Machine for the curved continuous casting with rigid starting bar

A machine for the curved continuous casting of metals, particularly steel, including a mold for producing a cast strand, a curved casting path leading from said mold to a substantially horizontal cast strand path, a reversible extractor-straightener means for straightening and advancing said cast strand and a starting bar having a head and a tail end, said starting bar having substantially the same curvature as the curved casting path and being positionable between a starting position wherein the head end closes the mold and the tail end is engaged by said extractor-straightener means and a stowed position disengaged from said mold and said extractor-straightener means above said substantially horizontal cast strand path, the improvement comprising:

• a starting bar having a leading rigid segment, a trailing rigid segment, and means for pivotally connecting said segments together in succession;
• and
• a folding starting bar support-guide means including a displaceable portion and means for pivotally connecting said displaceable portion to said support-guide means;
• said folding starting bar support-guide means being specially adapted so that the pivotal connecting means of said starting bar and said support-guide means may be brought into register when said starting bar is in the stowed position and the displaceable portion folded with the leading segment of said starting bar so as to move the head end of the starting bar away from the cast strand path to a readily accessible position.