Method of melting glass making ingredients

A method of melting glassmaking ingredients in a glass melting chamber, said glass melting chamber including refractory sidewalls and endwalls forming a container for containing a pool of molten metal therein, comprising the steps of:

• feeding a coherent thin sheet of glass batch materials having a width less than the width of said molten metal pool progressively into said glass melting chamber onto the surface of said pool of molten metal;
• advancing said coherent thin sheet along said pool of molten metal while maintaining the coherency thereof, and while maintaining the coherent thin sheet in non-contacting relation to the refractory sidewalls;
• melting said coherent thin sheet into a layer of molten glass while practicing said advancing step;
• and
• withdrawing said layer of molten glass from said glass melting chamber.