[PA-NJ Glassblowers] Glassblowing and old newspaper - from Chemistry World Blog
Tony Patti
gaffer at glassblower.info
Wed Sep 12 21:29:02 EDT 2012
I thought the blog was interesting, because how many times do you hear of
chemists talking about wet newspaper for glassblowing?
My opinion about the Financial Times newspaper being preferred by UK
glassblowers, this is similar to USA glassblowers
preferring the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, because of its
higher-quality paper stock.
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/2012/09/12/glassblowing-and-old-newspaper/
Tony Patti
www.glassblower.info
gaffer at glassblower.info
<http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/>
<http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/2012/09/12/glassblowing-and-old-newspaper/
> Glassblowing and old newspaper
Posted by Phillip Broadwith on Wed 12 Sep 2012
<http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P1000583.jpg>
Glassblower using newspaper paddle
A Dartington glassblower uses a newspaper paddle to shape a piece of blown
glass
A letter in the <http://www.ft.com/home/uk> Financial Times about a month
ago piqued my interest. It stated that the characteristic salmon pink pages
of the FT play a unique role in producing hand-made crystal glass at
<http://www.dartington.co.uk/about-us/dartington-heritage> Dartington
crystal. Since I was about to go on holiday to Devon, and had planned a trip
to the Dartington factory anyway, I decided to do a bit of investigating
myself.
In the FT letter, the correspondent says that the reason for using the pink
pages of the FT is so that no trace elements are transferred to the crystal
'when the protective newsprint is peeled away', as they might be with other,
bleached, newspaper.
This sounded a little implausible to the chemist in me. If the newspaper was
only being used for protection, surely any interaction with the crystal
glass would be confined to the ink, or any contaminants left from the paper
processing, rubbing off on the surface? The possibility of significant
chemical reaction between the glass and the newsprint at room temperature
seemed remote at best.
A tour of the factory quickly confirmed my hunch. The role of the newspaper
is much more than simply protective, but perhaps quite surprising. It is an
integral tool in shaping blown glass. The yellow-handled paddle in the
picture is actually made up of a wad of newspaper.
<http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/dartington-padd
le.jpg> newspaper paddle
This yellow handled paddle is actually a stack of newspapers
As the glassblower blows and shapes a globule of molten glass into a tumbler
(in this case) or any other object, part of the process involves dipping
that paddle into a bucket of water and holding it up to the red hot glass.
At the same time he rolls the blowpipe backwards and forwards to ensure the
glass is the right shape and consistent thickness.
Newspaper is absorbent and cheap to replace, making it ideal for making
these paddles. However, being in contact with glass at several hundred
degrees means the paper does burn away slowly, so it's important it doesn't
transfer contaminants to the glass in its semi-molten state, which could
then create imperfections in the final product.
So that begs the question, what is it about the FT that makes it the
preferred choice of glassblowers? Is it something to do with the chemical
processing of the paper? Is the paper bleached less ferociously than its
white cousins? Or does the dyeing process mean any residues from the
bleaching are washed out more thoroughly? Or is it simply tradition with
little scientific backing? Speaking to some of the Dartington staff I got
some vague answers about the 'quality of the paper', but it would be
interesting to know if any of our readers have more insight.
If you have never
<http://www.dartington.co.uk/about-us/making-dartington-crystal> watched a
glassblower at work, it is quite an amazing experience. The apparently
effortless skill of a master glassblower is breathtaking. No wonder it takes
around 10 years to reach that level. But, as with
<http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/restricted/2009/August/AVitalBlowForChemi
stry.asp> glassblowing for chemistry equipment, it is a skill that is slowly
dying out - Dartington is one of the last commercial-scale producers of
hand-blown glass in the UK.
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