A New Furnace Ignites at the Sandwich Glass Museum

Earlier this year, thanks to the generosity of our amazing donor community, the Sandwich Glass Museum retired its long-serving glass furnace after more than 25 years of continuous operation. Installed in the 1990s and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it powered thousands of glassblowing demonstrations and introduced generations of visitors to the art and science of glassmaking.

Replacing the heart of the hot shop, however, proved to be an undertaking worthy of the furnace it replaced.

The Journey Begins

The museum’s new HUB freestanding crucible furnace began its journey in the early morning hours of January 13 at HUB Consolidated in Vermont. Longtime museum trustee David McDermott personally made the trip to pick it up, transporting the massive piece of equipment back to Sandwich in a journey that took nearly eleven hours from start to finish.

By late afternoon, the new furnace—carefully secured for the trip—arrived at the museum, ready for the next phase of the project.

Out With the Old

Removing the original furnace was no small task. Unlike many modern installations, the furnace had been built directly into the building’s chimney structure decades earlier. Extracting it required careful planning to ensure the furnace could be removed without damaging—or worse, collapsing—the chimney that supported it.

Once the old furnace was successfully removed, attention turned to bringing in its replacement.

Moving 2,500 Pounds of Heat

The new furnace weighs roughly 2,500 pounds—the equivalent of a small car. Its size and weight presented a significant challenge when it came time to move it into the building and position it inside the hot shop.

With careful coordination and plenty of patience, the team successfully maneuvered the furnace into place.

Rebuilding and Re-Lighting

After installation, the chimney required repair where the original furnace had been integrated into the structure. Local master mason John Clancy stepped in to rebuild and stabilize the chimney, ensuring it would properly support the new configuration.

By the end of January, the furnace was installed and re-lit. Bringing a glass furnace online is not as simple as flipping a switch—the temperature must be increased gradually over several days to protect the refractory materials and allow the furnace to reach its operating temperature of over 2,000°F.

A New Chapter for the Hot Shop

Today, the new furnace is fully operational, once again providing molten glass for the museum’s daily demonstrations and glass blowing classes. More efficient and easier to maintain than its predecessor, it will support the Sandwich Glass Museum’s glassblowing program for many years to come.

And while the old furnace has finally taken its well-earned rest, the glow of molten glass continues—now fueled by a new heart at the center of the hot shop.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all the incredible support we received from our generous donor community. We couldn’t have done this without you!