The Glass Workshop The workshop where the lead crystal glass making is done is an
interesting scene. Workers are stationed in groups around the furnace where the
glass is melted. Each group is known as a "chair" and consists of 4
or 5 persons: The "workman", who is the principal, two who are known
as "foot maker" and "servitor" - and one or two boys who
are employed in what we would call "gofer" positions. A certain part
of the work is assigned to each member of the group, according to the design of
the item on which the "chair" is making.
Any lead crystal figurine or other piece begins as a ball of
molten glass. This ball is drawn from the pot on the end of a blow-iron, which
is a steel tube about 4 ft. long. It is constantly rotated in order to
distribute the glass evenly. The molten glass is rolled on a polished iron
table to smooth the surface. The glassworker now blows through the tube and the
hot glass forms into a hollow sphere. By turning, tilting and swinging the
molten glass on the tube the shape begins to develop. The glass is further
created as the iron is rolled up and down on the arms of the glassmaker's
chair.
Few tools are used in this process - a steel pincers, calipers,
shears, wooden measuring sticks and clappers. Once a stem and foot are added to
the piece being made it is transferred for further working to steel rod called
a pontil, the end of which it is attached by a blob of hot glass. The glass is
re-melting before excessive glass is sheared away from the item being made and
any final touches are given. The still glowing article is cracked off the rod,
dropped into a carrying case and transported to a "lehr" or annealing
oven.
The annealing oven is a long chamber through which the glass is
slowly carried, passing little by little from a high temperature to the ambient
temperature of the workshop. This is necessary because the glass could cool too
rapidly and shatter the item being created. When removed from the lehr, each
article undergoes an examination for any defects. An instrument utilizing
polarized light is used to reveal any imperfect annealing.
Cutting is one of the more critical processes and calls for a
very high degree of skill. Cutting is done by holding the lead crystal figurine
against the edge of a revolving cutting wheel. The glass is carefully guided to
produce some of the lovely and complex patterns that are possible. The number
of patterns is infinite and in combination creates some beautiful effects. The
pattern which has been designated on the glass "blank" by specially
trained workers, is first roughly cut by the carborundum wheel. The glass is
now ready for polishing.
Polishing is done by placing the glass into a vat containing a
mixture of hydrofluoric and sulphuric acid for about a minute. It is then
thoroughly rinsed and the glass transforms into sparkling pieces of crystal.
This is the process that virtually any piece of lead crystal
glass goes through before it becomes a beautiful piece of art. Throughout the
years little in the process has changed.
for more:
www.bluecrystals.in
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