5
  • Award 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Chad G. said:

 Finest & cleanest Akro limeade oxblood I've eve owned. Not even an asmade dimple or crease, @ over 3/4ths also the biggest for this "Akro Friday" The camera wasn't moving, I had it on a tripod & took pix under several different sources of light including natural sunlight, the ox gives the illusion of movement, I thought it was me @ first that's why I decided on the tripod. All the pix show the same thing.

 

8 (3).PNG

29 (2).PNG

     308.PNG

          49.PNG

                     a7.PNG

Great mib!   Rare to find a mint limeade oxblood, but really rare to be >3/4”.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, akroorka said:

Nice collection Alan!

Great info as well!

marble--On!!

Those pictured aren't mine - they're Roger Hardy's.  I have two - and they are as individually unique as Roger's.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/9/2024 at 4:01 PM, Alan said:

I suggest not thinking of spinner cups as a predictably standard item.  They were made of graphite and delivered to the factory as smooth blanks.  The notches that "catch" the glass and get it spinning are then hand-carved by the machine's operator.  Each spinner cup is unique.  They wore down from the hot glass and had to be replaced with a new one.  So how much spin was put into the glass was highly variable because of these factors.  A worn spinner cup put less spin on the glass than a fresh one.  A deeply carved set of notches imparted more spin. 

Additionally - the glass was often in flux due to batch temperature, weather  etc.  So what flowed from the pot could have different density.

So there are few conclusions that can be reached when those factors were always changing.

 

rKtYJU.jpg

 

You're only partially correct here. The groves carved in the carbon were barely even touched by molten glass.  If they were.. you'd have ended up with a gob of 'crap'. The cam driven arm that held the plate the carbon cup was held to by another plate with set screws moved so fast a gob didn't have time to settle in the cup. The entire process from a gob dropping to the cup, rotating, getting sheared and tilting to drop on a roller or guide to a roller took less than a second. The distance of the cup from the feeder is what had the most influence on the resulting gob turning into a tight or loose spiral. That's what effected the rate of spin. The adjustable cam. Those carbon cups didn't spin independantly. They were held in place on a platform that did, which was attached to the rotating, tilting arm. In your picture, you can see this groove in the cup closest to the red piece of cullet. All this is very evident in the patent writing of Barker.. who did not work for Akro.  Akro had no patent on any of this. They paid for the technology. So, just to be clear... the grooves carved in those cups are not what created any specific pattern.. they aren't in any shape of a spiral.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, teajayo said:

You're only partially correct here. The groves carved in the carbon were barely even touched by molten glass.  If they were.. you'd have ended up with a gob of 'crap'. The cam driven arm that held the plate the carbon cup was held to by another plate with set screws moved so fast a gob didn't have time to settle in the cup. The entire process from a gob dropping to the cup, rotating, getting sheared and tilting to drop on a roller or guide to a roller took less than a second. The distance of the cup from the feeder is what had the most influence on the resulting gob turning into a tight or loose spiral. That's what effected the rate of spin. The adjustable cam. Those carbon cups didn't spin independantly. They were held in place on a platform that did, which was attached to the rotating, tilting arm. In your picture, you can see this groove in the cup closest to the red piece of cullet. All this is very evident in the patent writing of Barker.. who did not work for Akro.  Akro had no patent on any of this. They paid for the technology. So, just to be clear... the grooves carved in those cups are not what created any specific pattern.. they aren't in any shape of a spiral.

 

I never wrote anything that referred to a "specific pattern" or a "spiral".  I also did not refer to a "patent".  Nor did I refer to all of the other external machinery, "spinning independently", "Barker", whether he worked for Akro or not etc etc that you are seemingly referring to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/9/2024 at 3:01 PM, Alan said:

They wore down from the hot glass and had to be replaced with a new one. 

Alan, the grooves did serve a purpose, helping to spin the molten glass. I cannot disagree with what you have said--more than likely, imho, these spinner cups broke off of the foundation due to the heat and were replaced. Carbon is very heat insensitive but it will break down over time. The likely culprit is the way that these cups were attached.

Marble--On!!

 

On 2/11/2024 at 1:54 PM, Alan said:

If they were.. you'd have ended up with a gob of 'crap'.

We all appreciate your input teajayo--but.
The reason that Akro used carbon is because molten glass will not stick to it.
Marble—On!!
 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...