Castle hoppers and downpipes
This was the most challenging casting jobs I’ve taken on to date.
The job was to replicate a series of highly decorative system of hoppers and down pipes, and restoration and alteration of some original hoppers.
Here are a selection of photos showing some of the process of casting, with some before and after photos. Also there was some very complicated bossing involved in preparing the gargoyle stones that would discharge into the hopper heads.
The pipe sections were cast in two main pieces and joined. The collar/brackets where made with a combination of sheet lead and sand-cast beading and motifs. Each section had a code 8 backplate welded on to join everything together with good structural integrity.
On completion, the whole batch of goods were sand-blasted to give a uniform textured appearance.
Click the images below to see a larger version.
