Featured Somebody collecting cast iron, Hanauer Eisen etc…

It was just a question about he possibility about the foundry location etc…, then I post the wikipedia pages I know for all people, it was totally about the subject but as I'm not always on the web the use of private message was used i suppose.

 

I can't help with the Kasli foundry, and don't know who can, but there is someone who might be of help in answering this question:

@springfld.arsenal do you have info for Lecollectionneur?

 

I think there is no help needed for me with Kasli, a lot of informations are on the web, the wikipedia content is just excellent, and they are welll documented on paper for people interested, many publications etc…
But the same about american foundries is for me a lot more interesting!

 

Too bad my father isn't still around; he was a metallurgical engineer and messing about with foundries is part of what he did for work. Also for fun.

 

We speak about "pyrogènes" or translating it for a specific subject as a striker, I have a press article I wrote in 2006 in my archive about a mechanical item but out of my post, it was made of another metal, just for information but in french, as it is pdf you can translate easily.

 

Interesting, Lecollectionneur, I don't think I've seen that before. Thanks for sharing.

 

Same with my father. He often took us to foundries with him, not just the one he managed. I was always fascinated.
Later he delved more into the historical and archaeological side of things and got his degree in archaeology.

 

It's clear that founding something about cast iron is not very easy, all our national industries are closed and gone to asian countries, the two foundries existing in the 80's near me are now closed.
The most important problem when you are collecting things very specialised, a lot of them are unique exemplaries like carved coconuts, or they are only a few exemplaries known, as I know some people who have cast iron items, they are not interessed enough(or have no time) to search origins etc…

 

blablabla.
https://www.swiss-steel.com/en/home/

 

P. Orr & Sons, Madras

 

I live in a part of the Netherlands that is known for its bell foundries. In 2014 several foundries merged with Eijsbouts, one of the most famous of 'our' bell foundries.
Although a lot of industry is now in cheap labour countries, I am pretty sure Royal Eijsbouts will be around for a long time, their reputation and clientèle are worldwide.

Eijsbouts does art casting as well. So did the foundry my father managed for some years in the 60s, Cirex (called after the lost wax technique). I just googled them, they still exist as well. A blast from the past to see that.

 

When I say that foundries are gone it's for the biggest ones, they are a lot of small foundries for bronce, precious metals and chirurgical steel, the same process as in US the firm Ruger use, the bell foundries stay with traditional use for cows and with special prices for ceremonies etc…
But for pieces like modelling railway wheels for example, they were cast about 20km. from my workshop 20 years ago but now I have no more possibilities less than 300km. to found somebody who make my castings.
Making cast iron with the quality you have at the Berlin or Hanau foundries is now totally out of my possibilities.
It seems that some people make no difference between steel and cast iron, but they are so different process that no manufacurer make the two things in the same factory, the lost wax process actually used currently is for special fine steel, but not used to make cast iron smal pieces and no more novelties than in the 19th century.

 

so Marie-Thérèse invented a process by which you do not need iron first for making steel. well hidden from the evil bourbines the welsches invented a new process by replacing iron by Gruyère that is hardened in a bath of Saint-Saphorin.

 

It is a pity you don't live around here, there are still quite a few iron foundries in the area. Many of them will do art casting as a sideline. There is one which specializes in art iron casting.
But all are much further than the 300km you mentioned, of course.