If a business was a munitions depot that Navy Seabees mistakenly built at the end of a railroad fork, but the other "tine" of the railroad was a clear, safe throughway and you were the engineer operating a speeding train, but had no idea which railroad tine to take, how would you know where to go; this was the quandary I was faced with when deciding where to send irreplaceable antique hardware to for new castings.
After a couple of weeks of correspondence between Ball and Ball and I, including being asked to provide instructions regarding what metal to use, quantity of recasting for each item, what finish to provide, Etc., Ball and Ball Foundry, quoted a price that I felt was reasonable, so I agreed to the deal with a pandemic handshake. After purchasing packaging supplies and U.S.P.S. Priority Mail shipping, I sent original hardware to Ball and Ball, with my fingers crossed.
After confirming receipt of the hardware at Ball and Ball foundry, via U.S.P.S. Priority Mail tracking number, I asked Ball and Ball when they anticipated the work to be completed, but after one week, no reply.
After several attempts to contact Ball and Ball, I was sweating bullets (perhaps from the Seabee munitions depot), but with Ball and Ball and my hardware so far away, I could only wait.
After a week had passed, I found a U.S.P.S. Priority Mail package, but did not expect my original hardware and recast items to be delivered because I had not paid for the items in advance.
Enclosed in the package was an invoice with a message scribbled on it stating "With your requests and demands, we do not feel we will be able to complete your order to your satisfaction. We will return all hardware intact." What Ball and Ball need to return too, is the cost of packaging supplies and Priority Mail that I wasted on this ill-fated incident.
If a foundry can not accommodate orders involving specific quantities, finishes or metals, then they are in the wrong business. Ball and Ball have not only wasted my money, but my time!
Caveat to all who seek a (reproduction) foundry, pass on Ball and Ball hardware reproductions; they take their moniker literally and sure have dropped the ball! read more