Wait, you're stressing over some cloudy glass? It sounds like you got a cool marble cup out of it, that's a win in my book. Troy977's paperweight story is way more boring than your storm cloud tumbler. Honestly, who cares if the old owner mixed stuff in, the result is what matters. I'd just roll with it and make more weird stuff with the rest of that batch.

That "same tick my grandpa did" line is so cool. You could film a short video of you winding it, with the sound up close, and just talk about what you know. That way they get the story and the sound.

I used to think D-subs were pretty solid until I had to re-pin a whole 25-pin connector last week. You're right, they're a total pain.

That trick with the alcohol cloth is a classic save for shellac bloom, but calling it denatured alcohol might confuse folks. What you really want is plain rubbing alcohol from the drugstore, the 91% kind. Denatured alcohol can sometimes be too harsh and might mess with the finish if you're not super careful. Rubbing alcohol is just strong enough to fix the bloom without as much risk.

How did you even see the streak?