Homer Laughlin Machines

Homer laughlin from David Williams on Vimeo.

Homer Laughlin makes ceramic houseware including the popular Fiesta Dinnerware.
They use many machines in producing their product. Answer the following questions.

1. How does machinary affect the cost of the items why? (hint: time is money)
2. How does machinary affect employment?
3. Why do you think some people during the Industrial Revolution feared technology?
4.  What safety items did you notice?
5. Why might someone want handmade items over machine made?
6. Why would people want machine made over handmade?
7. What are the positives of machinary?
8. What are the negatives of machinary?

Day 6

Today we blew Christmas ornaments.
1. Glass taken from furnace
2. Glass put in colors in my case green and yellow
3. Glass reheated and rolled on table. Because glass cools on metal table the difference in temperature makes the glass swirl
4. Then the end is snipped off
5 One person sits and uses the jacks, large tweezer like tool too start making a ridge where glass will be cut off. The other person blows the glass to fill ornament up with air.
6 It is heated again and this time you squeeze hard with jacks
7. you take the glass over to landing area and hit metal rod and glass falls off where jacks had been used.
8 then a small piece of molten glass is added and twisted to make place for hanger

Day 5

We started day at Carnegie Museum and looked at many exhibits the most interesting one was the one on Arabia. They had a sculpture of a horse that looked like it had a bridle. Horses had not been domesticated at the time the sculpture was made.I would have taken picture but it was not allowed.
What does this mean?
It may mean nothing. It could have been a flaw in the sculpture. It could of been something the carver observed but was not man made like a bridle.
It might mean that there needs to be more research to see if there are other artifacts that confirm that horses had been domestiacted be it writing art or whatever.  History can change when more information is found but one carving nomatter how much it seems to tell a new story is not proof of anything it must be confirmed with other artifacts and the Arabian story is just starting to be discovered there is a lot of work still to do and maybe history will be changed or not but it will be interesting what we can learn about Arabia.

 Next we went to Phipps Conservatory. It mixed plants from around the world with glass.
The glass is beautiful and fits in nicely with the flowers.
It showed the versatility of glass and the beauty.  The glas is brightly colored like the flowers and can evoke emotion like flowers. A Mammoth made out of glass had been added this year watch video to see how it was done. Not only did they have flowers and animals in glass but they had vases and humanlike forms. It was very interesting to see the meshing of nature and manmade beauty.

Day 4

Today we went to Mosser Glass. They make pressed glass or pattern glass. The glass is poured into an iron mold then the glass is pushed into the mold to fill mold. the mold is then removed and opened. it comes out with a pattern on it.some pieces like the pitcher need top edge  heatedin a furnace and spun so a spout can become pliable to form by hand. Then it is put through a a oven for 3 hours to drop temperature. Why would they use a oven to cool down

day 3



Jimmy Buffet Plates

Jimmy Buffet Plates



decal

handpainted

 Homer Laughlin makes dinnerware their most famous brand is Fiesta Dinnerware. It is located in 1907.It employs over 1000 employees but at one time employed 4000. Their customers inlude restaurants every day people, the Federal Government (army, navy marines, and airforce) and stores like Macy's. They have 31 colors 16 that are in use now. They service the middle and upper end of the food service industry. Some of the important ingredients used are ball clay, kaolin clay, feldspar and alumina. They also use inorganic dyes because organic dyes wouldn't take heat. Clay and other ingredients are mixed together in a mix called a slip. They can clean the clay this way and send it throughout the factory. then the water is squeezed out to be able to form the dinnerware.They use 4 processes to form the dinnerware: Jiggering, ram pressing, drain casting and pressure casting.Plates can be painted by machine, by hand or have a decal applied. The decal does not come off because it is glazed and heated.  The type of China made is called vitrified china because it absorbs less than0.5% water absorption.



Day 2

First we went to paul Wissmach Glass.The company got its start in 1903.They make sheet glass used as stain glass and art glass. They made wire glass and glass numbers but no longer do They can make 5000 colors and tints.and 18 different patterns.Their biggest oversea custmers are in the mideast especially the United Arab Emirites.
It is 120 degrees on floor. It takes glass 40 minutes to get from one end to the other Every 26 seconds there is a new pour of glass.It goes 120 feet and when through it is still warm to touch. The glass is thin and32inches by 84 inches. Everything is cooled by water and water creates a steam barrier so glass does not stick.
The process in video.
1. Carts called ladles are rolled to furnace and collects glass and brings to table. and pour.
2 Glass is folded with paddles
3. molten glass push to roller. As it rolls out flat surface comes out so it has flat piece of glass on it.
4. Allowed to cool for very short time a long slim tool is used to make sure it is not sticking by running it between glass and surface then it is push on conveyer belt
5. At end of belt it is removed and cut




Wismach from David Williams on Vimeo.

Day 1

Our day started at Gabbert Cullet.Gabbert Cullet takes glass and recycles it. They divide the glass by color by hand and by size by a shaker machine and sell it to art glass makers. Ruby and orange are the most expensive. Glass blowers like clear gas also.  The mixed pile goes to make marbles for paint cans.  Unfortunately glassmaking is moving overseas to places like China.  China makes cheap glass that is acceptable to most but not the same quality.







Making a paper weight
1. First you put on safety clothes
2. Put a hollow rod into the clear molten glass it is hard to see the glasss you look for when you see the reflection and then spin the rod. It pulls the glass onto the rod like taffy.
3. Pull out of oven continuing to spin. then flatten glass in first colored glass. Turn ove and flatten other side in second color. romove spin
4. Put the glass in oven to melt color glass into the clear glass. Continue to spin
take to bench let glass sag then turn over. When glass falls to even grab withwet  tweezers to press middle together. Flip and do again on same mark.
5 Reheat then grab end with tweezers. roll rod to twist the glass. roll and let cool till tweezers can be removed
6. Put into clear glass furnce and add clear glad to outside quit rotating
7. Roll in block. Blocks look squarish with cut out opening is rounded. Kind of like a weird spoon made of cherry wood.  The wood is dipped in water and the glass rolled in it to round glass into sphere shape
8. Heat up ball of glass. Take jacks( large tweezer looking things) and crease by squeezing glass at rod. Cool a little..
9.Get knife and saw the creaseto score glass
10. Take rod and glass glass at bottom to jar with pad on top. hold an inch above. bang rod glass will fall off onto pad.
11. Heat top with blow torch. Press glass down with wood paddle to flatten side for base.
12. Look it over.  Put in kiln that starts at 900 degrees and overnight will slowly lose heat. in morning you have a paperweight.
Glass Day1 from David Williams on Vimeo.