Sand Casting

Sand casting is an ancient process that uses imprints in sand to create moulds. Because each letter is placed by hand, every piece can be fully customized.

What is sand casting?

Sand casting is one of the oldest metal casting methods. A pattern is set into packed sand to form a mould, molten metal is poured in, and once the metal cools, the sand is wiped away to reveal the finished casting. It's one of Strath Craft's legacy processes and is still done by hand in our London, Ontario foundry.

How do we sand cast at Strath Craft?

Our sand cast pieces are hand lettered, in three steps:

Lettering. A member of our team places every letter by hand to build a pattern with the exact wording required.
Moulding. The pattern is set in sand to create the mould.
Casting. Molten metal is poured in, and when it has cooled, the sand is wiped away to reveal a bespoke metal plate with crisp raised text.

What is sand casting used for?

Sand casting is ideal for raised text that changes regularly but follows a standard format, most often the text on plaques. Because the pattern is built letter by letter, the wording can change from piece to piece while the overall design stays consistent.

A classic example is our 7.25" sand cast name bars, which have been used on traditional perpetual plaques for decades as new names are added year after year.