Among the many small bits and pieces recovered from the Monitor was this odd fitting. It was found inside of the turret. It is made of iron or a high iron alloy but has not rusted to anywhere near the extent of the other iron artifacts from the Monitor. It also had very little concretion [...]
Recently I had the opportunity to visit the memorial of one of the brave sailors who was lost when the Monitor sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras on December 31st, 1862. Jacob Nicklis, son of William Nicklis, a prominent tailor in Buffalo, New York had re-enlisted as an ordinary seaman in the US Navy [...]
The nutguard discussed a few weeks ago has now been removed from its desalination bath. It was dried under a fan overnight then coated with a tannic acid solution to stabilize the surface. It was necessary to carefully scrape away numerous large flakes of rust from all over the surfaces of the object before the [...]
Buffalo, NY: April 4, 2010 Success! After letting the molten iron cool and solidify, we cut the metal strapping and began to break open the sand molds. It was an amazing feeling as replica Worthington pump damping piston cylinder heads and valve chest covers began to emerge from the molds, just as they would have [...]
Buffalo, New York April 10, 2010 The day of the spring iron pour at Buffalo State College is finally here! After nearly a week of preparation, the iron furnace named ‘Betty’ was lit in the morning and Will and other experienced iron casters fed in measured charges of 7 lbs. of coke and 50 lbs. [...]
Buffalo, NY: April 9, 2010 An eventful day at the Buffalo State College foundry! Final preparations are underway for the iron pour tomorrow. The newly constructed iron furnace has been lined with refractory clay and assembled. Supplies of fuel, in the form of coke, a product of coal combustion, have arrived and Eric and Will [...]
Buffalo, New York: April 8, 2010 Work on the molds for casting replica Worthington pump parts in iron continues with the packing of sand molds around the plastic replicas of the steam chest cover and damping piston cylinder head made at The Mariners’ Museum before we left Newport News. The sand molds were made by [...]
Preparations for Replica Worthington Parts Casting Buffalo, New York: April 7, 2010 Today Will and Eric are continuing preparations for casting replicas of two components of the port side Worthington pump. As a first step, multiple replicas have been cast in polyurethane plastic by taking two part rubber molds of the original artifacts. The plastic [...]
The Monitor’s engine room was equipped with two steam powered Worthington pumps for clearing bilges and acting as boiler water feed pumps. Both pumps were recovered from the wrecksite and have been undergoing conservation at The Mariners’ Museum. When they first entered the lab these pumps were covered with a hard, thick calcareous marine crust [...]
Recently we did some work on Monitor’s twin vibrating side-lever steam engine (seen here submerged in its treatment tank). This engine is almost the size of my kitchen. Made mostly of cast and wrought iron it weighs approximately 30 tons. In order to keep it submerged in treatment solution this 40,000 gallon tank (the square [...]
