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Glass lathes are available as bench or floor models. The head stock
(left) is fixed, and usually houses the main controls (on/off, rotational
speed). The tail stock (right) moves towards or away from the head stock
by way of the larger wheel pictured. This movement is used to gather or
take away glass during the fabrication process. The tail stock moves on
rails (or ways) that maintain extremely accurate alignment with the
head stock. |
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This is a view of the lathe spindle - found in both the head and tail
stock. The spindles rotate evenly with each other. The spindle bore
size is much larger than spindle bores found on metal or woodworking
lathes. Glassblowing lathe capacity is partially determined by the size
of the glass tubing able to pass through the spindle |
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This photo shows the clamping end of the chucks, which are attached
to the spindles. These ends are referred to as "doughnuts". The small insert
in the lower right corner shows a standard set of doughnuts holding a flask.
The main photo shows an improved version - longer in length and with a
series of grooves. The grooves are aligned in such a way as to allow full
closure, holding much smaller diameters of glass tubing. |
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Working with a lathe may mean working on larger glass. This may translate
into more heat generation and the need to remove it and any possible outgassing
by-products. Canopy hoods can aid in the removal of the heat and gases,
and serve well as additional holding or staging places for the glassblowers
tools. |
