How glass blowers do different things. Own business: glass-blowing production. A method of making glass using a brazier

The art of blowing glass is a complex, painstaking process. A similar technique dates back to the first century BC, it appeared in Sidon (now coastal Lebanon).

The art of blowing glass is a complex, painstaking process. A similar technique dates back to the first century BC, it appeared in Sidon (now coastal Lebanon). From there, art spread to the Roman Empire and then to other parts of the world. The art of glass blowing is practiced today, it involves mastering a lot of complex techniques. The most important thing in the work of glass blowers is to carry out the work with a high level of precision and accuracy.

The process begins when a 4-5 pound tube is baked, where the glass is melted at 2200 degrees Fahrenheit (lava temperature).

This process is called collection. After collecting, the glass blowers dip the blowpipe into the red-hot glass until a decent sized drop is concentrated at the end. This is a very tricky moment, since the glass has the consistency of honey and drips easily from the end of the pipe.

In the next step, the glass blower starts to blow air into the pipe, forming a small air bubble inside the molten glass. This is a very delicate process: if the artist blows too intensely, then his work will fail.

One of the most difficult aspects of blowing is keeping the temperature at the desired level. By maintaining the temperature, the artist can shape the glass as he intended. Thanks to the traditions that have been passed down by glassblowers from generation to generation, this art never ceases to attract and conquer our attention.

I'll start from afar. Somewhere in 1996, I made an author's mirror-lamp and at the same time conducted experiments on it: I decided to decorate it with a drawing, etching the drawing with hydrofluoric acid. In the city where I lived there was a metallurgical plant, on the basis of which there was a glass-blowing shop. It was so simply impossible to get to this plant - only by passes. Of course, I didn't have any passes. There was a fence around this plant. I was not lazy, walked around it all and found a loophole in one place, where I climbed, bypassing the guards. I must say that this workshop was especially guarded, since, among other things, crystal was made in it. Entering this workshop, the first thing I saw: a large fiery furnace (later I saw several more), working people, one of whom, at the moment when I entered, was just blowing the product. In his hands was a long tube, which he thrust into the open window of the oven along with the glass at the end. Then he began to twist the pipe and blow some special thing into it (an air pump?). Later I found out that no one in production has blown glass with their mouths. This is mainly done by amateurs. It was very hot in the workshop, although it was winter, and this heat remained on the faces of the people working at the stoves. I stood with my mouth open as I had never seen anything like it before. And nobody noticed me. The spectacle, of course, is fascinating and I still remember. They also had a lot of tools with which they worked, but at that moment I did not see all of them. Therefore, for a hint I got into the book * :)

It is, of course, impossible to put a production furnace at home, so a glass blowing gas burner will be the most optimal device.

In addition, you will need:
Glass rod and tube set
Table
Gas for gas burner
Oxygen for the same gas burner
Compressor

Glassblower tools.

a - wire for cutting blanks;
b - transformer;
c - metal tweezers;
d - metal tongs;
d - victorious knife;
e - device for hot cutting of tubes and rods;
g - scissors;
h - metal reamers;
and - wooden reamers;
k - needle;
l - stand;
m - holder;
n - shoulder blade.

Work organization

First of all, it is necessary to place the work table (its area should be at least 120 x 70 cm, and its height - 70 cm) so that it is equally well lit from all sides. The top of the table should be covered with any refractory material such as asbestos.

Further, on the edge of the table closest to the master, a gas burner is fixed, to which hoses are connected, designed to supply gas, oxygen and air. Moreover, the valves from them are best placed on the left side of the glass blower, attaching them to the hoses under the table.

The gas burner is equipped with taps that allow the craftsman to control the supply of gas, compressed air and oxygen. So, if there is not enough air, the flame coming out of the burner throat becomes bright yellow in color. Such a flame is needed only when heating an already finished product. If the flame has a slightly bluish color, this indicates that the air is supplied in a slightly increased volume.

Quiet, strong jet of deep blue flame indicates oxygen supply.

Special care should be taken when working with the burner. Compressed air compressor, gas and oxygen cylinders are best installed outdoors, outside the workshop.

To make small figures from glass, you need to stock up on colorless and colored tubes and rods (the so-called darts). Glass flasks with a wide neck are also suitable as blanks.

Before melting the figurines, the blank tubes are cut into several parts using a victorious knife or circular saw. The workpieces, which are larger in size, are cut by preheating them with a tungsten wire, through which an electric current passes. After the operation, you can drop water on the workpiece in the intended place so that it bursts along the cut line.

Steel tweezers should always be at hand. It is needed for stretching molten glass, forming small and thin parts of the product, as well as for making small holes.

Wide tweezers (tongs) with copper, brass or graphite tips are often used in the manufacture of glass figurines that have parts flattened on both sides.

When blowing various products, the scissors used for cutting molten glass will not be superfluous either.

The purpose of the reamers is to unfold the semi-finished product in the process of finishing various funnels, supports in the manufacture of vessels. With their help, cavities and edges of products are formed and smoothed.

Holders are used, as a rule, when blowing large glass items.

Sequence of work

First of all, you need to learn how to confidently use the blowing tube. To do this, you can try to form a large glass drop at the end of the tube. When making glass products, you also need to be able to flatten the heated rod and bend it quite evenly, as well as solder several glass rods into one. And only after such a training, you can start blowing the conceived figure or product.

First you need to make a blank

* Work on glass, ed. "Veche", Moscow, 2000

I have visited various workshops and various factories, saw how jam and metal are made, saw how they fish on an industrial scale, and how hemp is tested, and yesterday I visited an amazing place - an art glass workshop. Egor, a master glassblower, arranged an excursion to his workshop for bloggers of the Petrograd community, where he creates wonderful and beautiful things from scratch that anyone can do under his guidance.

1. Sheer sell!

Our acquaintance with Egor began with a short introduction by the master. He told us that he was self-taught, he studied on video from the Internet, there is no domestic literature on glass as such, so he had to study Western literature. For example, communication with Russian masters from the Stieglitz Academy did not work out either, because Those old men believe that if they take him to work or study, he will deduce all the secrets of the craft from them and run away to create his own company, thereby creating competition for them. As a result, Yegor did not fold his hands and left for the West, as many could have done, but having received several practical lessons from an art university teacher, then he began to create with his own hands, creating 3 furnaces and preparing all the necessary base.

2. The base is glass, of course. Egor buys American, because There are a lot of flowers, it is of high quality, but in Russia everything is bad with this raw material, it is not enough to get it. Glass is purchased either in the form of similar sheets-plates, or in the form of cubes, which, in principle, does not matter, because everything is melted in the oven.

3. Furnaces are perhaps the most important part of the process. There should be at least three of them: a glass-melting furnace, in which a temperature of ~ 1100 degrees Celsius is maintained, a furnace for heating blanks, as well as a furnace for cooling finished products.

4. All 3 ovens are electric, adjustable with this simple panel. By the way, the workshop is located in the building of the Union of Artists, which is cool. In addition to this glass workshop, there are others.

5. The "cuckoo" stove got its name from the sliding doors, resembling a birdhouse))

6. The temperature there is decent, the oven is used to heat the product during operation. You can't get inside, it's hot, but Yegor said that he and his friends put an action camera there, wrapping it in cooling rags, and took some cool photos. Fire!

7. Actually, a long blowing tube, with the help of which all the miracle happens.

8. Liquid glass is taken by a tube from a glass-melting furnace and the process of creating a blank for the product begins. In our case, it's a vase!

9. Very little glass is taken, because in large quantities it is simply not necessary.

10. Then on the metal surface you need to bring the blank to the desired shape.

11. Glass is hot, but meaningfully you can do anything with it, including inflating!

12. Once again, we dip the workpiece into the oven and grab an additional amount of liquid glass, it is necessary to move further to the next oven, in which all the action will take place.

13. Egor goes to the "Cuckoo", in which the glass is blown and maintained in the desired shape.

14. So far, this is just a blank for a vase, that is, transparent glass, on which a layer of colored glass will be applied in the future.

15. Blowing continues until it becomes clear that the blank is ready.

16. Then, when the blank is completely ready, you get any colored glass of your own taste, in our case it is a 4-color blank from which the vase will be created. As you can see, our blank has literally stuck to the multi-colored workpiece and is already being sent to the oven.

17. In order for the ingot and the workpiece to take the desired shape, they must be combined, as it were, by bending the molten glass around the ingot.

18. Bent, now you need to use dental tweezers or any other suitable tool to connect the edges of the workpiece to each other.

19. This is done several times by sending the product to the oven, then folding and joining the edges again, until it becomes clear that the blank and the colored blank are one whole!

20. Using antique scissors, Yegor creates the bottom of a vase, as if squeezing glass.

21. And then what? Further, for a long time and persistently, you need to blow, melt, until you understand that the wall thickness is already necessary. By the way, as you can see, the stove is on gas. One such balloon is enough for 1.5 days on average. Due to the fact that the room is small, there is no way to store gas here, so every couple of days you have to refuel at the nearest gas station.

22. Molding is when a wet newspaper gives the desired shape to an article. The solidified glass spins around the newspaper, cools down, while acquiring the required shape.

23. With some other dental instrument, Yegor applies a pattern to a vase, which we will see shortly)

24. Once again, we need to dip our product into a glass-melting furnace to apply a layer of glass, to give it a glossy finish, and also for strength.

25. And again molding. In general, the process is clear and simple - blow, twist, shape, cool. But at the same time, all this is very difficult, and requires care and experience, which you get by making mistakes and achieving results. As in everything, however. Creative and interesting work, it's not for nothing that Yegor stopped being an office plankton and began to work with his hands, cool.

26. Here, the product with an additional layer of glass, which we have recently applied, is sent back to the oven.

27. It seems that the master realized that it was time to stretch the product. This is done in a rather tricky way - the tube, with a product at the end, quickly spins around its axis, making several turns, thereby stretching to the desired size.

28. Then, to make the neck of the vase, you need to attach such a thing to the bottom (on the left) so that there is something to hold the product for.

29. In the meantime, on the other hand, the future throat of the vase is created with the tongs, as if simply expanding it while the glass is liquid.

30. Going into the oven a few more times, then expanding again, and voila, the elegant neck of the vase is ready!

31. The master and his product. In fact, red is yellow, and pale blue is a color closer to blue. When the product cools down, it will take on the proper colors.

32. It's time to cut that piece from the bottom of the product, we no longer need it.

33. After all, the product is sent to the oven, in which the temperature of +517 degrees is maintained for a long time, and then lower, lower, lower, this is necessary so that the glass gradually cools, otherwise it will simply crack and the product will cease to exist. The vase created with us will reach room temperature in 8-9 hours, but we will not see this)

34. Here, similar to our vase, are already on the stove lid. Diverse, beautiful, one might say - each is unique in its own way. Pay attention to the round gizmos on the bottoms of the vases - these are the remnants of those pieces that were cut off in photo # 32, in order to remove them, Yegor later goes to another workshop, where everything is removed and cleaned by grinding. The vase is ready!

35. Broken pots that were in electric ovens, which fell into disrepair due to the fact that the electricity was cut off in the building, and everything was broken.

36. On the shelves are various figurines and products that were created here.

37. Cars, for example \u003d)

A very cool workshop and Egor is an excellent craftsman who loves his job, enlightens others and is always happy to help. Contact him, every week he leads excursions to his workshop on Okhta, and together with you he will create something interesting to remember that you will take home.

The process begins when a 4-5 pound tube is baked, where the glass is melted at 2200 degrees Fahrenheit (lava temperature).

What is currently impossible to do with your own hands? Whether it's an ordinary craft, a wardrobe item, furniture, and more. How to make glass at home? - It would seem that glass melting is unrealistic. Nothing is impossible in the modern world. The main thing in this business is desire. And in this article you will find a detailed step-by-step algorithm for such an entertaining and interesting lesson as glass is made.

What is known about glass making?

It is known from history that glass-making is a very ancient process. How it's done? In terms of time, refers to approximately the period before 2500 BC. Previously, such a rare and valuable occupation in our time has been replaced by the widespread production of this material.

Glassware is ubiquitous. They are used as containers, household items and decor, insulators, reinforcing fibers and others. Glasses differ only in the constituent material that is used for manufacturing. But the process itself is almost the same.

The main materials that will be needed:

the main element is quartz sand (silicon dioxide);
sodium carbonate or soda;
calcium oxide, it is lime;
glass melting oven;
other salts and oxides that can be used on an individual basis in addition (oxides of aluminum, iron, magnesium, lead and calcium or sodium salts);
protective clothing;
grill;
charcoal;
shapes and other elements for shaping;
refractory crucible.

Methods for making glass using a furnace

The first way to solder glass at home is to use a stove.

Purchase of quartz sand:

This material is the basis for glass production. Glass without iron impurities has its own advantages - it is light. The same cannot be said about the glass in which it is present. It will give green.
It is important to put on a mask before starting work. Quartz sand is fine-grained and easily gets into the nasal cavity and further into the lungs. This, in turn, will irritate the throat.
You can easily buy quartz sand in a specialized online store. Its cost is low.

Important! The cost of the approximate amount that will be needed will be around $ 20. e. In the future, you can buy it up to a ton, the approximate cost of which will be $ 100. e. This is if you plan to work on an industrial scale.

It happens that it is not so easy to find high-quality sand, and there are more impurities in it. Dont be upset. In this case, manganese dioxide will come to the rescue. It should be added in a small amount. If your idea is glass with a greenish tint, then absolutely nothing needs to be done. Leave it as it is.

Adding carbonate and calcium oxide:

In this case, carbonate lowers the temperature of industrial glass production. At the same time, it causes corrosion of the glass with the participation of water. To avoid this, it is necessary to additionally introduce lime or calcium oxide into the glass.
For the resistance of glass, oxides of magnesium or aluminum are used. As a rule, these inclusions make up a small percentage of the glass composition. The figure is approximately 26-30 percent.

Adding other chemical elements:

This method of making decorative glass at home requires the use of lead oxide. It gives shine to crystal, its low hardness, makes it available for cutting, gives a low temperature of melt formation.
Lanthanum oxide can be found in eyeglass lenses. It has a refractive property.
As for lead crystal, it can contain up to 33 percent lead oxide.

Important! The more lead, the more dexterity it takes to shape the molten glass. On this basis, many glassblowers prefer less of it.

Iron impurities in quartz glass give it a green tint. In this case, iron oxide is added to increase the greenish tint. This also applies to copper oxide.
Yellow, amber, and even black can be obtained using a sulfur compound. It all depends on the amount of carbon or iron added to the glass batch.

The main stages of glass production:

Place the batch in a temperature-resistant crucible. The latter must be as resistant as possible to the temperature that will be in the oven. It can vary from 1500 to 2500 degrees. It depends on the additives.

Important! There is another important requirement for the crucible - it must be such that it can be easily fixed with metal tongs.

Melt the mixture to a liquid consistency. For industrial silicate glass, this can be done in a gas-fired oven.

Important! There are also electric, muffle and pot furnaces. Special glass can be made in them. Please note that quartz and sand, which do not contain additional impurities, turn into a glassy state when the temperature in the oven is 2500 degrees Celsius. If sodium carbonate is added to the contents, this is ordinary soda, then the temperature will drop to 1500 degrees.

Monitor the consistency of the glass carefully. It is important to remove all bubbles from it in a timely manner. This can be achieved with regular stirring until a uniform consistency. It is also necessary to add one of the elements - sodium chloride, sodium sulfate or antimony oxide.
Shape the glass. To do this, use one of the listed methods.
The simplest thing is to pour the glass melt into a mold and wait until it cools down. A variety of optical lenses are created using this method. Earlier this method was used by the Egyptians.
Place the finished molten glass in the bathtub, which contains molten tin. The latter acts as a substrate. Next, you need to blow it with compressed nitrogen to shape or polish. Another way is to collect the required amount of glass at the end of the hollow pipe and blow it out by turning the pipe.

Important! Glass made by this method is called float glass. It has been produced since the early 1950s.

We leave the glass to cool. It is important to place it in a place where it will not be damaged, water, dust or, for example, leaves will not spoil it. Be aware that it will crack on contact with cold objects.
The final action of this method to make glass at home will be glass annealing. This heat treatment method will give strength to the material. When using it, all point sources of stress that can be encountered during glass cooling will be removed.

Important! Upon completion of this work, additional coatings can be applied to the glass to increase durability and strength. Can also be laminated.

Glass that is not annealed is less durable.
As for the temperature for the final work, it depends on the exact composition of the glass - from 400 to 550 degrees Celsius.
The cooling rate of the glass depends on the size. Large glass items must be cooled slowly. With small things, things are faster.

A method of making glass using a brazier

The second way to make glass at home is a charcoal brazier. Let's take everything step by step in this case.

Equipment for work

First you need to make a stove. A barbecue grill is perfect for this. It is important that it be heated with charcoal. In this case, in order to melt quartz sand into glass, heat is used, which produces coal during combustion. Again, the cost of this material is not too high. They are widely available.

Important! Use the grill in a standard size. Better if it is in the form of a dome. The main qualities that he must have are the presence of thick walls and good strength. If your grill has a ventilation hole, usually at the bottom, you need to open it.

However, there may be some minor obstacles to this method. Even if there are very high temperature numbers, it is not always possible to melt it with ease. To do this, before starting the process, you need to add lime, borax or washing soda to the sand. The amount of additives should not exceed ⅓-of the volume of sand.

Important! Remember that these additives will significantly lower the melting point of the sand.

Glass formatting

Prepare a long, hollow metal tube for blowing glass. In order to pour glass, you need a mold. It should be tight and should not melt from hot glass. Use graphite, for example.

Important! When using this method, it must be remembered that the grill is heated much higher than its normal heating. It is possible that the grill itself may melt. Therefore, when making glass in this way, you need to carefully and responsibly perform all actions. Neglect can lead to serious injury or even death.

Security measures:

Place a large amount of sand and a fire extinguisher near the work area.
All work must be done outdoors.
The floor must be concrete, for example.
When melting the glass, stay away from the grill to protect yourself and your clothes from high temperatures.
Remember to wear protective clothing. These are fire-resistant clothing, oven mitts, a high-strength apron over clothing, and a welding mask.
Also in this method you will need a vacuum cleaner. It will act as a coal blower. We arrange it as follows: we carry the body to a sufficient distance. We fix the hose to the ventilation hole, which is located below. It may need to be bent to give the desired shape. You can fix it to one of the grill legs. The hose must be secured firmly and not move.

Important! If the opposite happened, then in no case approach him, because he is very hot. Next, you need to turn off the vacuum cleaner and see the position of the hose. It should point exactly to the vent.

Operating procedure:

Place the charcoal on the inside of the grill. It is necessary to put it two or even three times more than for baking meat. It's good if it is filled almost to the brim.

Important! Use hardwood charcoal. It burns faster and better than briquetted one.

Place a cast iron container or crucible filled with sand in the middle of the bowl.
Carefully examine the packaging for the charcoal used. Light it up in a suitable way. There is coal that is ignited directly by itself, and there is a material for which a liquid is used to ignite. Wait for the flame to spread evenly.
Wait until the coal is ready for further work. The readiness of the coals can be determined by the color. They will be orange.
The next step is to turn on the vacuum cleaner. This is necessary in order for the coal to be blown through.

Important! Coal exposed to air flow can reach very high temperatures. Up to about 1100 degrees Celsius. This must be taken into account when near the oven. Upward flares may appear from it.

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