Lifting Bundles of Pig Iron with Crane

On the sand bed in front of the furnaces, a slinger guides a lift of pig iron. It was normal to use a flap of leather looped over the wrist to protect the hand from the still hot pig iron. The sand bed is cool enough to not need the wooden clogs normally worn; behind the slinger the impressions of the sow and pig channels can be seen in the sand bed.

Image (from a Glass Plate Negative) courtesy of Dave Mcgill.