Glass blowing is a glass-forming process that encompasses inflating molten glass into a bubble, with the help of a blowpipe. A person who blows glass is called a glassblower or gaffer. A person who manipulates the glass with a torch or other tools is known as a lampworker.
4.2.1 Principle of Glass blowing
Glassblowing utilizes a working property of glass known as inflation. This refers to the expansion of glass by passing a small amount of air into it. The property exists as a result of the liquid structure of glass, where strong bonds hold the atoms together in a complex and random network. Thus molten glass possesses sufficient viscosity to be blown and allows it to harden while retaining the blown shape. During blowing, …show more content…
It is still widely used as a glass forming method for artistic purposes. The process of free blowing involves discharging short puffs of air into the molten glass, known as gather, which is spooled at one end of the blowpipe. This causes the interior of the glass blob to form an elastic skin similar to that of the exterior caused to the decrease of heat emitted by the furnace. The glassblower can then rapidly inflate the molten glass to a comprehensible form and work it into required …show more content…
The glass is rolled on the marver, which leads to the formation of a cool skin on the exterior of the blob while shaping it. This process is called marvering.
4. The glass piece is then given a premature symmetrical shape with a help of a block and flat surfaces can be created with the aid of paddles. Tweezers and jacks can be used to pull on the glass or pick details. Using the above tools the bottom of the piece can be finalized. Figure 4.8: Mavering Source:http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/glassblowing2.htm
5. The bubble is then attached to the punty for shaping and transferring the piece from the blowpipe to perform finishing operations at the mouth of the workpiece.
6. A punty can also be used to transfers bits of glass to the parison or the partially blown glass, these bits of glass act as colorants. Figure 4.9: Glory hole furnace