Crackle Glass Cylinder?

I'm in need of four crackle glass cylinders, nine inches in diamter by
about 9 1/2 inches tall. They'll be used as lenses for a lighting
project. Even better--I need them in three weeks.

I'm wondering where to start? I guess glass blowers, because if I
understand the process, they'd be blown, then dipped hot to create the
crackle effect. I found two blowers on the web & have emails in to
both.

I'll take any suggestions that will help me get these pieces made. I
have almost no expericence in this sort of thing.

Thanks,

Brian

brrian wrote:
I'm in need of four crackle glass cylinders, nine inches in diamter by
about 9 1/2 inches tall. They'll be used as lenses for a lighting
project. Even better--I need them in three weeks.

I'm wondering where to start? I guess glass blowers, because if I
understand the process, they'd be blown, then dipped hot to create the
crackle effect. I found two blowers on the web & have emails in to
both.

I'll take any suggestions that will help me get these pieces made. I
have almost no expericence in this sort of thing.

Thanks,

Brian



Sorry, Brian, but you will never get them in three weeks.

First, you need to find a glass blower with skill to produce what you
want and then persuade him (money!) to do the job for you. Most glass
blowers are like any other artist-- starving-- so you will eventually
find someone who will agree to try it. The problem is your time frame.
If there was a glassblower nearby, you might luck out-- especially if
you live in the northwest (capital of the glassblowing world in the USA).

I am not trying to shoot down your idea, only the time frame demands of
it. If you can allow more time, making the cylinders is not that hard.

Here is how it is done:

The blower creates a cylinder shape on a blowpipe. At this point it has
a flat bottom and and a neck which is attached to the blowpipe and
looks like a soda bottle. A punty (steel rod) is stuck onto the flat
bottom and the neck is severed from the blowpipe. The neck is then
opened out to be even with the walls of the future cylinder. Now you
have a flat-bottomed, straight-sided vase. If the blower is skilled, he
can make the open edge very even. If not, you may need to use a glass
saw or bottle-cutter to produce a perfect edge after the glass has been
annealed.

At this point there are two paths to finish off a cylinder. The antique
sheet-glass guys have a three-pronged rod which grips the cut edge of
the cylinder. The punty is detached, the flat bottom heated and cut
off. I have never seen these three-pronged gadgets used anywhere but at
a sheet-glass factory, so don't expect an artistic glassblower to have
one laying around! The second (more likely) option is to take the
flat-bottom vase off the punty and use a glass saw or bottle cutter to
finish creating the cylinder after annealing.

So where does the crackle step come in you ask? That depends on the
skill of the glassblower. For maximum effect, the crackle should be
created as late in the process as possible. The more often a piece is
re-heat and worked on, the more the crackle will disappear back into the
hot glass. So speed and control are critical. The actual effect is
created by plunging the hot vessel into a tub of water. One must move
fast and pray that you don't destroy the piece in the process. It is an
exciting and showy step, sure to please anyone watching.

Hope this helps.

--Cactus Bob

try Blenko in West Virgina. They make crackle vases as part of their
regular line of products

Vic wrote:
try Blenko in West Virgina. They make crackle vases as part of their
regular line of products



I seriously doubt that Blenko will stop their production line to create
four custom cylinders! Or if they did, it would cost thousands of dollars.

Since the poster did not divulge his location, perhaps a better
recommendation would be to contact the nearest art museum, gallery or
art school. Those folks would know who in the area blows glass.
Another resource would be the Glass Art Society (www.glassart.org). Go
to their Q&A section and start your hunt.

--Cactus Bob

In , on Wed, 11 Oct 2006 23:10:40
-0400, Cactus Bob wrote:
Vic wrote:
try Blenko in West Virgina. They make crackle vases as part of their
regular line of products

I seriously doubt that Blenko will stop their production line to create
four custom cylinders! Or if they did, it would cost thousands of
dollars.

Maybe they already make that diameter, which could
simply be cut off to the required height.

Since the poster did not divulge his location,

Sure he did. It's right there in his headers:
"somewhere in or near Philadelphia."

try Blenko in West Virgina. They make crackle vases as part of their
regular line of products

I seriously doubt that Blenko will stop their production line to create
four custom cylinders! Or if they did, it would cost thousands of

dollars.

Maybe they already make that diameter, which could
simply be cut off to the required height.


A quick check of Blenko's catalog shows that they do not make the size
he needs. That is why I said what I did. Even if he were willing to
change his size requirements, the vases looked like they have paddled
sides anyway.


Since the poster did not divulge his location,


Sure he did. It's right there in his headers:
"somewhere in or near Philadelphia."


If that is so, then my bad.

I see nothing in the "header" that mentions Philadelphia. All I see is
"Crackle Glass Cylinder." Maybe my software does not display all of the
information he submitted. I am using Mozilla Thunderbird.


Non the less, I think his best bet is still to contact a small artist
glass blower. Contacting a large factory setting like Blenko is
unlikely to be productive.

--Cactus Bob

Contact this company
I have been to their production site - and their glass blowers are
capable
of this -- they also have the large cylinder edge cutter.. uses
gas jet flames to cut around the bubble - creating a rim...
(saw them use it to cut the tops off of very large handblown
triffle bowls -- very cool!)
These old time glassblowers can certainly handle making
what you want -- just a matter of if they will bother with a small
order.

West Virginia Glass Speciality, Inc.
P.O. Box 248 107 Main St.
Ellenboro, WV 26346
Phone: 304-869-3374
Fax: 304-869-3375
Cheryl Keggan
www.dragonbeads.com


brrian wrote:
I'm in need of four crackle glass cylinders, nine inches in diamter by
about 9 1/2 inches tall. They'll be used as lenses for a lighting
project. Even better--I need them in three weeks.

I'm wondering where to start? I guess glass blowers, because if I
understand the process, they'd be blown, then dipped hot to create the
crackle effect. I found two blowers on the web & have emails in to
both.

I'll take any suggestions that will help me get these pieces made. I
have almost no expericence in this sort of thing.

Thanks,

Brian

In , on Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:34:01
-0400, Cactus Bob wrote:

A quick check of Blenko's catalog shows that they do not make the size
he needs. That is why I said what I did. Even if he were willing to
change his size requirements, the vases looked like they have paddled
sides anyway.

Ahhh. Well, if you'd said it that way to start with,
I wouldn't have written what I did. (I don't have a
Blenko catalog.)

I see nothing in the "header" that mentions Philadelphia. All I see is
"Crackle Glass Cylinder." Maybe my software does not display all of the
information he submitted. I am using Mozilla Thunderbird.

Yes, I know you're using T'bird. It's in your headers;
an old windoze version of it at that. ;-)

Non the less, I think his best bet is still to contact a small artist
glass blower.

Yup. No disagreement there.