BarryN
331
Winding a glass spring
Nov 10, 2001,06:18 AM
Glass is amazing stuff!
I've been around the art glass scene for the last 35+ years, a buddy is a very successful glassblower.
He's doing big cast pieces now, he batches and pours 1 1/2 tons of glass 3 times a week doing lots of architectural stuff. He has the largest private glass furnace in the world.
I've done what Tom describes above, pulled glass 'cane' by running the 25+ meter length of the studio, crazy fun but you end up with a straight strand.
A spring could be easily wound by using a technique glass people call 'Lampwork'
Because of it's size I doubt it would be made using the hot glass method, ie: using gathered glass on a puntie.
I haven't read the Horological Journal articles (wish I could) but would imagine that the springs were made by chucking a graphite rod in a lathe, the diameter of the rod being the ID of the spring wanted.
With the rod turning in the lathe, the glassblower would use a torch and heat a glass rod until it's molten on the end, the molten end would be wrapped around the turning graphite rod and then keeping the glass rod end in the torch flame a thread is just pulled out as many turns as you wanted.
When cool, the coils are slipped off the rod and you break off the length you want, using a small torch to make end modifications if needed.
The glass spring would be small enough to not require annealing.
Graphite is used because it doesn't leave 'chill marks' on the glass as anything metal would.
As mentioned, installing it in a clock/watch is the hard part!
Barry
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Winding a glass spring
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