A handbook of laboratory glass-blowingBolas, Bernard D. (Bernard Dell)
Science
A handbook of laboratory glass-blowing
Bolas, Bernard D. (Bernard Dell)
Glass blowing and working
For many purposes, it is an advantage to have what is sometimes known
as a "quick-change" blowpipe; that is one in which jets of varying size
may be brought into position without stopping the work for more than a
fraction of a second. Such a device is made by Messrs. Letcher, and is
shown by _e_, and in section by _f_ Fig. 1. It is only necessary to
rotate the desired jet into position in order to connect it with both
gas and air supplies. A small bye-pass ignites the gas, and adjustment
of gas and air may be made by a partial rotation of the cylinder which
carries the jets.
For specially heavy work, where it is needed to heat a large mass of
glass, a multiple blowpipe jet of the pattern invented by my father,
Thomas Bolas, as the result of a suggestion derived from a study of the
jet used in Griffin's gas furnace, is of considerable value. This jet
consists of a block of metal in which are drilled seven holes, one being
central and the other six arranged in a close circle around the central
hole. To each of these holes is a communication way leading to the gas
supply, and an air jet is arranged centrally in each. Each hole has also
an extension tube fitted into it, the whole effect being that of seven
blowpipes. In order to provide a final adjustment for the flame, a
perforated plate having seven holes which correspond in size and
position to the outer tubes is arranged to slide on parallel guides in
front of these outer tubes.
[Illustration: Fig. 2]
The next piece of apparatus for consideration is the bellows, of which
there are three or more types on the market, although all consist of two
essential parts, the blower or bellows proper and the wind chamber or
reservoir. Two patterns are shown in Fig. 2; _a_, is the form which is
commonly used by jewellers and metal workers to supply the air blast
necessary for heating small furnaces. Such a bellows may be obtained at
almost any jewellers' supply dealer in Clerkenwell, but it not
infrequently happens that the spring in the wind chamber is too strong
for glass-blowing, and hence the air supply tends to vary in pressure.
This can be improved by fitting a weaker spring, but an easier way and
one that usually gives fairly satisfactory results, is to place an
ordinary screw-clip on the rubber tube leading from the bellows to the
blowpipe, and to tighten this until an even blast is obtained.
Another form of bellows, made by Messrs. Fletcher and Co., and common in
most laboratories, is shown by _b_; the wind chamber consists of a disc
of india-rubber clamped under a circular frame or tied on to a circular
rim. This form is shown by Fig. 2, _b_.
The third form, and one which my own experience has caused me to prefer
to any other, is cylindrical, and stands inside the pedestal of the
blowpipe-table. A blowpipe-table of this description is made by Enfer of
Paris.
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