Posts fromEric Nordgren

USS Monitor Center

Large Scale Conservation – Part 1

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Hey folks, Josiah here. I’m relatively new to theMonitorConservation Project, on a yearlong fellowship to help with all of the work to be done here and to learn about marine archaeological conservation as I go along. One of the most interesting things that I am learning from working here is the logistics of large scale conservation work. The majority of work in the conservation field tends to deal with relatively small objects, papers, paintings, etc. Often they are things that can fit on a workbench or easel and require a lot of fine detail work. Sometimes a larger sculpture or painting comes through the lab and requires a bit of planning, equipment, jigs, and improvisation to perform the necessary work. Other projects such as large outdoor sculpture are too big, or too permanent to bring into the lab, and require the conservator to move his “lab”, including scaffolding and ladders as well as the usual equipment, out to the object. The work on theMonitoris a bit different from either of those situations. It is a huge project involving both huge artifacts, and thousands of smaller artifacts, and all of it has to come to the lab. A project like this requires massive planning and investment in logistics, equipment, and support before any treatment of objects can even begin. The recovery effort to bring these objects up from the bottom of the ocean was a pretty incredible undertaking in itself, but it was long before my time here so I’m going to write mostly about the logistics of the lab and the ongoing work of treatment.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

USS Monitor Center

Newly Conserved Artifacts Now on Display!

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Just in time for Battle of Hampton Roads weekend, 10 newly conserved artifacts are now on display at the USSMonitorCenter, helping to tell the story of theMonitorand the CSSVirginia.

Visitors to theMonitorCenter are now greeted by the muzzle of a IX-inch Dahlgren shell gun which was used on board theVirginiaon March 8th, the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads. A shot fired by the USSCumberlanddamaged its muzzle and the gun was retired and later captured by the Union Navy as ‘Trophy No. 1’ This gun with its beautiful commemorative inscription is on loan to The Mariners’ Museum from the US Navy and has recently been cleaned and conserved. During the process, Will found a number of historic ‘graffitti’ inscriptions not previously visible.Read more

USS Monitor Center

USS Monitor’s Engine Room Clock-Part 2

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TheMonitor’sclock movement was in amazingly good condition after 139 years in saltwater, due to many of the parts being made of high quality brass and copper nickel alloys.

The use of nickel in some of the components was verified by elemental analysis performed at the College of William and Mary materials characterization laboratory at the Jefferson Laboratories Applied Research Center in Newport News. This analysis provided valuable guidance in selecting the most appropriate conservation treatment for these parts. The delicate springs, screws, and gear shafts (called arbors) made of steel did not fare so well, however, and had completely rusted away apart from a few preserved remnants of the main spring.Read more

USS Monitor Center

USS Monitor’s Engine Room Clock – Part 1

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The USSMonitor’sengine room clock will be exhibited in a new display beginning March 5th2010 at The Mariners’ Museum’s USSMonitorCenter. Although the sturdy brass case and silvered face ofMonitor’s engine room clock went on display with the opening of the USSMonitorCenter in 2007, the mechanical heart of the clock, its movement, required more time in conservation treatment due to its complex nature and numerous small parts.Read more

USS Monitor Center

Nutguard Conservation Nearing Completion

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Inside theMonitor’s turret there are a series of thin wrought iron plates that covered the rows of nuts and bolts that held together the turret armor. The purpose of these plates was to prevent the nuts from breaking off of the bolts and flying around inside the turret when the armor took a hard hit during battle. The plates, known as nut guards, were about 1/8thinch thick rolled iron sheets, a couple of feet wide and several feet long, with the sides curved like a deep cookie sheet. Each nut guard was held in place by a pair of bolts near the top and bottom edges of the plate. The spaces behind the nut guards filled up with muddy sediment while theMonitorwas sitting on the bottom of the ocean.

Recently one of the nut guards was removed from the turret so that the sediment could be carefully removed. The plate was then isolated in a small treatment tank where it underwent desalination. The nut guard did not fare well in the ocean because the plate is made of relatively thin wrought iron sheet. Numerous holes have rusted through the sheet and the curved edges are very fragile. It has been soaking in a pH 12 sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution while undergoing mild electrolytic reduction. The chloride level extracted into the solution has been stable for several weeks. On Tuesday we changed the solution one last time. We also washed away quite a bit of soft surface rust and corrosion flakes in the process. The surface looks surprisingly good after having spent a hundred and forty years on the bottom of the ocean. Conservators are now soaking the artifact for about two more weeks prior to rinsing the artifact to remove residual sodium hydroxide. The artifact will then be removed from its rinse and then dried. The next challenge is to create a supportive mount to store and display this heavy but very fragile artifact.

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