Thanks to all for the information and references.
My initial problem was the assumption that the
Dutch were sand casting in the method I had been
taught, which I understood to be only useful for
brass casting. I assumed that iron dumped from
a kiln would be too hot, too lumpy, and perhaps
too heavy for a delicate pattern in sand.
I suppose that something might have been sprayed
on the sand to consolidate the surface.
Progress must have been made towards reuseable
wooden patterns and the use of deaeration tubes
drawn by wires, which is all part of the process I
know of.
The use of central cores to locate accurate spaces
must have been the hardest part. These cores have
to resist the mould temperatures.
I had read (somewhere) that the brass casters from
Bristol had been using ceramic mouldings rather than
the green sand process. Perhaps these were the cores.
Thanks again to all,
Edgar
|