I have been making master tooling for historic cast iron structures for many decades. Trystan Products of Ayr, Ontario has been a faithful customer since the early '80s. We have created benches, bollards, giant sculptures and lobsters in cast metals. Generally, we start with a photo of an historic structure, or a small drawing and proceed to develop a product.
A typical project was the restoration of an historic cast iron fence on Sherbourne St. in Toronto. We started with this photo from the front of Selby House, originally built by the Gooderham Distillery family:
A typical project was the restoration of an historic cast iron fence on Sherbourne St. in Toronto. We started with this photo from the front of Selby House, originally built by the Gooderham Distillery family:
This poor photo was all that was left of the original fence. The old mansion had been designated an historic property, so money was available to redo the fence from scratch. I made up a sample pattern full size in wood and met with a rather mixed group of concerned men. There was the provincial historical consultant, a federal guy, the fencing contractor, my customer, and perhaps one other mystery man. Everyone was gathered around the little photo and my sample, trying to make sure that his area of expertise was brought forward. The fencing contractor was rather impatient, wanting to get on with the job. The consultant's job seemed to be to hesitate for some length of time to indicate that he was thinking seriously.
I'm not sure if there ever were wheels turning in that head. In the end, everyone said "ok" and I could relax. It was going to be hard to charge extra for random changes.
I used the sample to produce tooling for use in the foundry. This is where my involvement normally ends. I ship out a grey shape attached in various ways to a plywood sheet, and I'm done. If I've messed up, I'll run to the foundry and tweak the job to make it work.
For this reason, I seldom see the final product, unless I travel some distance with a camera. Here's what's visible on Google Street view:
I'm not sure if there ever were wheels turning in that head. In the end, everyone said "ok" and I could relax. It was going to be hard to charge extra for random changes.
I used the sample to produce tooling for use in the foundry. This is where my involvement normally ends. I ship out a grey shape attached in various ways to a plywood sheet, and I'm done. If I've messed up, I'll run to the foundry and tweak the job to make it work.
For this reason, I seldom see the final product, unless I travel some distance with a camera. Here's what's visible on Google Street view:
It's been tough, cobbling together my self-taught skills to call myself any kind of an expert. Still, in the presence of 'suits', the only way to do business is to act as if I'm an equal, speaking with authority on topics often well beyond my expertise. It's a great way to learn all kinds of things in a real hurry.
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