At 10:20 PM 8/10/03, you wrote:
What were they making?
Real nice John!
Thanks . . .
Had a blast (furnace) making the photographs!
They're making sheets of "opalescent" glass. Furnace runs at 2,500
F. Glass runs as well . . . like water . . . OK, more like thin
syrup. Other than the bed that rolls out the glass being motorized, it's
much the same method as was used 112 years ago when the factory was
established. It's one of about a half-dozen or so in the world that makes
that type of glass.
BTW, I spent the first hour or so of the shoot simply watching the work
(and glass) flow. Last thing I wanted to do was get in their path! The
hot glass instantly ignites anything flammable it comes into contact
with. Some of the glass formulations require five different types/colors
of glass and there will be one man after another with a ladle filled with
molten glass. If one dribbles a little and someone behind him steps in it,
flames shoot up from under his boot(s) and there's a brief odor of very
hot, burning rubber.
-- John
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