British Society of SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWERS · 2014. 6. 30. · BSSG SYMPOSIUM 2014 CAPITAL HOTEL -...

Ed's Crack 43

Chairman's Message 44

Letter to the Editor 46

Glassblowing Family Tree 47

Obituary - Rex Eustance 49

The Name & Face Behind the Journal 50

Board of Examiners News 53

Board of Examiners Fees 55

Board of Examiners Syllabus 56

New Discoveries 59

Julia Malle 63

Norbert Zielinski 65

Netherlands Glass 68

A History of the Pyrex Wholesalers - Part 18 71

Simple homemade 'End of rod' holder 80

SCIENTIFICGLASSBLOWERS

British Society of

41

- C O N T E N T S -

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE - May 15th 2014

VOLUME 52 April 2014 No. 2

B.S.S.G. JOURNAL - VOL 52/No. 2

42

Founded 1960

BSSG SOCIETY CHAIRMAN

JOURNAL

www.bssg.co.uk

SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWERSBritish Society of

The Journal is published by the B.S.S.G. every quarter and is available to members free. It is also available to others at subscription rates. Apply to the Society Office. Copyright to B.S.S.G. and contributors

Please could all communication on BSSG matters eg. competitions, training, membership etc. be with the BSSG Chairman in the first instance. Thank You.

Mr William Fludgate

Unit W1, MK2 Business Centre,

1-9 Barton Road, Bletchley,

Buckinghamshire MK2 3HU

Tel: 01908 821191 (Office hours)

Mob: 07885 582 257 (call before 9pm)

Email: [email protected]

SOCIETY LIBRARIAN- Terri AdamsGlass Design & Fabrication Facility,University of Oxford,Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory,South Parks Road,Oxford OX1 3QR

Tel: 01865 272609Fax: 01865 272690Email: [email protected]

EDITORIAL MATERIALIan PearsonJournal of the B.S.S.G.Glendale, Sinclair Street, Thurso,Caithness, Scotland KW14 7AQTel: 01847 895637 (Evenings & Weekends)

01847 802629 (Business hours)

Fax: 01847 802971E:mail: [email protected] [email protected]

HON. TREASURER- James Lindop- SciLabware LtdUnit 4, Riverside 2, Campbell Road,Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 4RJ

Direct Dial: 01782 940 422Tel: 01782 444 406 Email: [email protected]

HON. SECRETARY- Terri AdamsGlass Design & Fabrication Facility,University of Oxford,Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory,South Parks Road,Oxford OX1 3QR

Tel: 01865 272609Fax: 01865 272690Email: [email protected]


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Hopefully the “penny dropped” for you. Were you lucky? It probably dawned on most that there is a link between the golden jubilee of the BSSG Journal and a gold coin. However, nearly everyone missed the chocolate connection. Indeed one avid reader presumed the coin to be real and nearly spent it!

The task of inserting each issue of the Journal in envelopes, correctly addressed and with the appropriate supplements proved more trying than normal during January this year. There was added pressure in knowing my local Post Office was closing for refurbishment and if I didn't meet a certain deadline then I would have to use an alternative. On advice from the experts in London the recommendation was only twenty miles away which was inconvenient of course but acceptable in the short term. Just one small issue and that was crossing the Pentland Firth! Even though there were several Sub Post Offices nearer to my home in Thurso that I am sure could cope with hundreds of brown A5 envelopes being sent to exotic parts of the World such as Milton Keynes, it was to Orkney where I was directed! Needless to say the BSSG Editor stayed put.

Are you linked in? I refer to the “posh” version of “Facebook” which of course is a social media network as the font of all knowledge (Wikipedia) tells me. I was invited to join “LinkedIn” and being a nosey individual wanted to find out about other people's jobs. After a few clicks I was offered a job. Actually that's a lie as all that happened was a job advert appeared on the screen. The subject matter and relevance of the job was based on my viewing history and logging in process so that too was a lie. You too can join up and congratulate me in my new position as Prime Minister!

Some things really annoy me. For example, the habit of publishing links to websites in hard copy offerings. I can see the sense if you are reading something on a device where by clicking on such links takes you easily to further information. But look at thishttp://www.templerecords.co.uk/products/product.php?PHPSESSID=168fd3359983d0e683d0b6e13b0ceae4&productID=BK012

What is it? No matter how many pages you turn over or how much you screw your eyes up you cannot leap from this page to another which is displayed on a website. It is actually promoting a new book, “Reflections - The Art of Allison Kinnaird” (ISNB 978-0-9540160-2-9) and is one of my recent purchases. Fantastic insight into a very talented artistic glass engraver and the volume offers a free DVD showing her at work. I recommend this highly. Now your challenge is to locate it on the Internet.


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B.S.S.G. CHAIRMAN'SMESSAGE

May I first extend my condolences to those who have suffered or are still

suffering from the appalling weather conditions and floods that we are having all

over the Country. This has been the wettest that it has ever been since records

began. I often make light of situations around me, however, this is not funny and

has become extremely serious. I hope that you are all well and if any glass

workshop that you work in needs help to get back on track, please contact us and

let's all pull together and see if we can help with tools or stock. I am sure we do not

want to see any glassblowers out of work through no fault of their own.

Among all the Government Ministers travelling around the country doing their

part to try to support the communities around them, I had Toby Perkins MP for

Chesterfield visit me. He was with two prospective MP's to discuss issues

regarding small business concerns and training apprenticeships. After spending

two hours with me and watching the workings of my glassblowing facility he was

pleased to hear that “we” the BSSG have taken the initiative to contact the

Parliamentary scientific body that keeps a finger on the pulse of what needs to be

addressed in the world of science in the UK. I will be passing information back

through the political group to keep Mr Perkins MP informed of “our” status. This

is so that he can approach Members of the House on what needs to be done for the

future of our most illustrious trade. I must also remind members that the BSSG

will not show allegiance to any one political party.

The internal working of our Society grows from strength to strength and Council

feels that we have now got to the stage where we have a reliable and up-to-date

document control that is managed extremely well, thanks to Terri chasing my tail

and Jo badgering me to get things out on time regarding contacting new and

potential members.

The Symposium will soon be upon us, with all the hustle and bustle of the

organising team and also trying to keep people informed of what to expect. I

know what to expect, and have never been disappointed. I hardly ever need an

excuse to visit Scotland, so I am making sure of seeing some of the sights by

staying a few extra days up there. Which brings me to the Symposium to be held


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Chairman's Message

next year; with all the extreme weather, nobody has been able to visit the hotels

that have been shortlisted. This will be addressed as soon as possible and further

information will then be distributed.

Once again I have to thank those around me (even though they might be spread all

over the UK) for the voluntary work that keeps our Society “on the boil”,

including scanning all our previous Journals to our Library and for use on our

website. Our thanks to Oxford University for allowing us to hold our resources

there and allowing our Hon. Secretary to keep control of it. We have a new

Treasurer, to hold on to our book keeping and I am sure he will soon introduce

himself, in our very fine and wonderfully edited Journal. Keeping our sponsors

close by and our trade exhibitors in touch with what is happening with our

Symposiums is also very important to us. It might be that we have members of our

BoE travelling around the Country to act as examiners, not to mention those

Examiners who live overseas and provide that service on behalf of your Society.

Did I mention our website? Well that is run by a volunteer also, who has improved

our presence as well. To all those that attend Council meetings and Board of

Examiners meetings, thank you, you all make my life so much easier.

If you feel that you could be part of a team that wants to give back something

towards the trade that has put “jam on your bread”, then why not get in touch with

the names in the front of the Journal and have fun getting to know us as well.

On a personal level, I still have to run my business and balance all my other

activities, even put some on hold due to a sports injury that I am still having

treatment for, since last August. Offsite meetings during the day and updating the

business computers has also pushed my hours out and I still make time for all and

any enquiries, regarding the BSSG. If you feel that you need to get in touch and

want it to be brought to Council, by all means send me an email (rather than

telephone, so we can have a concise proposal to discuss ) and I will make sure that

it is raised on your behalf. Or contact the Council Delegate, of your section, to

propose this on your behalf.

Remember to get your booking in as soon as possible for the Symposium in

Edinburgh. Places are limited and we would not like you to miss out on the sites

and activities.


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Letters to theEditor

Glassblowers Family Tree

Following on from Graham Reed's article on a “Glassblower's Family Tree”, (January 2014 issue of the Journal, page 15) I wish to share with readers mine. Between 1968 and 2008 I estimated that I have taught 574 students! The majority of who were technicians working in secondary schools. For clarification the initials on the diagram can be explained as;

ASE = Association for Science Education4S = A training organisation for Surrey Education DepartmentNVQ = National Vocational Qualifications.I found the research to compile this family tree very interesting. Most of the information originated from the technician's training course records held by Surrey Education.

Chas ButlerEnglefield Green, Egham, Surrey


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Letters to the Editor


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BSSG SYMPOSIUM 2014

CAPITAL HOTEL - www.edinburghcapitalhotel.co.ukClose to airport, trains and bus routes within easy access to City Centre.

2014 will be a big year for Scotland with the independence vote and the Commonwealth Games taking place. In addition it is the year of “Homecoming” where families and

friends reunite in their “home” Country, (natural or adopted) to share that special bond and hospitality for which Scotland is so well known.

The BSSG Symposium is planned to reflect this and opens its doors to all with a passion for glass. Primarily for scientific glassblowers the event will also include something for everyone, from artistic flame workers to those looking for the latest in glass working

equipment.

Practical demonstrations will be included in the programme at the hotel and there will be opportunities to visit places of interest with a “glassy” view such as the Edinburgh

College of Art.

A full companion's programme is intended to capitalise on Edinburgh's history, culture and location within Scotland.

The BSSG extend a warm welcome to all and look forward to seeing you soon.

Further details contact: Ian Pearson, BSSG Journal Editor, “Glendale”, Sinclair St, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. KW14 7AQ

Tel: 01847 802629 (business) 01847 895637 (home) Fax: 01847 802971 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]


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OBITUARY – REX EUSTANCE

Rex Eustance who was part of the team that formed the BSSG early in the history of the Society died on 30th September 2013. He was trained as a glassblower at ICI in Slough and Welwyn Garden City before taking up a position at ICI in Harrogate. Rex opened a new glassblowing workshop, recruited and trained his own assistants. He was responsible for training two former Chairmen of the BSSG, George Robertshaw and Howard Bancroft. They both stayed with him at IC Harrogate until this facility closed.

Rex was an active member of the BSSG spending a lot of time travelling to meetings at universities in the Bristol areas. He died at the age of 84 years and was glassblowing with his son Julian up until this time since he loved his work and never wished to retire.

The BSSG extend condolences to his widow Sybil and to Rex's family.

NEW BSSG MEMBERSThe BSSG extend a warm welcome to the following new members:

• Fabairo Kehinde Isaac Member Lagos, Nigeria

• Andrew Willis Retired Member Western Section

THE AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWERS SOCIETY

ANNUAL SYMPOSIUMJune 18th – 21st

Hilton Eugene & Conference Centre, OregonMore details on www.asgs-glass.org

Contact Victor Mathews [email protected]


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The Name and Face “Behind” The Journal

My name is Duncan McLachlan and I design the content for the BSSG Journal via my company called Studiograff (www.studiograff.co.uk). I have been asked by Ian Pearson to give some detailed information on the processes that go into getting the Journal to you.

Firstly I am given either by email, computer disk or (rarely these days) hard copy of all the content and a paper layout guide sheet so I know which pages the content is intended for and the associated file names.

There are a few annual tasks such as the front cover and the subscription reminder sheet but the Journal is a quarterly publication with sequential page numbering so the first task I have is loading a previous edition, renumbering all the pages and moving any adverts to their new location. Over the years I have developed a “house” style for many elements like article headings and these are also brought in where required from a master library file.

I use a graphics software programme called Coreldraw, currently at version X6, on a PC based computer system to produce all the page layouts. I've been using this programme for nearly 25 years so know it inside out and find it a very flexible and stable programme. I use quite a high end workstation (6 core i7 CPU with 32Gb of


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RAM etc.) with dual monitors as this really speeds up productivity when cutting and pasting content from the supplied Word files into Coreldraw.

Once all the pages are re-numbered and the re-printed adverts have been moved I pull all the image files into Photoshop (now on version CC) to convert them to a grayscale file as everything except the cover pages are in black & white. Coreldraw could do this task but I find I get a better conversion result via Photoshop. The image content quality can vary hugely so I will also de-noise, straighten and level balance all the images where necessary.

Next it's back to Coreldraw for the page by page layout task. Generally this involves cutting and pasting text from the supplied text files and dropping in any images for that article. All images are also then re-sampled to 300 dots per inch (DPI) for optimum printing quality. There can be a bit of fiddling with text font size and line spacing to make the content fit round the photos and planned page count.

I then send a first draft to Ian as a low resolution PDF file exported from Coreldraw where it is proof checked and any amendments or missing content is then added. This is then supplied as a marked up paper copy where I make any necessary changes. A second proof is then produced and either approved or any final changes made.

Once the completed content is approved I then export a high resolution PDF file and send it electronically to the printers where it is imported into their system and replicated. These will then be delivered and finally mailed out to all the BSSG members and subscribers.

The Name and Face “Behind” The Journal

A typical layout guide sheet for the Journal


52 B.S.S.G. JOURNAL - VOL 52/No. 2

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Board of ExaminersNEWS

Aaron Brown of Durham University has successfully achieved his Standard of Competence. Congratulations to Aaron and his trainer Malcolm Richardson. Matthew Myles and Steve Moehr were the examiners.

From L to R: Stephen Moehr, Aaron Brown & Matthew Myles


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Board of Examiners News

Aaron

Stephen & Matthew

Display of Aarons work

Stephen, Aaron with Malcolm Richardson


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Board of Examiners Fees

Syllabus pack- Elementary to Competence £425.00

NB. Examination Syllabus packs can only be purchased by BSSG members.

UK based Examination fees

BSSG Members £250 per examiner per dayNon members £300 per examiner per day

Overseas Examination Fees

BSSG Members £75 per examiner per day payable to BSSG Office NB. All costs incurred to facilitate an examiners attendance

should be agreed with the examiner and independently met ahead of the examination date.

Non Members £120 per examiner per day payable to BSSG Office NB. All costs incurred to facilitate an examiners attendance

should be agreed with the examiner and independently met ahead of the examination date.

Elementary: Maximum permissible number of candidates sitting the examination on one occasion - 10 candidates.

Handburner: Maximum permissible number of candidates sitting the examination on one occasion - 6 candidates.

Stage One Bench: Maximum permissible number of candidates sitting the examination on one occasion - 8 candidates.

Stage two Bench: Maximum permissible number of candidates sitting the examination on one occasion - 8 candidates.

Lathe One: Maximum permissible number of candidates sitting the examination on one occasion – (equipment availability permitting) 4 candidates.

Advanced Lathe: Maximum permissible number of candidates sitting the examination on one occasion - (equipment availability permitting) 4 candidates.

Standard of Competence: Maximum permissible number of candidates sitting the examination on one occasion - 4 candidates NB. Two Examiners required.


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Summary of Course SyllabiINTRODUCTION TO ELEMENTARY SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWINGA beginner's course. The syllabus has been arranged to provide a simple basic training for technicians and scientists wishing to acquire a useful elementary expertise as an addition to other laboratory skills.

Also, when applied with emphasis on basic manipulative skills, this syllabus provides a progressive and interesting starting point for the apprentice glassblower.

• Bench lamp work practical examination.

HANDBURNER GLASSWORKINGThis syllabus may be taught in conjunction with the Elementary syllabus on which to some small degree it is dependent; a combination of both will provide a much improved scope of simple basic techniques considered adequate to meet the needs of most technicians and scientists.

This course is also an essential preliminary to Lathe Glassworking.

• Practical examination.

SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWING STAGE ONEPractical bench lamp work with a little theory. A progressive continuation and broadening of the work covered in the Elementary syllabus.

• Practical examination with a short written paper.

SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWING STAGE TWOPractical bench lamp work with a little theory. A progressive continuation of the work covered in Stage One syllabus and a broadening of techniques.

• Practical examination with short written paper.

LATHE GLASSWORKING STAGE ONEA basic course for beginners covering the first principles of glass manipulation using a glassworking lathe. Some theory is included and lathe care and maintenance.


ADVANCED LATHE GLASSWORKINGFurther development of Lathe Glassworking. This syllabus Includes work of an appreciatively higher standard than Lathe Glassworking Stage One. Some theory is included.


STANDARD OF COMPETENCEThe Standard of Competence is accepted by the BSSG as qualification for Full Membership of the Society and application for full membership is implicit in the examination application form.

The practical work includes operations of a higher standard than Scientific Glassblowing Stage Two syllabus. However, the sizes of tubing to be manipulated remain quite reasonable, although some experience is desirable in handling longer lengths of tube and heavier pieces of apparatus. Some lathe work is included, but not appreciably higher than Lathe Glassworking Stage One syllabus in standard. The written paper is of a higher standard and greater breadth than the combined courses and includes a few of the more common techniques. The standard of the examination pass mark is higher than the normal course examinations.

The Standard of Competence provides a useful terminal course for full time glassblowing students dependent mainly on short courses to advance their knowledge of basic manipulative skills. Also, the examination may be used as a proficiency standard - a standard of competence.


1757B.S.S.G. JOURNAL - VOL 52/No. 2

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Robson ScientificQUARTZ GLASSBLOWING COMPONENTS

• Quartz Tubing

• Quartz Rod

• Quartz Conical Joints

• Quartz Spherical Joints

• Quartz Screwthreads

• Quartz Sinters

• Quartz Optics - Plates & Discs

• Quartz Wool

• Quartz - Pyrex Graded Seals

• Quartzware - Custom Made

• Quartzware - Emergency Repairs

• Worldwide Delivery

Robson ScientificUnit 4CClarklands Industrial EstateParsonage LaneSawbridgeworthHertfordshire CM21 0NG

Tel: +44 (0) 1279 724324Fax: +44 (0) 1279 600306Email: [email protected]: www.robsonscientific.co.uk

ONLINE CATALOGUE AVAILABLE AT :-

www.robsonscientific.co.uk

For Further Information Please Contact :-


59

New Discoveries

One of the great things about the AHG autumn 2013 study day: “A Miscellany of Glass - New Discoveries and Hidden Treasures”; was the wide mix of expertise there. This led to some fruitful discussions in the margins of the meeting, one of which may help solve a mystery about a recent glass discovery. The discovery was a couple of short lengths of glass tubing found last year during an archaeological evaluation in the Minories, just outside the old London city wall.

These appear to be glassmaking residues from the near-by Goodman's Yard glasshouse and to date from around 1670. Both tubes have shallow longitudinal scours on the surface which look to me as though they have been drawn through a die. One piece also has some unusual cellular cracking which only penetrates the outside part of the tube wall (see the picture below, the grid is in centimeters). But, how were these tubes made and what caused this one to crack? One suggestion was that the cracks were due to rapid cooling of the surface in an attempt to toughen the glass, but that seems to raise even more questions.

A documented customer of Goodman's Yard in the 1660s and 1670s was the famous scientist Robert Hooke. His equally famous book “Micrographia”, published in September 1665, contains many references to glass, including the one below on the subject of thermometers:

Colin Brain,Association for the History of Glass Ltd. www.historyofglass.org.uk


http://www.historyofglass.org.uk/study_days.html

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“The stems I use for them are very thick straight, and even Pipes of Glass,

with a very small perforation, and both the head and the body I have made

on purpose at the Glass-house, of the same metal whereof the Pipes are

drawn: …”

Even though Hooke's thermometers could be over four-feet long, these

tubes clearly do not fit his description and are more likely to be for the

barometers he also discusses. What is of interest here is that Goodman's

Yard is the most likely candidate in 1665 as being 'the Glass-house' and that

they were apparently able to draw pipes to meet Hooke's demanding

requirements. The trouble is that glass tubes/pipes cannot just be 'drawn',

because if the viscosity is low enough for the glass to flow through the die, it

is too low to support the tensile forces needed to pull it through.

However, discussing this at the study day, glass-technologist David Martlew

suggested that it would theoretically be possible to modify the shape of a

pre-formed tube, provided that the temperature distribution was carefully

controlled so that the core remained cool-enough to give the required

tensile stiffness, whilst the outer was hot-enough to flow in the die.

This explanation appears to fit. It explains why the cooling cracks only

penetrated the 'hot' outer part of the tube wall and it fits with the technique

being a development of that for making decorative canes. All the canes

found in Goodman's Yard glass-making residues appear to be multi-layer,

with a clear-glass core, one or more coloured /opaque layers and a clear-

glass outer. Some, or perhaps all, of these also show similar longitudinal

scours. So, if they were able to build up canes by multiple drawing, this

process could also have produced: “thick straight and even pipes...”

David's suggestion is not a full answer, but it opens up new possibilities for

experimentation and analysis to get closer to understanding how these early

glassmakers were able to rise to the challenges of facilitating the birth of

science in the 'age of reason'. As usual this analysis and experimentation will

probably generate yet more interesting questions.

New Discoveries


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Product range• All Standard cones and surface jointed apparatus• Ball joints, bends, coils, closed end tubes• Graduated Products• Manometers, Viscometers, Electrodes• Moulded Products• Prototype Work• Repairs and Cleaning - minimising down time

Service support• Drawing Control• On Site work undertaken• One Point of Contact• Technical Support• Tool and Jig making facilities• UK Stocks, with next day delivery

70 years combined glassblowing experience within our work force.

Unit W1 MK2 Business Centre • 1-9 Barton Road• Bletchley • Bucks • MK2 3HUTel 01908 821191 • Fax 01908 821195 • e Mail [email protected]

SCIENTIFIC GLASSWARE DESIGNED

TO YOUR REQUIREMENTS.


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CHARITY COMPETITION AUCTION

2014 is a big year for Scotland with this being the year of “Homecoming”. Then there is also the Ryder Cup and the XX Commonwealth games. It's a big year for Edinburgh too as the city hosts the BSSG Symposium. In time honoured fashion we will be holding a charity auction in aid of the Lord Provost's charity – “One City Trust” http://onecity.org.uk/

The theme is Scottish and/or home with a touch of sporty too if like and there will be prizes for the best entries as judged by those attending.

SEW FURNISH your minds with ideas so they come FORTH! You might win a DOOR able prizes but no ££££££, not even a GROAT. Could be a GOLD MEDAL though. Use any material, even CAITHNESS glass or EDINBURGH crystal. Make it big, blow lots of AYR and use plenty of MUSCLEburgh, (sic) but beware of BURNS. We all do such STIRLING work that the audience's eyes will GLAZE over without CRIEFF, (greif - get it?). Bidders will thaink we have BRAVE HEARTs. LOCH those ideas in to express yourself. There will be a WELCOME ON THE HILL SIDE for all. Make glass THISTLE candleholders for a DINING ROOM TABLE. We know your HOME is your CASTLE but be a good SPORT and open the GATE TOILET (to let) visitors INN. What better than a GLASS for a MALT or perhaps some IRN BRU to BATHe in KILTed glory. Ahhhhh what a story – now is that a TWO STOREY? Have a FLING and try anything be it a glass PIPER or be as sharp as a CLAYMORE, challenge that GLASS CEILING and create a BOSON! The MHOR GLASS made the MOOR sold, so don't be a NEEP and SPRINT onto the FINISHING LINE. Raising funds with GLASS made by you with or without FLOORS and yes maybe always ROOM 4 improvement but tell ctitics to take a HIGH JUMP! WATTs that you say? You feel silly to try, well stay a GHILLIE lost in a GLEN but remember SCOTLAND THE BRAVE and you will HOG(MANAY) awards. You don't want to stay on the FRINGE and be thick as PORRIDGE. Don't sell yourself SHORT(BREAD), give it all, let it show like a proud TATTOO and flash your SPORRAN singing the latest PROCLAIMERS hit or are you more into RUNRIG or even RUNNING? Please don't be HOLYROOD and ignore this plea. The BSSG PROVOST to help members and others no matter WATT your CLAN and regardless of the TARTAN you wear. Be BONNIE, be at HOME at taking part in helping others. Take up the BATON, get off your CHAIR, gulp your HAGGIS and leave the CROFT. Lets prove there is no huge GOLF between the BSSG and CHARITY!!!

Entries for the auction can be posted before symposium. Please contact Ian Pearson for further details. [email protected] or tel 01847 895637 home 01847 802629 business.


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Upcoming Glass ExhibitionUK Glass, Glass Museum GlazenHuis Lommel, Belgium

06 April 2014 - 14 September 2014 by Julia Malle

I have been invited to exhibit at the upcoming group exhibition entitled UK Glass at the Glass Museum GlazenHuis in Lommel, Belgium. Every year this Flemish Centre for Contemporary Glass Art accommodates three unique exhibitions. Every group or solo exhibition starts from a different angle and focuses either on the informative, the technical, the sculptural, the conceptual or the thematic aspects of glass. Each time internationally renowned and upcoming artists and designers are invited to present their artwork.

The work I will be exhibiting is a collection of four individual pieces simply

entitled Spheres and w a s o r i g i n a l l y conceived in 2010 for an exhibition at the glass bottle manufacturer O-I Manufacturing UK Ltd in Alloa, Scotland to mark 4 0 0 y e a r s o f g l a s s m a k i n g i n Scotland.

The idea is based on a ve ry s imp le t r i ck I learned when I f irst started glassblowing in my early teens and I am s u r e y o u h a v e a l l experimented with it at some stage. We used to spend hours learning how to blow a perfectly round and even glass bubble and this trick involving a bit of physics


64

made this task a lot more fun. It relies on the principles of capillary a c t i o n a n d t h e e x p a n s i o n a n d contraction of air when heated and cooled. If the diameter of the pulled glass point is sufficiently small, then the combinat ion of capillary action and the cooling (and therefore contracting) air within the bubble will lift the liquid into the glass bubble and fill it.

Instead of using water I chose different types of fluorescent liquids and then arranged the glass bubbles in different geometric patterns on larger spheres. The work is part of an investigation into nature and its representations. Scientists visualize highly complex natural processes through simplified and stylistic drawings, maps and models thereby transgressing the boundary between reality and representation. This experimental body of work isolates these scientific representations and transforming them into valid objects in their own right.

www.hetglazenhuis.be/en

www.juliamalle.com

Upcoming Glass Exhibition


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Norbert Zielinski

Article and photo by Tom Norberg

49 years a glassblower – and still loving it!

The German Society of Glassblowers (Verband Deutscher Glasblaeser e.V.) has seen a change of leadership after the last board election in September 2013. The incumbent, Konstantin Kraft, did not renew his candidacy for the post since he had moved to Norway to take up a new position.

Norbert Zielinski, a master scientific glassblower, and member of the society since 1989 and Vice-President since 2003, was voted in as President of the Society on 13 September 2013. Having retired from his position at the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) in 2012 after 49 years, he brings a wealth of experience with him – as well as the liberties afforded by not having to work full time.

Norbert began his apprenticeship as a scientific glassblower at the TUB in September 1963, shortly after the Berlin Wall divided the city in half and isolated West Berlin as an enclave of the West in the midst of East Germany. Norbert grew up in a city at the very forefront of the East-West cold war tensions. His apprenticeship started in the Institute for Technical Chemistry at the TUB, then headed by Professor Koelbel, world-known in the scientific community for his work in synthetic oils.

After finishing his apprenticeship, Norbert was employed in 1966 by the Institute for High Frequency Technology, also a part of the TUB, and experienced first-hand the demands of working in a cutting edge research environment.

This was a time of prolific scientific endeavour fueled as well by the pressures of Cold War politics. Norbert, at the ripe young age of 21 solely responsible for the technical glass workshop, was called upon to build extreme short-wave cathode ray tubes. He also had the privilege of being among the first to build the helium-neon laser, a technological milestone of its time. He also assisted in helping to transition from using hot cathode to cold cathode devices in lasers, which radically prolonged their working life.


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Not long after Norbert had moved on to the Institute of Technical Chemistry, the university acquired its first glass lathe, and he was required to develop a prototype glass reactor by the time-tested system of trial and error. Not even the researchers were quite sure what was needed; Norbert recalls, it took weeks of finicky tinkering before the prototype did what it was supposed to. Norbert loved it – it was right up his alley!

The then students and PhD candidates who came to his glass workshop Norbert got to know on a first name basis. They are long since professors and department heads in their own right and Norbert still addresses them by their first name, much to the astonishment of their peers and Norbert's colleagues. But, there have to be some advantages to working in the same place for 49 years.

In September 1976 Norbert passed his exams as Master Scientific Glassblower. The exotic wishes of the physicists always meant some new glassblowing challenge was lurking around the corner; there was no chance of resting on the laurels of past achievements. For the last 26 years at the TUB, Norbert was solely responsible for the glass workshop of the physics department; the demands of the physicists took Norbert's skills to the very limits of what is physically possible to do with glass.

Physicists need to visually examine the surface structure of semiconductors with the aid of liquid helium – a process which plunges the working temperature down to -269° Celsius. On the other hand, vapour phase epitaxy, a process used to chemically grow the crystalline layers required in semiconductors – has a working temperature of 1200° Celsius. Only laboratory instruments made of quartz glass, because of its higher melting point and its excellent optical qualities, can meet these exacting parameters. Semiconductors, indispensable for computers and cell phones, and in fact everything requiring integrated circuits, would simply not exist without the invaluable work of the scientific glassblowers.

The leaps, bounds and demands of technological progress have made it imperative for the scientific glassblowers to keep on learning, keep on trying out new things, and staying up to date with the latest developments. In fact, this was one of the motivating factors leading to the founding and growth of the German Society of Glassblowers. The quarterly magazine as well as annual seminars, workshops and lectures are means by which members can keep abreast of latest developments in their field.

Although there is no end in sight for the need of glassblowers, not everyone sees the issue as clearly as the former head of the TUB. In 2012 at the 40th year anniversary celebration of the German Society of Glassblowers, the President of the TUB, Prof. Dr. Steinbach publicly stated,

“Without the scientific glassblowers we would not have gained the world-wide success and recognition we have!”

Norbert Zielinski


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That is some statement, and not exaggerated. And of course music to every glassblower's ears.

It is a matter of concern for Norbert that not only research scientists recognise the significance of the scientific glassblowers, but also the general public. Few stop to consider that without glassblowers we would not have such simple things as thermometers or vacuum flasks. We would have to do without X-rays and CT scans, and neither radio nor television would have been invented. We would have the abacus, but not the computer. We would still have apples, but not Apple.

Ironically for our technical day and age, the general public knows what carpenters are good for – but what on earth is a scientific glassblower? Norbert has appeared several times on local Berlin television, demonstrating what he and his colleagues do in the TUB. (By the way, the TUB has 3 autonomous technical glass workshops, which makes it unique among all other universities in Germany.)

Media is something the scientific glassblowers need to use much more intentionally. Updating and revamping the German society's website has been on Norbert's heart for a long time. He and his editorial team have also given the quarterly magazine a needed face-lift, and how to best connect with and interest young people in the scientific glassblowing craft has a high priority with the newly elected board. Knowledge and experience is priceless, but it helps nobody and is worth nothing if not passed on.

Another of Norbert's goals is also to encourage closer ties between the glassblowing communities, be it amongst the Europeans as well as those further away. Safety matters and raising public awareness of the significant role scientific glassblowers play in our increasingly hi-tech society are only two issues that glassblowers, wherever they be, have in common.

Norbert and his team would like to thank Ian Pearson for this opportunity of filling you in on a few of the things happening in Germany and the challenges the German Society of Glassblowers needs to address in the immediate future.

English speakers who would like to contact the German Glassblowers Society (VDG e.V.) can do so by email:

[email protected]

Address to Tom Norberg, International Liaison Officer, who will forward (in German) your correspondence to the appropriate persons.

Norbert Zielinski


mailto:[email protected]

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Netherlands / Glass Workshop/ Universty Utrecht

Peter de Graaf, Manager Glass Workshop Universiteit Utrecht 3584CH Utrecht

The Glass Workshop from the University Utrecht is part of “Scientific Instrumentation” and the Faculty of Science. What does Scientific Instrumentation do? We support the development , realization and testing of unique instruments and advise our customers, the scientists. Scientific Instrumentation consist of three different parts. Engineering (seven staff), Design and Realization (twelve staff) and the Glass Workshop (four staff).

The Glass Workshop from the University Utrecht, is the best-equipped Glass Workshop of the Universities in the Netherlands, has the largest occupancy (four full time employees) and has some unique skills available.

The other Universities in the Netherlands have little or no glass support. If there is still glass support available the occupancy is at the most one staff. The Glass Workshop from the University Utrecht faculty has several collaborative relationships with the other universities and regularly make orders for them.

Over the last ten years the demand for products has changed. There is an increasing demand for quartz glass, ceramics, optical glass products, glass metal connection points etc. or a combination or composition of different techniques in a product.

Products:- Quartz reactors with optical measuring windows- Electrical impedance cells- Cryostat button cells- Optical analytical ultracentrifuge cells- Plug flow reactors- In Situ UV-vis cells- Fluid flow through cells- Colloidal sensors with dialysis membranes- U-turn quartz reactors

Standard laboratory glassware is ordered by the purchasing department and there is a catalogue available for customers.

Because of an increasing demand for these high quality products, there is a necessity for different competencies and specializations in the Glass


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Netherlands / Glass Workshop

Workshop.

Specializations:- Ultrasonic CNC milling and drilling (drilling up to 0.4mm, milling Ra <

1.2 mm) - Glass / Metal compounds (glass – platinum – tungsten etc)- Quartz glass operations (hot and cold)- Glass solder connections (vacuum brazing with VITA tape

quartz and Boro)- Polishing techniques (cylindrical polishing and polishing

surfaces very thin 0,1mm)- Bonding technology (round tube to square tube etc.)- Glass tube calibration

To keep this necessary skills available it is important that there are enough well-qualified scientific Glass Blowers employed at the glass workshop. In the Netherlands there is a vocational study for Scientific Glass Blower. This study can be part of the training for Research Technician, that is a separate training and has an additional exam and diploma. Approximately two students do there exam per year.

The position of the Glass Workshop of the University Utrecht in the Netherlands is unique and has a number of specialisations, such as small-scale production and prototyping. The effect is that we also have a demand for products by external parties.

The external workload is in most cases the result of partnerships or contacts with research groups of the Faculty of Science or scientist working in research institutes or other universities which need glass support. There are also glass-producing companies


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Netherlands / Glass Workshop

which place orders at the Glass Workshop. These are usually small scale production orders (a few pieces or prototyping).

In the Netherlands there are about ten small glass companies (two to five employees) which produce laboratory g lassware. There is one large company with around one hundred employees, which focuses on large scale production of special products. There are also commercial companies with their own glass workshop like “Shell” and “Yoko Gawa” (production of PH-electrodes).

For more details contact:Peter de GraafManager Glass Workshop Universiteit Utrecht,Faculty of Science / Scientific Instrumentation,H.R. Kruytgebouw, Padualaan 8, Room N108, 3584CH UtrechtE-mail: [email protected]


71

A History of the Pyrex Wholesalers

by Alan Gall

Part Eighteen – Fisons Scientific Apparatus Ltd, Loughborough

Introduction

In the interests of meticulous research for this article I have bought a bottle of Sanatogen Tonic Wine from my local supermarket. This product has been around for about 75 years, but Sanatogen nerve tonic in powder form dates back to the turn of the last century. The alcoholic version (15% ABV) is labelled with the caution: “The name Tonic Wine does not imply health giving or medicinal properties”, and we live in an age when it is prudent to give such disclaimers. Not a consideration for the original manufacturer, however, who didn't worry too much about exaggerated claims.

How does this fit in with scientific glassblowing? Well, Genatosan Ltd (a name created as an anagram of Sanatogen) experienced a dire shortage of laboratory glassware for its new research labs during the Second World War and as a result called on the services of a local glassblower. This led to the formation of the Loughborough Glass Company as a subsidiary. Genatosan also happened to be 51% owned by Fisons at the time – which explains the eventual change to Fisons Scientific Apparatus Ltd.

From a small beginning, catering for internal usage, the business grew to dominate the UK laboratory supply market after acquiring its main competitor, A. Gallenkamp & Co Ltd, a firm that had already absorbed another of the “big boys”, Griffin & George.

The mid-1980s saw Fisons scientific division reach the dizzy heights of number three in the world as a producer and supplier of laboratory apparatus. It was soon thereafter on a downhill ride.


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Genatosan

About the year 1898, Abraham Wülfing and chemist Dr Felix Bauer formed a partnership in Germany to manufacture Sanatogen and sell it worldwide. The product became very popular in the UK with the help of heavy advertising in the press. Some of the statements seem highly questionable, as in The Observer of 6th October 1912: “And over 16,000 doctors have written voluntary letters, commending Sanatogen because of the excellent results which they have obtained from it in cases of Nervous Exhaustion, Brain-fag, Sleeplessness, Depression, Impaired Digestion, and various wasting diseases”.

What was this wondrous formulat ion that could al leviate brain-fag? An analysis undertaken by C. B. Morrison of the Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station, published in 1912, found that after accounting for the 10% water found in the test sample, 90% was casein and 5% sodium

glycerophosphate. The balance consisted of phosphorus, nitrogen and sulphur, present in compounds that were then difficult to identify. It wasn't until 1938 that the blend with fortified British wine made its début, manufactured under licence by Whiteways.

The Board of Trade was responsible for issuing orders to wind up German-owned companies after the start of World War One. Under the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act 1916, A. Wülfing & Co, with its Sanatogen Company division, came under control of the State and was offered for sale by tender.

A person claiming to be a long-time user of the tonic, and no doubt well acquainted with the product's commercial success, formed a syndicate to make a bid for Wülfing's business interests in this country. This offer succeeded and the new company advised the public late in 1916 that “The German element has been entirely eradicated, and the products are now absolutely British”. Operating as Genatosan, it was the stated intention to give Sanatogen and the other health products new trade-marked names. As

A history of the Pyrex Wholesalers - 18

New offices & works for LGC - June 1960


73

we know, this didn't happen.

The consortium that secured the Sanatogen business, with a 10% down-payment of £7600, acquired another company of German origin, the Anglo Continental Guano Works Ltd (previously Ohlendorff & Co, up to 1883). Later on, Genatosan came under Anglo Continental as a partly owned subsidiary.

To put people off trying alternative tonics the new owners declared: “… numerous imitations of Sanatogen contain a large proportion of fat, which quickly turns rancid; a still larger proportion of milk-sugar, which is particularly harmful in diabetes and other conditions; and a form of phosphorus which the nervous system refuses to absorb, a n d w h i c h s o m e t i m e s a c t s injuriously on the kidneys and other organs.”

An inf luent ia l member of the Genatosan board was David Alfred Thomas, created Baron Rhondda in 1916 and Minister of Food Control 1917-1918. A po l i t ic ian, and industrialist with many coal-mining interests, his directorship passed to his daughter Lady Margaret Haig

Mackworth in 1917. Amongst the other directors were an MP (Walter Roch), a stockbroker (Archibald Mitchelson) and the general manager William Asquith. Another director, James Gomer Berry, owned The Sunday Times with his brother William.

Genatosan had a factory at Stable Hobbe, near Penzance, but with the cessation of war in 1919 the company turned its attention to the need for increased production, especially likely with the return of export trade. Sales at home had enjoyed great success, helped along by further heavy promotion, and there was also a plan to expand into the manufacture of fine


Oldershaw columns,1960 LGC Catalogue


74


chemicals. By 1921 Genatosan had found a suitable location in Loughborough, on Regent Street.

Sanatogen did have its devotees. Prolific writer Compton Mackenzie, author of the book Whisky Galore (made into a film in 1947), lent his name to advertising the product. He went further, writing a publicity pamphlet about Genatosan, but without reference to the German origin of the Sanatogen formulation. His account describes the seven-step process starting with the acidification of skimmed milk to precipitate out the protein (casein). The following stages given are: filtration, pressing to remove as much water as possible, alcohol wash, ether wash, addition of sodium glycerophosphate, drying in a heated drum, and finally, grinding.

On the death of Erwin Gustav Martens on 16th January 1937, a Dutchman on the board of Genatosan's parent body, Anglo Continental Guano Works Ltd, the remaining directors decided in some haste to invite a take-over. This is how Fisons (or to be exact, Fison, Packard & Prentice Ltd) inherited a controlling interest in Genatosan. Total control came in 1947.

The Loughborough Glass CompanyThe First World War demonstrated that this country had become too reliant on imported laboratory glassware, principally from Germany. Politicians are fond of saying “lessons have been learnt”. Clearly they weren't, as the shortage repeated itself after 1939. As war began, Genatosan opened research and analytical laboratories on Derby Road, Loughborough. Fixtures and equipment came from A. Gallenkamp & Co Ltd (to be featured later in this series) and the layout was the brainchild of chemist Dr George Malcolm Dyson. As war progressed, the need for glassware exceeded available supply. According to a history of Fisons Pharmaceuticals c.1987,

G e n a t o s a n h e l p e d a l o c a l glassblower, Colin Clegg, to set up his own firm. In Michael Moss's history of Fisons, he records that J. C. Clegg, described as Genatosan's chief glassblower, found himself in difficulties trying to combine his duties at the company with operating a separate business. Accordingly, on the suggestion of Dyson, Genatosan bought Clegg & Co for £500 in 1945. This was followed by the formation of

Eric Keeley assembling a specialcondenser 1960 LGC catalogue


75


the Loughborough Glass Company Ltd, incorporated on 19 December 1946 with Genatosan's Albert Gustav Barthel and Dr Dyson as directors.

Innovators of laboratory apparatus, LGC developed the Oldershaw fractionating column. This was based on a design described by C. F. O lde rshaw i n I ndus t r i a l and Engineering Chemistry, Analytical Edition (1941). The 1960 LGC catalogue shows two 30-plate columns with still heads. They were sold with evacuated, silvered jackets but the right hand column is un-silvered to display the internal construction for the benefit of exhibition-goers. Oldershaw worked at the Shell Development Company in Emeryville, California, where the laboratory was running a series of tests on different distillation column designs.

There is an interesting patent that LGC filed in 1955 for a fractionating column in which the sections were clamped together so that the internals, vapour risers and bubble caps, could be removed or replaced. The inventors are given as Eric Vero and James Richard Goldwin. Vero can be identified as a “Genatosan man” who joined the LGC board in 1954. The other person is likely to be Jim Goldwin, the founder of J. R. Goldwin Ltd that later became Camlab (Glass) Ltd (see part eight of the series, January 2010). He had left the Cambridge glassblowers due to ill-health (possibly TB) in 1950 and the assumption has been that he retired from the profession.

Stan Marshall, who started work at LGC in 1953, says that Eric Vero was quite a whiz kid. One of his inventions gave the company a very successful product line – PTFE sleeves for tapered ground glass joints. These were made from 2 thou' thick PTFE film to fit cone sizes B7 to B55. The advantages conferred by the system were due to the reduced friction between mating faces: joints could be swivelled while maintaining a seal, breakages were reduced and there was no need of a lubricant that in certain applications might be dissolved by solvents in the apparatus.

Stan Marshall evacuating a silvered Dewar flask, 1964 FSA catalogue


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• Benger's Ltd

• Corby Basic Slag Ltd

• Fisons Chemicals (Export) Ltd

• Fisons Milk Products Ltd

• Fisons Pest Control Ltd

• Genatosan Ltd

• Loughborough Glass Co Ltd

• Nitrogen Fertilisers Ltd

• Whiffen & Sons Ltd

Fisons' principal subsidiaries as reported in The Economist, 8 November 1958

Other innovations came from Eric's fertile mind. There are 14 patents that were filed under his name as inventor, mostly in conjunction with others, over the period 1955 to 1968. The applicants in each case were LGC, Genatosan or Whiffen & Sons. The subjects mainly relate to the production of fine chemicals.

Fisons Scientific Apparatus LtdA resolution of the board dated 15th June 1962 changed Loughborough Glass Company Ltd to Fisons Scientific Apparatus Ltd and the catalogue of September that year carried the altered logo, the letters FSA replacing LGC in the trisected circle. Otherwise, it was business as usual.

Tom Young started working for the firm just before the renaming. He was working in a small glass workshop in Glasgow when an advertisement in the Glasgow Herald caught his eye – a vacancy for a glassblower at LGC with an attractive salary. Tom had hoped to find employment at James A. Jobling & Co Ltd in Sunderland. There seemed to be no immediate prospects of an opening so he travelled down to Loughborough where he was offered the job at £12 per week (a good wage at that time). At LGC he found a large workforce in the glassware department, quite a change from the working environment of his previous employment in Scotland. There were about 30 craftsmen, approximately half glassblowers and half “shapers”. Tom recalls that a number of the shapers were ex-soldiers from the polish army. A rating system classified top glassblowers as “A”, those in middle rank as “B” and trainees were graded “C”. One of the most highly rated was Eric Keeley, shown here constructing a condenser. After three years, Tom Young secured a position at Loughborough College of Advanced Technology (later

Bubble cap plate, 1965 FSA catalogue


77


Loughborough University). He maintained contact with many of his Fisons colleagues after leaving.

Development of the Organisation, a Fisons Pharmaceutical publication of c.1987 records that after the formation of Loughborough Glass: “The company moved into two beautifully white-washed and swept out stables for the manufacturing area, three corrugated iron roofed Nissan huts for the warehouse, receiving, despatch and packing areas and an ivy supported converted cottage for the administration and clerical element.”

Fisons commissioned a new building on Genatosan's Regent Street site in 1959. LGC moved from Willows Works, Derby Road, to take up occupancy in 1960, although just five years later relocated again (as Fisons Scientific Apparatus Ltd) to Bishop Meadow Road, where there had been an aerodrome at one time.

Stan Miller remembers some of the staff he came into contact with in the 1960s.

“A name that I recall from this period was Dennis Sutton who I believe was already with LGC and then joined the FSA board. I remember that some of the Fisons staff used to call him affectionately as “Sooty”. Other people in FSA were Alec Schofield, a bewhiskered and amiable guy who was the publicity manager, and Tony Griffiths who started with Fisons as a salesman and progressed quite quickly to the board of directors. I think it was a fellow by the name of Norman Whitehead who was the purchasing manager. There was also Brian Coulden who joined Fisons as a salesman in 1966. We both worked at Electrothermal Engineering Ltd and left at the same time, he to join Fisons and me to join Xlon Products Ltd. Both Brian and I acted as Best Man for each other when we became married in 1967.”

FSA administration and research block at Bishop Meadow Road,1965 FSA catalogue


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Between 1960 and 1965, the laboratory equipment catalogue of LGC/FSA more than doubled in page numbers. In large part this was due to the addition of laboratory chemicals previously manufactured under the brand names Judex and Judactan by the General Chemical Company Ltd at the Judex Works, Sudbury, Wembly. After the take-over of The General Chemical Company in 1963, the selection of chemicals was dramatically reduced.

The factoring of Pyrex glassware had begun in 1947 and over the succeeding years many more established products were offered, such as H. J. Elliott's E-Mil brand of volumetric glassware and porcelain labware from Royal Worcester.

A less successful decision was the replacement of Fisons' own interchangeable glassware range with the Quickfit & Quartz range.

TO BE CONTINUEDDue to constraints on time, the concluding part of the FSA story will appear in the next Journal.

Main SourcesCompanies House archive CD for Genatosan Ltd, company number 00146033.

Companies House archive CD for Fisons Scientific Apparatus Ltd, company number 00426057.

Development of the Organisation (Fisons Pharmaceuticals, c.1987).

“ F i s o n s p l c ” , R e f e r e n c e f o r B u s i n e s s [ w e b p a g e ] , http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/88/Fisons-plc.html, accessed 20 Jan. 2014.


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DAVIS, Andy, R&D Charnwood a Site History (AstraZenica, nd).

FINLAY, Paul N., “How Fisons Managed its Turnaround”, European Journal of Marketing, 22/2 (1988) 103-117.

MACKENZIE, Compton, Genatosan (Genatosan Ltd, 1950s).

MOSS, Michael S., Fertilizers to Pharmaceuticals, Fisons: The Biography of a Company 1720-1986 (unpublished manuscript, copy at Ipswich Public Record Office).

OLDERSHAW, C. F., “Perforated Plate Columns for Analytical Batch Distillations”, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Analytical Edition, 13/4 (1941), 265-268.

AcknowledgmentsThanks to the staff and volunteers at the local studies section of Loughborough Library: including Brian Bentley, Christine Harris, Carol Neath and Kathy Phillips.

Thanks also to contributors with personal knowledge of Fisons Scientific:Gerald Berrington, Tricia Jackson, Stan Marshall, Stan Miller, Tom Young.

A special thanks to Professor Michael Moss for access to his manuscript on the history of Fisons.

SDA Electronics Ltd of Salford funded research costs.

The AuthorAlan Gall is archivist for The Institute of Science and Technology, a body representing laboratory staff and managers working in all branches of science and technology. Further details of the IST can be found on the website: www.istonline.org.uk



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Simple homemade 'End of rod' holder

Andy Davies, scientific and industrial designer, Cardigan, Wales

It's a simple 'end of rod' holder made out of 2.4 mm Stainless steel welding rod. It takes about 300 mm of welding rod to make one holder so they cost about 33p each. I don't cut the wire until I've made the last bend. Pulling tight bends in stainless steel with pliers is very difficult but if you hold the wire in a vice and hammer it with a small hammer it's relatively easy to form.

I form the loop at the end around a large drill, if you bend the stainless steel tight back on itself it will fracture and break, you could heat it to work it but I do it all cold.

I know you can buy these things but I had the 2.4 mm welding rod to hand and it's quicker to make one than order it over the internet. I haven't seen any quite like mine; those for sale all seem to have bit's welded on but these work very well. The main things are to ensure that they point the rod in a straight line and that the holding pressure is enough to really grip the glass rod. These hold more than adequately but if you wanted to hold short tubes you'd need to reduce the force accordingly.


British Society of SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWERS · 2014. 6. 30. · BSSG SYMPOSIUM 2014 CAPITAL HOTEL -...

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Transcript of British Society of SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWERS · 2014. 6. 30. · BSSG SYMPOSIUM 2014 CAPITAL HOTEL -...