What is this thing?

Well, don't know for sure what it is,but I know what it isn't. And it isn't a Murphy's fire bucket, may be something used to bend plastic tubing or eyeglass bow ends, heat is electric elements inside the chamber.

My eye doc uses a machine with hot air, like a heat gun only less intense, perhaps this is the same from an old eye doctors office. Makes the most sense so far. But does anyone really know?

It is a very old liquidous oven. It is used to test the liquidous (devitrification) temperature of any given glass. There is a temperature variation from front to back. A ceramic boat with the glass cullet is put into the oven, there are lines on the boat at every inch. There is a corresponding approximate temperature at each of those lines. One end of the oven is high temperature x and the lower end is low temperature y. Various temperatures are in between the two ends. Devit will form at some point on the glass. Where the devit is is a line on the boat and that tells the testor what the devit temperature is for that particular glass.

Thanks Henry!!!

It is a very old liquidous oven. It is used to test the liquidous (devitrification) temperature of any given glass.>

WOW Trust HENRY to know!!!!

cool.... Cheryl last semester of lawschool! yipee! DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass