Research

Here a set of original articles can be downloaded, viewed, and printed.  A principal article and eight supplements deal with casting processes, and there are five articles that deal with bank “variations.”  Downloadable files are in PDF format and can be viewed using free Adobe Reader applications.

Patterns and Molding of Cast Iron Banks

The article “Patterns and the Molding of Cast Iron Banks” was inspired by a presentation by William (Bill) Robison at the Still Bank Collectors Club of America convention in June, 2002 and was published in the Penny Bank Post, April, 2003. Supplements Nos. 1 to 3 expand on the original article based on patterns and banks in Frank Kidd’s collection at the Kidd Toy Museum in Portland, Oregon. Nos. 4 to 7 add new information on other topics, and Supplement No. 8 is devoted to operation of the cupola and melting and pouring of the iron. The latter is illustrated with photos taken at the Williamsport Foundry in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Title

Download Size
Patterns and the Molding of Cast Iron Banks
(228 KB)
Supplement No. 1: Working Patterns and Pattern Trees
(256 KB)
Supplement No. 2: Assembling Cast Iron Banks
(144 KB)
Supplement No. 3: Master Patterns
(124 KB)
Supplement No. 4: Molding Materials: Sand, Partings, and Facings
(1.5 MB)
Supplement No. 5: Cleaning Iron Castings
(8.3 MB)
Supplement No. 6: Pattern Lettering
(4.7 MB)
Supplement No. 7: Match Molds
(48 KB)
Supplement No. 8: Melting and Pouring the Iron
(5.4 MB)

Variations of Cast Iron Still Banks

The article “Proposal for Identifying Variations of Cast Iron Still Banks” was published in the December, 2003 issue of the Penny Bank Post. It posits that knowledge of the process used to make cast iron banks allows insightful analysis of the differences between banks that are similar but not identical. The end result is the ability to identify “Variations” versus separate “Types.” The “Proposal…” is focused on still banks, but the approach also is applicable to mechanical banks, iron toys, or any other iron object made by green sand casting.

Title

Download
Proposal for Identifying Variations of Cast Iron Still Banks
(220 KB)
Supplement No. 1: Modified Working Patterns: “Prancing Horse on Oval Base (Beauty)” Bank
(192 KB)
Supplement No. 2: Modified Working Patterns: “Give Me a Penny” Bank
(200 KB)
Supplement No. 3: The “Punch and Judy” Mechanical Bank
(192 KB)

Variations of Cast Iron Mechanical Banks

The research on “Variations of Cast Iron Mechanical Banks” was done jointly with Bill Robison and initially was published in September 2005 in conjunction with the annual MBCA convention. It illustrates with mechanical banks the proposal on variations and is richly illustrated with banks from Bill’s and Frank Kidd’s collections.

Title

Download
Variations of Cast Iron Mechanical Banks. Part I: Review of the Literature. Part II: Proposal for Identifying Variations.
(1.1 MB)

Notes about Research Downloads

Single copies of the downloads available in this section may be printed for personal use. No commercial use is allowed without written permission of an author.

Downloads can be viewed on virtually any computer using free Adobe Reader applications. Simply click on a research title to download that article. The downloaded file may open automatically (this depends on how your computer is configured); if it doesn’t, start Adobe Reader and then use it to open the file.
 File sizes are shown in parentheses. To reduce download times the resolution of all images in the PDFs has been reduced somewhat.

A very limited number of professionally printed copies of the research articles are available. They are in 8 1/2″ x 11″ booklet format with photos printed in high resolution and with card or plastic covers. Contact the MBCA webmaster for more information. Printed copies of the research on “Variations of Mechanical Banks…” are also available to MBCA members from the MBCA webmaster.