Glassblowing Makes a Comeback in Science
By Lori Hinnant, R A H W A Y, N.J., Sept. 11
In a small room at the back of Merck’s gleaming corporate campus, the 2,000-year-old art of glassblowing thrives.
Here, glassblowers Wayne Dockery and Harold “Heimey” Heimback work with scientists to create devices that help develop the latest medicines, as well as the first-ever automated tick feeder and a flea counter (for agricultural research) that allows only one flea to move through a passage at a time.
The flea counter, shaped somewhat like an hourglass, has a narrow “waist” blown to just the width of one flea. The tick feeder allows scientists to nourish the insects without keeping a live animal in the lab.
Hot Enough to Melt Buttons
Nearly every flat surface in the shop is covered with fireproof material, much of it blackened from years of exposure to open flames. The shop is warm much of the time, and — when the two are working on a particularly large piece — the heat can be destructive.
“It’s hot enough to melt your buttons,” said Dockery, adding that he’s ruined several shirts that way over the years.
Like many glassblowing shops, the center of the room is dominated by a giant lathe that can hold pieces several feet in diameter. On a recent day in August, the device spun slowly under steadily decreasing heat to allow it to cool without cracking. Set up on countertops to the side are flame “lamps” used to work smaller pieces.
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