The rolled sheet is left on the castingtable until it has set sufficiently to be pushed over a flat iron plate without risk of distortion; meanwhile the table has been placed in front of the opening of one of the large annealing kilns and the slab of glass is carefully pushed into the kiln.
In this process cellulose (in the form of sawdust) is made into a stiff paste with a mixture of strong caustic potash and soda solution and heated in flat iron pans to 20o-250 C. The somewhat dark-coloured mass is lixiviated with a small amount of warm water in order to remove excess of alkali, the residual alkaline oxalates converted into insoluble calcium oxalate by boiling with milk of lime, the lime salt separated, and decomposed by means of sulphuric acid.
The Akalis also wear large flat iron rings round the neck and arms (Plate II.
Most people use a flat iron to achieve a straight look.
If you are not willing to hassle with a flat iron or taming products on a daily basis, opt for a bob or other short style.