Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: keith on May 29, 2013, 05:37:33 PM
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Have a look at this,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230424887844;jsessionid=16A43D2DCC2E94310311A36EC6C21A20?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D230424887844%26_rdc%3D1
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My birthday is in december - that will give you all some time to save up for it for me. ;D
What a fabulous, fabulous, glorious and wonderful thing. I was drooling over one in the wee museum Arbroath recently, I even touched it - very gently and reverently when nobody was looking.
I never ever fail to be amazed by the vision of the person who "invented" scrunching up a single lens like this. 8)
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it's what you get the collector who has everything ;)
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No, Paul. that's a tummy button fluff brush.
My Dad used to make them out of an old scaling brush drill bit from the surgery (he was a dentist) some of plaster of paris and the top of a felt tip pen.
He drilled a wee hole in the end of the pen tip and pushed the brush drill bit through it; then put two holes in the side of the top for a metal loop, secured it all in place with the plaster of paris then put a cord through the metal loop.
Voila! A personalised tummy button fluff brush available at all times, worn convieniently around your neck.
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ooooh I see they have had a few offers, would be great to know how much , just out of total nosiness ::)
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I guess you might say......standard navel issue ;)
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looking at David's book, and I could be wrong, but it appears that you need six of these to complete the glass turrent of the lighthouse - so on that basis a pricey building project ;D
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Darn, Keith, now everyone will be bidding for it! ;D
Yes, this keeps getting listed periodically and I did speak to the seller about it.
But as a 3rd order lens assembly, this is not the largest! A 1st order lens is seen here (http://www.utilityglass.com/) (another of my sites if you were wondering). I think, conventionally, 4-6 panels were required but there are exceptions, such as a land-based lighthouse tower - no point in lighting the land, if the optics were static; earlier ones rotated the entire mechanism floating on a bed of mercury, like the Skerries one on my website.
The 'order' of the lens signifies how far the parallel beam of light could be projected, so a 7th order could be used at sea level within a harbour, whereas a 1st order would often be up a cliff, inside a tower, projecting a beam up to 25 miles (40km) away.
The first photo posted here show René Vas and myself at the Hook of Holland lighthouse in front of a Chance 1st order lens - about 8ft (2.44m) tall?
The second shows us at the top of the Hook tower with René inside the lens assembly. I think this is a 3rd or 4th order lens. As you can see, the rear of the assembly is left open.
The third shows the lighthouse in its entirety. Well worth a visit - René purchased the tower for the price of one guilder, I think, after starting a campaign as a teenager when it was scheduled for demolition. This started a lifetime's commitment and it is now a museum. Put your climbing legs on, though, as there are seven levels...
The fourth photo was on the drive back and shows one of those coincidences you must photo!
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I never ever fail to be amazed by the vision of the person who "invented" scrunching up a single lens like this
Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) but further refined by other mathematicians, including Sir James Timmins Chance (1814–1902). The whole idea is to focus the light into a parallel beam*, hence the strange angles of the optics. Note that each layer of optics is different and ground to a particular angle!
*Edit: But at an angle that took into account the earth's curvature - if the beam was parallel to the ground, it would disappear into space, hence the reason it needs to be mounted so high for one projecting the light over 25 miles.
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I'm even more impressed now 8) and just think how many folk owe their lives to these amazing lenses.
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Another Chance lighthouse optic, this time a 4th order lens assembly (http://www.trinitymarine.co.uk/extremely-rare-chance-bros-lighthouse-lens-granton-harbour-lighthouselens). At just 26-in high (66cm) tall, it was designed for a harbour (Granton) for guiding ships in. The red sleeve indicates it was a port-side light, as opposed to starboard (green).
A mere £36,000. A great pity: they only have one and I wanted a pair... ;D
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I grew up in Granton!
(an area of Edinburgh)