Topic: Anybody heard of skeleton molds?

[Fuhrman Glass]

after looking at the diagram of that patent further, it was just a simple way to get the mold to move instead of the pipe and glass to turn. It would be the smae as making a machine that would make the wood block turn instead of the glass. I would think it would have been difficult to use and would have worked better with hand crank or a gear driven foot pedal. What year was this patent from? The splines that turned would of had to be very close together to not catch the hot glass as it was turning. It appears like a device designed for use by a glassblower but the designer was more of an "engineer". The angle of the mechanism  doesn't seem to be conducive to working conditions very well. I've seen some machines that were a lot stranger than these. I was in one shop in the Czech Republic that had a whole wall of different hand tools that had about 1" of dust on them. I asked what they were and they replied, " they're all the stuff we tried that didn't work very well, but we spent so much time making them we couldn't throw them away."

[krsilber]

Marcus, I get the feeling that you think I'm being disrepectful of Adam, or undervaluing his experience and knowledge.  The way I see much of our discussion, it had little to do with glassmaking per se, and more to do with the physics of the apparatus...we were trying to figure this thing out.  I think all of us thought the pull cord a little odd, and I was trying to make sense of it - at least theoretically; I'm not sure it would work so hot in practice.

I think it's fabulous being able to talk to Adam!  I have very much enjoyed my discussions with him and other glassblowers, and I really value that about this forum.  Call it intellectual masturbation if you want (sounds good to me!), I learn so much by bouncing ideas off Adam and everybody else.  I expect to be told I'm wrong sometimes, and I want to be told when some crazy hypothesis I have is totally impractical.  


Hey hey, I just noticed this last line in the patent:  "Motion may be given to the rubber by any suitable means."  (Rubber meaning mould)


Ach, just read Tom's reply.  Then reread the patent, and he's right, the bubble stays put.  "The bars of the rubber are made of graphite, carbon, &c. and may be straight, spiral, &c. in shape provided that in revolving they describe the contour of the vessel to be formed."  There goes the centrifugal motion notion. 

The splines that turned would of had to be very close together to not catch the hot glass as it was turning.

Could this be a reason it needed to turn fast?

The patent is from 1873.

" they're all the stuff we tried that didn't work very well, but we spent so much time making them we couldn't throw them away."

   

Yup, this machine is for the birds!

[Frank]

Might as well quote the entire abstract:

676. Richardson, J. T. H. Feb. 22.

Blowing; moulding. — Relates to the manufacture of tumblers, goblets, and other glass articles. The glass is blown on a tube J which is then placed on guides I on the frame G, and moved slowly downwards to bring the bubble into a "rubber," formed with a base A fixed to a shaft D, and with fixed or movable bars B united by a rim C. The shaft D is then caused to rotate by sharply pulling a cord or strap K coiled upon it. A flywheel H mounted on the shaft serves, by its impetus, to re-wind the cord K. The bars of the rubber are made of graphite, carbon, &c. and may be straight, spiral, &c. in shape provided that in revolving they describe the contour of the vessel to be formed. The shaft may be horizontal or inclined and the apparatus is mounted on wheels to facilitate removal. Motion may be given to the rubber by any suitable means.

Which is patent-speak to cover variations of the theme.