The letterer takes a blank panel, in one of many shapes and sizes, and sticks metal letters and numbers on to it with wax. A modern innovation is to use a computer to print out a crude template, showing where lines should begin and end, but still, most of the work is done by eye. The completed panel is passed to the moulder, who lays it flat, face down on a smooth bed of sand.
Bromsgrove sand is premium, but it's just sand, with a few additives.
He tamps this down gently and carefully, until he can lift the original, leaving a perfect reversed impression in the surface. A smooth cover of compacted sand is laid gently on top, with pouring holes and gutters left clear. Meanwhile, molten aluminium is raised to temperature in a crucible in the corner. A pallet of gleaming aluminium ingots catches the light from the ever-open door. It's hot work, this, often over 100 degrees in the workshop.