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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: aa on October 11, 2006, 05:06:16 PM

Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 05:06:16 PM
Not sure what you had in mind Lynne....:D
but quite apart from that this thread had me wondering whether anyone knows what this is for....it is about 6" tall and open at both ends. I do know - but it is a bit obscure, so there might be a prize for the first correct answer!
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-3623
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-3622
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-3621
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-3620
 :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: josordoni on October 11, 2006, 05:09:59 PM
Goodness!!!  

Maybe a baby feeder?  With a rubber teat on one end and a small stopper on the other?  

(trying hard to keep my mind clean  :oops:  :oops: )
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: David E on October 11, 2006, 06:10:31 PM
Plumbob?

Now, for my prize I would like your biggest, most expensive piece of glass, Adam :P
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Anne on October 11, 2006, 06:15:44 PM
Cord light pull?  Nah, maybe not... 6" is a bit big for one of those... how about a loo handle pull from one of the old-fashioned high cisterns?
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 07:19:47 PM
Quote from: "josordoni"
Maybe a baby feeder?
Nowhere near, I'm afraid :D
Quote from: "DenCill"
Plumbob?


Good idea, but way off! :D
Quote from: "Anne"
loo handle pull
interesting lateral thinking but too lateral, although we do have some rather nice loo pulls in the studio, but not like this! :lol:

Keep trying, you can have multiple attempts, Dencill!
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Anne on October 11, 2006, 07:32:25 PM
Hmmm a door handle part, perhaps? Or how about one of those funnels used for trickle watering plants in pots?  Or a reservoir for a bird's water bowl (keep the base in the bowl and it keeps the bowl topped up). Or a  lampshade for an unusual type of small bulb lamp-fitting?
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 07:42:56 PM
Quote from: "Anne"
Hmmm a door handle part, perhaps? Or how about one of those funnels used for trickle watering plants in pots?  Or a reservoir for a bird's water bowl (keep the base in the bowl and it keeps the bowl topped up). Or a  lampshade for an unusual type of small bulb lamp-fitting?


Somewhere in there you're getting closer, in a way,  but not much closer, really :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Anne on October 11, 2006, 07:52:07 PM
Quote from: "aa"
Somewhere in there you're getting closer, in a way, but not much closer, really


Ooohh you tease, Adam!  :P   :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Frank on October 11, 2006, 07:53:08 PM
It is an Aaronsoon creation for causing frustration on the GMB. :P
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 08:03:49 PM
Quote from: "Frank"
It is an Aaronson creation for causing frustration on the GMB. :P


It was created in my studio, but it is a working reproduction of something that has historical value....and I know that they made them at Whitefriars and probably other factories as well!! :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Sklounion on October 11, 2006, 08:13:48 PM
Hi,
For passing a thread/cord, through some kind of woven textile tube?
Adam, e-mail to follow shortly.
Regards,
Marcus
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 08:22:59 PM
Would it help if I told you it is called a dolly, or maybe dollie? probably not  :D  :D

Good try Marcus, but way off, I'm afraid :D  Mind you, I'm getting lots of ideas for things we could make :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: josordoni on October 11, 2006, 08:23:02 PM
what about a clue... as cryptic as you like.

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: josordoni on October 11, 2006, 08:23:44 PM
I give up btw..... Frank, Anne, can this go into the cafe please??
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 08:24:44 PM
Quote from: "josordoni"
what about a clue... as cryptic as you like.

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:


clue above, but Anne was close as it has something to do with water.... :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: josordoni on October 11, 2006, 08:26:01 PM
Well, if it is a dolly it would have been used for washing clothes... is that it?  if so HOW!!
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 08:27:29 PM
I think it is only fair to leave you guessing overnight, as KevH only comes on line late at night and I have a feeling that he'll get it straightaway....
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 08:36:11 PM
Quote from: "josordoni"
Well, if it is a dolly it would have been used for washing clothes... is that it?  if so HOW!!


Wrong sort of dolly...but how does yours work with clothes?
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Sklounion on October 11, 2006, 08:38:12 PM
Lynne asked:
Quote
Frank, Anne, can this go into the cafe please??

No, main board is for identification, whether somewhat risque suggestions are made or not.

Meteorological use? As in wet bulb thermometers?

Regards,

Marcus
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 08:55:44 PM
Quote from: "Le Casson"
Meteorological use? As in wet bulb thermometers?
Marcus


No. use is more active than passive. :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Sklounion on October 11, 2006, 09:02:23 PM
Sorry Adam,
Head's shot, can't go there and keep it clean :lol:
Tomorrow.
Regards,
Marcus
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 11, 2006, 09:14:19 PM
As with many things, it is often the simple answer that evades us....  :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: josordoni on October 11, 2006, 09:42:53 PM
Quote from: "aa"
Quote from: "josordoni"
Well, if it is a dolly it would have been used for washing clothes... is that it?  if so HOW!!


Wrong sort of dolly...but how does yours work with clothes?


You would have a handle at the narrow end, then push the dolly up and down in the water with the clothes to be washed, this created a suction on the clothes and pushed the soapy water through them.  They came in various forms (also like a wooden upside down stool, that used friction to clean the clothes, like beating them on stones) here is one:

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/collectors/txt/s1470833.htm

I thought maybe yours was for knickers and other delicates...  :lol:  :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Frank on October 11, 2006, 09:47:47 PM
Well Adam, at least I got the studio right. An insulator mayhaps.
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: josordoni on October 11, 2006, 09:50:06 PM
Could it be for creating a vacuum of some kind?
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: KevinH on October 11, 2006, 11:12:48 PM
It was stated by Adam that
Quote
... KevH only comes on line late at night ...
That's probably a fair comment. But I do drop in other times to get a look at what's being asked and that leaves me free for a few hours to wonder about things just like everyone else. And then, later, I can come back in the early hours and add my comments just as if I knew the answer straight away. :)

Adam also said that Anne had got close - but was not really there.

And he also gave a big hint (I presume) in saying that I would probably know what the mystery object is. In which case, it has to be something to do with one of my other interests that have been aired in the board from time to time. Recently I could be thought of as having declared some knowledge, and perhaps even an interest in (?), glass dildos.

But the main thing that many folk in here associate me with is ... bird watching. So Anne's bird bath topper-upper is probably what Adam was referring to as the good guess but not right.

Unfortunately, I cannot find another example of one of these on the Internet, to show you. And, just for completeness, I can say that in the Museum of London book on Whitefriars (re: Adam's comment that Whiterfriars made them), there seems to be nothing in the index or in the copies of the design pages, that covers this item.

ok, ok, I'll stop waffling ...

But hang on ... if anyone has a copy of Harold Newman's An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass, try checking page 40. There is a definition (but no image) for an item that reads in part ...
Quote
A hollow receptacle having, projecting horizontally from the bottom, a small spout with an opening on its top  for the ... [blah blah blah] ... that drop down from the container. They were made in England and elsewhere in the 18th and 19th centuries.
I think Adam's version differs from the ones described in the Dictionary in that there is just a small hole in the base, rather than in a horizontal projection.

Can anyone now guess what I think it is? [But please bear in mind that I may well be totally wrong.]
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Anne on October 11, 2006, 11:46:50 PM
I've split this bit off Lynne's original thread so as not to totally hijack her query... but as it's a glass object for identification it can stay here a while methinks. :)
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Carolyn Preston on October 11, 2006, 11:55:02 PM
Despite all the hints that are far too cryptic for me, I'm going for the glass vase for Bentleys and other such vehicles (way to large I'm thinking for your average volks).

Carolyn :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Cathy B on October 12, 2006, 02:11:19 AM
Kev, you gave it away. Bird feeder.
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 12, 2006, 06:22:12 AM
Quote from: "Cathy Bannister"
Kev, you gave it away. Bird feeder.

Ingenious, but wrong! :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Lustrousstone on October 12, 2006, 06:26:40 AM
To lower the tone (again) for enemas or douches
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 12, 2006, 06:31:51 AM
Quote from: "Lustrousstone"
To lower the tone (again) for enemas or douches


You're getting close on the method of use, but way off on the application!
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 12, 2006, 06:45:14 AM
It is a very simple form of pipette. Glassmakers made these to use at the bench. You dip it in your bucket of water, fill it with water, and then put your thumb over the large end so that you can apply a stream of water,fairly accurately, where needed. The plastic "fairy liquid" bottle has rendered it almost extinct, but some people still use them. According to Eddie King who works with me and started off his glassblowing career at Whitefriars, they used to make them there.

I think it is interesting because while glass blowers often had to make a lot of their own tools, and still do, so far as I know, it is probably the only one that they made out of glass, for obvious reasons.

A piece of glassmaking history that is in danger of getting lost, I suspect.
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Max on October 12, 2006, 06:47:09 AM
Whoops, just had to delete my post...didn't see the answer had been written.  Phew...that saves my blushes!   :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Frank on October 12, 2006, 07:27:42 AM
Quote from: "aa"
As with many things, it is often the simple answer that evades us....  :lol:


Misleading clue of the century huh!  At least for anyone not making regular use of plastic bottles for direct streams of water :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Anne on October 12, 2006, 03:45:08 PM
I wondered about a pipette but couldn't imagine why one in that shape would be needed or for what so discounted it as a possibility!  :oops:   It never occurred to me it would be used by glassmakers!  :roll:

Nice one Adam, I await your next mystery object with interest!  :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: KevinH on October 12, 2006, 04:37:37 PM
Pipette?

I thought you glassmakers just dunked your tongs or pincers in the bucket and then aplplied the edge of the tool to the glass thus allowing the residue of water to do the cooling - with a very precise application.

So much for ...
Quote
KevH ... I have a feeling that he'll get it straightaway....
:D  :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Anne on October 12, 2006, 05:13:37 PM
Quote from: "KevH"
Pipette?

I thought you glassmakers just dunked your tongs or pincers in the bucket and then aplplied the edge of the tool to the glass thus allowing the residue of water to do the cooling - with a very precise application.


So did I Kev! :lol:

Quote from: "KevH"

So much for ...
Quote
KevH ... I have a feeling that he'll get it straightaway....
:D  :D


That was just a red-herring to lead us astray methinks!  :shock:  :wink:  :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: josordoni on October 12, 2006, 05:43:12 PM
Quote from: "aa"
It is a very simple form of pipette. Glassmakers made these to use at the bench. You dip it in your bucket of water, fill it with water, and then put your thumb over the large end so that you can apply a stream of water,fairly accurately, where needed. The plastic "fairy liquid" bottle has rendered it almost extinct, but some people still use them. According to Eddie King who works with me and started off his glassblowing career at Whitefriars, they used to make them there.

I think it is interesting because while glass blowers often had to make a lot of their own tools, and still do, so far as I know, it is probably the only one that they made out of glass, for obvious reasons.

A piece of glassmaking history that is in danger of getting lost, I suspect.


Of course!! like a toddy lifter.

which by the way to lower the tone again, always makes me think of skirt lifters whenever I hear the term...

Oh and you lot...... you would not believe the haul I got today.... everything from Val St Lambert cameo sort of thingies, to a Schneider vase, to some iridescent stuff, to green rummers to modern HUGE vases that will have to go back into auction as they are just too big to send, to....

I'll have to get my act together and let you see some pics.  We also bought 50 Beatrix Potter figures, but you probably didn't want to know that.... :lol:  :lol:
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 12, 2006, 06:43:32 PM
Quote from: "KevH"
Pipette?
I thought you glassmakers just dunked your tongs or pincers in the bucket and then aplplied the edge of the tool to the glass thus allowing the residue of water to do the cooling - with a very precise application.


This works ok if you have a piece that has been necked in tightly, but with some thick pieces you need a lot of water..much more than you can get on your pincers or jacks. :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Sklounion on October 12, 2006, 08:25:43 PM
Oh, so Boy Scout camp fire extinguishers are a bit useless in such situations???? :oops:
Regards,
Marcus
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Carolyn Preston on October 13, 2006, 12:21:43 AM
So this might be because I have only seen glass blown once, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what the steady stream of water is used for?  :oops:

Help please :!:  :lol:

Carolyn
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: aa on October 13, 2006, 06:20:31 AM
Classical and studio glassblowing is a two stage process. The main body of a vessel is prepared on a blowing iron and the neck and rim of the piece is finished on a punty iron. Water is sometimes used to chill the neck and create a weak point to enable the transfer to the punty iron. Small, relatively thin pieces do not always need these;indeed water can irreversibly crack and ruin a small piece. On thicker pieces where there is lot of heat retention and not sufficient temperature contrast between the neck and the body of the vessel, water is used as a coolant to crack the surface of the neck, so that the piece detaches when the iron is tapped, or hit with a piece of wood. Applying water to hot glass is not normally a good idea as you can crack the piece or get frizzle marks. So accurate application is needed. Once on the punty, the cracked rim can be melted, and sheared so any cracking from the water is lost.

I am afraid this is one of those "you have to be there" situations to fully grasp the process, but I hope this helps. :D
Title: Adam's mystery object
Post by: Carolyn Preston on October 14, 2006, 12:44:59 AM
Yes, it did help. The glass blowing I was able to see was a large bowl. Quite gorgeous, but no water was used, except to cool the tools  :lol:

Carolyn