Raw Glass?

DevilDog812

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Nov 3, 2010
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i live near the Schuylkill river, where an old glass factory used to be. in the waters right next to it, there are huge chunks of what i can only call 'raw glass'. theyre just shapeless chunks of greenish-blue glass that looks like it was dumped into the water hot, because it has algae and bubbles in it. is it anything special or pretty normal? ill need to wait until spring to get some for pictures though
 

duffytrash

Bronze Member
Jun 10, 2006
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ohio river
that would be called cullet....get some hunks for your lawn deco....people do buy that stuff...maybe a landscaper would be interested in some of it!!!if you can recover lots of it hawk it at a flea mkt...
 

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DevilDog812

DevilDog812

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Nov 3, 2010
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duffytrash said:
that would be called cullet....get some hunks for your lawn deco....people do buy that stuff...maybe a landscaper would be interested in some of it!!!if you can recover lots of it hawk it at a flea mkt...

thanks, that looks exactly like it. why would it have algae in it though? i would think it would have to have been cooled off in the river or with river water, but it is very jagged instead of rounded. also, would it having a pearly tint to the green make it any different?
 

duffytrash

Bronze Member
Jun 10, 2006
1,143
197
ohio river
glass houses would emerse the hot glass in water to get it to fracture and break up...it would leave internal fractures,too...the shards of glass can be very sharp and heavy gloves are need top handle it....sometimes reheated glass is used for base glass and color added to the mix...its all very com[plicated and the recipes are closly guarded and some never wrtitten down at all..thats why some colors in old glassware cannot be duplicated...as the formula went to the great beyond by the glasier...to get it to desired sizes it could then be put in tumblers that beat the glass and break it up more...did you know that fiberglass uses marbles in the manafacture...the 1 inch marbles are called ingots then and heated to a specfic temp then the fibers of glass are streatched off the ingots...
 

Marbleguy

Sr. Member
Nov 2, 2008
300
12
Aim a blacklight at it..

It's possible the green glass might be Depresion Era uranium glass with a 2% or 3% uranium content which under UV light makes it glow like a nuclear reactor. Pretty stuff.
 

Nightowl 280

Full Member
Oct 16, 2010
108
1
land o lakes fl
I sold my chunk of slag glass/rock glass at the flea market for $20 bucks . Mineral rock glass lump wise the fleamarket has been pretty good . Might be worth collecting some if you access . It hits alot of different groups of collectors and decorators . Back ground also helps to up pricing .
 

root

Sr. Member
Feb 25, 2005
269
0
Southeastern Pa.
Hey DevilDog..

Does the Schuykill River run anywhere near Kensington? There was as glasshouse in Kensington at one time. It was established by Dr. Thomas Dyott and produced some beautiful pictorial and commemorative flasks. I live about 15. west of the river. Howabout you?

HH,
root
 

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DevilDog812

DevilDog812

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root said:
Hey DevilDog..

Does the Schuykill River run anywhere near Kensington? There was as glasshouse in Kensington at one time. It was established by Dr. Thomas Dyott and produced some beautiful pictorial and commemorative flasks. I live about 15. west of the river. Howabout you?

HH,
root

looks like it does. the place where i find the piles of glass in the water are literally right across the street from where a glass factory was though. i live less than a mile from the river, its right down the street
 

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