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printer or cut out of a block of material using a computer numerical control machine. Before the pattern could be made, more


than 10 layers of paint had to be removed to reveal the original details on the 150-year-old casting. Each cast iron part is made in a sand


mold. The sand is placed over the pattern and compacted tightly, like when you build a sand castle. When the pattern is removed, the shape remains in the sand. Hot liquid metal is poured into the mold after the pattern is removed. As the metal cools down, it turns into a solid again, taking on the shape of the pattern.


The original iron from the damaged cast-


ings was reclaimed and remelted to produce the new pieces. This is typical of all metalcast- ing jobs. Metal from old parts are recycled over and over again into brand new objects.


The Capitol Dome’s cast iron features


include 288 balusters in the boiler plate balcony, 72 80-lb. decorative acorns, and 36 grape clusters. The Dome features 36 hol- low cast iron columns set 10 degrees apart around the 360-degree circle and 12 iron columns in the Tholos section. Fourteen over- lapping cast-iron plates make up one section of the curved upside-down-bowl-shaped portion of the Dome.


The U.S. Capitol Dome Restoration Project Þǣ ŘŸɠ ÞŘ ÞǼǣ fiŘ Ķ ƼÌ ǣs Es¯ŸNjs OŸŎƼĶsǼÞŸŘʲ the repainting phase. Before any repairs were made, workers removed up to 14 layers of paint. Now, 1,215 gallons of paint are being Ȗǣs_ ǼŸ NjsƼ ÞŘǼ ǼÌs ^ŸŎs. ǻÌs fiŘ Ķ ǼŸƼ OŸ Ǽ color is “Dome White.”


The restoration of the Dome’s exterior should provide another 50 years of protec- tion from the wind and rain.


Photo provided by the Architect of the Capitol.


The U.S. Capitol Dome features dozens of intricate cast iron ornamental pieces, including 72 acorns that weighed 80 lbs. each.


MELTING POINT 13


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