General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

wood & cast metal

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

80.0 cm

Width

43.0 cm

Height

13.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Industrial Technology

Category

Industrial equipment

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Lawson

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Ottawa

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

Presumably made and displayed before 1966.

Canada

Thomas Lawson & Sons' foundry business was active in Ottawa since 1885, and was located in the industrial area known as LeBreton Flats. It was well-known for producing the "Lawco" line of water-works products. In 1965 the National Capital Commission (NCC) expropriated the land in LeBreton Flats on which the Victoria Foundry (and it's soon-to-be partner T. Lawson & Sons) operated. Demolition of the foundry buildings began March 1, 1966 and were completed May 5th. Mr. Don MacKenzie collected archival material, patterns, and other items from the site during demolition, and made them available to CSTM. Although not documented, this piece is almost certainly part of that collection. The items were identified as belonging to the Victoria Foundry: this item appears to have been from the Lawson foundry site.

Function

Used to produce mould: specifically, used to produce mould for water pipe component.

Technical

According to Mr. Ian Jackson, the board on which this pattern is mounted is shaped and sized to fit inside one half of a wooden box. The holes cut in either end of the board are spacers: when slipped over fixed rods within the box, these spacers would have ensure perfect placement and alignment of the pattern. The other half of the open box would have been placed over the pattern, and the spacers used to align it correctly. The material then introduced into the box (wax, sand, molten metal, etc) would form itself around the pattern, and produce a mould. The holes in the pattern act as vents, allowing heat to dissipate. (Ref. 4)

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

"3" cast in raised print on both sides of piece. "T.L & S" cast in raised print on metal band secured to one side of piece. "T.L. & S." and "3X3X1 1-2X1 1-2 FIG. 15" appears in raised print on metal bands fixed to one side of display board. "10 -" handwritten in white grease pencil on opposite side of board.

Missing

None.

Finish

Rough, dark metal casting mounted on wooden board; wood detail.

Decoration

N/A