Some Techniques and Traditions in a Midlands Iron Foundry

Description

A dissertation in two parts, based on the collector's own experience of working in Messrs. Rood End Foundries Limited of Oldbury in the West Midlands. As well being involved in various parts of the manufacturing process, the collector was able to photograph the stages in the processes and the tools used, and tape record interviews with informants as they worked. The information was supplemented with notes taken of brief interviews and informal conversations with other foundry workers. The collector's fieldwork also involved a visit to Messrs. W. & T. Avery Limited of Walsall. The study presents a brief history of the Rood End foundry and a plan of the premises, followed by sections on individual manufacturing stages - cupola work, the principles of moulding, foundry sand, moulding and core making. The collector also presents sections on pronunciation and linguistic features noted during the fieldwork, terminology, lore and traditions within the industry, some present problems and future developments. Appendices provide information on the collector's main informants, and transcribed extracts from tape-recorded interviews with a furnace man and a bench moulder. Part Two provides a photographic record of all the stages described in Part One. Line drawings (elevation and details) of a cupola furnace are included.

Metadata

Identifier tdf9h9vm
IRN 410082
Class Mark LAVC/SRP/2/046
Level File
Type of Record Archives - ISAD(G)
Peristent Link http://prototype1.library.leeds.ac.uk/tdf9h9vm
Collection(s) Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture
Category Archive
Parent Record Undergraduate Dissertations
Creator(s) Short, Ian W
Date 1968
Size and Medium 86 unbound typed leaves; 81 b/w photographs.

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