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Interpreters heat scrap brass in the forge.

Interpreters heat scrap brass in the forge.

Brass Founder

Geddy family ran brass foundry in Williamsburg

Brass founders like William and David Geddy, and their father James before them, melted both brass and bronze and poured them into molds to form andirons, bells, coach and harness fittings, shoe buckles, sword hilts, furniture hardware, and many other things. The foundry trade is demonstrated today at the James Geddy Foundry behind the James Geddy House in the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg.

Colonial molds made of sand and clay

Molten brass is poured into a mold.

Molten brass is poured into a mold.

Colonial foundry men used a method known as "sand casting." The mold was actually made of a fine sand and clay mixture – a material that could withstand the 2,000° F-temperature of the molten brass. The founder began by creating a pattern made of wood or a soft metal like lead or pewter. Next, he packed the moistened molding sand over the pattern – first on one side, then the other. The mold was made in halves so that when the packing was finished, the founder could open the mold and remove the pattern. He then cut channels in the sand so the molten metal could flow into the pattern. Smaller channels let air and gases escape from the mold as the metal flowed in. The founder then put the halves of the sand mold back together.

Scrap brass melted to create new items

The finishing sanding, filing, and polishing and are performed on a brass item made in the Geddy Foundry.

The finishing sanding, filing, and polishing and are performed on a brass item made in the Geddy Foundry.

The brass – usually scrap – was put into a clay melting pot or crucible and heated in the forge. When the metal was melted and reached the right temperature for pouring (which had to be judged by eye), the founder used a pair of tongs to take the crucible from the forge and pour the molten brass into the mold.

After the metal had cooled and hardened, the founder opened the mold and removed the casting, destroying the mold in the process. Following this dangerous and difficult process, more work still remained to to finish the casting – filing, scraping, fitting and assembling parts, sanding, and polishing.

Foundry work hot and dirty

The following description of foundry work was found in an 18th-century text: "The founder requires a strong constitution and a robust body to undergo the heat of the fire and etc." And it is certainly true that heat, dirt, and hard work have always been realities of the founder's trade.

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