8/5/2023 0 Comments Tin ceilings![]() Norman can repair it and use it as a three-dimensional model for casting new dies. If a sample of a historic pattern has survived in relatively good condition, W. More malleable than steel, zinc is also used when the relief of the design must be deep and sharp.Īn original 1898 plaster of Paris mold from W.F. “The metal used is similar to metal used to make coffee cans,” says Neal Quinto. Today Robert’s children, Neal, Mark, Sue, and Chris, run the business. He intended to start a wood-burning-stove company, but once he spied the tin-ceiling presses that had stood silent for 60 years, he dusted off the old relics and put them back into service. Robert Quinto purchased the shop, which had been in business since 1898 and in its current location since 1910. Fan belts whir as a rhythmic thump, thump, thump stamps out the tin-coated steel panels into 140 original decorative patterns ranging from Rococo, Gothic, Empire, and Colonial. ![]() Resembling a medieval torture chamber more than a metal manufacturing shop, the company’s cavernous 1910 brick building is filled with antique contraptions such as its six original drop-rope hammers-similar to those used to make suits of armor in 17th-century France-plaster-of-Paris molds, 900-pound cast dies, and old shears and brakes. Norman Company, a 106-year-old sheet-metal factory in Nevada, Missouri. One company that reproduces steel ceilings using these old methods is the W. A sheet of steel was then placed over the die on the cast-iron bed and a press operator released the hammer to drop onto the bed, stamping the design into the metal by force when the die sets met. Dies were placed in a press with the female half set onto a cast-iron bed and the male half attached to a large cast-iron hammer hanging above the press bed. Much like the process of repoussé, in which metal is stamped from behind with hand-held hammers to create a decorative pattern, ceiling panels were individually stamped by mechanical drop-rope hammers using dies. In 1900, hand-operated machinery was used to mass-manufacture metal ceilings. Past PressesĪ rope-drop hammer stamps out decorative “tin” ceilings at the W.F. With improved machinery through time, companies were able to produce a higher-grade product at a more reasonable price. The material was also used as wainscoting and sidewalls in bathrooms and libraries. In the 1910s, Canton Steel Company advertised its steel ceilings as an effective treatment in the living room of a modern home as well as in an up-to-date kitchen. They were also sold as the modern choice for ceilings. “Decorative plaster ceilings were expensive because a master craftsperson would need to be employed to do the work-a homeowner could get a similar effect with pressed-metal ceilings at a fraction of the price.” When metal ceilings were painted white, they looked like expensive, ornate plaster. “One reason for their popularity was cost,” explains Bill Perk, Jr., president of the contemporary tin ceiling manufacturer M-Boss, Inc. By the late 1800s, there were about two dozen factories pounding out tin-coated steel ceilings and sidewall. Rope was used as a molding to cover the joints, and the corners were hidden by wooden rosettes. Historian Ken Postlethwaite explains that although there is some controversy over where the first pressed metal ceilings popped up in this country, it is believed that their use began in 1885 with the experimental installation of tin-plate squares used to patch a ceiling in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo: Lee Ann Russell) Tin Ceiling Origins ![]() Sheets of steel are still hand-cut with shears at W.F. ![]() We’ll look at old and new technologies used to re-create this historical ornament. Dramatic, deep-paneled steel ceilings could be found in high-society townhouses, while simpler patterns were found in more modest homes. Frank Baum created a character out of tin in his 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Up until World War I, when manufacturing was diverted to war efforts, the same process was used to make sheet metal for roofing ornament and skylight casings-even children’s author L. Early steel manufacturing companies cited the practicality of this material over wood and plaster, touting it as “perfect protection against fire, water, dust, vermin, and rodents” as well as advertising the metal as not “cracking, peeling, or shrinking.” (Photo: Michael Jackson archives)Ī popular choice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for both residential and commercial buildings, pressed tin-coated steel ceilings made an elegant, economical addition to many rooms. Decorative metal ceilings were first used in formal parlors and living rooms as an economical alternative to decorative plaster. ![]()
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