foundry processes

Not all of the castings used by Your-Door-Knocker are made in our foundry, but we are making more all the time. All of the door knockers sold by Your-Door-Knocker are made by the sand casting process.

Our experiences in the foundry have really enlightened us.

Like many others,  when we thought about a foundry, our mind’s eye immediately pictured a steaming hot crucible pouring red hot molten metal into a mold. That, we imagined, was all that takes place in the foundry.

Granted, the pouring of the metal is probably the most exciting part, but it is a very small part nonetheless.  There is a lot of work to do to get to that point.

Before you go to the foundry you need to obtain a pattern to make a mold from. A pattern is a 3D replica of what you want to make. This may be an existing object that you are duplicating  or if it is an entirely new part,  create a carving of the piece exactly as we want it to be. Most door knockers require at least two of these. One for each part of the finished door knocker.

The next step would be to create a mold. the mold is made in a box like device called a flask. In the flask the sand is packed tightly around the pattern. Once packed the pattern is removed leaving a cavity where the pattern was. The mold is completed by cutting in the sprues and gates so the brass will flow into the cavity.

Before the mold can be made the sand used to make it must be conditioned so it packs tightly around the pattern.

The actual packing of the sand in the mold is where the real work takes place. Experience, skill and planning are the keys to success. This is not the step to rush. If the mold is not correctly made all the other work will be wasted.

Working in a foundry is not easy. You are definitely tired at the end of the day.

Of all the processes we do here at Your-Door-Knocker I find the foundry to be the most satisfying. There is nothing quite like holding the finished door knocker in your hand after all the work is done.