Production of Lamberts mouth-blown glass

Mouth-blown glass is produced for almost 100 year at theLamberts factory in Germany, Waldsassen. The production proces of mouth-blown glass is still the same, in this article we explain the production proces. 

The transparant sand for Lamberts Mouth-blown glass

Melted at high temperatures, quartz sand, sodium carbonate and limestone become completely clear glass after cooling. A batch having been entirely opaque before, changes into one of the most fascinating materials: coloured glass.

After the mixing process the batch is loaded into ceramic pots to be melted in special ovens. The deciding factors of the mix are the structure desired, the colour and the style for the mouth-blown glass. 

The secret of Lamberts glass colours

The melting masters at Lamberts are familiar with all the formulas indispensable for the glass production process. They adjust the colours of the molten glass as required to guarantee the shade of colour desired.

Through the addition of iron, copper, nickel and other metal alloys as well as silver and gold Glashütte Lamberts has created an almost unlimited palette of colours. Their consistency changes through nuances in tone or shade. No other material has a more varied range of possibilities as glass.

Colour samples are taken to confirm their tone matches in colour to the shade required. Such conformity is the prerequisite of any further processing. 

Lamberts glass: from starter to cutter

The glass undergoes a refining process overnight and is prepared for the most important and most difficult stage of processing: the blowing of glass.

In the Lmberts factory each of the ovens is operated by four teams. A team is comprised of the starter, the assistant and the master.
The blowpipe is dipped into the pot by the starter and kept constantly rotating thus gathering the molten glass onto the end of the pipe. He repeats this procedure several times until the quantity required has been reached. By means of spinning and simultaneous blowing the starter works the “gather” through the different wooden molds to give the Lamberts glass the appropriate shape.

The gather of molten glass spinning in the mold is slightly inflated by the starter who finally passes
the blowpipe on to the master. While rotating the balloon in the steel trough the master continues to blow it to full size thus giving it the desired shape and structure.

The red-hot balloon is cut open at the front end and dilated by means of the scissors and “fork”.

From Cylinder to Lamberts Sheet glass

The same procedure takes place at the other end after heating up the balloon again. In this way a well-proportioned glass cylinder comes into existence. The cylinder is placed in an annealing oven to remove any inherent tensions. At the end of this most important part of the production process, the finished cylinder must undergo quality control. Only then does the cutter score the cylinder lengthwise.

Now the scored glass cylinder is heated again, layed open and flattened. [16]. The wave-like sheet is ironed out by means of a special wooden tool. The flattened glass sheet travels on a continuous belt through a second long annealing oven thus losing any remaining inherent tension. The result is a beautiful cutting glass.

After this annealing procedure each and every sheet must pass another quality inspection. Now the sheet is finished.

Pfann-GBB is the Lamberts dealer fot the Netherlands and Belgium. All Lamberts mouth-blown glass colours are in stock.

Also visit the Lamberts website and take a look at  mouth-blown-glass.