Vesuvius Crucible Company

Brendan Mortimer Moriarty

Eric Hanse

François-Noël Richard

François-No¬l Richard

Francois-Noel Richard

There is provided a refractory mono-block stopper of substantially cylindrical configuration having an upper end, a lower end and an axial bore extending downwardly from the upper end, means being provided in the axial bore at a distance d from the upper end for attachment of the stopper to a lifting mechanism, the stopper being divided into three portions (A,B,C); a first portion (A) extending from the upper end towards the lower end until a distance greater than d, a second portion (B) extending from the first portion (A) towards the lower end and a third portion (C) extending from the second portion (B) and comprising a stopper nose ending at the lower end of the stopper. The stopper of the invention is characterized in that the average section of the second portion (B) is lower than the section of the first portion (A) and the highest section of the third portion (C) is higher than the lowest section of the second portion (B). The stopper of the invention has a significantly reduced weight without any observable loss of strength. It is also noted that since the profile of the stopper can be kept symmetrical around its axis, the stopper does not require extra handwork to be removed from the mold.

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Paisley, United Kingdom

Brendan Mortimer Moriarty