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European Sparkler Orange Peel


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I have 12 of these. All are 1 and 1/4. They all have orange peel. Does any one know if this was intentional. Same question about Vacor/Mega Toe Breakers. Last of all. Are there any 5/8 Foreign Sparklers🔥

RAR

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4 hours ago, Fire1981 said:

I have 12 of these. All are 1 and 1/4. They all have orange peel. Does any one know if this was intentional. Same question about Vacor/Mega Toe Breakers. Last of all. Are there any 5/8 Foreign Sparklers🔥

RAR

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IMG_4005.jpeg

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Fire,

Please humor me with my response.

Orange Peel is impacted by these major factors:

1) Surface condition of the forming rollers.

2) Size of the glass gob.

3) Temperature of the glass.

4) Machine settings.

Roller Surface Condition:

5/8” and 3/4” marble machines were run the most, so they never degraded from rust surface pitting as much as others sizes.

Extra marble machines and those of oddball sizes (pee wee and large) were sitting idle most of the time.

High humidity environments like Ohio and West Virginia would develop nighttime condensation on the cool steel surfaces. As the next day would warm up, the moisture would burn off. Over time, this cycle would create rust pitting and eventually damage the ideal surface.

Exhibit 1: The Vitro machine donated to Wheaton Village. Scott Meyer spent quite a bit of energy to “recondition” the machine to make marbles. However, the roller surfaces succumbed to the laws of nature. These marbles are about 3/4” and exhibit very noticeable orange peel.

Exhibit 2: The Peltier machine owned by Brian Graham. This machine was victim to neglect and Mother Nature. I would love to have Brian articulate what effort he went through to rework the roller surfaces. Orange peel was most evident in his early marbles, but improved over time.

Exhibit 3: Shamrock Mark II machine. The first time testing the Mark II machine at Marble Crazy, I could not get the gob to change axis. I took the tooling to work early on Saturday morning and bead blasted the grooves to improve friction. The glass beads “pitted” the surface, but did not improve the “rounding”. (Later, I discovered I had the roller speed differential way off. All good now.)

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More to follow…

 

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I spent hours cleaning the grooves on the Miller Machine. I used stainless steel wool scrubbing pads followed up with lots of emery cloth. I haven't used the machine since October of 2021. I coated the rolls with food grade mineral oil after the last use. It is currently in a storage unit. I need to get it moved into my garage before winter sets in.

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1 minute ago, akronmarbles said:

I spent hours cleaning the grooves on the Miller Machine. I used stainless steel wool scrubbing pads followed up with lots of emery cloth. I haven't used the machine since October of 2021. I coated the rolls with food grade mineral oil after the last use. It is currently in a storage unit. I need to get it moved into my garage before winter sets in.

Thank you, Brian. Couldn’t imagine the amount of elbow grease you used.

We need to get together for a marble weekend!

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5 hours ago, Fire1981 said:

I have 12 of these. All are 1 and 1/4. They all have orange peel. Does any one know if this was intentional. Same question about Vacor/Mega Toe Breakers. Last of all. Are there any 5/8 Foreign Sparklers🔥

RAR

IMG_4004.jpeg

IMG_4005.jpeg

IMG_4006.jpeg

IMG_4009.jpeg

yes, they come in all sizes

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Size of the glass gob:

Since the basic shape of a marble is a sphere, let’s use the radius (r) as a basic unit of measure. Thus the larger the gob the larger the radius.

A molten gob of glass is a fluid and has surface tension. It is surface tension that is basically trying to pull the gob into a sphere.

Years ago, this law of physics was implemented in creating lead shot. Look up shot tower. Additionally, this is how dippin dots are made. Yum!

The formula that concerns us is:

IMG_8593.thumb.jpeg.e7433b89cae3b7a0931ba71a75c854ef.jpegAs the radius increases the impact of surface tension is reduced. In other words, the surface tension is 2x stronger with a 3/8” diameter gob than a 3/4” diameter gob. The surface tension is 4x stronger with a 3/8” diameter gob than a 1-1/2” diameter gob. 

What this means, is that a larger gob of glass will collapse or flatten under gravity than a smaller gob. You can replicate this water droplets.

So, imagine a large glass gob landing on a pitted roller. Initially, it will overcome surface tension and collapse and conform to the “volume” of the groove. If the groove surfaces are smooth, then you have a chance at a nice marble surface. If the forming surfaces are pitted, then the glass will be impressed with that profile. Once set, it stays.
 

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