making an Iron Cross from scratch

[naxos]

1914 vintage but much the same process in 1939


pouring the molten iron in the mold





detailing of the the dies





pressing the silver frames





pressing the finished frames on the core





The crosses are burnt black





sawing out the frames





polishing of the finished crosses





the stages of manufacture



Regards, Hardy

[Chris D.]

fantastic post naxos!

[PzBtl423]

hello,
nice pics.
the titel of this german book is??

[naxos]

published in 1915

[Jonathan M]

Great post

[R. Schmitt]

Thanks for sharing this footage with us, Naxos - VERY Interesting!!!
Happy Easter
Rainer

[naxos]

Danke Rainer

Frohe Ostern auch an dich, Hardy

[Garethmk1]

Excuse my ignorance if I am wrong but I always had the impression that manufacturers of awards by ww2 would be slightly more mechanised and mass produced unlike the seemingly cottage industry type work displayed in this WW1 manufacturer ... is it just that the main makers e.g. Deumer, Steinhauer & Luck et al would be to a higher mechanisation than the smaller firms ?... am I way off mark here ?

Thanks for sharing the pics though ... it really does make you think when you hold one of your crosses that team of highly skilled workers produced this award to such a high standard.

I've read a few sources on EK production, but can someone clear this up for me ... with regard to the frosting of 1939 EK's ... I understand that on some it is rhodium plated ... does anyone know exactly how this was done.

Excuse my ignorance!

Regards,

Gareth

[clevischi]

Really nice pics!

[Mike P.]

Look at that ..no Eye Protection , none of the "Safety Nets" we use in modern Factories. OSHA would freak out.

Look at how the Crown is off-center on the Core.
Since the Press is Hand Cranked , I wonder if there were any differences when the Frames were Stamped out . Maybe the Dies lasted longer and developed less flaws since they were not slamming into the Silver at a higher pressure

[tegunn]

Crown isn't off-center. The core casts a shadow on the left side which give the impression the core is wider.

[Mike P.]

I see your point but , I tried to sharpen the pic and it still seems to be close to the right edge ..maybe the Camera angle ?
Wish I could have cleaned the shot up more.

Doesn't really matter ..the main thing here is Naxos finding this Book and posting the pictures for us ..thanks naxos

[naxos]

Thanks Mike for the kind words

Hardy

[ChrisJ]

Core Question

So, do you believe that 1939 EK cores were caste rather than cold forged (?)

(I think not)

Thanks for the nice pictures

[MauserKar98k]

Great thread!