Repurposed Foundry Patterns

by John Biermacher

2 Materials

$100

2 Days

Easy

This was a fun project, because it was quick and of a much smaller scale than some others I have been recently involved with.

The Heritage Company is an architectural salvage business and probably my most favorite haunt. I have been friends with and done business with the owner (Rodger Parzyck) for over 30 yrs. Recently they acquired some small wooden foundry molds.They were all about 12 inches high and 4 to 6 inches wide. All were stamped with “Young’s Iron Works” and serial numbers.

This mold accomodated the Tito's vodka.

They all were interesting, but other than decorative pieces, I could not see a use. One box was large enough that I thought I could add a lid and make it a gift/display box. I reworked it so it would accommodate a half pint of Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon. It looked good without a lid and made me see the potential in the other molds.

I went back to Heritage and picked up the remaining molds for $5 each. On the way home I stopped at the liquor store. The store clerk and I had fun picking bottles by size and shape rather than brand; i.e. we chose bottles that would fit the molds. We picked a few half pints and several miniatures.

This mold was cut to form two boxes.

Knob Creek fit well in this one.

I proceeded to cut the molds on my table saw and found I could get generally get two miniature display boxes out of one mold and had to do some creative cuts for the half pints. I screwed a large washer to the bottom of some molds to stabilize the bottle.

I stained the fresh cuts and then stripped each mold with paint stripper. The molds were so oily and dirty, stripping only removed part of the finish, so a lot of patina remained. I sealed them with a single coat of shellac.

I gave Rodger the one with Tito’s Vodka and my brother Mike got the Wild Turkey Honey. Since I am pretty much a beer drink, the remainder will be used as gifts for other friends and family.

A fun project- thanks for viewing.