Most foundrymen will probably admit to having murmured a prayer over a mold in hopes for a successful casting. Even today, with so many quality and process certifications, often a simple prayer seems to ensure that complex jobs will work out.
On May 7th, 2019, this practice was publicly proclaimed at Danko Arlington as the foundry poured several very special bronze castings — not just ordinary items, but objects with an unusual amount of detail, symbolism, and accolade.
The first casting was a fifty-pound bronze bell which the company donated to commemorate the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Baltimore. As part of the celebration, the sisters, chaplain, board members, residents, and volunteers came to the foundry to witness and bless the casting process. The bell now hangs from the new portico at the front entrance of Saint Martin’s newly renovated home located on Maiden Choice Lane in Catonsville, MD.
Not far from the new portico, across the parking lot, sits the LSP’s original bell which was cast in 1884 from the renown Baltimore McShane Bell foundry. The original bell hung in the steeple of the sister’s main home on Valley Street not far from the Johns Hopkins Hospital until the sisters moved in 1969 to Catonsville. The new bell and the old bell are actually distant cousins, as the fifty-pound bell pattern was on-loan from McShane.
The new bell is quite a contrast to the original because Danko Arlington used the latest in foundry digital technology for the design. Using state-of-the-art CAD technology, a lengthy quote of the Little Sister’s foundress, Saint Jeanne Jugan, was digitally centered, wrapped, and extruded normal to the changing curved surface of a virtual scanned image of the bell pattern. Using 3-D printing technology, the letters were incorporated into piece of sand that became part of the main mold for casting. In addition, the LSP’s 150th logo was also enhanced in sand and placed on the opposite side of the bell. The company then used advanced solidification software to simulate the metal flow process so that the letters would adequately fill with molten bronze. A cast clapper and post mount bracket were included with the bell. Overall the bell casting was a huge success on the very first try – a testament to the latest technology — and powerful prayers, of course!
The remainder of the molten metal from that same crucible was used to pour copies of a two hundred-year-old skeleton key now used to open Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Stone house in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The original key was given to Pope Francis by President Obama in 2015 during the Papal visit to Washington, DC. Danko Arlington was honored at that time to make copies of the original key as described in an earlier website news article in September, 2015. However, that original lock wore out and had to be replaced with a similar style mechanism with a need for several copies of the new-style key. Representatives from Daughters of Charity and the Seton Shrine were present to witness this significant casting process as well.
The company is honored to commemorate two very special woman saints with bronze castings. Danko Arlington is sure that the saints will somehow return the favor!
Saints Jeanne Jugan and Elizabeth Anne Seton pray for us!
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