Preview: Sand Casting Marine Hardware: The Port Townsend Foundry

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We visit the Port Townsend Foundry to see how they utilize the sand casting process to create in-house marine hardware.

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31 Responses So Far to “Sand Casting Marine Hardware: The Port Townsend Foundry”

  • Brent Williams says:

    What a great video, we never realize the work that goes into making these parts. It is always awesome to see the behind scenes. Thank you sharing, great job.

  • Robert (Bob) Godfrey says:

    Took the bronze casting course at the Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the process of making beautiful things out of bronze but of course this is a whole new professional level of beautiful castings. Kudos for this video……very enjoyable!

  • MARK C PERRINE says:

    Butifal work. I am a master Tool & Die maker and I know.

  • Beau Vrolyk says:

    When we took the bronze tracks off of MAYAN’s rail caps and returned her to the original sheeting system, we turned to Port Townsend Foundry for the parts. They are astoundingly strong and have served us well. The diamond pads with threaded sockets, the plugs, and the threaded eyes have now served two seasons on the water and work flawlessly.

    We’ll be building an anchor roller on the bowsprit soon. Port Townsend has already cast the roller and we’ll return to them for the strap which mounts on the bowsprit and the trough which guides the chain over the rail cap as we complete the project.

    Eventually, we may add lifelines to the boat. Port Townsend has all the bits, especially the lovely fluted stanchions that come in all the appropriate sizes for single and double lifeline systems.

    It’s wonderful to have them to help us complete our re-fit of our old schooner.

  • Thomas Buzzi says:

    Having cast lead into dive weights, etc. I can appreciate some of the effort displayed here. The work completed is just “achingly beautiful”. Thank you for preventing the loss of yet another skill which was so integral at one time to the industry to which you cater.

    • David Dickson says:

      Thanks for this view of the foundry process from Port Townsend. Amazing, hand finished products. Works of art, and superior craftsmanship.

      • David Dickson says:

        😂😂😁……maybe I should’ve checked the comments and saw I’d already made one. That’s what happens when you rewatch a video many months later.

  • Arthur Haberland says:

    I have had Pete, Cathy, and company custom make me many parts for my refit. They are wonderful people to work with, their prices are cheap when you consider what you are getting and what they go through to make it, and the quality is top rate.

    The reproductions for my ChrisCraft hatch dogs are more jewelry than simply parts.

  • John Wujack says:

    Thanks for another great video. Knowing that Pt. Townsend Foundry is down the road from me on the Kitsap Peninsula just makes me feel good. Thanks for including your Pacific NW friends, again.

  • Charles Hancock says:

    I was the pattern maker at Port Townsend Foundry for six years and I can say without reservation that it is one of the great maritime resources of the world. Pete and Cathy are the rarest kind that do not sacrifice anything in pursuit of quality. The best that can be done is all they do. Well done folks.

  • eric pomber says:

    PTF made almost all of the hardware for my Bristol Channel Cutter. Really nice folks to deal with and the quality is second to none. I am in Michigan so it was neat to see the shop where my hardware was made.

  • John Burgess says:

    I so enjoyed that. Thanks to all concerned. Reassuring to witness the pride these folk have in their skills and their products in an age where school kids are taught to use CAD driven laser cutters and3D printers!

  • David Dickson says:

    Excellent film, thanks OCH. It just shows us how anything needed for the wooden boat trade is available in Port Townsend. What an amazing part of the pacific northwest.

  • Joseph E Pitoniak says:

    Wonderful stuff! Thanks for bringing this content to us.

  • William McCaffrey says:

    Love to see craftsmanship of this level! Beautiful work. Helps buyers understand the cost of making such fine parts. Would have loved to see how they carve the wooden mold pieces – maybe a followup video?

  • James Cornwell says:

    Wow! Like many other OCH videos, this restores my faith in the persistence of craft! Thanks!

    • Larry Wangerin says:

      Totally agree w/James Cornwell – a real classic foundry and machine shop operation. With so much hand work and setup, it is a matter of do we setup a CNC machine for one item, or just go to the lathe, Bridgeport or grinder and get it done!

  • Joseph Flynn says:

    Super video. I’m taking a Peapod course at WBS this week, and a bronze casting course is concurrently being taught in the pole barn just a couple of feet away. It’s been interesting to watch the students cast small objects such as cleats and fairleads. Nice to see the beautiful stuff the pros are making at places like the Pt Townsend Foundry.

    Thanks also to Eric for his tour of the boatyard last night after dinner.

  • Philip Myer says:

    Wow! beautiful, tactile and practical fittings. Great video, thanks Eric and Steve.

  • Michael Mittleman says:

    The final products are gorgeous in the extreme. It was interesting to note the labor intensive requirements of the production process; no robotics here. Are the scraps, cuttings and other debris saved for reuse? If the answer is yes, why not drill out the centers instead of casting? Metal loss would be minimal because the filings would be reused.

    • andy larowe says:

      Michael- I worked in an Aluminum and Brass foundry years ago. All of the Gating, Sprues, and Risers cut off of the part are indeed thrown back into the Furnaces, remelted, and ultimately recast forming another (finished) piece.
      “Drilling out the centers” would require an additional machining step, a fixture to hold it,and more. With a good pattern, and a sand “Core” the hole simply appears as the core sand is ‘knocked’ out.

  • Keith Magill says:

    Fantastic Video. The quality that goes into those pieces is impressive. Made to last generations. Good to see true craftsmanship!

  • Kyle Stroomer says:

    Wow, what an incredible group of craftsmen and women. Thank you for letting us peak in!

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