Talk:Float glass

Lead float glass?
So, I seem to recall (and it's briefly mentioned) that there was a prior float glass method, utilizing lead. Unfortunately, this is the only article on float glass (since the bulk of the information is not in an article on the Pilkington process, with this as a redirect). I'd like the other methods of float glass put into this article. And/or this article separated out to discuss the various methods independently. ~ender 2011-07-28 19:13:PM MST

Historical development
"Float glass became a goal after the American Civil War and was finally developed in separate processes about the time of World War I" - No. It was invented by Sit Alaister Pilkington in the 1950s.

Pilkington's is a continuous process, that does not require the tin to be cooled, and the chamber to be opened. It's the first production line of float glass. Small pieces of high quality glass, such as telescope lenses, had be made by float methods many years beforehand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.244.85.10 (talk) 09:56, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Glass factory website www.cardinalcorp.com

The article states that iron oxide is used in the production of float glass but it does not specify which kind or if it does not matter. It might be helpful to include that.

Valerie 21:46, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I would like to write an article on the actual float bath and float bath process, eventually including the melting furnace, bath, lear, cutting and packing, batch plant, mixing station, etc. I am new to Wiki, as a contributor; is this something to be a separate article? I fear adding a reasonable description of the float process would take up a greater amount of space than the current article on float glass it’s self. --Horseatingweeds 02:09, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

So who cares! I've read plenty of "derivative" entries that are longer than the "parent" article, it's not an important consideration, and, in a way, it's natural - the "spin off" articles usually provide more detail (and that's lacking a bit in this one). Go ahead and do it (with some good diagrams, if poss.!) - but watch your English - "it's self" above should be "itself", and "eventually" should probably be "possibly" - are you French or German, perhaps - in those languages, "eventuel" means "possible" or "possibly", and it probably does in a few other languages that I don't speak!Maelli (talk) 08:08, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Cooling lehr
Need we go beyond http://www.google.com/search?q=cooling+lehr in establishing a definition for lehr? For that matter, I like what pops up at http://www.answers.com/lehr. But no matter how you slice it, it slows down the reading to have search separately on an unfamiliar term.

--C-U RPCV 22:18, 16 May 2007 (UTC) It does not seem to be possible to edit higher on the talk page. Now that tin costs several thousand dollars per ton, I suspect, new float glass factories are rarely being built. Other methods of making glass need to detailed in this or separate articles. Ccpoodle 03:26, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

US' inferior process
I removed this sentence from the History section: This inferior process continued to be used in the US for some time after the UK invented float glass manufacture. Because If anyone can revert it back into something useful, by all means...99.241.176.150 (talk) 23:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * it seems to just exist to make a jab at the US
 * the UK didn't invent a glass manufacture (a (group of) individuals did), which further makes this seem like a pointless attempt to glorify the UK
 * it doesn't say anything useful (even if the US started using float glass later, it doesn't quantify that, rather it just says "some time")

Photo
We need a photo of the process in action. It's hard to imagine. 173.9.52.69 (talk) 18:59, 29 May 2009 (UTC) We don't just need a photo of the process in action, we need a (maybe animated) diagram, and we also need more details of the plant - I find this article a typical example of the lack of detail found in English-language entries compared to, say, the German equivalent - I'm British, but I read and speak fluent German. "a bath of tin" is a bit vague - what about the construction of the bath, how is the tin kept molten, why tin, how does the bath withstand the heat; etc., etc.85.181.249.206 (talk) 14:35, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, a photo or diagram is sorely needed. An animation would be great. JKeck (talk) 23:21, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

"Resulting in windows divided by transoms into rectangular panels"
The 'cylinders' were 6 to 8 feet (180 to 240 cm) long and 10 to 14 inches (25 to 36 cm) in diameter

I note that the given dimensions would produce panels of about six foot square, which seems large enough for any ordinary window to be made from a single pane, so this doesn't really add up as the reason to divide the window with transoms. Card Zero (talk) 03:29, 14 January 2023 (UTC)

“Passes through a Lehrer kiln for approximately 100 m”
Minutes or meters? 173.79.209.155 (talk) 03:50, 11 January 2024 (UTC)


 * I'm inclined to think metres because Lehr (glassmaking) says a lehr oven is a long kiln with an end-to-end temperature gradient (bold original), implying the oven's length is its defining feature. I hesitate to edit this article to clarify because there is no source cited that supports my supposition. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 04:19, 11 January 2024 (UTC)