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After the manufacture of wrought iron guns ceased about 1520, all pieces of ordnance were sat until the middle of the 19th century when the demand for more powerful pieces saw other methods investigated. Founding or casting consists of pouring molten metal into a mould and allowing it to cool. After solidification the mould is removed and the casting remains, showing all the required details of form and ornamentation, if any.
Although techniques to be described are those of the early 18th century founders of bronze ordnance, they differ only slightly from those employed by the mediaeval bell founders who had converted to gun founding in the 14th century. As methods of smelting iron improved it gradually superseded bronze, which by the early 1800s was being used for the lighter guns only.
To cast a gun a full-size pattern or model was first made. Around the model a mould was then formed, after which the model was removed and the space it occupied filled with molten metal. After the metal had solidified and cooled the mould was removed revealing the piece, which then had to be finished by machining. Let us look at the process in more detail.
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WL Ruffell Issue 84 December 1994 |
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