Saint's Formula

Lawrence Saint Formula 793

Monday March 6, 1933 as described in “The Romance of Stained Glass” pgs 41 – 48


Ingredients for Pot No. 1 & 2 / Pale greenish yellow
Sand, Vineland, NJ sift through 40 Mesh sieve
2.50000
Sesquioxide Manganese
.06000
Argols (we think this is cream of tartar)
.02200
Stannous Oxide (Black Tin)
.02040
Borax (twenty Mule Team) sift through a 40 mesh sieve
.25000
Lime, (calcium Carbonate, Chalk)
.92500
Fused Magnesia (Norton Co.)
.25300
Hydrated Alumina (Merck) sift through a 100 mesh sieve
.18250
Tribasic Calcium Phosphate (Merck)
.41600
Potassium Carbonate, Anhydrous – in bottles, smash in a meat grinder and keep dry
1.29000
Sodium Carbonate
.08300
Sodium Nitrate
.00052
Cullet 792 – 1 – 2  (I think this cullet is the same formula only left over from the previous melt JKL)
2.0000
(each pot)

Mixing Directions
  1. Mix sesquioxide manganese and sodium nitrate together smashing same thoroughly with a palette knife on a glass slab until no white streaks of sodium nitrate show. Then add this to sand which is in mixing box and mixed with a hoe.
  2. Add other ingredients individually and mix with the hoe.

How additional ingredients are added to the pots
(JKL: I think that the quantities of chemicals mentioned below are in addition to those in the formulas above and not already included in the formula totals)

To be added to Pots No. 1 & 2
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
0:00
2200F
Charge with ½ batch
1:15
2370F
mix 7 grams of Argols with the remaining batch and add it to the pot
2:30
2370F
Mix together:
Ferrous oxide
Argols
Cobalt
Blood Charcoal
.00700
.01000
.00035
.00150
Add and stir all the way to the bottom with a small heated rod
3:00
2370F
Mix together
Ferrous oxide
Argols
Blood Charcoal
Iron Scales (Swedish) use what is left in a 40 mesh sieve after sifting out the dust
.00400
.00700
.00150
.02933
Add and stir quickly and roughly with a small heated rod



Ingredients for Pot No. 3 / Red
Sand, Vineland, NJ sift through 40 Mesh sieve
2.50000
Sesquioxide Manganese
.06000
Copper Scales – Harshaw Chemical Co. use what is left in 100 mesh sieve after sifting out dust
.02200
Stannous Oxide (Black Tin)
.02900
Borax (twenty Mule Team) sift through a 40 mesh sieve
.25000
Titanium Oxide
.00950
Lime, (calcium Carbonate, Chalk)
.92500
Fused Magnesia (Norton Co.)
.25300
Hydrated Alumina (Merck) sift through a 100 mesh sieve
.18250
Tribasic Calcium Phosphate (Merck)
.41600
Potassium Carbonate, Anhydrous – in bottles, smash in a meat grinder and keep dry
1.29000
Sodium Carbonate
.08300
Sodium Nitrate
.00052

Mixing Directions
  1. Mix tin and copper together in a pan, stirring together with a spoon two or three minutes.
  2. Mix sesquioxide manganese and sodium nitrate together smashing same thoroughly with a palette knife on a glass slab until no white streaks of sodium nitrate show.
  3. Mix 1 & 2 together. Add to sand which is in mixing box and mix with a hoe.
  4. Add other ingredients individually and mix with the hoe.

Ingredients for Pot No. 4 / Yellow
(I understand this to be a reducing agent for the copper red - JKL)
Sand, Vineland, NJ sift through 40 Mesh sieve
2.50000
Sesquioxide Manganese
.06000
Argols (we think this is cream of tartar)
.05000
Flowers of Sulphur
.01000
Borax (twenty Mule Team) sift through a 40 mesh sieve
.25000
Titanium Oxide
.00950
Lime, (calcium Carbonate, Chalk)
.92500
Fused Magnesia (Norton Co.)
.25300
Hydrated Alumina (Merck) sift through a 100 mesh sieve
.18250
Tribasic Calcium Phosphate (Merck)
.41600
Potassium Carbonate, Anhydrous – in bottles, smash in a meat grinder and keep dry
1.29000
Sodium Carbonate
.08300
Sodium Nitrate
.00052

Mixing Directions
  1. Mix sesquioxide manganese and sodium nitrate together smashing same thoroughly with a palette knife on a glass slab until no white streaks of sodium nitrate show. Then add this to sand which is in mixing box and mixed with a hoe.
  2. Add other ingredients individually and mix with the hoe.

How the Argols is added and how Pots 3 & 4 are combined
(Q: I think that the quantities Argols mentioned below are in addition to those in the formulas above and not already included in the formula totals)

To be added to pot No. 4
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
0:00
2200F
Charge with ½ batch
1:15
2370F
mix 13 grams of Argols with the remaining batch and add it to the pot
2:00
2370F
add 13 more grams of Argols and stir all the way to the bottom with small heated rod
3:00
2370F
Ladle Pot No. 3 into Pot No. 4 using a medium sized ladle quenched with water (do not get water into the glass) then add 13 grams of Argols and stir the whole pot quickly (100x) all the way to the bottom. Pot No. 3 looks pale yellow. Pot No. 4 looks blackish Purple. After combining the two the glass turns green white.

NOTES on the Furnaces

Saint has 2 furnaces. Pots 1 & 2 are in Furnace 2.
Posts 3 & 4 are in furnace 1
Saint was using an oil burner not gas


Furnace 1 holding Pots 3 (yellow)& 4 (red)
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
5:45
600
Start Firing
9:45
2200
Charge ½ Batch
11:00
2370
Charging complete
One reference say “Cut off AIR” another says “Take 2 notches off air”
2:00
2340
Turn “Off” Furnace?
Glass has cooked for 4:15
?
2060 - 2120
Working temperature for gathering

Furnace 2 holding Pots 1 & 2 (pale greenish yellow)
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
5:45
600
Start Firing
9:15
2200
Charge ½ Batch
10:30
2370
Charging complete
One reference say “Cut off AIR” another says “Take 2 notches off air”
2:00
2340
Turn “Off” Furnace?
Glass has cooked for 4:45
?
2100 - 2160
Working temperature for gathering (consistently 40 degrees hotter than furnace 1)


NOTES ON BLOWING THE SHEETS and THE TEMPERATURE OF THE GLASS

Pot1 has the green white mixture with iron. Pot 4 has the yellow/red mixture with copper scale.
For gathering, Pot 4 (red) is held between 2060 and 2120F while Pot 1 (clear) is worked consistently 40 degrees hotter at 2100 to 2160F. This could be because the red in Pot 4 required less heat or because the higher temperature in Pot 1 would produce a thinner gather.
The glass blower makes the following gathers from the numbered pots: 1 – 4 – 1 – 4 – 1
The glass is formed as small cylinders using the “muff” method of cutting open and flattening while hot.
The temperature of the LEHR was 1290 to 1300 F. Of the 20 sheets produced on March 5, 1933 seven developed a full red color in the lehr. The others were reheated to 1180F in the paint firing kiln and the color then developed in this oxidizing condition[1].



[1] The Romance of Stained Glass by Lawrence Saint pg 48.

Lawrence Saint Formula 954

Wed April 24, 1935 copied from records in Smithsonian Collection 90

Ingredients for Pot No. 1 & 2 / Pale greenish yellow
Sand, Vineland, NJ sift through 40 Mesh sieve
2.50000
Sesquioxide Manganese
.06000
Argols (we think this is cream of tartar)
.05000
Stannous Oxide (Black Tin)
.02040
Borax (twenty Mule Team) sift through a 40 mesh sieve
.25000
Lime, (calcium Carbonate, Chalk)
.92500
Fused Magnesia (Norton Co.)
.25300
Hydrated Alumina (Merck) sift through a 100 mesh sieve
.18250
Tribasic Calcium Phosphate (Merck)
.41600
Potassium Carbonate, Anhydrous – in bottles, smash in a meat grinder and keep dry
1.29000
Sodium Carbonate
.08300
Sodium Nitrate
.00052
Cullet 792 – 1 – 2  (I think this cullet is the same formula only left over from the previous melt JKL)
2.0000
(each pot)

Mixing Directions
  1. Mix sesquioxide manganese and sodium nitrate together smashing same thoroughly with a palette knife on a glass slab until no white streaks of sodium nitrate show. Then add this to sand which is in mixing box and mixed with a hoe.
  2. Add other ingredients individually and mix with the hoe.

How additional ingredients are added to the pots
(JKL: I think that the quantities of chemicals mentioned below are in addition to those in the formulas above and not already included in the formula totals)

To be added to Pots No. 1 & 2
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
0:00
2200F
Charge with ½ batch
1:15
2370F
mix 7 grams of Argols with the remaining batch and add it to the pot
2:30
2370F
Mix together:
Ferrous oxide
Argols
Cobalt
Blood Charcoal
.00700
.01000
.00035
.00150
Add and stir all the way to the bottom with a small heated rod
3:00
2370F
Mix together
Ferrous oxide
Argols
Blood Charcoal
Iron Scales (Swedish) use what is left in a 40 mesh sieve after sifting out the dust
.00400
.00700
.00150
.03000
Add and stir quickly and roughly with a small heated rod



Ingredients for Pot No. 3 / Red
Sand, Vineland, NJ sift through 40 Mesh sieve
2.50000
Sesquioxide Manganese
.06000
Copper Scales – Harshaw Chemical Co. use what is left in 100 mesh sieve after sifting out dust
.02200
Stannous Oxide (Black Tin)
.02900
Borax (twenty Mule Team) sift through a 40 mesh sieve
.25000
Titanium Oxide
.00950
Lime, (calcium Carbonate, Chalk)
.92500
Fused Magnesia (Norton Co.)
.25300
Hydrated Alumina (Merck) sift through a 100 mesh sieve
.18250
Tribasic Calcium Phosphate (Merck)
.41600
Potassium Carbonate, Anhydrous – in bottles, smash in a meat grinder and keep dry
1.29000
Sodium Carbonate
.08300
Sodium Nitrate
.00052

Mixing Directions
  1. Mix tin and copper together in a pan, stirring together with a spoon two or three minutes.
  2. Mix sesquioxide manganese and sodium nitrate together smashing same thoroughly with a palette knife on a glass slab until no white streaks of sodium nitrate show.
  3. Mix 1 & 2 together. Add to sand which is in mixing box and mix with a hoe.
  4. Add other ingredients individually and mix with the hoe.

Ingredients for Pot No. 4 / Yellow
(I understand this to be a reducing agent for the copper red - JKL)
Sand, Vineland, NJ sift through 40 Mesh sieve
2.50000
Sesquioxide Manganese
.06000
Argols (we think this is cream of tartar)
.05000
Flowers of Sulphur
.01000
Stannous Oxide (not in formula 793)
.02040
Borax (twenty Mule Team) sift through a 40 mesh sieve
.25000
Titanium Oxide
.00950
Lime, (calcium Carbonate, Chalk)
.92500
Fused Magnesia (Norton Co.)
.25300
Hydrated Alumina (Merck) sift through a 100 mesh sieve
.18250
Tribasic Calcium Phosphate (Merck)
.41600
Potassium Carbonate, Anhydrous – in bottles, smash in a meat grinder and keep dry
1.29000
Sodium Carbonate
.08300
Sodium Nitrate
.00052

Mixing Directions
  1. Mix sesquioxide manganese and sodium nitrate together smashing same thoroughly with a palette knife on a glass slab until no white streaks of sodium nitrate show. Then add this to sand which is in mixing box and mixed with a hoe.
  2. Add other ingredients individually and mix with the hoe.

How the Argols is added and how Pots 3 & 4 are combined
(Q: I think that the quantities Argols mentioned below are in addition to those in the formulas above and not already included in the formula totals)

To be added to pot No. 4
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
0:00
2200F
Charge with ½ batch
1:15
2370F
mix 10 grams of Argols with the remaining batch and add it to the pot
2:00
2370F
add 10 more grams of Argols and stir all the way to the bottom with small heated rod
3:00
2370F
Ladle Pot No. 3 into Pot No. 4 using a medium sized ladle quenched with water (do not get water into the glass) then add 10 grams of Argols and stir the whole pot quickly (100x) all the way to the bottom. Pot No. 3 looks pale yellow. Pot No. 4 looks blackish Purple. After combining the two the glass turns green white.

NOTES on the Furnaces

Saint has 2 furnaces. Pots 1 & 2 are in Furnace 2.
Posts 3 & 4 are in furnace 1
Saint was using an oil burner not gas


Furnace 1 holding Pots 3 (yellow)& 4 (red)
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
5:45
600
Start Firing
9:45
2200
Charge ½ Batch
11:00
2370
Charging complete
One reference say “Cut off AIR” another says “Take 2 notches off air”
2:00
2340
Turn “Off” Furnace?
Glass has cooked for 4:15
?
2060 - 2120
Working temperature for gathering

Furnace 2 holding Pots 1 & 2 (pale greenish yellow)
TIME
TEMP
PROCESS
5:45
600
Start Firing
9:15
2200
Charge ½ Batch
10:30
2370
Charging complete
One reference say “Cut off AIR” another says “Take 2 notches off air”
2:00
2340
Turn “Off” Furnace?
Glass has cooked for 4:45
?
2100 - 2160
Working temperature for gathering (consistently 40 degrees hotter than furnace 1)


NOTES ON BLOWING THE SHEETS and THE TEMPERATURE OF THE GLASS

Pot1 has the green white mixture with iron. Pot 4 has the yellow/red mixture with copper scale.
For gathering, Pot 4 (red) is held between 2060 and 2120F while Pot 1 (clear) is worked consistently 40 degrees hotter at 2100 to 2160F. This could be because the red in Pot 4 required less heat or because the higher temperature in Pot 1 would produce a thinner gather.
The glass blower makes the following gathers from the numbered pots: 1 – 4 – 1 – 4 – 1
The glass is formed as small cylinders using the “muff” method of cutting open and flattening while hot.
The temperature of the LEHR was 1290 to 1300 F. Of the 20 sheets produced on March 5, 1933 seven developed a full red color in the lehr. The others were reheated to 1180F in the paint firing kiln and the color then developed in this oxidizing condition[1].




[1] The Romance of Stained Glass by Lawrence Saint pg 48.


JKL September 23, 2011
I received the following from Brad Schute:

Modern recipe for Saint's #954 Copper Ruby

Brad Shute at: brad@handmade-glass.com

Here is a revised recipe for Saint's #954 Copper Ruby for you Kenneth. This doesn't really address many of the oddities of Saint's recipe, but maintains a glass batch with oxide weight percentages that are virtually identical to his original recipe while using glassmaking materials that should be easily obtainable from any good pottery supply store. (The black tin may be a little tough to find, but I can provide some of that if you need it.) The main practical change in this recipe is elimination of the nitrate, which is a generally undesirable ingredient in a glass like copper ruby that needs reduction. The manganese is an oxidizer too, but since I was just substituting materials instead of revising the overall oxide composition, I left it alone.

250 - Sand
8 - Soda ash (anhydrous)
140 - Potash (anhydrous)
33.75 - Calcium carbonate
140 - Dolomite (calculated at 30.4% CaO and 21.6% MgO)
30 - Borax (decahydrate)
1 - Alumina hydrate
75 - Feldspar G-200HP (high potash)
7.25 - Manganese dioxide
50 - Calcium phosphate
3.5 - Tin oxide - stannous (SnO/black)
1 - Titanium dioxide
2.5 - Copper oxide - cuprous (Cu2O/red)
Brad

Let me make a slight correction to my earlier statement about the manganese in Saint's recipe. When I reworked his recipe I missed the fact that his manganese was added as the sesquioxide (Mn2O3) which is a little less oxidizing than the dioxide in my recipe. It's still an oxidizer, just not to the same extent. He may have added it due to the fact that manganese will readily change valence states and he was hoping it would scavenge any extra oxygen, thereby helping the copper ruby to strike. It wouldn't have been added for the standard manganese purple color, since in a reduction glass it is colorless (or potentially brownish when combined with iron).

If you want manganese in this glass, I guess I would suggest adding it as the carbonate. (You'll need about 30% more carbonate than dioxide to get the same amount of manganese in the batch.) But frankly, I don't know why the hell it's in there.