Fireclay meaning

Coal, fireclay and blue and red brick clay are dug in the neighbourhood; and there are also market gardens.

Guinand, towards the end of the 18th century, by introducing the process of stirring the molten glass by means of a cylinder of fireclay.

The crucibles or pots used for the production of optical glass very closely resemble those used in the manufacture of flint glass for other purposes; they are " covered " and the molten materials are thus protected from the action of the furnace gases by the interposition of a wall of fireclay, but as crucibles for optical glass are used for only one fusion and are then broken up, they are not made so thick and heavy as those used in flint-glass making, since the latter remain in the furnace for many weeks.

With these latter glasses there is, of course, considerable risk that the partial fusion and consequent contraction of the fireclay of the crucible may result in its destruction and the entire loss of the glass.

For this purpose a cylinder of fireclay, provided with a square axial hole at the upper end, is heated in a small subsidiary furnace and is then introduced into the molten glass.