Alexander kept a light smiling face as he got the glassmakers’ feedback and praise, while his mind drifted to ways he could sell this glass.
And once the glassmakers finished, he decided then got to the point of why he was here, “Okay, let me see you guys make something, and in the process, I will show you how each of the tools are used. Some are quite obtuse to look at and their purposes might not be obvious at first glance.”
“Yes, yes, master. We also have a question on one or two of them..so,” Gajopk quickly agreed and then led Alexander to one of the many furnaces burning hot and bright, hot ashes escaping through the chimney.
Then under Alexander’s curious gaze, using his blowpipe, he spun it to twirl the molten glass around it and the took out a ball of molten glass from the crucible, at last bringing it to his station.
This station was just a chair between the two raised rails, where the glassmaker would put his pipe on them, allowing it to freely roll forward and backward.
After bringing the glass ball to his station, Gajopk then started to blow some comparatively cool air into the tube, pushing it into the glass and causing the trapped air then to heat up and expand, making the glass blow up as well.
Alexander keenly noticed there was not much huffing and puffing with the blowing, something that was also emphasized even in his previous life, while being also impressed that the man could keep such an immaculate mustache doing such work.
‘Should I ask for his hair routine?’ The baby-faced Alexander mused with amusement, lamenting that a single hair was yet to grow on his face.
Seeing Gopajk that prepared the glass dough for him, Alexander asked for the blowpipe, “Here, let me show you how to do the rest,” as he intended to show how to use the new tools by shaping this semi-molten glass.
Alexander himself was a novice at this, having only seen how glass was shaped and never having actually made a glass product before,
So this was like him reading a cookbook and thinking he could cook.
But Alexander was fine with that.
Because his goal was not to show them how to a beautiful glass piece but to show when and how to use the various tools.
So even if the end product is horrendous, as long as the glassmakers learn what was the purpose of the different weirdly shaped tools, the lesson would be a success.
If they wanted to master the use of each tool, they could then hone their craft over the next few years and perhaps even find new uses for it.
Or develop entirely new ones.
All these thoughts made Alexander very excited to think about what his glass industry would look like in the next decade.
But Alexander was getting ahead of himself and soon bought himself back to earth.
And so he showed them the first technique,
“I’m sure you have done this but this technique of making glass products is called mold casting.” Alexander started and then placed the molten glass inside a nearby prepared clay mold of a bowl and started to blow on it.
Alexander had instructed the mold to be made of durable material, and was thus made with baked clay but sometimes wood or if one was feeling like spending money metal could also be used.
It could be opened in half to let the molten glass in and the product out and had a small hole on one side for the insertion of the blowpipe.
And although this particular mold was simple and undecorated, many of them could be designed quite intricately shaped and decorated, with the designs usually carved into the mold in negative, so that on the glass they appeared in relief.
A mold could be used multiple times, though it did have a finite life span and could be utilized only until the decoration deteriorated or it broke and was discarded.
After Alexander inserted the molten glob of glass, he blew into it, inflating it to adopt the shape and pattern carved therein, thus making, in case a small bowl, the same they showed to Alexander sometime ago.
He then quickly removed the vessel from the mold and bought it to Gajopk’s station, placing the blowpipe on the rails and rolling it back and forth.
As he did this, Alexander continued to work the glass while still it was hot and malleable, using an almost all-purpose forming tool called the jacks, which looked like a giant pair of tweezers to make the rim by rolling the glob of glass against the flat part of the tweezes and even adding a handle by pulling some of the glass from the top side and bringing it down to the bottom.
“This tool is called the jacks and you are to master it,” Alexander said as used the butt of the tweezers to make wave-like patterns on the rim, and then continued, “Because it will earn you your bread and butter.” .𝗰𝗼𝗺
Though it was Alexander’s first time, he found the process very intuitive, like he could feel the current malleability of the glass and how much force he would have to give to deform it to just the right amount.
And so he remarked, ‘Well, it looks like I missed by natural calling, haha.’
And then jokingly said to himself, ‘Well, looks like I will not starve even if I lose Zanzan.’
Afterward, Alexander showed another tool, a large pair of shears, that he used to cut the handle off the bowl.
And then showed the last piece of equipment that confused Gajopk and the others, a wooden semicircular shaped mold with a long hand that was always kept in water.
“If you think your entire shape is ruined, then use this wooden mold to return the glass to its original shape by rolling it around on it,” Alexander did so as he explained, turning the glass bowl into its previous blob shape, making it look like an incandescent light bulb.
“And that’s basically all the tools.” At last finished, Alexander then gestured Gajopk to return this glass piece to the furnace while also saying, “And if you feel like you have a tool on mind that can help shape the glass better, feel free to tell me or Gajopk or Takfiz.”
This produced a few nods and promises from the worker, after which Alexander stated, “There’s also a variation on this process, called “pattern molding. In that process, the gob of hot glass is first partly inflated into the mold to adopt its carved pattern and then removed from the mold and free-blown into its final shape.”
“So, if any one of you want to do that, you can,” Alexander encouraged.
And feeling he had finished everything he had to say, he said his final words. “Well, that’s all there is to glassmaking, You can make various things out of glass by shaping them and can make bigger things by attaching hot bits of glass to each other, and then working them with cool metal tools.”
“Easy right?” Alexander gave a playful laugh, which drew some wry chuckles.
And after done with all these, Alexander looked out to see dusk was imminent and so excused the glassmakers, who all were eager for supper.
“Gajopk, a word, please,” Alexander gestured for the short man to follow him outside the shed and once there. Alexander smiled and smiled, “I am very pleased with the current quality of the products. You have learned the new techniques very quickly, I’m impressed.”
“All by the grace of the lord,” The glassmaker humbly bowed.
“Mmm, I will give you two more months to further refine your techniques and get used to the new tools.” Alexander said and then accurately set the deadline, “We are approaching November now and so, you must to ready before January.”
“No problem, master. Two months is a lot of time. And I assure you by then our products will not disappoint you,” The glassmaker promised.
“Okay. I will be counting on you,” Alexander lightly smiled, further adding, “We will specialize in cups, goblets, and figurines at first. I will give you some designs later to practice on. And so be sure that you have mastered these products by December.”
“As you command master.” Gajopk obediently nodded, and then quickly inquired, “Master, which flux do you want us to use?”
Alexander thought back to the three bowls, and then with a light smile answered, “We will make glass using all three of the fluxes, with the prices varying accordingly.”
Naturally the cleaner, clearer glass would be more expensive.
As Gajopk nodded, Alexander bid his goodbye, adding at the last moment, “And if you need anything tell me or Takfiz. And if you want to recruit more people, prioritize potters. Their hand dexterity can be used in glass making too.”
“Yes, master,” After saying this, Gajopk was excused, and thus, the glass workshop tour ended.