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Chance Brothers: Research into this famous company

  • Thread starter Thread starter Last Chance
  • Start date Start date
Hi Last Chance, I stumbled on this site by accident. For your info., my mother (Madge Jones) was the nursing sister in charge of Chance Bros medical centre, Spon Lane, Smethwick until her 2nd marriage in 1966 which was to Edwin (Ted) Richards who was a glass manager @ Spon Lane having sold his family glass business to Chance Bros some years before.
Ted went into farming in Welford upon Avon prior to marrying my mother. He died in 1984 but my mother is still going strong @ 93 years.
Somewhere in my loft I have extensive correspondance between Ted & Sir Hugh Chance as well as hand written formulae for several of the glass processes that were later developed. Good luck with your research etc.
 
Hi and many thanks for the information! In fact, I was told by Tony Cartwright (your mother may remember him) that Ted might have owned W E Chance & Co. Ltd, which may have been sold to him in 1923 after W E Chance's death (at 99!) This was then sold onto Chance around 1950? I was trying to close down that thread of research so this might help given the correspondence between Sir Hugh and Ted. But if not W E Chance & Co. then it would be very useful to learn the name of your step-father's company.

So if you wanted to contact me off-board, feel free to visit my web site at www.chanceglass.net and send a mail from there. I really would like to see the paperwork you have - there could be some hidden gems!

Regards,
David
 
A question for anyone who knows about glass making please! Does anyone know the name of the thing you carry glass around on, say to the Lehr/annealing over - a rod with a flat ?wooden part on the end - a bit like you would use for a pizza oven? I would be very happy to learn this if anyone knows. Many thanks, Annie
 

Maybe this will help?​

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Steps (How To Make Glass Art At Home Or In Studio)​

When you break it down, the process of glass making is simple and tends to follow these steps:

  • Create a pile of molten glass by mixing some ingredients (usually filtered sand, potash, soda ash, and limestone, but other ingredients may be used as well, depending on the object you’re trying to make);
  • When this mix has reached its melting point (usually 2000 °F, or 1100 °C) collect some of it with the help of a special rod called the blowpipe, by dipping it (multiple times if needed) into the pile of molten glass. How much you gather on your blowpipe depends on what you are trying to create, so 2 or more gatherings may be needed if you’re working on more complex objects which require a bigger quantity of glass;
  • After you’ve gathered enough molten glass on your blowpipe you blow air into the newly gathered dollop while constantly rotating the blowpipe on the marver. This continuous spinning of the blowpipe on the marver, combined with blowing air into the chunk of molten glass allows you to create a very basic shape of what you want, whether it’s a vase, bowl, mug, or an abstract object. In this step you can also tweak the shape of your object by pulling at the glass with specialized tools;
  • (Optional) If you wish to create colorful objects now is the time to do it. At this point in the shaping and air blowing process artists usually add colors to their objects, creating visually pleasing pieces. Adding colors can be accomplished through several different techniques that allow you can create thousands of different hues and textures;
  • When the desired shape has been achieved, and the colors have been added in, the next step is to transfer the shaped glass onto a different rod (which is usually made of graphite, or stainless steel). This special rod serves quite a few purposes, depending on the project you’re working on, but most of the time it allows you to work on the top of your piece by keeping the bottom stuck to the rod. This tool also facilitates the creation of handles, and adding decorations to your object;
  • After all of these steps have been done correctly the piece of glass is then inserted into the glory hole for further heating (reheating the object in the glory hole will keep it from breaking or shattering) and to be prepared for the final stages;
  • The final stages include adding last minute details or shapes to the glass, adding handles (if you’re creating vases for example), and other decorations;
  • Lastly, the finalized piece is then inserted into a special oven where it’s gradually being cooled down to avoid breaking.
Glass Blowing Art
This is, in a nutshell, how glassblowing works. However, depending on the piece you’re making other simpler, or more complex tasks will be included in the basic process, or adjusted according to the specific techniques used in creating that particular object.

Additionally, other ingredients may be also included in the basic setup, or added as an extra, as some projects need a different setup, require different supplies, or a different sequence of tasks to be performed.
 
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