Transporting a large casting mould to its pit
Foundry instructions, with a long cylindrical form drawn on its cradle.
The sheet gives detailed foundry instructions for handling a large mould once it is finished. Leonardo describes binding two long planks together with a gap between them, resting the mould on sacks of tow laid over crosspieces, sweeping the path clean, and moving the whole load on three rollers with levers to the mould's casting pit. He then explains how to draw out the core by tapping its thinner end, clean the interior, lash the mould above its middle, raise it with tackle and stand it upright over the pit to be re-fired. Above the text a long ribbed cylindrical form lies on a timber cradle with a geared mechanism at one end.
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Carrying the finished mould on rollers to the pit
Two planks longer than the mould are joined at their ends a braccio apart, crosspieces are laid near each end, and sacks of tow are set on them to receive the mould. With the path swept clean and three rollers placed beneath, levers move the load to the casting pit.
Drawing out the core and re-firing the mould
Once the mould is beside its pit, the core is knocked out from its thinner end and the cords removed, and the inside is cleaned as thoroughly as possible. The mould is then lashed a little above its middle, raised with tackle, stood upright over the small hollow beside the pit, and re-fired.
The mould on its timber cradle
Above the text a long ribbed cylindrical form lies horizontally on a low timber cradle, with a geared, rack-like mechanism and projecting rods at the left end and construction lines rising above it. The device is drawn as the physical apparatus for holding and moving the piece.