Historic References To Type Metals
Joseph Moxons', in his Mechanick Exercises, mentions a mix of equal amounts of "antimony" and iron nails.
| “ | Paragraph 2. Of making Mettal.
The Metal Founders make Printing Letters of, is Lead hardned with Iron: Thus they chuse stub-Nails for the best Iron to Melt, as well because they are asured stub-Nails are made of good soft and tough Iron, as because (they being in small pieces of Iron) will Melt the sooner. To make the Iron Run, they mingle an equal weight of Antimony (beaten in an Iron-Morter into small pieces) and stub-Nails together. And preparing so many Earthen forty or fifty pounds Melting-pots (made for that purpose to endure the Fire) as they intend to use: They Charge these Pots with the mingeld Iron and Antimony as full as they will hold. Every time they melt Mettal, they built a new Furnace to melt it in: This Furnace is called an Open Furnace; because the air blows in through all its sides to fan the Fire. They make it of bricks in an open place, as well because the air may have free access to all its sides, as that the vapours of the Antimony (which are obnoxious) may the less offend those that officiate at the Making the Mettal: And also because the violent fire made in the Furnace should not endanger the Firing any adjacent Houses. |
” |
The "antimony" here was in fact stibnite, antimony-sulfide (Sb2S3). The iron was burned away in this process, reducing the antimony and at the same time removing the unwanted sulfur. In this way ferro-sulfide was formed, that would evaporate with all the fumes.
The mixture of stibnite and nails was heated red hot in an open-air furnace, until all is molten and finished. The resulting metal can contain up to 9% of iron. Further purification can be done by mixing the hot melt with kitchen-salt, NaCl. After this red hot lead from another melting pot is added and stirred thoroughly.
Some tin was added to the alloy for casting small characters and narrow spaces, to better fill narrow areas of the mould. The good properties of tin were well known. The use of tin was sometime minimized to save expenses.
Much of this toxic work was done by child labour, a labor force that includes children.
| “ | Hitherto a Man (nay, a Boy) might officiate all this work. | ” |
As a supposed antidote to the inhaled toxic metal fumes, the workers were given a mixture of red wine and salad oil:
| “ | Now (according to Custom) is Half a Pint of Sack mingled with Sallad Oyl, provided for each Workman to drink; intended or an Antidote against the Poysonous Fumes of the Antimony, and to restore the Spirits that so Violent a Fire and Hard Labour may have exhausted. | ” |
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