The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-12-30

placed upon the plaster eRain ana the unxes
moved until another fourth point " marked
hy IT, adjustments Removing the cross 70
|,6c marble, Inequalities ere cut away until
the fiagrr Is ii place and second point g
secured. The process continues, AIDED py
various measurements aud q trained eye:
until the plaster bust Il reproduced almost
exactly Ia marble.
piYricuLTrgs or CASTING IN BRONZE.
The process OF bronze.casting Is exceed
ingly complicated aud difficult. Some scuIp-
Tors send their work TO France To be east,
and the bronze. casters employed by artists
in this city are almost all Frenchmen. Sand
IL The material used for moulds. Statues are
usually cast In separate parts, but brief
description OF the way OF securing bronze
cast OF bust will indicate the method OF the
work. Taking sand moDstened often with
lager beer, which renders 1t more sticky. tue
workmen put ID upon the bust until q cake
of the wet sand is In place, covering perhaps
The chest. This dries in position, and then
| another piece Is pastered on, enveloping the
front OF the Ieck, aud so on until the whole
OF the bust is encased In pieces made oil this
wet sand, which dries and hardens IN place.
| over This frst layer made up OF several
pieces is put an outer she'll OF sand. Inc
whole mass is then put into box open on
two sides aud secured from rolling about by
long nails. Here 1t remains and dries for a
| lime. Very carefully the outer she'll and
the inner layer are chiseled away from the
bust In halves, the interior OF which, when
fitted together, gives OF course an impres..
sion OF the bust. The hollow mould formed
| by binding together these halves Is filled
with dQe porous sand. moistened and pre-
vented from yadhering TO the sides OF the
mould by the use OF un9uents. This haf-
dens. then the halves OF the mould are re-
moved, aud cast Is obtained OF the bust IN
sand.
But the most difficult part OF the work is
TO follow. II the bronze casting is TO be
ouarter OF an inch in thickness, quarter
OF an inch Is carefully FLED away from the
whole surface OF this sand-bust that there
NAV be Just that space between The bust
and the sides Of the mould when the melted
bronze is poured in. Moreover, the sides
OF the mould must be kept at the same dis
lanee from the bust throughout to avoid
touching at any point. The inner layer
Of the mould is in several pieces.
Into these pieces short nails are
carefully inserted so that one end Is
buried in the inner surface OF the mould
while the other will pierce the sand.bust
and serve as support. All over the inte-
rior of the mould these nails are inserted OF
exactly tho proper length, so that when the
halves of the mould are fitted together over
the s3nd.bust a space will be left between
The mould aud the bust OF q quarter OF an
inch. When the bronze Is poured in, these
nails are melted and disappear.
To the last process-tbat OF making the
bronze cast-two precautions must be OBJ
served one, that the air may escape nicely;
and the other, that the melted bronze may
reach the different parts OF the mould az
nearly as possible at tue same instant. Un-
less this is done the bronze bardens and the
cast is imperfect. To secure the general and
simultaneous introduction OF the bronze,
little canals are made In the sand. so that the
bronze running down them strikes bali
dozen parts OF the bust at the same instant.
Openings, or ''gates," as they are technically
called, are made for the escape OF The air.
After allowing the bronze time to cool and
harden, the mould is knocked away and the
brop bust, which incloses, OF course, the
sand.bust, is subjected to a keen examna-
ton, in order to detect flaws or defects.
The whole process is necessarily exceed
iugly slow. Two weeks are required often
to cast in bronze >ingle bust. The me-
chanica ingenuity, time. skill, and pains
taxing required, in addition to the art OF
the sculptor, 60 TO account for the expen-
siveuess OF works of art in marble and
bronze.