January 29, 200719 yr It is called a snap case. It's a bottle-making tool from the mid-1800s, and was used to hold onto the bottom of a wine bottle (note the cone in the center to accommodate the kick-up) while the neck was being finished with a lipping tool. It has wood-covered handles because they were used hot. The process is as follows: step 1: Blow glass into mold. Probably a three-part mold, judging by the deep kick-up. step 2: Open the mold, grab bottle with regular glass tongs, and fit snap case over the bottom. Squeeze to clamp. step 3: Reheat the neck, and use lipping tool to create the finished bottle. step 4: Release snap case, put bottle in annealing oven to cool slowly. There are several illustrations of these things floating around if you look into the history of bottle making.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.