[Newspaper]
Publication: The Pittsburg Dispatch
Pittsburgh, PA, United States
vol. 46, p. 12, col. 3
SCIENTIFIC ODDITIES.
An Ancient Process of Glass Making
Brought to Light Again.
TUBING FOR ELECTRIC CONDUITS.
The Vast Power That Is Stored Up in the
Falls of Niagara.
A NEW USE IS FOUND FOR BROWN COAL
During the year that has just closed there has been perfected an invention at Pendleton, Ind., about which but little has been said, but which is destined to prove of inestimable value in the commercial world. In searching the ruins of ancient Pompeii some years ago the searchers came across glass or porcelain tubes, and with this discovery ended all knowledge of a lost art until some three years ago, when a New York man conceived the idea of manufacturing glass into tubes and pipes. Going to Pendleton to gain the advantages of the deposits of glass sand and also of natural gas, he set to work to develop the idea he had conceived to give to commerce an article hitherto unknown. Success has crowned his efforts, and within the next two months glass molded in various forms of pipes, jars, vases, etc., will be on the market.
The invention includes the making of glass into electric conduits, gas and water mains, sewer and closet pipes; also into fruit and butter jars, vases, tombstones, statuary, and various other articles for ornamental uses. The first-named, however, is meant to be the principal article manufactured, and its mode of manufacture is both simple and unique. The glass is first melted in an ordinary tank furnace, from which it is removed in ladles to the molds. These consist of an iron tube, whose inside diameter is just equal to the outside diameter of the tube desired to be cast; divided perpendicularly into two equal parts, and joined by hinges on one side and a latch and handle on the other. The mold is closed and the latch fastened, and then molten glass is poured in at the top until the mold is full; plungers, the size of the bores desired, are now applied from above and below simultaneously and the bore forced into the mass of glass; there being no avenue of escape for the glass forced out of place by the plungers it is compressed into the barrel of the tube, giving it a remarkable degree of solidity. The plungers are withdrawn, the mold opened, and the glass tube moved to the tempering oven, where it is carefully tempered, according to the use to which it is to be applied.
Tubes ranging from 2 inches to 4 feet bore diameter are cast in this same manner, in sections varying from 2 to 3 feet in length. The other articles are cast in much same way, differing only to suit the shape of the desired article. The uses to which these are applied are various, but the main object is for conduits for placing electric wires under ground. Glass being the best non-conductor known, and also impervious to the action of acid or the elements, is eminently fitted for the use to which it is to be put.
