Abstract: A support pin—which is to be inserted into a pin insert hole formed in a seed rod provided at an upper end of a glass preform and suspends and supports the glass preform—is formed by coupling a pin main body having a flange section, a first shaft section, a second shaft section, and a male screw section with an auxiliary pin member having a flange section, a shaft section, and a female screw section. The first and second shaft sections of the pin main body and the shaft section of the auxiliary pin member are provided with claddings which are formed from synthetic resin and have elasticity. The support pin is formed so that the second shaft section of the pin main body covered with the cladding can be inserted into the pin insert hole formed in the seed rod.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to reduce the adhesion of floating glass particulates to the surface of a soot preform during the manufacture of the soot preform, thereby reducing the voids generated in the transparent glass preform made from the soot preform, and to improve the quality of the optical fiber manufactured from the transparent glass preform. The equipment of the invention is equipped with a reaction vessel 1, a burner 2 provided within the reaction vessel 1 into which raw material gas and combustion gas are supplied so as to generate glass particulates by hydrolysis reaction, and a starting rod 5 onto which the glass particulates generated by the burner 2 are deposited. By drawing up the starting rod 5 while turning it around its axis, the glass particulates are deposited on the tip of or around the starting rod 5 to form a soot preform 6 in column-like shape.