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, xt tears
TUntverstts of Wisconsin
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? L,
ART OF
COPPERSMITHING
A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON
WORKING SHEET COPPER
INTO ALL FORMS
BY
JOHN FULLER, Sr.
FOURTH EDITION, REVISED
NEW YORK
DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY
1911
Copyrighted, 1904, by John Fuller, Sr.
Copyrighted, 19x1, by John Fuller, Sr.
4.
176977 0,3^1^
AUG 20 1913
TWU_
•F95
DEDICATED
npO THE MEMORY of my Father, to
whose early instruction much of the
following work is due: and to the Boys
of the Copper Trade, in the hope that
it may assist them to acquire pro-
ficiency in the art of Copper Work-
mg.
/
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
When a boy between the age of nine and fifteen years, struggling
along with my father, trying to be what was then called a Tinman
and Brazier, I was compelled by circumstances to encounter many stum-
bling blocks and overcome many obstacles in the way of education. It
will be noticed in the opening pages of this work that the writer
was but a mere child when, like thousands of other children, he
commenced to handle tools, not toys. As my childish mind began to
develop and inquire into the whys and wherefores of things about me,
I also began to look for a source of information, beyond the shop, to
assist me to fill the position it seemed I was destined to occupy with
a hope of some degree of distinction (for most children have aspira-
tions). My search was incessant, and not altogether in vain, because
among the vast amount of chaff searched I found occasionally a golden
grain, which was laid up in the storehouse of my mind.
I jotted down instinctively in my memory each practical lesson
learned in the shop, which was my only record. After using every
means at my command to obtain the education necessary, wrestling
in the little spare time allotted to me in the evening with such books
as came in my way, storing my mind indefinitely for several years
with whatever seemed likely to be useful, I went to London. Here
I ransacked every old book stall I could find, hoping to find some
guide to the copper trade; but all in vain. I never discovered a line to
4 PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
help me. I then resolved to exert every effort to acquire the neces
sary ability, so that when a favorable opportunity should offer I could
give my experience for the benefit of boys placed in the same unfortunate
position as myself.
And while the aspirations of my youth died away amid the busy
turmoil of mechanical life, and smoldered for years (with an occasional
burst of warmth), the thoughts were still cherished, and I began without
any preparation, save my memory, to give the helpless boys of the
trade reliable instruction in things they should know in starting out to
acquire the "Art of Coppersmithing." I did my best to tell from my
own experience, in the most lucid manner, that which is being called for
in everyday life, in three separate branches of the copper trade, sup-
posing with each lesson there was a good boy at my side. I am pleased
with the result of my first effort, which was in a measure impromptu.
It will not, however, make Coppersmiths of any one without effort and
application, but I trust it will be a help to all who have need of assistance,
and be an incentive to boys to exercise whatever talents they may
possess for their own benefit and that of others less fortunate.
Before closing my few introductory remarks I desire to tender
thanks to The Metal Worker for the opportunity afforded me for the
consummation of my work.
John Fuller, Sr.
Seneca, Kansas.
PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION.
In offering this work to the public which was written under many
disadvantages, I was actuated chiefly by one motive; namely: to put
into the hands of the boys destined by fate or from choice to work
sheet copper and one or two of its amalgams, such instruction as would
assist them in the practical application of their school education.
I know from more than sixty years' experience at the bench with
many men of many degrees of ability, that all interested readers have
been benefited and helped by a study of its pages as I intended.
It should be noted that the various lessons in capacity of vessels
and their proportion are made as plain as possible.
A certain amount of geometrical education is absolutely necessary
in all mechanical pursuits, and Coppersmithing is no exception.
In some respects the book will be appreciated most by those who
have a good knowledge of mensuration.
In preparing this Fourth Edition, I have carefully examined the
work and amended, transposed and placed the figures spoken of in the
text close to each other so that both text and illustration are under the
eye of the reader as much as possible. A number of typographical and
other errors which crept into the former editions have been corrected.
I have endeavored most to establish faithful guides, trusting my readers
to pursue further their various applications where needed. It has been
my desire as far as practicable to avoid repeating processes ; but to point
5
6 PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION.
the learner to the various applications each process is adapted to, thus
adding to his efficiency as a workman.
There has been nothing of importance occurring since the last edition
to merit any great change in the scope of the book. That it has
reached a Fourth Edition is especially gratifying, and clearly proves the
need of such a guide to the working of sheet copper.
To the publishers who have kindly co-operated with me and aided
in the preparation of this volume, the author returns his sincere
*
acknowledgments.
John Fuller, Sjl
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Historical Sketch of Copper u
Braziers' Art, or Light Coppersmithing 16
First Year's Experience 24
Repairing and Tinning 26
The Boy's Second Year 31
Making Washing Coppers 34
Making Small Brewing Coppers 40
Table of Dimensions and Capacity 42
Making Hand Bowls 43
Making Frying Pans 50
Making Closet Pans 54
Making Water Balls 54
( Mounting for Copper Goods. 58
Glue Pots and Tea-Kettles , . 69
Oval Tea-Kettles 74
Beer Mullers 79
Funnels 88
Coffee Pots 91
Saucepans and Pudding Pots 94
Stewpans 100
Stock Pots 106
Fish and Turbot Kettles 108
Brazing Pans no
7
8 CONTENTS.
PAGE
Tea Boilers 1 12
Warming Pans 1 17
Preserving Pans 121
Dripping Pan and Ladle 122
Coal Scoops and Coal Hods 127
Making Coal Scoops 132
Planishing and Smoothing 152
Cranes or Syphons 155
Pumps 158
Appliances of Railway and Marine Coppersmiths 166
MaKing Copper Pipe 175
Piecing and Joining Pipes 177
The Fire Pots 177
Fire Pot Set for Brazing Joint 181
Soft Soldering Large Joints 183
Taking Templates 186
Filling and Bending 186
Making Bends 188
Template Boards 192
Patching Pipes 198
Outlets 201
Expansion Joints 206
Tee Pieces '. 210
Three-Way Pieces 212
Cross of Four- Way Pieces 213
. Saddle Fire 216
Marine Work 218
View of Maudsley, Sons & Field's Shop 218-219
Making Large Bends 221
Making Double Bends 222
CONTENTS. 9
PAGE
Brazing on . Flanges 225
Short Bends 228
Air Pipes for Ships 230
Making Hollow Spheres 234
Brazing Sheet Brass 242
Locomotive Brass Work 245
Brazing the Joint of Valve Chimneys. 251
Brass Dome Covers 254
Heavy Pipes for Breweries 260
Brewing Coppers or Kettles 270
Dome Coppeis 280
Dome and Pan Coppers r 286
Tallow Coppers 288
Dyers' Coppers 293
Stills 297
Sugar-House Work 301
Sugar Tieches 302
Defecators 303
Film Evaporators 304-305-306
Vacuum-Pans 307-308-309
Coppersmith's Plugs 310
Index ju
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COPPER.
Copper is one of the most important of the seven metals mentioned
by ancient ^historians. It was known probably before the time of Tubal
Cain, who was well acquainted with its uses and an educator of work-
ers in brass and iron. Grecian historians say that Cadmus discovered
copper and taught its application to the wants of his countrymen. It
was brought to notice on the island of Eubcea, near the city of Chal-
kis, and thus we may suppose the Grecians gave it the name of chalcos,
by which name the metal was known to Homer and other ancient au-
thors. The old Romans knew copper as aes cyprum, and later as
cyprutn, names apparently derived from that of the island of Cyprus,
where Pliny says the art of working it was first discovered. It is cer-
tain that upon this island the Phenicians had opened copper mines at a
very early period. Hence, in the mystic nomenclature of the old
alchemists, copper received the name of Venus, the goddess to whom
Cyprus was sacred, and among their signs it was known by the astro-
nomical sign of that planet, <j> . The English word copper, the German
kupper, the Spanish cobre and the French cuivre were probably intro-
duced into those languages during the middle ages, and seem but
slight modifications of the Latin name. Copper is mentioned in the
oldest records and appears to have been one of the first metals brought
into use by mankind. We are led to this conclusion by the considera-
tion of its nature and the probable manner of its occurrence. Masses
of native metal, separated by water from the original beds and de-
posited by floods in spots where warlike people sought materials
from which to make their rude weapons would, by their weight,
color, luster and malleability, quickly attract attention. These
qualities, in connection with the fact that pure native copper is often
detached in masses of considerable size, make it more than prob-
able that this metal was the first upon which the unskilled at-
tempts of the primitive smiths and smelters were made. It is gen-
erally assumed, without any authentic evidence to support the
assumption, that the ancient workers in copper had some particular
alloy of tin and copper which they made so hard that they were
11
It ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
able to cut the hardest rocks, and the remains of large temples,
whose columns were of porphyry and syenite, seem almost incapable
of any explanation except by this supposition. Another fact in con-
nection therewith challenging examination is that the Incas in Peru,
although unable to make any use of the iron ores which lay pro-
fusely about them, were familiar with the special properties of this
particular hard alloy of copper and tin and made it in proportions
almost the same as those which the ancients adopted in the Old
World, using it to construct the tools necessary for cutting the stones
required in the building of their immense aqueducts and temples.
Whether the Phehicians, who carried tin from Britain, acquired the
knowledge of making bronze there is not certain ; but it may prob-
ably be assumed that the weapons and tools of bronze found in the
graves of some ancient race in various European lands, and which
are known to be Celtic remains, were taken by wandering tribes from
that region of Britain where at the present day the descendants of
the same Celts have been and are possibly to-day among the largest
copper refiners on the globe; and there the richest, $nd until
recently the only known, tin region within thousands of miles occurs.
Uses of Copper.
In the construction as well as the beautifying of public buildings
copper, bronze and brass have all played an important part, the
roof being covered with copper, the monuments dedicated to the hon-
ored dead being of bronze and the decoration of their walls artistic-
ally executed in brass. The invention of gunpowder and the intro-
duction of bronze cannon, which were used in the fourteenth and fif-
teenth centuries, added greatly to the increasing value and stimulated
the production of copper, and as civilization advanced the desire for a
metal similar in its properties and beauty to gold and silver rapidly
increased until there is scarcely a branch of human industry where
copper is not an important factor in the means of arriving at or secur-
ing greater perfection. It is employed in nearly all kinds of machin-
ery, either pure or as a compound. We see it in the hands of the mu-
sician, in the construction of mathematical instruments and instru-
ments for the astronomer, adding to the security of sailing-ships and
contributing its share in the internal construction of ocean steamers
that ply between the Old and the New World, besides furnishing a path
for the electric current in its journey from continent to continent in
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 18
the service and extension of civilization. It supplies a reagent for the
chemist and gives the physician a remedy against disease. The elec-
tro-metallurgist uses it to catch and make prominent the evanescent
forms ot nature and art. The dyer, the cook, the brewer and distiller,
use it, and in many other important industries it is in constant consump-
tion, while almost every advance in science adds to the number of its
applications.
Copper Mines.
At Newlands, near Reswick, in Cumberland, England, some rich
mines of copper were worked as early as 1250, and it seems that in
1470 this place was still famous for the amount of metal it produced,
Ecton Hill, in Staffordshire, was another place where copper was ob-
tained in abundance before the era of copper-mining in Cornwall. It
is somewhat interesting and amusing, in the light of passing events
when searching into the history and development of the mineral re-
sources of England, to meet with acts of Parliament passed in the
reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI for the purpose ot preventing
the export of copper and brass, "lest there should not be metal enough
in the kingdom fit for making guns and other engines of war and for
household utensils ; " and then down to so late a date as 1708 we find a
memorial presented to the House of Commons by the workers in brass,
stating that " England by reason of the inexhaustible plenty of cala-
mine might become the staple of brass manufacture for itself and for-
eign parts, and that the continuing the brass works of England would
occasion plenty of rough copper to be brought in."
At this time nearly all the copper used in England came from the
Continent, principally from Hungary, and not till 17 17 do we read of
English pennies being made from English copper. About the close of
the seventeenth century the attention of Cornish tin-miners was drawn
to the more valuable cupreous deposits around them; previous to that
time copper ore had been of little value, and was sold under the name
of poder, but this was produced from mines originally opened and
worked for tin. The yellow pyrites of copper was the first ore recog-
nized as valuable by the miner; the richer black oxide of copper was
considered as worthless, and tons of it were thrown into the sea or
left in the lodes to reward the later and wiser explorers. Deposits be-
gan gradually to be opened for the copper they contained about the
beginning of the last century, and f t om that time to the present the
14 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
produce of the ore has steadily increased, as well as the consumption
of the metal taken from it. The discovery of the rich mines in Angle-
sea in 1768 was followed by the addition of Devonshire and Ireland to
the number of copper-producing regions, and later on immense quan-
tities of ore were imported from Cuba, Chili and the Pacific islands.
The Smelting of Copper.
The advantage of sending ores to be smelted in the rich coal dis-
tricts of Wales was very early perceived, and even in 1586, according
to Carew, copper ore was shipped there from Cornwall. In 1765
several furnaces were in existence near Bristol — still famous for its
brass — and several others along the coast westward. The various proc-
esses then in use appear to have been almost the same as that prac-
ticed as late as 1865 and known as the English method of smelting
copper; and considering the complex nature of the many operations
which it includes and the remarkable difference that exists between
those practiced at that time in all other refining countries, we cannot
help admiring the ingenuity and judgment of those old metallurgists
who, aided only by their own observation, worked a system which,
while so well adapted to all the circumstances of the locality, can be
used in the treatment of every known variety of ore and has withstood,
with scarce a change, the keenest research of modern science.
American Copper Mines.
In America copper in paying quantities has been found in nearly
every State through which run the Appalachian chain of mountains.
The oldest incorporated mining company appears to have been one
for the purpose of reducing ores in Connecticut, the date of whose
charter is 1709. But all other deposits sufficiently developed to assure
a definite knowledge of their value are exceeded by those which within
the last 25 years have been opened in California, Arizona, New Mexico
and in particular in Montana and upon the shores of Lake Superior.
That this wonderful lake region was occupied by a race which existed
at a time prior to the earliest authentic aboriginal history is evident
from the remains which still exist of gangways, tools, and other proofs
of skill which the races occupying the country at the time of its dis-
covery nowhere inake manifest. The Indians met by the first trav-
elers were quite ignorant of the methods of working that had been
practiced by the former race ; they could give no accounts to explain
ART OF COPPBRSMITHING. 15
the numerous excavations, and what copper they possessed was gath-
ered from the surface stones. The first record of the deposits is
found in the missionary report of the Society of Jesus for 1659-60.
The natives had then rude utensils made from this metal, and large
blocks of it were erected and worshiped among their gods. In 1768
an Englishman named Henry, a practical man, carefully examined
the old works at great risk, on account of the native hostility, and in
177 1 established works which were operated a short time only and
then abandoned. The later and more successful mining era begins
about the year 1844. The careful inspection of competent scientific
men made those regions gradually known to the world, and practical
miners who were drawn thither by the reports of mineral wealth
soon discovered large blocks of copper permeated with silver. A great
excitement was caused among adventurers and capitalists, who formed
companies in various parts of the world to work in localities of which
not even a survey had been made. In 1847, however, the crisis came,
and of the then hundreds of nominally existing companies only six
were found actually engaged in mining. The results of these early
disasters have gradually disappeared. Since then the progress of this
region has been healthy and profitable.
16 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
THE BRAZIERS ART, OR LIGHT COPPERSMITHING.
The brazier's art, or the working of light sheet-copper into vessels
for cooking and articles for ornamental purposes, must have engaged
the attention of man from the earliest periods of his civilization, for
among the ancient art treasures in the British Museum- in London
may be seen many very fine and interesting specimens of Oriental
work, illustrating vividly to a practical eye the skill and ingenuity
which had been exercised by the primitive craftsmen in the porduc-
tion of armor, cooking utensils, lamps, vases, and a great variety of
articles for personal adornment taken from the tombs of ancient Egypt,
Babylon, and various parts of India and other places. Judging from
their preservation and the beautiful work displayed on them they
must have played an important part in illustrating the exalted posi-
tions held by their prehistoric owners, as well as the social standing of
the artist. It would seem that for thousands of years this ancient
handicraft has been handed down from father to son, and even to-day
many of the arts connected with special branches of brazing are as
jealously guarded and kept secret with the craft as they were at the
very dawn of its development. One of the most imperative injunc-
tions received by the writer from his father was to faithfully guard
his patrimony from the scrutiny of prying eyes, it having descended
to him through a long line of ancestors for many generations, who had
plied their craft with various degrees of proficiency, thus maintaining
their respectability and independence, to an honorable old age, in evi-
dence of which in Canterbury, England, four years ago one of his
kinsfolk could yet be seen working at the brazier's bench at the ad-
vanced age of 87 years. But having been imbued with more liberal
ideas by coming in contact with and feeling my indebtedness to many
other men from whom we are compelled to borrow more or less, I
have concluded to waive the injunction received in childhood for the
benefit of those who are most interested. I will now try to describe a
brazier's shop in an old country town, together with the tools used
therein, and give such lessons in the art of braziery as I can recall to
memory to assist as far as practicable the learner to become profi-
cient.
ARtf OF OOPPBRSMITHING. 17
An Old-Fashioned Shop.
In the beautiful little town of Dorking, in the county ot Surrey,
England, could be seen an old-fashioned iron-monger's shop, with the
usual stock of copper goods, comprising stew-pans, saucepans, pre-
serving-pans, frying-pans, omelet-pans, cutlet-pans, dripping-pans,
warming-pans, tea-kettles, fish-kettles, turbot-kettles, coffee-pots, pud-
ding-pots, stock-pots, tea-boilers, tankards, spirit-measures, coal-scoops,
coal-hods, beer-mullers, washing-coppers, hand-bowls and a variety of
goods displayed in a tasteful manner in a spacious show-room win-
dow. In the rear of this iron-monger's shop (hardware store) was once
a busy hive of some 25 or 30 men and boys engaged as blacksmiths,
whitesmiths, tinsmiths, gunsmiths, coppersmiths and braziers, each
department separate and distinct in itself. We will now visit this old
brazier's shop, with which we haye the more special interest, look
about it, and endeavor to describe the interior as it was some 40 years
ago and as it probably is to-day, or at least as it was in 1884, hoping it
may benefit and interest the younger members of the craft. As shown
in the plan view, Fig. 1, the door is facing east, and the room is some
25 feet square, with an east-window light; on the north side is a brick
forge, Fig. 2, about 4 feet 6 inches square, the chimney of which is
built in the shape of a square pyramid and covers the whole hearth;
the fire-place or fire-hole is about 1 2 inches square and some 6 inches
deep, and set about 2 feet from the front of the hearth and the same
distance from the wall that carries the west side of the cone of the
chimney; on the west side of this wall the bellows are hung, and at
the back of the bellows are placed three covered pickle-tubs containing
severally sulphuric acid, muriatic acid and salt pickles. Along the
south wall and under the east window are the benches, Fig. 3, with
vises attached; on the east side of the forge is the scouring-sink, which
is some 3 feet long, and placed there so the fumes of the various acids
in daily use may be carried off by the draft of the chimney; there
should be a good supply of water at hand for rinsing purposes,
which is carried off by the drain-pipe running to the sewers. At the
back of the sink are a few shelves to hold spelter-boxes, mcrtar and
pestle, and a few covered jars containing sal ammoniac and borax. In
the chimney- wall are driven a number of square hoops upon which are
hung ladles, sal ammoniac wads of various sizes and the different kinds
and sizes of tongs. The rocking-shaft of the bellows is supplied with
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
o oo
Eg
EH - 1
Fig. 1. — G bound Puis Or old Shot.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
20 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
a chain and stirrup so that the workman may easily work the bellows
with his left foot, leaving his hands free for his work at the fire. On
the east side of the shop is the main work-bench, upon which is fast-
ened an old contrivance for turning stove and other pipe which I
think may claim to be the parent of the rollers now in use in the modern
tin-shop. This primitive contrivance is a round bar having the ends
turned square about 5 inches, flattened and then bolted to the bench,
leaving a space between it and the edge of the bench wide enough to
get the sheet iron or copper between, the workman forming the pipe
by bending the sheet over the bar with the leverage of the metal. On the
south end of this bench and on the south wall is a cupboard with sev-
eral shelves, in which is kept the bright-heads, dry spelter, borax, rosin,
flax and hemp tow, block and grain tin, solder and other little necessities,
so that they may always be in store and be kept clean and always
ready for use. The east bench is continued along the south wail about
half way and the remaining part taken up by thje heavy tools, such as
beak-horns, shanks and side-stakes, along the wall. Over this part of
the bench is a file-rack and further on is along hammer-rack, the other
space being variously taken up by hanging patterns on hooks in the
wall. On the west side Fig. 4 is the coke-bin, and a large box, about
two-thirds full of sawdust, used to wipe off or dry work in after it has
been scoured clean. The next is a large box containing a full and
complete stock of patterns, kept together on rings in the same man-
ner as they are in the shops of the present day. In the middle
of the floor is the heavy tool-block which is about 16 inches
wide by 6 or 8 inches thick and some 6 or 8 feet long, usually
of beech wood, and having pieces of wood nailed to it to an-
swer as feet to keep the block off the floor and the holes which re-
ceive the tools free from dirt and chips, so that no impediment be in
the way of tools placed therein. This stock of tools is comprised in
and named as follows : Large and small round bottom-stakes, tea-
kettle-bottom stake, tea-kettle shank with heads, sauce-pan-belly stake
with single and double end, bent and upright bullet-stakes, side-stakes,
large and small ; funnel-stake, hatchet-stake, beak-irons, crease-irons,
anvil and heavy and light stock-shears. These are all of the heavy and
most costly tools ; the bottom stakes and the various kinds of heads
have bright faces and must be kept greased. The bottom-stakes have
lead covers to protect them from the action of the acids constantly in
use. The various kinds of hammers used can better be described as
ART OP COPPERSMITHINQ.
22 ART OP CQPPERSMITHING.
we proceed and come to the work for which they are adapted and
used by the workman. In the most convenient corner of the bench
are kept with the shears several round and square man "xels, from 4
to 5 feet long, of suitable sizes, having their ends turned down square
and made to fit the holes in the bench, the same as the other tools.
The small tools on the shelf over the south bench consist of hollow
punches, chisels, flat punches, rivet-sets, groovers, &c. The other small
tools are plyers, nippers, hand-shears, snips, compasses, squares and
straight-edges, a good assortment of rough and smooth files and two
burnishers. Having now described as vividly as possible the interior
of this old brazier's shop, together with all its appurtenances, we will
next follow an apprentice through his seven years of service, from his
first two years of drudgery on and up until he shall have gained suf-
ficient proficiency to take his place as a journeyman
ART OF COPPERS MITHING.
24 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
FIRST YEAR'S EXPERIENCE.
On Monday, February 7, 1842, in the town of Dorking, at 6 o'clock
in the morning, could have been seen a little boy, fairly intelligent and
rather larger in stature than his tender years would seem to indicate, who
lacked just 46 days to complete his ninth year. This little fellow was
trudging along by the side of his father toward an old brazier's shop
to take his initial step amid life's busy turmoil. Having arrived there
in due time and admission gained, a light was the first thing in order,
which was obtained from an old tinder-box with a brimstone match, the
light being transferred to an old-fashioned whale-oil lamp (Fig. 5),
which burned after being lit with a reddish-yellow flame. On looking
around the boy saw that about everything seemed black and forbidding,
cold and cheerless ; the soot of half a century previous was still clinging
to those dreary-looking walls. The next anxiety was to get a fire, which
was made from a pile of cinders at hand in the corner of the forge.
This fire seemed to offer a ray of hope to the little fellow, who clung
to the chain of the bellaws and kept the cinders bright enough to be able
to see just where he was. After two and one-half long, weary hours
the bell rang and the boy trudged home to get his breakfast; and what
a release it seemed to get away, if but for 30 minutes, from this gloomy-
looking place and revel in the sunshine while walking home and back I
As the hour of 9 approached he was wending his way thither again,
and from 9 until 1 o'clock blew the fire, ran errands and helped his
father, when the joyful bell rang for dinner, for which an hour was
allowed, returning at 2 o'clock and working until 5, then going to tea
for half an hour and back to work again until 7 o'clock, at which time
the most welcome sound of the whole day said, " Leave until 6 the
next morning." Never did child go to bed more cheerfully or sleep
more soundly than did that little hero of nine summers, and never did
the time seem to fly more swiftly as the gentle word summoned him to
his duties each succeeding morning.
The first week was at length finished, and on Saturday we left off
work an hour earlier; but the last employed were the last paid, and
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. »
thus the boy was the last to be paid, which was done with as much
ceremony as if he were the most important man. After paying him
his 3 shillings wages the good man seemed moved by pity, for he spoke
the only kind word that had seemed to greet the boy's ear (excepting
from his father) during the week, and so the first week of the infant's
toil closed. Peter L. Saubergue always proved a good and kind mas-
ter, and our boy learned to love him as time went on. Here let us
pause a moment to consider if it ought to have been then or is now
necessary for the welfare of the race that little children of such ten-
der years should be made captive and brought to labor while thou-
sands of able-bodied men are idle around them waiting for work.
At the end of six months this boy had got to "be quite handy and
was kept busily engaged breaking coke, sal ammoniac and borax,
charging joints and drying them ready for the fire, thinning
edges and other little jobs.
Then as each batch of cooking
utensils was brought to be
repaired and retinned he was
taught to burn off the
grease, apply the acids and
scour them ready for the proc-
ess of re-tinning. Then, again,
all the hammers were required
to be kept clean and bright,
also all other polished tools, all
of them being carefully greased
with raw goose-grease, which
duty had to be performed ev-
ery day before leaving work,
because if a hammer should get
cloudy it entailed much labor
repolishing on the buff-board
to restore it suitable for use. Pl °- *-*»*•«"• wiiu on. iamf.
The boy labored along at this seeming drudgery, which many boys
are apt to shun and exert every effort to evade, to their own
detriment, for wrapped up in this so-called drudgery are some of the
most important features of every trade.
26 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
REPAIRING AND TINNING.
At the close of each year, before the Christmas holidays commence
and the prominent families leave city resorts for country homes, all
the kitchen furniture has to be overhauled, tinned and repaired, and
all of these goods are sent to the brazier's shop for this purpose. We
will now take a batch and proceed to repair them and then go on and
describe the process of retinning as it would be done, giving the boy
his share in the job. There would be stew-pans, saucepans, frying-
pans, fish-kettles, stock-pots, ladles, spoons, gravy-strainers, fish-slices
and a host of other things required for a complete kitchen outfit.
Fig. 6 shows a copper saucepan with curved sides. The first thing
necessary is to burn off the grease which accumulates under the flap
of the handle and around the wire of saucepans and other vessels, and
this is to be done carefully, so that the articles are not softened.
They are made hot enough so the gases evolved by the heat will just
Ignite and no more, each piece going through the fire in succes-
sion, when they are brushed off and examined. If any of the handles
are loose the old rivets are taken out and new ones put in, the rivet-
holes being cleaned and tinned and the handle then replaced with
new tinned copper rivets. It often happens that a hole is worn
through the lag of a saucepan or stew-pan by the constant rubbing
on the kitchen hot-plate or scullery-sink. The damage done by this
wear is repaired in three ways, according to the time available, the
ability or inclination of the workman, or the affluence and dignity of
the owner.
At one time it was the fashion to finish all utensils up with a sharp
lag (Fig. 7), and often careless workmen have half cut the lag through
before completing them when new. When they are in need of repair-
ing and it must be done in as short a time as possible, and the slit is
not too long, say over 2 inches in length, then at the extremities of
the slit punch two small holes and slightly open it; now take a thin
piece of sheet copper of sufficient length and double it, as in Fig. 8,
then slip the two leaves through the slit, as in Fig. 9 or 11, and lay
the leaves back each way, as in Fig. 10; then close the whole up close
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Fio. 8. — Bellied Si it cop an.
Fio. T. — STBWFAM.
Fio. 8. — Snow j no Fuel Doubled.
Fio. 9. — The W« Piece :s Put In,
Fio. 10. — Puci put Thbouob
Fio. ii. The Piece Put Thbouoh Iheidb.
28 " ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
with a mallet, letting the double part, if inside, go one-half up the
side and the other half out into the bottom, as in Fig. 10; it may now
be soldered with spelter or soft solder. The article can be repaired by
making a shell piece and riveting it to its place, as m Fig. 12; this
kind of piece (Fig. 12a) may be of any length, but the best job is to cut
the damaged part out and cramp and braze a new piece, as in Fig. 13,
which may be done by an expert hand in as short a time as the other
two methods, excepting, however, the cleaning off and replanishing.
New bottoms may be cramped and brazed in or double-seamed, as
may be considered expedient.
When all the repairing is complete and the bruises taken out and
the bottoms of the stew-pans and saucepans and' the like are laid flat
or made level the preparation for retinning properly begins. We com-
mence with the application of a coat of pure commercial muriatic acid
to eat off or remove the dirt and the portions of the old or previous
tinning. When the vessels have stood a sufficient time they are thor-
oughly scoured inside with good sharp sand, with the addition of
some common salt, and then washed clean, care being taken that all ,
of the old tin is off when burnt and that nothing greasy gets inside.
Then while the vessel is yet damp a coat of finely-powdered sal am-
moniac is sprinkled over the inside and a coat of wet salt carefully put
on the outside to guard against the effects of the different gases from
the fire.
Now take a quantity of block or ingot tin and slowly melt it in a
ladle, being careful not to allow any part of it to become too hot or
get burnt. When the tin is melted and ready, then warm and dry
the vessel to be tinned and pour a sufficient quantity of tin into it.
Next take a sal ammoniac wad, Fig. 14, and with it rub and agitate the
liquid tin over the entire inside surface of the vessel until every part
is well covered, and then pour out the bulk of the liquid tin. After
heating the vessel to a uniform heat all oyer, take a wisp of clean, soft
flax-tow, the hand first berag-protected by means of a glove wtrhSr-has
had the tips of the fingers cut off as far as the first joint, and whisk it
in a pan of powdered sal ammoniac ; then with a light hand and a few
quick motions, first around the left side and then the right, and then
across the bottom, wipe out the residue of the tin, leaving only a clear
bright coat on the surface «f -the vessel. Only by -eoastantrpraetice
can this operation be accomplished or excellent results secured. Be-
ing a few months out of practice will seriously affect a man's efficiency
ART OF COPPRRSMITEING. .
•ieci. Fia. is.—
wi
Flo. 12. — Showiku Piece and How
Deteihinb Pbice.
80 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
in the sense of touch and cause him many unpleasant and annoying
failures. While the tinning process is going on the boy is busily scour-
ing and preparing other vessels and keeping his weather-eye open to
what is going on. The tinning process being over, the next in order
is to scour each article with clean white sand on the outside to re-
move the salt and inside any sal ammoniac that might be left. This
scouring must be carefully done, and it is best to have a separate place
for each operation, so that when the outside is cleaned off the inside
can be scoured without tear of contamination from the salt ; because
if the outside scouring wisp should by mistake get on the inside the
work would be spoiled and can scarcely ever be restored again, so it
is best to keep the wisps far enough apart to insure them from being
taken up and used by mistake. After the sal ammoniac has been
scoured off and the surface outside and inside is clean and bright, the
articles are rinsed in fresh, clean water and dried in clean pine sawdust
kept in a large box and then stood around a large forge-fire to be
dried more thoroughly. Next brush off the sawdust and with a clean,
soft linen or cotton rag and clean whiting polish the inside ; then with
another rag and a little crocus polish the outside and the job is com-
plete.
Tinning has always been paid for extra in all country shops at the
rate of a shilling a day in excess of the ordinary pay on account of
the disagreeable nature of the work. The manner of measuring and
paying for the work is by the inch, as shown in Fig. 15. The rule is
laid obliquely from lag to brim, so that the longest measure may be
obtained, and the price varies from 1 to 2 pence an inch according to
the nature of the work.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 31
THE BOY'S SECOND YEAR.
The first year of drudgery glides slowly away, and as the end of
the second year approaches the long, weary, damp and chilly nights
of October and November come with it ; the heating-stoves of those
who are compelled to use them are called into service, and with them
comes a demand for stove-pipe, both iron and copper. Now, at the
time of which we are writing there were no squaring-shears with
which to cut the sheets into suitable pieces, so all the work had to be
cut out with hand-shears or the stock-shears. Then there was no
folder with which to fold the edges for grooving ; the locks were all
folded over a hatchet stake and closed down on a straight edge. The
men usually cut out the pipe, and if it was not too large the boy was
put to work folding edges and then closing them down over a
straight-edge on a square mandrel laid across the bench (Fig. 16).
If copper stove-pipe is to be made it is usually browned and plan-
ished. Here, then, is one of the boy's first lessons in the manipulation
of a planishing-hammer^ While he is engaged at this many a " half-
moon " intrudes itself on the surface of his work to enlighten him
that he must be careful and attend to his task.
Copper Stove-Pipe.
Let us now describe the making of two joints of copper stove-pipe.
We will suppose the pieces are cut the proper width and of sufficient
taper that the small end of one joint will when formed fit snugly into
the large end of the other. The pieces are first clipped at the end as
in Fig. 17, about 2 inches from the end and as far in on each side as
the locks will take up ; then, with a tow wisp, some dry Spanish
brown is rubbed all over one surface of each piece, and the sheets are
fastened together with four dogs, as shown in Fig. 18, or secured in
whatever way seems best. The browned surfaces being outside the
sheets are then taken to the large bottom-stake (Fig. 19), and with a
suitable hammer, called a bottom-hammer, which has one face a little
fuller in the center than the other, the pieces are planished — that is,
the grain of the copper is closed. There is only one way to do 'this
part of the work successfully and in a perfect manner, and there is a
ART OF COPPERSMITHING,
Fir, IS. — Folding Edoes oh Bench.
Fir. IT. — P\tttbn Clipped Bmabi fob Pro. IS. — Two Fiacaa Donaco Toqdtuie.
ART OF COPPERS MITHINQ.
Fiq. 19. — Planishing i
Fiq. 20. — Showing thb Blows
34 ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
tittle knack in it which boys are a good while learning, particularly
if they are, unfortunately, counted as unwelcome intruders in the
shop. The secret of success is to keep the blows regular/ The best re-
sults are obtained by striking each succeeding blow in as near a
direct line with the previous one as possible, and then filling in be-
tween a^each line is completed, as in Fig. 20. When the surface has
been planished all over the sheets are taken aj*art and made to lay
level ; this done they are ready for folding and forming. They are
then taken to the hatchet stake and folded, the edges being closed
down, as in Fig. 21, and next they are taken to the bending-bar (Fig.
22) and bent round by placing one edge between the bar and the
bench, and bending a little at a time until the locks will meet each
other, and after grooving, rounded up and smoothed with a mallet,
making finished pipe as in Fig. 23.
That old bar (used in the shop we are writing of), judging from
the wear of the bench and itself, must have served as a former for
many a boy before, and perhaps is used yet, for it was still clinging
to its place in 1884. An improvement was introduced by my father in
bending-bars by making two hooks of #-inch rod (Fig. 24) and plac-
ing them in the bench, so a mandrel or bar could lay in them close
to the bench (Fig. 25) and permit of one end being raised so that the
pipe could be slipped off readily (Fig. 26). One day there was some
pipe of different sizes to make, and after finishing the smallest,
while at work forming up the larger sizes one of the smaller pipes
was placed on the bar and the larger pipes formed over it. During
this simple operation it was noticed that the pipe was formed without
any ribs appearing, as had been the case when the naked bar was used.
By this method the pipe can be made smooth and much work saved in
rounding up. This method has been used to advantage when no roll-
ers were at hand, and as good work can be turned out by this means
as by the use of the rollers, though of course not so rapidly.
Making Washing-Coppers.
The next lesson in the use of the hammer would be " spotting "
coppers, or, more properly, making coppers complete. In the South of
England scarcely a house could be found without a washing-copper in
or near it; hence there was always plenty of this kind of work for a
boy in any brazier's shop. The capacity of these coppers runs from
8 to 25 gallons or more, according to the size of the house, and they
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
"H
Flo. 21. — Folded l
Fia. 26. — Handsel in Position.
Fio. 20. — Loose B»h and Pipi.
FlO. 22.— OW Fashioned BINDING Bab.
Fio. 23. — Pifb Finished and Riveted at End.
36 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
are much more economical as regards fuel and would seem much
better adapted for washing purposes than a wash-boiler on a cook
stove. Some of these boilers are made to serve for both washing and
brewing. A copper to be used for brewing is made a little different
from a washing-copper, although the greater part of their construc-
tion is the same. Let us proceed with a washing-copper to hold about
20 gallons and a brewing-copper of a little larger capacity. Now, in
nearly all cases the sides are all cut out and furnished ready to be put
together, and the bottoms also, which are already raised up at the
edge some 3 or 4 inches, and therefore few boys or men trouble
themselves as to the dimensions they ought to be, their only care
being to put them together into shape as quickly as possible, which
they proceed to do in the following manner : The sides are first
examined and made true, if necessary. As shown in Fig. 27, one
piece is laid half-way on the other and a line drawn along the edge of
the top piece ; it is then turned over and the end of the same edge
placed at the end of the line drawn on the other piece. If the edge
coincide with the line drawn and the curved edges also coincide, it
will be considered true. If the end edges do not coincide, divide the
difference at one end and pare it until the edge and line coincide with
each other. Next, the holes are punched along the side and bottom
edge, as shown in Fig. 28, in such a way that the distance between the
center of the holes will be equal to the diameters of the head and
shank of rivet added together. Thus if the head be 1 inch and the shank
% inch, then the distance between the centers of the holes will be 1%
inches. The rivets in the bottom must be at least one size larger, some-
times two sizes, according to the strength of the bottom, which is
always much stronger than the sides.
Now form the sides and put three rive'ts in each seam, as in Fig.
29, and knock them down half-way temporarily, and put a small
tack in the middle of the part which will form the brim at top ; then
with a racer (Fig. 30) or a pair ot compasses mark off the width of the
brim as in Fig. 29. Now take the copper and put it on a suitable head,
which is placed in the square shank (Fig. 31) and run a course around
with a hammer on the bottom side of the line that marks the width
of the brim, to harden the metal, after which proceed to lay off the
brim with a mallet, being careful to get it down true. Next smx>oth
it down on an anvil, with a full-faced hammer, this being done
carefully so as to preserve the roundness. The sides are now stiff
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
cm:
Fio. 2T.— Making 8iMS TBOB.
h
Fio. 88.— BlDM Pbipabbd a.nd Punched. Flo. 29— Sides Fomed.
-o
Pi a. 30.— A Racer,
Fio. 31. — Rivbtino aso PLajUSBINO.
M ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
enough to handle, and we proceed to draw in the bottQm ends to fit
the bottom, as in Fig. 29, making them small enough to go into the
raise of the bottom, and the bottom to lap up the side about %
inch more than the diameter of the rivet-head. When these
are fitted, shape up the sides true and smooth them with a
mallet on the head in the square shank (Fig. 31). Now take a wispful
of Spanish ; brown and rub it all over the outside surface, and with
another wisp rub a little dry black-lead over the inside. We are now
ready to commence the spotting, which is done as follows : Take the
bottom of the sides in the left hand, and with a double-faced planish-
ing-hammer (Fig. 32) begin by striking several blows in succession
around each other until the spot formed is from }£ to 1 inch in
diameter ; then repeat, making each spot regular and in line and
about % inch apart, or so that the spots are clearly defined,'
and cover the whole surface as shown in Fig. 33. As this pro-
ceeds and each course comes to a rivet, scrub it enough to set the
sides down to the head to draw up the head of the rivet, or the whole
joint may be partly scrubbed before spotting begins. When the
spotting is complete finish the scrubbing and draw up the rivets with
the set. Clean the end of the rivet-shank with a file and knock down
the rivet, finishing it in a pyramid form, as near octagon as possible.
Now take the bottom (Fig. 34) to the head in an upright
shank as shown at the right in Fig. 31, and with the bottom
in both hands, hit it on the head enough to make the outside
convex ; then smooth it, brown it and planish it all over. This could
be done on the head (shown at the left in Fig. 31) if more convenient,
and only one is engaged on the work. Put the sides into the raise
of the bottom and mark four holes (being careful that the sides set
true before marking the holes) opposite each other and punch them
in the bottom ; then place the sides into the bottom again, and put in
four rivets and knock them halt -down temporarily, and punch the rest
of the holes through the bottom from the inside. Next put in all the
rivets, knocking them half -down in the same way, and when they are
all in take a suitable cross-piened hammer (Fig. 35) and begin to scrub
up the bottom rivets, after which draw them up with the set and head
them up eight square to the form of a pyramid. If the scrubbing is
properly done there will be no need of any cement being used to se-
cure the joint against leaking ; all that is required is good workman-
ship. What is called scrubbing is to hammer the part all around the
ART OP COPFERSMITHING.
FlQ. 32. — PLANISHING H'tfHIH.
Fio. SB. — Scrubbing Ham ma.
— Spotting. Copper.
tflQ. 38.— Wi* TO SCRUB RlTBTB.
Fia. 84. — Bottom Punched.
40 AiRT OP COPPERSMITHING.
rivet down close to the head, making the surface on the inside per-
fectly smooth, the rivet-head being, as it were, in a countersink when
the scrubbing is completed. To do this we first use the pien of the
hammer between the rivets ; then on each side ; then across the four
corners made by the previous blows, as shown in Fig. 36.
Making Brewing-Coppers.
We will now finish the brewing-copper (Fig. 37), the sides of which
have been made the same as those described for a washing-copper. We
next take the bottom (Fig. 34) in both hands and hit it on a head in
an upright shank (Fig. 31) enough to make it concave on the outside,
as shown in Fig. 37. Then brown and planish it from the inside,
after making the crown nearly level with the raise of the bottom. This
is done so that all liquor will run out clean through the pipe. The
rivets are now put in the bottom the same way as described for the
washing copper, except that enough rivet holes are left where the pipe
is to go. A pipe is seldom put in a brewing-copper by a boy until he
has been at the trade for a considerable time ; but we will work it in,
and, in doing so, let us suppose the pipe is 3 inches in diameter at the
large end and 1 j£ inches at the small, so as to fit the socket of the
cock. The pattern (Fig. 38) should be extra heavy copper, thick
enough to allow a flange to be worked on it from 2 to 3 inches wide,
which is commenced while the pattern is flat, using in the operation a
cross-piened hammer, and, as the flange is being laid off, the pattern or
pipe is made to curl with each blow as the work is being done (Fig.
40). The bottom of the pipe flange (Fig. 39), or that part which
spreads over the bottom, requires a little more work than the part of
the flange intended to go up the side, to make it fit to its place and.
secure a good job. When the flange is laid off enough and the searft of
the pipe is soldered down, the hole for the pipe is cut in the side of the
copper, close to the bottom, where the rivets have been left out for that
purpose, and in the middle of one of the sides or sections of the body,
the hole being cut small enough so that about a quarter inch can be
turned out to let the pipe and its flange go up to its place easily and
form a narrow collar around the pipe, the seam of the pipe being on
the bottom, as shown in Fig. 39. Now turn the copper on its side as in
Fig. 42 and with a suitable piece of rope, passed down through the
pipe, sling the head A, and pass a strong wooden bar through the
loop B, so that it will hang in the right position, and a boy can hold it
ART OF UOPPERSMITHINO.
Fio. 38. — PIP! Pattbbn.
Fig. 41. — Showing BOSS Hudi.
Flo. 40.— Pm P4TTRW Half Wokxku. Fig. 42.— RiVBTiNa BOTTOM or FUTO*
42
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
steady while the rivets are worked in which hold the flange to the bot-
tom. When the rivets are all in scrub them and the edge of the flange
until both are smooth with the surface of the side and bottom, and
close down the narrow collar tight around the pipe (Pig. 37).
The cock is then made to fit tight on the pipe (Fig. 39), and a case
of light copper (Fig. 41) made to fit tight around the large end of the
pipe and outside of the socket of the cock, with a collar, as shown.
When it is fitted, a hole is cut in the case and a lip turned back, as
in Fig. 41. The case is now put on the pipe and the end of the pipe
driven tight into the socket of the cock, and then the pipe rammed full
of damp sand from the inside of the copper and soma clay rubbed in
around the collar of the case and a little rosin in the case. When all is
ready the case is filled with old, rough solder, burnt tin or any other
suitable metal which cannot be used with advantage for anything else.
When cool enough, the lip is closed down and a nail driven in to keep
it close while it is being soldered.
Inside
diameter at
Diameter of
bottom
Depth
nt flinM in
Diagonal
length from
Contents
in
Approximate
weight,
top, in
inches.
at lag,
in inches.
\JL BlUvPj All
inches.
lag to brim,
in inches.
111
gallons.
in
pounds.
18i
11*
11
16
6
*
8
15i
18*
12
19*
8
10*
17
14*
18
21
10
18*
18*
15*
18*
22*
12
16
20
17
15
24*
16
21*
22
18*
16*
27
21*
28*
23*
20
17*
28}
25*
84
25
21*
18*
80*
81
41*
26
22*
19
81*
85
46*
27
28
20
88
41*
55*
28
24
20*
84
44*
59*
29
25*
22
86
49*
66
80*
27
22}
87*
55*
74
31*
27*
28*
88*
60
80
82*
28*
28f
89*
66
88
84
29*
24*
42
75
107
84*
80*
25
48
88
121*
85
81
26
48*
87
128
87
82*
27
44*
98
187
88
88*
28
46
106
159
Table Showing ZHmen*ion$ y Capacity and Weight of Copper*.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 48
MAKING HAND-BOWLS.
It a boy has made himself useful during his first two years he has
gained much valuable information for future application. He has
been kept busy, and thus secured efficient training for the eye and
hand by having many little jobs given him to try his skill upon, by
which he has assisted his tutor and partly repaid him for the care
and attention received while watching over him and directing his
initial work. If, on the other hand, he has been negligent and afraid
he would do too much, his progress is likely to have been a little slow,
for few men care to help a boy who shows a desire to shirk his duty.
After the writer was made to understand why he had been placed in
that old shop, he was usually the first to arrive and the last out, and
became much attached to the trade; particularly after having seen the
first half-dozen bright copper tea-kettles finished and cleaned ready
for the show-room, he looked forward to the time when he could imi-
tate them.
When the tinning season is past and no more stove-pipe is likely
to be wanted, and jobbing work is slack, the stock is reviewed, and
usually about the first things that are wanted are hand-bowls, which
supply the work for advancing the boy a step further. Copper hand-*
bowls furnish an excellent initial lesson, because while the work to
be executed in making them may not necessarily call for the finest
finish, yet a boy who is interested in his work may display his best skill
here and make preparation for the better work which is to follow.
Then again, if the bowls are to be tinned inside an opportunity is
offered to try his hand at the tinning process, seeing that this also
does not have to be done as carefully as in the case of cooking utensils.
Copper hand-bowls were made in three sizes, and called small, middle
and large. The small size when finished was 8 inches in diameter,
the middle size Sj4 inches and the large 9 inches. The bodies were
cut the following dimensions :
Length. Width. Diameter of bottom.
Small 24 $y 2 5*4
Middle 26 3^ 6.
Large 28 4 6#
44 ART OP COPPBRSMITHINO.
The strength of the material may be governed by the price at
which it is desired to sell the finished articles, but the usual weight
was 8, 9 and xo pound plate for the sides of each size respectively
and io, ii and 12 pound for the bottoms. This difference would seem
due to a desire to make the bottom stronger, but is really on account
of the thickness of the body, which is increased in the thickness
while razing it in to suit the size of bottom.
We will now proceed with the work and finish up a 9-inch bowl.
The side is cut, according to the above table, 28 inches long and 4
inches wide. Smooth the burrs off with a file and then thin the end
edges with a hammer (Fig. 44) on a side-stake (Fig 45) in the floor-
block. After thinning clean the edges if necessary with sand-paper ;
now cramp it with the snips at one end as far as the scarf made with
the hammer, which should be atjout 3-16 inch (Fig. 46). Form it round
as in Fig. 47, then close the cramps down and jar a little borax and
water through the joint and charge it with fine spelter, following the
zigzag line ot the cramps. (It is well to wash and mix the solder
with borax and water a few days before.) Next dry it slowly over
the fire, after which, holding it with a suitable pair ot tongs, make it
hot enough at the back to annul any spring and to assist to heat the
copper ; then turn the seam to the fire, and with a brisk blast from
the bellows run the solder down the joint. When cool, see that the
seam is full and perfect. Now file up and trim the joint on the out-
side and inside, taking off any sharp corners or knobs of spelter.
When smooth take it to a side-stake (Fig. 45) and knock down the
seam, making it the same thickness as the other part of the sheet,
and then anneal. Now take a racer and mark around the middle of
the body, and wrinkle it at one end as far as the middle (Fig. 48).
Then take it to the block, and on a long head in a tea-kettle shank or
on the point of the side-stake raze in a course with a mallet or light
razing hammer (Fig. 49) until the diameter of the body at the end is
reduced to within about five-eighths of the size of the bottom. Next
" stag" it in, as shown in Fig. 50, a shade smaller than the bottom.
Thin the edge of the part turned on a suitable bullet-stake (Fig. 51),
also the edge of the bottom and cramp it, as in Fig. 50, then lift each
alternate cramp and put the bottom in from the inside. Close down
the cramps on a bottom-stake with a hammer, and popple the bottom
(which is done by a few blows of a hammer on a bottom-stake in the
center to draw it a little), and then spring the bottom in and out to
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
— BivbtIng HAiiUEH. p la . 45. — gm StaeB.
Fto. 46.— Sides or hind Bowl. Fia. 47. — Bidis Bbaiu xoohthix.
FiQ. *8. — Bmso hakim*.
46 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
loosen the joint enough to receive the spelter freely into the seam
when being run at the fire. Jar some borax and water through the
joint and charge it with spelter, following the cramps in their zigzag
path around the bottom, then take it to the fire and dry slowly. Heat
the sides until the borax is all down, run the joint around, and when
cool clean off the joint outside and knock it down on a bullet-stake
and anneal. Next take it to a small bottom-stake and flatten the
bottom with a mallet, and with a pair of compasses mark the size the
bottom is to be when the bowl is in its finished shape, which will be
5# inches. Break the bottom up the side from the outside of the
circle made by the compasses, which will increase the depth a good
# inch. After the bowl is shaped, turn the edge on the back of the
side stake for a No. 8 wire, as shown in Fig. 52. If the inside is to be
tinned it is now ready, and the work may be done in the manner
already described.
We will now make the handle, which is a socket-handle, about i#
inches inside at the wire and 1 inch in diameter at the flap and 5)6
inches long. The pattern of the socket would be; 4^6 inches at one
end and 3^ inches at the other. When cutting the pattern leave a
little V-piece in the middle of the flap-end and a point at the seam, as
shown in Fig. 53, to hold the flap on while it is being brazed. The
pattern being cut, thin the edges and turn it, then charge it and braze
it down, clean off the joint and knock it down on a beak-iron. Next
cut out the flap (Fig. 54, A B) and make the hole for the socket small
enough so that a collar may be worked out as shown in Fig. 55, to go
a little way up the socket. When the collar is fitted, put the socket
through the hole and turn back the V-pfece and also the little points
left on at the seam, which should hold the flap firmly in place. Charge
it with spelter and dry, and holding it with a pair of duck-bill tongs
(Fig. 56), warm first gently and then heat it until the borax is down,
or run, then turn the flap down to the fire as in Fig. 57 and run the
solder around the edge of the socket and flap, and when the joint
is cleaned off wire the end of socket.
If the bowl (Fig. 58) has been tinned and scoured clean, it may
now be planished so that it is bright or brown. To planish articles
of this kind with ease and comfort it is necessary to sit at the toot-
block, and in such a position that the operator's thigh may lie in a
horizontal line with the knee, and the shank and head at such a hight
that the fore-arm and hand may lie, when at rest, level with the ham-
ART OP COPPERS MITHINO.
Fio. so. — Boot j
Pia. 62, — Bowl. Rudt rot WlMNa.
Fro. 64. — W*»
Fig. 53. — Pittibk i
ART OF COPPERSMITHINd.
Fro. 55. — Making TH» Hamuli
Fio. B5a. — Sockbt and Fup Fitted.
i. 58.— Ddck-Bil
Flo. 37. — Tonob Holding Socket.
ART OF COPPBRSMITHINO. 49
mer-handle when the face of the hammer is at rest on the face of the
head, or as near to this as it is practicable to get, the knee acting as
a gauge, rest and guide during the operation. We may now proceed
with the planishing. If the article is to be brown it is rubbed on the
outside with some Spanish brown, care being taken that none gets on
the inside. Wipe the inside with a clean rag; next flatten the bottom,
smoothing it first with a mallet, and make a faint mark with the com-
pass showing the size of bottom. On a clean, bright bottom-stake
planish the bottom with a small bottom-hammer, after which, on a
clean, bright head, commence'at the bottom and take each course
around the body until the wiring edge is reached, then with a con-
cave smoothing-hammer smooth as much as is needed. Now put in
the wire, and after planishing the flap of the handle and chamfering
the edge of it with a hammer, rivet on the handle and finish the article
by cleaning.
50 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
FRYING-PANS.
Prying-pans, closet-pans and water-balls afford means for the next
step and initiate the boy into the art of raising. It may be necessary
to explain here for the benefit of the beginner the difference between
the terms raising, hollowing and razing, which are often con-
founded one with another. Thus we say a closet-pan is raised up.
When we made the body of the hand-bowl smaller we razed the body
in or down to the required size. Hollowing is performed with a ham-
mer (Fig. 59) similar to a bullet-hammer, the difference being that the
hollowing-hammer face is half an oblate spheroid, while the face of a
bullet-hammer is half a sphere. A hammer used for raising up or
razing down has a rectangular face and is nearly flat, as already illus-
trated in Fig. 49. Hollowing is done by sinking the pattern into a
hollow in a hollowing-block, and the work that can be done in this
way is quite limited, while with a raising-hammer any desired hight
or depth may be obtained.
Frying-pans have their sides raised up from a flat disk and are
usually made from 9 to 15 inches in diameter at the rim and from 2
to 3 inches deep when finished. They are sometimes made larger, but
not often. We will now describe the making of a pan 12 inches in
diameter at the brim and to receive a -ft-inch wire. Frying-pans
are made flaring in the ratio of about 2 to 1 — that is, if the side
be 2 inches deep, then the flare on the side will be 1 inchj
or in other words, if such a pan be 12 inches at the
top the bottom will be 10 inches. Let our example be 12
inches at top an 1 10 at bottom, the slant hight 2 inches and the wire &.
Now, to make this we require a disk of metal equal to the surface of the
pan, the strength of which may range from 14 to 18 pound plate. The
disk then would be equal to the bottom + sides + half the covering of
wire, which, allowing 1 inch for the circumference of the wire, would
make the sides before turning the edge for wire 2)4 inches deep, and
the top diameter 12^ inches. Then
/ 1Q1 + / 10+ 12.5 x 3 U16 x a 5 + ?854 j _ A 00 + 112 6 = u 5?
equals diameter of disk; adding the thickness of the metal
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
fij^ijpr-iff
Fia. 50. — Hollowivo Hammik. Fia. 00. — PviTitHn or FBI mo Pas.
Fir.. 61. — DIBS Wiiinklkd.
FlO. 62. RJIISO PtTTBBlt OH TIA-KETTI.lt (
52 ART OP COPPBRSMITHINO.
to this we have about 14.6 the size of the disk required
for our pan. Now describe with the compasses the size of
the bottom on the pattern (Fig. 60), and wrinkle the edge regularly
all around as shown in Fig. 61 ; then take it to the floor-block and on
a long head in a tea-kettle shank (Fig. 62), or on the point ot a side-
stake (previously shown in Fig. 45), commence to raze down the
wrinkles, bringing the razing-hammer down first in front, then on
each side of every wrinkle in succession, as in Fig. 63, beating down
at each blow from }6 to # inch. Follow up each course until the
brim is reached ; then anneal by making it a bright cherry-red in the
shade. Now wrinkle again as before, only with this difference, that the
wrinkle which was exposed to the hammer before shall be in the hollow
in the next course, thus making all of the sides to feel the hammer
equally. The third course should bring the sides up sufficiently, and
may be done with a mallet. The last course should bring the sides up
enough so that when the pan is being planished the expansion caused
by hammering will just bring it to its proper size. Finally, smooth
out the marks made by the razing-hammer with any smooth-faced
hammer up to where the wiring edge is to be turned, and partially turn
the edge over. It is now ready for tinning, after which it is scoured
clean and planished — first the bottom on a bottom-stake (Fig. 62), and
then the side on a bright head ; when this is done it is wired. The
handle, which is a socket-handle made of iron, as shown in Fig. 64, is
now riveted on and the whole cleaned ready for the store-room.
It was stated that frying-pans were sometimes made larger than
15 inches. It may interest the reader to learn that in the old farm-
houses of England, where the fire is made on dog-irons on the hearth
under an open chimney, the frying-pans used (Fig. 65) were seldom
less thkn 18 inches in diameter, with a wire J4 inch thick and a
handle from 5 to 6 feet long, so that the cook should stand a good dis-
tance from the fire without scorching. It would seem they were very
unpleasant utensils to use, for this long handle was merely a piece of
bar-iron, with sharp corners about A inch thick, tapering from i}£
inches at the flap to 1 inch at the ring by which it was hung in the
chimney corner when not in use.
ART OF COPPMRSMITHING.
FIG. 48. — HOW WHINKUm III IUD DOWN.
FIO. 64. — UATOII RllXi'ED OH Fbiing-Pim.
FlO. OS. — AMCIUNT FKTIRO-PAH.
54 ART OF COPFBRSMITHING. *
CLOSET-PANS.
Copper pans for water-closets are made in a similar way to frying*
pans, but are of lighter material, scarcely ever stronger than io-pound
plates, usually of 8, and are raised from flat disks three at a time.
Their dimensions are about 4 inches at the bottom, 9 at top and 4
deep and wired with a No. 9 wire. Let us make three pans similar to
the one shown in Fig. 66 and let their dimensions be 4 inches at the
bottom, 9 at top and the sides 4 inches high. Then proceeding by the
rule already given to find the size of a disk equal in surface to a given
pan and one-half of the circumference of the wire we have:
V 4 f + ( 4 + 2 9 ' 3 * 3-1416 x 4.25^.7854 = / 16 + 113.05 = 11.364,
the diameter of a disk required to make the pan. Now cut two disks
11.364 inches in diameter and one % inch larger, upon which turn up
an edge % inch deep (Fig. 67) and lay the other two in it and close
the edge down on them; they may now be worked up as one pan.
Wrinkle the side regularly with the edge that holds them together on
the inside and proceed to work on the point of a side-stake in the
block with a raising-hammer. At the completion of each course an-
neal and wrinkle again, making the outside wrinkle the inside one
m the next course. When the pan is up enough smooth down the
hammer marks with a smoothing-hammer and separate the blanks.
After turning the edges for the wire they are ready for tinning.
After tinning and scouring they are planished in the grain, made
bright on the inside and brown outside; when planished wire and
clean.
WATER-BALLS.
Water-balls are a kind of float used for the purpose of regulating
the water-supply in tanks and reservoirs, so that they may always be
kept full. These spherical floats have a long strig or lever made of
copper soldered to them, having a square hole in it to fit on the square
of the plug of a cock, as shown in Fig. 68, so that as the cistern or
reservoir is emptied the float falling with the water opens the cock.
ART OF OOPPBESMITHINa.
FlO 66. — PiH FOB WiH»-CLOBIT.
W»TKIt-B»l.l, »KD I.tTBll.
56 ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
and as it gradually fills again trie float rises and shuts off the supply.
These balls are made in various sizes from 4 to 12 inches in diameter.
They are made of light material, from 6 to 8 pound plate, according
to size, and, like closet-pans, are raised up three at a time. * Let us
raise up three pair of halves for three 8-inch balls. As the convex
surface of a sphere is equal to the curved surface of its circumscribed
cylinder, we have x 3 ' 141 — - — = 100.5312, the convex surface of
2
one-half a sphere 8 inches in diameter. Converting this into a disk
we get y 100.53 12 = 11.313, the diameter of a disk equal to the con-
vex surface of one-half of an 8-inch ball. But we must have a #-inch
lap on one-half for the joint ; therefore the convex surface of this
larger half will be
8 x 3.1416 x 4.25 = 106.8144 and |/*<*-8*44 = „ 66
r .7854
the diameter of a disk equal to the larger half. Having the size of
each half, two are to* be cut the size of each and one each enough
larger to allow turning an edge over to hold the other two, as pre-
viously described and shown in Fig. 67. To find the exact size of the
inner circle to wrinkle from draw the semicircle ABC (Fig. 69).
Space it with the radius, dividing the semicircle into three equal
parts and join C H, H I and I A. Divide the versed-sine B E into
two equal parts and draw the lines M F, F G and G R parallel to
C H, H I and I A, then taking G F as the diameter from which to start
mark the circle on the disk (Fig. 70). After having wrinkled the disk
the same as in Fig. 61, start to raze down by striking with the hammer
first in front and then on each side of the wrinkles, as shown in Fig.
63, until all are razed down to the brim. Next anneal and wrinkle
again, razing down the wrinkles until the proper size is obtained ;
then take it to a bullet-head in the straight end of a tea-kettle shank
and break the lag down by holding it in both hands and hitting the
bottom on the head in the center to swell it out, and then with a mallet
work down the lag, beginning in the middle of the side. When the lag
is down, round up and smooth with a hammer, after which they may be
taken apart, browned and planished. The large half is to be headed
with the hand-swage, as shown in Fig. 71. Tin the edge as far as the
bead ; then put the halves together and solder the seam. The strig
or lever is finally soldered on and the article cleaned ready for the
store-room.
ART OP C0PFHR8MITHING.
Fio. 80. -Method or Oftmniiki Cixcul
Fro, 70. — Patthn fob Bui or W-itm-Bili..
Fio. 71. — HiyD-Swiox,
58 ART OP COPPBRSMITHINQ.
MOUNTINGS FOR COPPER GOODS.
The preparation of mountings ; that is, spouts and handles for tea
kettles, handles for sauce pans, stew pans and all the many kinds of
utensils used in a kitchen is the next in order. In London, there are
men who rarely do anything else, but prepare mountings for all kinds
of brazier's work, but in the country shops braziers prepare the
greater part of their own mountings, which affords an opportunity
for a boy to learn how to make them that is very seldom open to him
jn a large city. Let us consider a few of the pieces among the many
sets of mountings upon which a boy may display his best skill and
learn how to manipulate a file and burnisher, so that when the mount-
ing is attached to the article it is intended for it will be an ornament
and add beauty to the whole fabric. Many an otherwise good piece
of work has been spoiled for the want of proper symmetry in the
mountings or carelessness in their finish. To file and finish mount-
ings is tedious work. Side handles for stock pots, fish kettles, and
the like ; ears for the cross handles or bails for coal scoops ; sockets
for sauce pans, coffee pots and scooplets ; bails, ears and barrel
handles for tea kettles, with the spouts for them and coffee pots all
this work, though tedious and requiring much care to execute it well,
is good to school a boy to patient labor. Common coal scoop bails ;
that is, those made for plain bright coal scoops, A, Fig. 72, were
usually made of J^-inch pipe nicely rounded up ; filled with rosin and
bent, then filed and burnished. In the illustration B shows an orna-
mental form of ear. The handles, of such vessels as stock pots, tur-
bot kettles and preserving pans were of cast copper, Fig. 73. Tea
kettle handles were made in a variety of fashions as shown in
Figs. 76, 77, 78 and 79. The handle illustrated in Fig. 76 was made of
three pieces, a tube, see Fig. 74, and two rods made as in Fig. 75.
Sauce pan handles, Fig. 80, illustrates a coffee pot handle. Fig. 81 were
of two kinds principally : one B made of wood and inserted into a
copper socket, the other A, a complete iron handle. These handles
were japanned when the goods were made brown ; if they were made
bright, the wooden handles were oiled, while the iron ones were
ART OP OOPPERSMITHING.
59
Fig. 72. — Handle fob Coal Scoop.
Fio. 73. — Stock Pot Handle.
Fio 74. — Top Piece of Tea-Kettle
Handle.
Fig. 75. — Side Piece of Tea-Kettle
Handle.
Fio. 70. — Completed Tea-Kettle* Handle. Fio. 77. — Design for Tea-Kettle Handle.
60
AHT OP <X>FFERSMITHING.
Fio. 78. — Design for Tba-Kbttud Handli.
Fio. 79. — DB8I0N fob Tia-Kbttlb Handls.
Fig. 80. — Coffee-Pot Handli.
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
PlO. 81.— SiCCT-PiS HiNDLB.
Fin. S3. — patnm roi Btout.
Flo. 84. — WoKKinO T
■ Tikui Down.
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
FiO. 80. — Cahdli-Mold STAeb.
Fca. 86.— *P0PT P1BTLI Fown
PiO. 88. — Tens I no Oteb
no. 89.— 6P00T Tool.
.. 90. — 8 FOOT PlLI»D WITB L»AD.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 63
either tinned, or filed and burnished. This work aiways helped to
keep the boy busy.
Let us make and finish for one gallon tea kettles, a spout and the
several kinds of handles. The mouth of the spout on Fig. 82 should
be \% inch, at the breast, C, i}£ inch, and at the end, about }i
inch. The pattern for spout, Fig. 83, will be 2 inches wide at E, and
2% inch at C, and 3 inches from F to G. Cut it off and smooth off the
burrs, and on the back of a side stake, or some other suitable stake,
Fig. 84, draw over each side yi inch and then thin the edge ;
then on thecandle mold stake, Fig. 85, turn the stem of the spout and
bring the two flaps together as in Fig. 86, and lap the seam together
about }i inch. It is then ready for the fire. Charge the joint with
spelter and gently dry at the fire, holding the spout with the tongs,
Fig. 87 ; when the borax is down and the back is blood red, turn the
spelter to the fire and run it down the joint; when cool, round up the
stem and file the joint smooth: Next turn the flaps and form the
mouth as in Fig. 88, and charge the joint inside and braze it down,
leaving the hole at the breast open. Now put the spout tool, Fig.
89, in a vise arid round up the breast, C, Fig. 82, at the same time
drawing in to close up the hole left; when closed it is to be brazed;
it is now ready for filling with lead. To do this wrap a piece of
thick paper around the end and lay it in a box of damp sand, cov-
ering it to within % inch of the mouth ; then put in a piece of iron
rod s or 6 inches long, Fig. 90, which forms a sort of handle for hold-
ing the spout when at the vise, and fill the spout with nice clean soft
lead. When cool, bend the stem as shown in Fig. 91. This used to be
done with a mallet over a lead piece, Fig. 92. An improved way is
shown in Fig. 93, the bending being done by placing the spout
through a hole in the lead pieces, and by means of a rope block and
lever the spout is bent by pressing down on the lever. After the bend-
ing is done we then true the whole up, making the distance through
the breast at C, Fig. 82, a little smaller than the end, so it
will go with ease into its place in the kettle. It is then
filed, the joint bemg cleaned up with a half-rou^d file, then
rough filed all over. Smooth again with a fine file, and fol-
low with emery cloth wrapped around a stick, and finally smooth
with a piece of soft hemp-rope and fine emery, taking one hitch with
the rope around it, Fig. 94, and pulling it back and forth until fit for
the burnisher. Now wipe it clean, and when free from all grit rub a
ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
Fid. 82. — Bindi.no Spout Oth Zxm Piacn.
Fin. 91. — End of Bpout Bint.
Wit or Bbndino.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 65
little sweet oil over it, and with a clean bright burnisher, Fig. 95, take
a course all over it. Now wipe it off' and examine it, and touch up all
parts which may have escaped the burnisher, then coyer all over with
wet whiting, and at the fire gently run the lead out, being careful that
it does not get too hot. Next fit the mouth of the spout to the side of
the kettle and on a spout stake, Fig. 96, pitch the spout, leaving a
collar, as shown in Fig. 97, % inch wide ; after which file the jaws in
the small end of the spout and tin it on the inside ; it is then ready
for the kettle.
The handles or bails have been shown, Figs. 76 to 79, the barrel,
Fig. 77, is 5^ inches long and 1 inch in diameter; the straps are 1
inch wide, 6 inches long and about -^ inch thick. In order to braze
these straps on the barrels we had two frames, made of inch-hoop
as shown in Fig. 98. The frames were made so that when the straps
were wired on, the barrel would slide in tight ; they are then charged
with spelter and the straps brazed to the barrel. While one is cooling
the other can be prepared. When cool, clean and trim off the corners
around the barrel and round up the edges of the straps with a file
and then burnish them ; finally planish the face and bend as shown.
(This kind of bail is probably the oldest in use, for the writer saw
when a boy, tea kettles having the same kind of handle, which could
easily be traced back trom son to father for 100 years or more.) An-
other kind of handle, Figs. 78 and 79, were cast straight, of a flat, oval
shape, they also were filed and burnished before bending. In the bar-
rel handle, Fig. 76, the straps were brazed to the barrel and then filed
up and finished and bent on a suitable bright tool. The sockets for
coffee-pot and sauce-pan handles, Figs. 80 and 81, were made of strong
copper and finished with file and burnisher. The burnisher, Fig. 95,
was made from an ordinary 12-inch safe edge file, with the teeth ground
out and ground to the desired shape. It would appear that this
trouble was taken in order to retain the original temper given the file,
it being the best for this kind of tool. Handles for preserving pans
and turbot kettles, Fig. 73, were filed and finished bright in the same
way as spouts, the soft rope, Fig. 94, being used to assist m the opera-
tion.
Tea-kettle rings, on or in which the cover sets, were made in two
ways : one was to wire a narrow strip, Figs. 99 and 100, and after
putting it through the hole up close to the wire, turn the edge back on
the inside. The other way was to cut a strip of copper, Fig. A , and
ART OP COPPER8MITHING.
PIG. 94. — FOLIBBIHO 8P0UT WITH HEMP iiOPE AND EHEIT.
TO
Fca. 06. — Buinishcb fob Finishing Spout.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
PlO. f»8. FUlfB FOR HllLDISIJ HAJJDLE8 FOE HttAIIKI
Fin. 89. WIJIED RlN'O FOB COVKH SlAT.
FlO. 100. WlMD BJNO FO« COVBB feSAT.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
hammer it while hot in a die, Fig. B , then form it round and
solder it together. Next braze a narrow strip of copper around the
middle of the ring on the under side, see Fig. C , so as to go through
the hole in the kettle and turn over to hold the ring in. This makes
a nice looking job. The wire ring was used for common brown kettles
and glue-pots.
Fig. B. — Die >
Via. C — Biho roi Cot** bdppost,
ART OF COPPER8MI*HING. 69
GLUE POTS AND TEA-KETTLES.
Glue pots may be considered as the stepping-stones to tea kettle
making, as the bodies are made the same size and way, and if a boy
(or man either for that matter,) will take the necessary care and in-
terest while being instructed in the work of making glue pots, he may
attain the proficiency necessary to execute the best work, such as is
demanded for bright goods. Let us begin to make two round bodies,
the same as for i -gallon glue pots, and at the proper place we will
branch off, finishing one a brown glue pot, and the other a bright tea
kettle, following throughout the methods in vogue when the copper-
smith made his own mountings. The body for a gallon glue pot or
tea kettle is cut 24 inches long and 6 inches wide, and from an 8 to
ia-pound sheet. Having cut the body from a 10-pound sheet smooth,
cramp and put the edges together, Fig. 101, and braze the joints.
After careful examination trim the corners and then knock down the
joint on a side stake to make it the same thickness as the sheet.
When annealed, divide the depth into three equal parts as shown in
Fig. 101 and with a racer, mark distinctly, so the divisions may serve
as a guide for the work about to be begun. Take the two bodies to
the block, and on a head in the straight end of a tea kettle shank, Fig.
102, draw in a light course at each end of both with a mallet, keeping
the wrinkles that form, in regular order as they appear, and until the
course is completed ; then anneal. This should bring in the bottom
end enough ; the other end, or that which is for the top, may now be
razed down another course with a hammer ; when this is completed,
anneal and knock the side out even with the bulge caused by razing
down the top. Take it to a bullet stake, Fig. 103, and finish razing
down the top until the hole for the cover is 4 inches in diameter.
Stag in the bottom, partly on the long-head, .and finish it on the tea
kettle bottom stake, Fig. 104 ; thin the edge and anneal, and it will be
ready for the bottom. The bottom should be about 6 inches in di-
ameter, and of about 13 or 14-pound plate ; the hole to receive the
bottom should be slightly smaller than the bottom before thinning.
The bottom is to be thinned and cramped, Fig. 105, making the cramps
about 1 inch long ; open each alternate one and lay in the bottom
70 AiRT OP COPPBRSMITHING.
which should go in easy, but not too loose ; lay the cramps down on
the bottom stake, Fig. 104, and popple the bottom, when it will be
ready for brazing.
The spelter should be fine, clean, and free from dust. With a
charger, Fig. 106, made from a J-inch rod, having the end flattened out
like a spoon, lay a little borax and water around the cramps on the
outside, and jar it through the joint ; charge the joint on the inside,
laying as much spelter on as will when run fill up .the joint, follow-
ing the zigzag line of the cramps ; when charged, dry slowly. The
fire should be clean and free from coal. A nice clean coke fire is best,
but if coal cinders are used by way of economy, then prevent as much
as possible the coal from coming in contact with the joint. When the
spelter is dry take a piece of rough but clean canvas or rag, and brush
off all the borax on the outside, so that no inducement be offered to
the solder to spread further than is necessary from the joint while the
spelter is being run around the seam. Holding the pot with a pair of
tongs, heat the sides gently until the borax is all down ; this is also
done for the purpose of distributing or charging the body with heat
before proceeding to run the joint ; then with a steady blast turn it
around, turning the pot with two handy pokers or rods. If the joint
is perfect take it to a bullet stake and pounce the bottom up enough
so that the sharp corners of the cramps may be filed off easily ; clean
them off, then knock the joint down. Cover the surface inside and
out with a pickle of salt and water, by immersing it in the
pickle tub, and while wet sprinkle a little dry salt around the seam
to kill the borax. Then heat it to a bright cherry red in the shade,
and thrust it into the pickle tub. If there be any borax left the pot
may be put into the vitriol tub for a few hours, scoured clean, then
dried in sawdust, when it is ready for planishing.
Having finished the two vessels as described, the one intended
for a glue pot has a coat of Spanish brown rubbed over the outside ;
the one intended for a tea-kettle is kept clean and bright. The plan-
ishing is first begun on the bottom stake, Fig. 104, and the bottom
made flat and true, the lag being rounded up with a mallet, then the
side is next planished on a suitable head in the shank, Fig. 107.
The workman should be seated at the side of the block so
his left side is toward it, the arm of the shank extending over
the end of the block, the left hand holding the pot or kettle with the
fingers inside and the thumb outside ; the right knee should be used
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
«d3J* o
Fio. los. — PcmrHo in Bottow. Fio. 109. — Tow-Wi*p dm m Tinnina.
Fio, 10T, — PumiHiso Tba-Kettlb E>id*.
ART OF COPPERSMITHrNG. TS
eo steady and guide the work, the body of the kettle on the under
side resting on the left knee, and the lag of the kettle against the
right ; when the side has been run over, the other end of the shank
is used and the top planished. They are now to be tinned inside,
thus : A little new muriatic acid is rubbed over the inside, which is
next scoured and rinsed clean ; then some wet whiteing is rubbed on
the outside to keep the fire from affecting the surface. The clamp
(see Fig. 108) is fastened to the kettle by means of the link which
slides down the rod and thus forms a handle. The inside of the ket-
tle is to be rubbed over with soldering acid in which a little salam-
moniac has been dissolved, and the kettle heated enough to flow tin
or solder, enough of which is melted and poured in so it can be
rinsed out and then wiped off with a tow wisp wound around a wire,
Fig. 109. After tinning, the inside is washed with clean water and
the whiteing washed off ; when it is dry the outside of the kettle is
scoured with a piece of flannel moistened with sweet oil and then
wiped off clean. It is now ready for the smoothing course of planish-
ing, which is done with a spring-faced hammer. The hole for the
spout is now to be cut in the center of the side, the hole being made a
half-inch smaller than the diameter of the mouth of the spout, to allow
of a #-inch collar being worked out (see Fig. no) to fit in the pitch
of the spout. Put in the cover ring, Figs, no and in, and turn the
edge back as described in the article on mounting ; then fit in the
spout, closing the collar around the pitch with the collar-tool, Fig.
ri3, and soft soldering around the flange on the inside of the kettle
The handle of the kettle having been previously prepared with the
ring and spout, it is now riveted on, also the ears of the glue-pot
74
ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
The inside cup of the glue pot, see Fig. 1,14, is put together and
the seam soldered in the same manner as the outside, and the bottom
put in in the same way. The top may be wired with a large wire, or
an edge laid off square, to rest on the ring of the outside boiler, the
bottom of the cup when hanging in place being about an inch above
the bottom of the kettle. The cover for the tea kettle is next in order :
the rim is made to fit easy, and so that when the edge of the rim is in
the cover and the cover paned down, the cover ydll set in the seat of
the ring, Fig. 113. The cover is hollowed first, and then the boss is
worked out in a cup, see Fig. 115, made of a ferrule of strong copper
and having a strig ot iron secured in it by pouring solder around a
head made on the end of the strig. This cup is held in a vise, as
shown in Fig. 115, and the boss worked out with a bullet-faced ham-
mer, Fig. 116, then the cover is planished and the rim and knob put
in, Fig. 117. The finished tea kettle is shown in Fig. 118. When the
kettle and cover are completed they are scoured bright with a piece
of flannel moistened with sweet oil, to which a little Tripoli is added
No. of Quarts.
Length.
Depth.
Length of bar-
rels and straps.
iV 2
20 inches.
21 u
22 "
24 "
26 "
28
32 "
5 inches.
6
7
8 "
4f6 inches.
4X "
sX "
6% «
6*/ a "
7 " .
7
A
C
6
8
Dimensions of Round Tea-Kettle Bodies, <5rv.
and finally polished with dry Tripoli powder. Full directions are
gfiven in the article on mounting for the making of spouts and
handles.
Oval Tea-Kettles.
Oval tea-kettles, Fig. 122, have usually been made differently
from round ones, as the tops are generally double-seamed on, al-
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
Pio. 111. — Coyeb Hi no.
Fio. H4. — Gum pot with Inann Citf.
Fio. 115. — Cop r
o Boa* oh Cotsb.
76
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
though occasionally they are made with the tops razed down in the
same way as are the round ones. There have been quite a number of
fashions and some artistic skill displayed on oval tea-kettle covers
and handles, much more than on round ones. We will make one,
such as are ordinarily made for every-day use (the learner may dis-
play his artistic stfill at his leisure) to hold I gallon, as in the case of
the round kettle. The body is cut 23^ x 5^2 inches, and from a 10-
pound sheet. The body is to be put together in a similar manner to
the round one : After smoothing the edges, thin the ends, cramp one,
solder the joint, clean it off, knock down and anneal. Then take to a
head and work in a light course, beginning one-third from the bot-
tom, after which stag in the lag half inch wide, partly on the head,
finishing on the bottom stake and then carefully thin the edge of
lag. Cut out the oval bottom Q, Fig. 119, making it v a trifle larger
than the hole of the lag. Fig. 120 shows method of drawing bottom.
Thin the edge and cramp as indicated in P, Fig. 119, then lift each
alternate cramp and put the bottom in from the inside, lay the cramps
down close, then braze and finish, and tin as directed for the round
-
Weight of copper for
No. of
T% • A
Length of
Depth of
4 m
t
Pints
body.
body.
Body.
Bottom.
Spout and
barrel.
2% . . • *
16% inches.
3#i inches.
8 pounds.
10 pounds.
13 pounds.
3
i 7 # «
4# "
8
12. "
13
u
4
18* "
4tt "
9 "
12 "
14
u
5
2 °# "
4tt "
9 "
13
14 '
6
2i£ "
4 7 A "
9 "
13 . «
14 l
E<
7
22# "
S% "
10 "
13
14 '
(«
Q
V» p •
23 T A "
Stt "
10 "
14 "
15
((
IO
25 y 2 «
6 "
11 "
14 "
*5 '
[(
12. . ..
26J6 "
6^ "
11 "
14 "
*5
\i
Dimensions of Oval Tea Kettle and Weight of Copper.
tea-kettle, truing it up to the shape Q, Fig. 119. Turn the edge for
the top and make the top, Fig. 121, which is to be doubleseamed on
ABT OP COPPERSMITHING.
Via. 116. — Brum HMD HlMHIR.
1
Fig. 117.— FxtjiBuMD Tu-Enru Com.
<^ZmG& p
FiO. US. — Boot or OVAL Tea Kittle.
Fio. 118 — Finished Tea-Kettu.
78 ART OF OOPPERSMITHINQ.
to the body. The cover(see Fisr. iaa) is to be made in the usual man-
ner, the boss being sunk in an oval cup similar to the one shown in
Fig. us- The handle, having been previously made, is to be riveted
on and the rivet -heads soldered on the inside. When all is com-
pleted, polish for the storeroom with Tripoli, as previously directed.
:2. — Oval Tii-Kittli wits Covra *m> Handlc Cohfuts.
ART OF COPPERSM1THING. 79
BEER MULLERS.
Copper beer mullers, or wanning pots, will next engage our atten-
tion. These are nice little jobs for a boy, progressive in their char-
acter, and give, after the first three years of drudgery, some relief to
the monotony of scouring, breaking coke, and other so-called boy's
work, the continued repetition of which has often been the means of
breaking the spirit and blighting the hopes of many a good promising
lad, who has been kept dragging along, year after year, wasting
precious time at work that should have been shared between man
and boy, and which could have been done without loss or detriment,
but rather a benefit to both. I would pause to plead for the boys of
the coming generation as I have often done for those of the past,
craving for them sympathy, when they have been compelled to com-
plain (and justly, too,) of the amount of time which has been sacri-
ficed by them in incessant and unnecessary drudgery, often times,
too, with a man who was altogether inferior in perception or mechan-
ical ability to the lad placed under his control. If a lad is once given
a place in a shop to learn any trade, he should have a chance to de-
velop at least his own natural ability, even though the kind attention
he should receive be withheld.
Beer mullers are made after three general designs, peaked, open
and curved. Our first job at these (and they were the first vessels we
began and finished complete) was a half dozen # pints, three with
lips and three without. We will now describe the various operations:
A y£ pint (British standard) muller, Fig. 123, measues 2% inches at
top, 3^ inches deep and 3 inches at bottom. To describe the pattern :
Let C D F G, Fig. 124, represent the elevation of article, which is
shown 3f6 inches deep, to allow for wire at top and edge at bottom.
Through the center draw the center line K B. Extend the lines F D
and G C, until they meet the center line as at B. Then B C and B G
are the radii of the arcs which contain the pattern. With B as a
center, describe the arcs J N and H L indefinitely. Upon the arc J N
measure the circumference of the bottom of article, and from these
points, as J and N, draw lines to the center B. Then L H J N will be
the pattern for the article shown by C D F G. Having obtained the
80 ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
pattern, it is to be cut out of about 6-pound plate ; thin the edges
cramp and form, and braze the seam ; then clean off and knock down
the joint, and anneal. Now turn the edge over for the wire, as shown
in Fig. 125, and work in a course from the bottom to form the curve
or bell at the base, as shown in Fig. 126. It is then ready for tinning
inside. When tinned and scoured it is ready for planishing, which is
done on a bright side stake, with a small spring-faced hammer, Fig.
127 — that is, a hammer with an extra face of thin theet steel, made
and fitted as follows : A piece of sheet steel, of a suitable thickness, in
this case about 20 gauge, is cut, as shown in Fig. 128, the two ends
turned up as in Fig. 129, to fit the hammer-face, the lugs being placed
in a line with the handle. When fitted suitably lay between the
hammer-face and the spring-face two or three layers of French shal-
loon, which answers as a cushion; now bind the lugs with a stout piece
of binding wire, and turn the points of the lugs down on the wire in
such a way that they will tend to draw the spring-face close up and
tight to the hammer. After polishing, it is ready for use. The job
must now be cleaned inside and out with a piece of nice soft rag, then
commencing close up to the wiring edge with the hammer, begin to
planish and follow each course around the body until the bottom is
reached; then again clean it inside and out, and planish it over again
to smooth and finish it. Now put in the wire and then the bottom,
which is done thus: With a creasing hammer, Fig. 130, on the creasing
iron, Fig. 131, sink the edge around the bottom edge, being careful to
make it regular and true. Then lift the edge ^nough to lay the bot-
tom in the crease as shown in Fig. 132, the bottom having been pre-
viously tinned and planished, bring the edge down close and solder
the bottom around inside, or if preferred the bottom may be soldered
on the outside, keeping the soldering-iron as close to the outside edge
as possible, that the work may be neatly done. When this is done
form the lip on an extinguisher stake as shown in Fig. 133 by placing
the cup on the beak, and with a hatchet-shaped mallet sink the wire
on each side of the stake, a little at a time, until the lip is formed.
Then with the wooden set, see Fig. 133, made of boxwood and smooth
like the pane ot a hammer, shape the V of the lip on the point of the
stake, letting the point extend a third down the body, or they may be
left without the V, the wiring only being bent. Make the handle.
Fig. 134, 4 inches long from 30-pound plate, the edges being made
round and burnished, ana the surface planished smooth; after bend-
ART OP COPPERSMITH1NO.
PIO 124. — PATTEBK
-TliRNISO OTU EMS 1
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
Fio. 126. — Forking Concave Sim of Mulleh.
— Cue as i kg Hah hub.
Fig. 128— Pattms pob Dmuii FACl.
ART OF COPPBRSMTTHrNG.
Flo. 181. — FonuiNii Ckhbb
Fio. IBS. — Fobmino Up o
84
ART OP OOPPER8MITHING.
fag into shape as shown, rivet on and clean the article. Handles for
the three largest sizes of mullers are made hollow and bent, having
a flap brazed' on as shown in Fig. 135, the small end being flattened
and filed to the desired shape.
Fig. 184. — Handlb fob small Mullbb.
Fig. 185. — Handle fob Large Mullbb.
ART OP COPPER8MITHINO.
Fio. 1M. — Old Sttlh or Hclub. fig. 1ST. — Coviied Mull* a.
Fig. 138. — PATtaiM roB FKiKHt MCLLMk. FlO. ISO. — Pitchbd Cotbb.
86 ART OP COPPBRSMITHINQ.
The peaked Muller, Fig. 136, is an old design, and was made in
two sizes — namely, pint and quart, while the covered mullers of the
shape illustrated in Fig. 137 were made in five sizes, from yi pint to 2
quart — that is, % pint, pint, quart, 3 pint and 2 quart.
The peaked muller, Fig. 136, is made in two ways; in the one the
side is brazed together; in the other it is grooved ; if the side is brazed
the work is similar to that already described. If the side is to be grooved
the pattern is tinned, planished, wired and the edges are turned, be-
fore being formed into shape, after which the point is flattened and
turned over, as shown in Fig. 136. The pattern for a muller of this
conical shape to hold 3 pints is shown in Fig. 138, and should measure
6 inches at the brim inside and about 11 long after the point has been
flattened and curled.
The covered muller, Fig. 137, was made similar to the one shown
in Fig. 123, but with a socket and wood handle, the body curving the
other way, as shown, it also had a pitched cover. To pitch a cover is
to raise it in the center, Fig. 139, a certain distance, which is roughly
done on the block, Fig. 140, having a suitable hole cut in it for this pur-
pose, and with the hammer like the one shown in Fig. 142, having one
round face and the other oblong. With the round face sink or beat
the copper into the hole in the block, allowing the edge to pucker up
all around until the pitch is of sufficient depth, which takes two
courses to complete, then raze down the wrinkles with a mallet and
smooth with a hammer; next tin the inside of the cover and planish
it, first on a small bottom stake, Fig. 141, and then on a side stake,
Fig. 142, or some other suitable head, with the oblong face of the ham-
mer, and, lastly, on a bright anvil, held in an upright shank, Fig. 143,
planish the outer ring and wire the edge. The cover should be large
enough, so that the wire of the body will just fit in the wiring of the
cover. The joint or hinge of the *cover shown in Fig. 144 is slipped
through the notch left in the wiring of the body and then riveted to
the cover. The bottom may be dbubled seamed on or put in as has
been described for open mullers. The socket for the handle is placed
in the middle of the body, as shown in Fig. 137.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Pi a. 140. — RiiaiNO Block.
Fig. 142. — Punishing Covkb on Sid*
FlO. 141. PLANISHING COTKE ON BOTTOM
ART OP COPPERSMITHINQ,
FUNNELS.
Copper Funnels, Fig. 145, were generally made brown, in size
from pint to gallon, namely : pint, quart, 3 pint, % gallon, and gallon.
Let us make one to hold a % gallon ; that is, one into which a % gal-
lon of liquor may be dumped without running over. It will be found
that an 8-inch cone whose slant hight is equal to its diameter will
hold approximately a % gallon, Imperial measure. Funnels have
always been made of one style, and formed of one-half a disk whose
radius is equal to the diameter of the mouth of the funnel. Braziers,
however, tuck in the mouth from 1 to a inches, according to the
Fio. 148.— Comn fl'kwkl. Fig. 146.— Praam fob Pdmmki..
size. Our pattern, then, will be ^ of a 16-inch disk, % of an Inch
being added for wire, and the hole for the outlet being i and % inches
when finished, being cut }£ less to allow of a narrow collar being
worked out to lap on the spout Cut out the pattern, Fig. 146, from
8-pound plate, thin, cramp, form and join as in Fig. 147, then anneal
and tuck in the rim on a side stake, Fig. 148. The edge is next
turned for the wire, with a crease iron and hammer, in the same man-
ner as the edge of the beer mullers was turned. It is now ready for
tinning ; when tinned and scoured, wipe the inside with a soft rag,
ART OF C0PPER8MITHING.
FlO. 146. — TOCKIHO IK Bill OH Sri>» 8T1KB.
Flo. 149. — Pctting in Wis
►0 ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
and rub some Spanish brown over the outside, then planish on the
bright head, Pig. 150; put in the wire, Fig. 149, and it is ready for the
spout. The spout should be pitched and flanged as at H, Fig. 151,
and the outlet collared as at K, so that when the spout is in, and the
collar set down close, it will be held fast as at J, It is then to be
soldered on the inside, being careful that no solder runs through to
Fia. is 2. — One 1"oeu of Spibit MJjjsuke.
mar the outside ; put on the ring and clean. Bright heads, Fig. 150,
are shaped in such a way that their faces form as it were a section of
of the funnel, with the heel made to fit the booge or rim, and are
used principally for these funnels and the kind of spirit measures
shown in Fig. 153.
no. 155. — Joining Spout i
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO. 91
COFFEE POTS.
Coffee pots were made as shown in Fig. 153, and somewhat similar
to the muller, Fig. 123, but their hight was two and a half times the top
diameter; that is, if the diameter at the top is 4 inches, the pot would be
10 inches deep, and the bottom one and a half times the top, or 6 inches
in diameter. They were made in four sizes, namely : 3-pint, 2-quart, 3-
quart and 4-quart. An imperial }& gallon contains 138 cubic inches, and
a frustum of a cone whose dimensions are 3^ inches at top, $% inches
at bottom and 9 inches deep, will hold 150 cubic inches ; but when
the curve is given to the side, by working in a course and smoothing,
the capacity is reduced enough so that the pot will hold just about. %
a gallon when it is finished. It is well to say here that all such vessels
as these only approximate to the capacity named, most of them hold-
ing somewhat more than the given amount. The pattern is cut
according to the method already shown in Fig. 124, an 8-pound plate
being used for the purpose. After the seam has been made and the
body annealed, take in a course on a side stake, as previously explained
in Fig. 126, until the body appears straight one-third the depth from
the top, and then gradually hollow out the remaining two-thirds, bell
fashion, down to the bottom ; smooth, true up and*turn the edge over
for wire, when it is ready for tinning. When this operation has been
performed it is planished on a bright side stake, and the wire put in,
Fig. 154. The hole for the spout is next cut, the center of the hole
being one-third the depth from the bottom of the body, Fig. 155. Cut
out the spout, Fig. 156, thin the edge, turn it round and braze the
seam ; clean off the seam and tin the spout inside ; then round up and
smooth with a mallet, after which take a suitable stick or a file, and
with emery cloth lapped around it prepare the spout for the bur-
nisher, and burnish it. Now pitch the spout on the under side,
Fig. is 7, then work out the collar of the pot, Fig. 155 D, to fit in the
pitch of the spout, Fig. 157, and then put in the spout. Set down the
collar close to the spout with a set shaped like a gouge, the end being
square or blunt ; then put in a small rivet at the end of the spout
Fig. 155 D, and solder it inside. Next put in the bottom the same as
was done with the open muller and solder it inside. The socket for
92 ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
the wooden handle, shown in Fig. 158, is made as before directed for
hand howls and the cover is pitched the same as for
mutters.. The coffee pot cover, however, must have a rim about
% inch wide, when edged ready for the cover. In order to turn the
edge on cover (as we had no burring machine), we had to use the tool
shown in Fig. 159, of which there were three different sizes. They
were called "taking up stakes;" that is, stakes for taking up the
edges of bottoms and covers. The bottom end of the stake enlarged
Fig. 154. — Wibiso Body or Corral Pot.
so as to fit the hole made for it in the bench. The edge of the cover,
after the rim is in, is peined down with a hammer kept especially for
the purpose, as shown in Fig. 160. Now put in the joint or hinge
through the notch left of the wiring, and through a notch left in the
rim of the cover and rivet on the cover, put in the wooden handle,
then clean the article for the storeroom. Some coffee-pots had bent
spouts, like tea kettle spouts, which made a more ornamental coffee
pot than when plain spouts were used.
ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
WOODRH HiHDL».
PlO. 1W. PiTTBEM
Fia. 157. — Corrmm Pox Spout.
Fig. 140. — Peeking H»mm*ii roa Cotbm.
94 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
SAUCEPANS AND PUDDING POTS.
It is probable that among the culinary utensils made by braziers
40 years ago there were more saucepans than almost any other
article ; but later on the French stew-pan seemed to supercede the
saucepan altogether, excepting in a few instances, such as the
smaller sizes, which were made with lips and used for the prepara-
tion of little delicacies. Copper pudding pots were also in good de-
mand before they were supplanted by those made of cast iron, which
were not only tastefully designed, but were much cheaper and safer
to use, whsro those made from copper were apt to be neglected and not
kept clean and properly tinned. The progressive braziers were, how-
ever, equal to the emergency, and turned their attention to the manu-
facture of wrought iron goods, made in the same way and after the
same fashion as the copper goods.
It may be stated here, for the benefit of the learner, that the pro-
portions of all vessels are in ratio to one another as the cubes of their
diameters ; hence a boy who has the desire to become proficient and
make an efficient workman, and understand the proper proportions of
the work he is engaged at, should make himself conversant with solid
geometry, and thus be prepared to work out any example in cubic
proportion likely to be called for. Two examples will be given,
showing how the dimensions of all sizes smaller and larger than one
gallon may be obtained, providing the utensil is made of a straight
strip. The strip for a gallon saucepan is cut 24 inches long by 7
inches wide. Let it be required to make one to hold 6 quarts. The
strip of metal 24 inches long is to be formed into a cylinder thus :
24 -*- 3.1416 = 7.6394, its diameter, and as all cylinders are to each
other as the cube of their diameters, and as we want a cylinder to
hold one-half as much more, and in the same proportions as to hight,
we cube the diameter of the first cylinder — namely, -=44 S 8^84
7-6394
and then 445 ' 3 4 x 3 =668.7576, and f/668.7576 = 8.78, the dinmetej
of a cylinder required for a 6-quart saucepan. Then, 7.6394 17::
8.78 : 8.0451, and 8.78 x 3. 1416 = 27.5832. Therefore the sheet for
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Pie. 101. — Coppee Saucepan.
:opp*h ppddino Pot.
Fio. 103. — Pbddino Pot Cora*.
Fid, 1M. BtAIIxn'B
. leo. — Bodt Hacked fob Rhino.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Flo. 191.— hut DttM l
no. 168.— Lipped Saucepan.
Fio. 189. — Slack Left fob Fohmiso Lip. Fro. 1T0. — Oval Pcddinq Pot.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. *7
a 6-quart saucepan would be about 27 % inches long and 8 inches wide —
approximately — that is near enough for practical purposes Again, let
it be required to make a saucepan to hold 3 quarts. Then proceeding
similarly, as above, — - = 445.8384, and as there are 4 quarts in
7- 6394
a gallon, we proceed thus: 445 ' 3 4 x 3= 3343788, and j/334.3788 =
6.99, the diameter of a cylinder to hold 3 quarts. Then 6.99 x 3. 1416 =
2 1 - 9597, the length. Now, 7.6394 : 7 :: 6.99 : 6.40 — that is, the sheet
for a 3-quart saucepan would be nearly 22 inches long and 6^ wide.
Copper saucepans, Fig. 161, were made in sizes to hold from 1
pint to 4 gallons. Pudding pots, Fig. 162, from 3 to 6, and sometimes
as large as 8 gallons. As the work of making plain saucepans and
round pudding pots is the same, excepting a little variation in the
shape, we will make one to hold 1 gallon ; the other sizes being made
in the same manner. It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 161
that a 1 gallon saucepan is the frustrum of a cone with the base
turned in, forming at that point almost one-half of an oblate spheroid.
The brazier's measurement of a gallon saucepan is taken from lag to
brim, as shown in Fig. 164, and should measure 9^4 inches. (The
writer has one made by himself in the year 1856 which was in con-
stant use up to 1872, and is apparently as good as when new, if re-
tinned and made fit for use. This old relic measures 7 inches in
diameter at the brim, 6% inches deep, j 1 /* inches at the lag, from lag
to brim 9 3 ^ inches, and at the swell or belly, 9 inches. It is made
from 16-pound plate, with No. 6 wire.) The body for a gallon sauce-
pan is cut 24 inches long and 7 inches deep, and may be made from
12 to 18 pound plate. The pattern is to be formed and the seam made
as previously described; then divide the depth into three parts, as
shown in Fig. 165, and with a mallet proceed to raze in a course a
third fromthe end, as at a; now turn it end for end and raze in a
course, Fig. 106, b, on the other side of the same line we started from
before, drawing in the side until it is 7 inches at the top, and about
7J4 inches at the bottom. Then stag in the lag y 2 inch, Fig. 167,
partly on head and finishing on a bottom stake, and thinning the edge
on a bullet stake; cramp and put in the bottom B, braze the seam,
clean it off, knock down, and anneal ; then true it up on a long head,
from the swell to the brim, and turn the edge for the wire. Now true
98 ART OP COPPERSMITHINQ.
up the lag and beige on a suitable round head, and it is ready for the
pickle tub and annealing, after which it is scoured bright and dried
in the sawdust box. It is now to be put into its final shape and
planished all over one course, beginning with the bottom, and next
the sides; then tin it inside with pure tin. After being tinned and
scoured clean, it is planished again, this time on a suitable bright
head, and smoothed; then the wire is put in and handle riveted on.
The cover is next in order; the rim of the cover is made slightly
flaring, and the top pitched about l /z inch ; then tinned and planished.
When the whole is complete, as in Fig. 161, it is scoured and polished
with oil and tripoli.
In making lipped saucepans, Fig. 168, the work is done nearly the
same, excepting that while drawing from the beige to the brim
enough slack is left at the left of the seam to form the lip — that is, we
work around the lip, leaving the brim, as it were, egg shaped, as in
Hg. 169, until the planishing is completed and the wiring has been
done; then the lip is put into final shape on an extinguisher stake
The cover is made with a projection to cover the lip, but the rim is
round ; the handle is of wood inserted into a socket, as shown in
Fig. 168. Lipped saucepans are seldom made to hold more than
1 gallon.
Round pudding pots, Fig. 162, were made similar to saucepans,
but with a bail and ears and somewhat less in depth ; thus the body for
a pudding pot to hold 3 gallons was cut about 34 inches long and &yi
deep, being worked up in the same manner as a round saucepan, only
having a bail and ears, as shown. The cover for pudding pot is shown
in Fig. 163. Oval pudding pots, Fig. 170, were made similarly and cut
the same size as the round ones; both differed a little in shape from
the saucepans, the difference being in the beige or belly, which was
drawn in at the top and bottom alike. Let us make an oval pot to
hold 4 gallons, the body being cut from a 14-pound sheet, being
34 x 8^2 inches. The body is to be formed and seam made in the
usual manner, and the depth divided into three parts, as shown in
Fig. 165, the form of oval is indicated in Fig. 171, making it 12 inches
long. The sides are to be razed in at both ends until the beige has a
curve of about an inch ; then stag in the lag and put in the bottom, as
indicated in Fig. 167; true up the body to shape and roughly planish,
or run it over with a hammer. Then turn the top edge for wire and
tin, after which scour and dry ; then finish planishing and smooth on
ART OF COPPERSMJTHINCJ. *fl
a suitable head. Pitch the cover a good l /i inch and tin, then planish
it and put in the rim, which should be about ij£ inch wide. Next
put on the ears, the rivet holes of which should be countersunk
enough so that the rivet heads may be drawn in and be flush and
smooth with the surface inside. The bail can be tinned or japanned,
as desired.
FiO. 171. — Pun OF Otai, Fuddinq Po*.
100 ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
STEWPANS.
As previously stated, stewpans seemed to take the place of sauce-
pans in a great measure after their introduction, because they were
handier and more easily made; then, again, there were long and rapid
strides being made in the perfecting of cooking apparatus in general,
all tending to a complete revolution of culinary apparatus and methods.
The general progress in education and the advances made on every
hand were felt by the braziers, as well as others, and the surround-
ing influences compelled them, though a little reluctantly, to keep
pace with the advancing tide about them and acquiesce in the de-
mand for more tasty and shapely goods. An old-fashioned stewpan
is represented in Fig. 172. At first there seemed to be but little at-
tention paid to the symmetry of the parts; the handles were roughly
made, and apparently without any particular design, so long as it was
something to hold by; the flap was clumsily made, seemingly to get
as much weight into it as possible. The pan proper was the best
piece of work about it, and this, when compared with others of later
make, was poor enough, and directly resulted from the opposition to
any innovation or change from the old usages, and yet the* work
on the old-fashioned pan in its way really required more skill than
those of a more recent date. The lag being made at first sharp or.
.square, many an otherwise good piece of work has been spoiled in the
finishing by being cut through, or nearly so, on the sharp edge of the
old-fashioned bottom stake. This was at last obviated by making the
lag round, thus adding beauty to the pan andat the same time over-
coming all danger of failure at this point.
Let us make a stewpan after the old-fashioned method, and then
show the difference between the old and new methods. At first they
were made in accordance with the taste of the master, or if it hap-
pened that he was not a practical man, then the workman was relied
upon to produce the best design he could; but later more attention
was paid to the wants of the cook, and stewpans have been made in
several styles to suit their demands — namely, shallow, medium and
deep. The shallow ones were one-half their diameter in hight, the
medium two-thirds and the deep as high as their diameter — that is,
ART OP COPPBRSMITHINQ.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
JLl
ART QF COPPERSMITHING. 103
where attention was paid to the matter. There were, however, then
as now many different styles, which we will leave to the investigation
of the reader, the immediate object being to show him the manner and
means adopted to produce the pan, or the execution of the mechanical
part; so we will proceed to make one of medium hight to hold a gal-
lon. Stewpans were made light or heavy to suit the wants of the pur-
chaser, or to meet competition in price; generally they were made
heavy. Let the example be made from a 30-pound plate, and of me-
dium hight. The dimensions of a stewpan to hold 1 gallon are found
in the following manner: A gallon of water (English) contains
277.274 cubic inches, and the pan is to be two-thirds of its diameter in
'9*7*7 *y *7/l
hight. Then '* x 3 =415.911, the cubical contents of a cylinder
as high as its diameter. Then converting this into cylindric
inches, we have --- - — =529.553, and extracting the cube
°»7°54
root of this we get y 529.553= 8.089 for the diameter, and as
the pan is to be two-thirds of this, — — - X 2 = 5.392, the hight of the
pan inside measurement, to which add the thickness of the metal
and we have sJ4 inches for the hight, and 8 inches the diameter, ap-
proximately.. Then the dimensions of a stewpan of medium highl
to hold a gallon would be 8 inches in diameter, and 5% inches deep
when finished ; therefore our pattern requires to be 25 J4 inches long
and 6 inches deep, allowing % inch for lag. Cut out the pattern
cramp it with a chisel and thin. (For the benefit of the learner I will
here state that it is the custom among braziers to cut their cramps in
heavy metal before thinning ; coppersmiths on the other hand do the
thinning first, and cut the cramps after, and both ways have theii
advantages in particular cases which practice alone can teach and
point out). Now form it and braze the seam as previously described ;
clean off and knock down ; then stag in the lag, and thin the edge
ready for the bottom ; put in the bottom and braze it round ; trim
and knock down the seam ; anneal, and true up to size. The
lag being carefully formed on the heel of a suitable head, as in Fig.
174, it is now ready for the tinning. When tinned and scoured, it is
first planished on a bright bottom stake, making the bottom level and
true, and then the sides on a bright head in a shank, the smoothing
being finished with a spring-faced hammer. The sides and bottom
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
via. 1TB — Pbocirs of Tihxiho Bin OcT»rt>i,
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO. 105
completed, the lag was finished up square with a hammer, as shown in
Fig. 17;), and here is where the failure came in usually, by the lag be-
ing cut through, or nearly so, at this point. The covers were first
pitched with a square corner, as shown in the top illustration, Fig.
176, the seat being turned with the long face of a coffee pot hammer,
Fig. 177, and finished with a planishing hammer on the anvil, shown
in Fig. 176. The work on the improved pan would be the same up to
this point, the difference being in forming the lag round on the heel
of the head, Fig. 178, it being made round and suitable for the pur-
pose. This in time was superseded by a lagging machine, upon which
dies or wheels (similar to a double seamer) of various sizes could be
placed suitable for all kinds and sizes of pots and pans whose sides
were made straight or parallel. The covers were also treated in the
same way as the lag of the pan. About this time the burring machine
was introduced for turning the seat of the cover and a few other pur-
poses, and for a wonder it was received without much opposition.
The tinning of these improved pans was carried down to the out-
side from 1 inch to ij^ inches, according to the size of the pan, and
was done as follows: The distance it was required to tin down, the
side being determined, it was then marked off, and some wet whiting
or black and size (plumber's soil) was carefully smeared on with a
brush around and up to the mark, to prevent the tin from adhering
further than the mark, and to keep it true to it. It was then im-
mersed in a pan of liquid tin,Fig.i79; a clamp was then applied, and
while the operation of tinning was being proceeded with inside the
outside tinning was wiped off smooth and completed at the same time.
The planishing was performed as before described, only the lag was
carefully rounded with a mallet, and burnished to correspond with
the other finish. The handles were lighter, more graceful, and formed
so as to be placed nearly in the center of the side ; the flaps- were of
a triangular shape and light, Fig 173 B, which gave the article a
much more finished app&rance, and displayed more tasty workman-
ship. There seems to have been no deviation made since either in
the pans or their handles, or none to my knowledge. The old style
handle and flap is shown in Fig. 173 A. When the pan and cover are
finished, the handle of the cover is put on first, and then the handle
of the pan. This rule is observed to insure both handles being close
and in a line with each other, so that the cook could grasp both han-
dles together when necessary to move them about while in use.
106 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
STOCK POTS.
Stock pots were made in several sizes, from 9 to 20 inches in
diameter. The smaller sizes were from 9 to 12 inches in diameter
and the larger from 13 to 20 inches. They were fitted with pipe and
inside grating when required, as shown in Figs. 180 and 181. The
work of making stock pots is the same as that of large deep stew
pans, excepting that the cover is made to fit on over the outside, and
deep enough to be used as a cutlet pan, the pot and cover being
mounted with cast copper handles as shown. Stock pots are a good job
when made well, and are usually given to old and experienced hands, a
young man seldom getting a chance at them. I was never called on
to make one, but have noticed that the tools and appliances used in
their manufacture were not adapted to the job, and it is a little sur-
prising that such good work was produced by their use. I will de-
scribe the making of one of the stock pots of medium size, to hold 8
gallons standard or American measure, and made from 40 pound
plate, and as high as its diameter. The American or United States
gallon contains 23T cubic inches, and the pot is to hold 8 gallons;
then 231 x 8 = 1848 inches, and converting these into cylinderic
inches we have — ^- = 2352.941, and extracting the cube root we get
= 13.3, the diameter, and 13.3 x 3.1416 = 41.7832, the cir-
4/2352.941
cumference, or length of the pattern, and 13.3, the depth. Add to this
% inch for lag and we have 13.3 + .75 = 14.05, or a piece of cop-
per 3 feet 6 inches by 14 inches for the pattern. Cut this out, cramp
and thin; then braze the joint, trim, knock down and anneal; then
put in the bottom and braze the seam.
When a boy I saw my father working on these pots occasionally
and dragging them about on the forge with a pair of tongs, and have
often wondered since how it was that the old braziers never adopted
the plan or seemed to think of putting their heavy work in a sling;
* for after working some years among railway and marine work I re-
turned to some of the old shops to work again and found that there
had been but litfle progress made. The same old methods were still
ART OP COPPERSMITfflNQ. 107
In use, and to introduce any new ones was almost certain to bring: one
into contempt, particularly if there was any large number of men
employed.
But to proceed. True the bottom on a square shank, using a suit-
able head and carefully keeping the turn of the lag round and as large
as the head will permit ; when this is completed, raise up the cover.
This cover is raised from a disk, the size of which may be obtained as
follows : Let the cover for this size be 2 inches deep, and its diameter
FTC. 180. — Stock Pot.
13^ inches, so that it will fit easy; then, 13.375 X 3.1416 X 2 = 84.0378 ,
converting this into circular inches we have 84.0378 + 0.7854= 107.
Now square the diameter of cover, or 13.375, and adding this last
result (13.375)' + 107 = 285.S90625, and extracting the square
root we get 1/285.890= 16.9 or 17. Raise up the cover to fit the
pot, tin them both, planish and smooth ; then put on the handles,
those on the cover first, then on the pot, placing them in such a posi-
tion that they will pass each other when being turned around on the
pot
ART OF COPPER3MITHING.
FISH AND TURBOT KETTLE8.
Fish and turbot kettles were made shallow and similar to stew
pans. The work being of the same nature, a general description of
them will avoid unnecessary repetition. There seems to have been
one size for turbot kettles. They were made of light copper and of a
suitable shape for the fish they were named after, they were about
5} inches high and wired at the brim ; the handles were
placed at the two furthest corners ; the cover was pitched about %
inch, similarly to a stew pan cover, as shown in Fig. 18a. The inside
was supplied with a perforated fish plate, Fig. 183, having two lugs or
handles with which to lift it out ; the plate was tinned on both sides,
182.— Timor Kettle.
planished bright, and then wired around the edge. The fish kettle,
Fig. 184, was made oblong, with circular ends and straight sides, and
about the same depth as the turbot kettle, and supplied with a fish
plate, Fig. 185. Any workman who is skillful enough to make a good
sauce pan may be trusted with the work of making either of these
kettles without fear of failure.
ART OP COPPERSMITH1NG.
Fig. 188. — Fibh Pun rot Tdibot Sbttls.
Fio. 184. — Fish K*rni,
FIO. 185.— Fish PLiTB.
ART OP COPPERSMITHINQ.
BRAISING PANS.
The body of a braising pan, Fig. 186, is similar to a fish kettle
except in shape, which is nearly a true ellipse; the pan, which is about
6 inches deep, is made strong and without wire. The cover is a diffi-
cult piece of work and requires more skill, as will be seen by ref en ing
to Fig. 187. Let us make a cover, and let the kettle measure 15 inches
long and 11 j£ wide; then the circumference is — L x 3.1416 =
41.626. Now, the outside case or pan of this cover at a, Fig. 187, is
about 3 inches deep, and the wire, No. 6, would require another % inch
to cover it. The rim b which covers the kettle is 1 inch deep; add
a quarter for seat and an eighth at c to turn on the inside to keep the
cover proper in, the cover proper forming the bottom of the real
braising pan. We then have for the width of the outer rim % + 3
+ % + * + }& — 4^S- The strip, then, to form the upper pan of this
cover would be 41^ inches long and 4H wide. Cut it out, bend
round and braze the joint; trim the seam, knock it down and anneal;
take in a course on the head secured in a square shank, as shown in
Fig. 188, until the size at x t, Fig. 187, is a good % inch smaller all
round than the cover M; now turn it up and work down the seat (/with
a mallet on an anvil, Fig. 189, and bring up the narrow rim to fit the
rim of the coven M, Fig. 187. Next raze out the upper part or flare
evenly all around until it measures 16K inches the long way, and
turn the edge for the wire; now make the cover M and tin it inside
and scour clean and fit the cover to the rim, planish and smooth both;
then put in the wire, set the cover in the seat tight; then turn the edge
of the outside rim over it, as shown at e, which finishes the cover or
real braising pan. Finally put on the handles and clean.
Fig. 1ST. — Suction or Buisikq Pan C
ART OP COPPBR3MITH3NO.
112 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
TEA BOILERS.
Tea boilers, as shown in Fig. 190, were made 40 years ago, to fur-
nish a reservoir of warm water, as well as to provide for boiling a
larger quantity than the common sized tea kettle would hold. They
generally stood on the hob of the fire place, and as close to the fire as
was convenient, this gave place to the hob boiler, when the kitchen
range was introduced, which cut off much of the brazier's work ; but
they are still made and used occasionally in the rural districts of
England. The swivel in the bail served to hang it by, where there
was a bar in the chimney on which to hang the pot hook and rack,
Fig. 191, the loop being made to hang on the teeth of the saw shaped
plate, by which to raise and lower the hook on which the boiler hung
by the swivel in its bail. Tea boilers were made from about the
same weight of copper as the larger tea kettles, and to hold from 2 to
8 gallons, advancing in capacity j4 gallon with each size, making
nine sizes in all. We will make one to hold 4 gallons. Tea boilers
were made of a cylindric form, as shown in Fig. 190, the same depth
as their diameter, hence a boiler 12 inches in diameter would be 12
inches deep. To find the size of the pattern or sheet to make a 4-gallon
boiler we may proceed as follows: Four gallons (English) contains
277.274 X 4 = 1109.096 cubic inches, and converting these into
cylindric inches we have 1109.096 + 0.7854 = 1412. 01426, and extract-
ing the cube root of this we get y 141 2.01426 = 11.25, or ll H incfces.
Then 11.25 x 3.1416 35.343, or 35 # inches for the circumference.
As the depth is 1 1 % inches, add to this j£ inch for the lag, and
# inch for edge to seam on the top ; then the pattern will be 35 #
inches long by 12 inches wide, and made from 12-pound plate. Cut
out the pattern, cramp, thin, form round, and tie with wire to hold
while making the seam, Fig. 198, after which anneal and put in
the bottom as previpusly directed. True to size, and run over the
body with a hammer to stiffen it, and turn the edge for
the top. The breast, cover and pipe are next in order. The
breast has a rise or pitch of one-third, and the rim for the
cover, from # to 1 % inches deep, finished, according to size — that is,
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Fto. 183.— Bodt i
Fia. 191. — Pot Hook
Fio. 100. — TU Boilek.
114 ART OP COPPERSMITHINQ.
after being wired. Now, the breast or top may be made in several
ways — namely, first, hollow it up and pitch the ring, as in Fig^. 193,
which is done in this way: After the ring is made and wired, take a
creasing hammer and then sink the bead in a creasing stake, as shown
in Fig. 194, and after putting the collar through the hole, as in Fig.
193, turn the edge back, and close the bead and edge down close to the
top at one and the same time. Second, the top may be cut out flaring
or conical, as shown in B, Fig. 195, and the ring partly formed before
the seam is made. The cone is shown by A B C, and the pattern and
ring by xy z, m n; the distance around the pattern x y z being six
times the radius A D of the finished cone ABC. Cut out the pattern,
cramp, thin, and then work out the collar or ring on an anvil or table
of the side stake; then braze the seam, finish the ring and wire.
Third, cut out a disk so that its surface is equal to the breast and
ring before wiring ; wrinkle it, as in Fig. 196, and form the
ring O P, making the opening about 5 inches in diameter
and the required depth, and then work out the wrinkles ; this can be
done in one course, if necessary, and in as little time as either of the
preceding methods, and is a much nicer job when finished ; now tin,
planish, and wire. The cover is made in the same manner as are
those for saucepans, and which has been previously explained. The
pipe for this size should be about 7 inches long, 1% inches in diam-
eter at the large end and to fit the faucet at th,e other. Cut out the
pattern and make -a cramp at each end, Fig. 197, and lay the edge
close, when turned ready for brazing, then braze. Tin the inside of
boiler, pipe and cover, then pitch the pipe for collar, similar to a tea
kettle spout, and work out the collar in the side ot the boiler about an
inch from the bottom, to fit the pipe, as in Fig. 198 ; then brown the
boiler, planish and smooth it ; next put in the pipe and double seam
on the top ; put on the ears, bail and finally clean.
ART OP COPPRRSMITHING.
P
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Pio. 108. — Sepabath Puts or T»* Bomi,
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO. 117
WARMING PANS.
Copper warming pans were once quite largely in demand, and
kept men busy at work for. a considerable time during the year, as
almost every household, rich or poor, possessed a warming pan, and it
is presumed it would be a difficult task to-day to find a house in the
rural districts of England without its warming pan, many of them
having been handed down from father to son for generations. Warm-
ing pans are made or raised up and formed from a disk whose
surface is equal to the surface of the pan and the cover seat, together
with the covering of a 5-16 wire. They are wired as in Pig. 199,
though they have been made so that the cover fitted into a }i rim
turned up on the pan, as in Fig. 200, and left without wire, but in such
a case they must be made stronger, the joint of the cover being riv-
eted to the socket, as shown. They were made in five sizes — namely,
10, io#, 11, n# and 12 inch. Let us make one to measure 11 inches,
and from 10 pound plate (the plate or brazier's sheet, by which the
strength was designated, measured 2 feet wide by 4 feet in length),
and let it measure at the lag 1 % inches less than at the brim, as in
Fig. 201. Our first move is to get the size ot a disk equal in surface
to the pan thus represented ; first the ring a, which is to cover
the wire; then the cover seat b\ next the sides of the pan c 9
and then the bottom of the pan d\ these are all shown
separately in Fig. 202. This is probably one of the best
lessons in the trade for a boy (or man either) who desires to be fa-
miliar with the art of measuring and converting surfaces into forms
suited for the work in hand. It will be seen by referring to Fig. 202
that there are four different problems involved in this calculation,
— namely, the cylindric ring a, the disk ring £, the flaring ring r, and
the disk or bottom d. Now we want to reduce these four
problems to one form or denomination — that is, to one
disk whose surface shall equal the whole of them taken to-
gether. First, the cylindric ring a, to cover the wire, 13^ inches
in diameter and an inch deep ; then 13.5 x 3.1416 x 1 =42.4116 square
inches. Next the disk ring b> whose outside diameter is 13J6 inches
and inside diameter 11 inches ; then 13.5 s — "' = 182.25 — 121 = 61.25
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
ART OP C0PPERSM1THING.
i-
§3
h
120 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
disk inches. Now, the opening of the pan c at the brim will equal 1 1
inches, and at the bottom gj4 inches, and 3 inches deep; then 11 + 9. 5
+ 2x3. 1416 X 3 — 96.6042 square inches; and last, the bottom d, which
[S g}£ inches in diameter; then 9.5 s = 90.25, Now we must reduce
the surface of the flaring ring c and the cylindric ring a, which are now
represented in square to disk inches, and to do this we add them to
gether and divide by 0.7854; then, — — z — ~ = 176.987, and
adding these disk inches to those of the disk ring b and the bottom d
we have 176.987 + 61.25 + 90.25 =* 328.487; and th en extracting the
square root of this last result we get y 328.487 '= 18.124, which
will be the size of the disk for our pan. ut it out, sfnooth
the edges and describe the bottom d % as in Fig. 203, and start
a course with a mallet on a suitable long head in a square shank,
then take a razing hammer and raze down the wrinkles, working
nrst on one side of the wrinkle and then on the other, then on the
xront of it, and continue until all the wrinkles are worked out and the
rim has the measure of 13^ inches, as in Fig. 205, annealing at the
conclusion of each course. Now work it up until the pan proper is 3
inches deep, and measures 11 inches across the brim, as in Fig. 206.
Then take it on an anvil, or the table of a side stake, and with
a mallet raze down the cover seat or flange B, Fig. 201, leaving the
edge of the wire standing, while the seat is brought down to its
proper width, or \% inches wide all around, then anneal. Now true it
up to size and shape, then planish and put in the wire. The cover and
socket are next in order ; the cover is pitched about % inch deep and
wired on the edge, and a few small holes punched in it, as shown in
Fig. 207 ; then planished and smoothed, leaving the cover raised or
hollowed, and the bottom a little also, so that it will slide smoothly
between the bed clothing. The cover joint, Fig. 208, may be hung on
the wire of the pan, as in Fig. 199, or separate and riveted on the
socket, as shown in Fig. 200. Now hang on the cover and rivet on the
socket, Fig. 209, and put in the handle, which is usually about \%
inches in diameter and 5 feet long, turned from some nice looking
wood and oiled ; then clean with tripoli and oil, and polish with the
dry powder.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
PRESERVING PANS.
Preserving pans, Fig. 210, were made in sizes ranging from about
9 to iS inches. These pans, like warming pans, have been kept and
cherished as heirlooms, passing from one generation to another, and
when made strong are very durable — with careful usage they may be
in good condition at the end of a century. Preserving pans are
raised up from a disk similar to wanning pans, and usually wired
with a heavy wire; the pan should be strong, too; therefore let our
pan be made of 20-pound plate and 15 inches at the brim, 14 at bot-
tom and 4)4 inches deep, including the wiring edge; then a disk
whose surface is equal to the surface' of the pan is found thus :
— — — - x 3.1416 x 4.5 = 204.9894. Converting this into disk inches we
have — 4-9 94 _ 2( -^ &a ^ a< jding this to the square of the bottom we
have (14)' + 261 = 457, and extracting the square root of this last
result we get f^' = 21.377, ° T ' I H inches nearly, for the disk to
make our pan of. Preserving pans are made in the same way -as
warming pans, described in the previous chapter. The first step is
to mark the side of bottom on the disk and the second to form the
side wrinkles for razing. When razed up to the proper hight turn
the edge for wire, as in Fig. 211, and then planish and smooth, being
careful to have the bottom level; the sides usually beige a little from
the bottom up. Finally, put in the wire and clean up with tripoli
and oil and then put on the handles.
Fio. 210.— Coppm Phxs»viko Paw. P10. 211.— Pin TCfmBD J
122 ART OP COPPERSMITHING
DRIPPING PAN AND LADLE.
Dripping pans, represented in Fig. 212, which we will now con-
sider, are utensils probably as old as any in the trade, and which are
in almost daily use in all the old manor houses and baronial halls of
England. Their -name is suggested by the use to which they are
put — namely, to catch the drip from large joints of meat while they
are roasted before the kitchen fire, the spit upon which the joint
revolves being turned by a chain from a smokejack. These pans are
considered a good job, and, like stock pots, are usually made by old
and experienced hands, or men who have been some time in the
employ and have gained the confidence of the employer, and are of
known and tried ability ; apprentices rarely have an opportunity to
try their skill on these. Dripping pans have been constructed in
several ways ; first, with the well in the center of the pan, or in the
middle of one end, as shown ; sometimes with legs fastened to the
pan ; at other times without legs, but made to fit in a frame with legs.
They are usually made in any case as large as the sheet will permit,
a sheet being 2 feet wide and 4 feet long, and the sides of the pan be-
ing turned up some $% inches and wired with a ■& rod. The corners
may be made square and brazed in the corner, or cut to form a round
corner and brazed, or they may be wrinkled, and razed up solid, as may
seem most advisable, or as the taste of the employer or the purchaser
may require. We will make one to be 3 inches deep when finished,
having the corners round and brazed, as shown in Fig. 212. The pan is
shown bottom upward in Fig. 213. Let it be made of a common sized
sheet and of 20-pound plate, and wired with a A rod, the corners to
be part of an 8-inch circle at the top and flaring at an angle of 120
at the lag. Now, this would make the corners what the old braziers
called " funnel fashion " — that is, if all the corners were joined to-
gether in one entire circle they would be in the shape of a funnel, of
6o° at the apex (see Fig. 218). Now, then, square the sheet as in Fig.
216, and mark off around the edge the depth of the pan (including the
edge for the wire), 3 $£ inches, drawing the inner lines parallel to sides
and ends of sheet. Then draw the line A C, and with G C, 2% inches, as
radius, describe the arc G M, which is the size of the circle of the corner
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
3 ?
a -
I I
124
ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
Fio. 216. — Pattern fob Dripping Pan.
Fig. 217. — Diagram fob Cutting
Corners.
Fig. 218. — Corners Bent to Funnel
Shape.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 125
at the lag. Now look at the corner marked B. Draw the line
Y C, extending it to Z, also X C to W, making the distance in each 8
inches, and describe the arcs X V and Y U. (Every boy knows that a
half circle turned round and the ends joined will make a funnel.)
Then the circle in Fig. 217, which is intended to represent the four
corners of the pan brought together, will be 8 inches in diameter,
and to make a funnel this size it is necessary to have the half of a
circle with a radius of 8 inches, or 16 inches in diameter. Let the
circle, Fig. 217, be 8 inches in diameter; then N B D will be the half
circle with a radius of 8 inches. Divide the circumference into eight
equal parts, as D O, and make the distance X V and Y U in the cor-
ner B, Fig. 216, equal to O D, and draw the lines V W and U Z and
describe the arcs X V and Y U and P S and S I. Then cut out the
pieces V S U and P S I, and the pattern for one corner is complete.
Repeat the process at each corner. Cramp and thin; bend up the
sides; bring them together and braze the seams; now trim and finish
the corners and true up to size and shape, making the middle of the
pan sag from 1 to 2 inches, so the drip will flow to the well. If the
well be at the end then the pan may be made enough deeper at one
end, or the legs enough shorter, so the drip will drain to the well at
the end. Next turn the wiring edge, tin, planish and wire. The
well, which is next in order, is made about 9 inches in diameter and
formed like a basin, or half sphere nearly, as shown in Fig. 214, with
flange % inch wide to rivet to the bottom of pan. The strainer
ring and cover are made to fit tight inside the well. The ring
is about 2 inches deep and goes into the well about % inch;
there are also slits, as shown, made at intervals of about 2 inches all
around, so that no cinders may find their way into the well. When
the well is made and tinned inside, and the ring and cover are tinned
all over and ready, put in the well and scrub the rivets so the surface
is smooth; now put the ring into the well tight and soft solder to its
place. The ladle, as shown in the pan, Fig. 215, always accompanies
the pan; it is made about 4 inches in diameter, and with the bottom
like a shallow cup, the top being full of small holes to answer for a
strainer. The ladles are tinned inside and out. The handle is made
of iron and from 20 inches to 2 feet long, with a hook at the end
by which to hang it.
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
Flo 219. — Coititon Coal Hod.
Feu. 220.— Round Modthbd Coil. Bcoop. Flo. 232. — The Tvdob Coil, Scoop.
ART OP COPPBRSMITHING. 127
COAL SCOOPS AND COAL HODS
Bright copper coal scoops have been considered an adornment for
the parlor, as well as a necessary accompanying adjunct for the fire-
side, as long probably as any article which has been wrought out from
this sheet metal. There has been called out in their production as
much art and painstaking care, perhaps more, as in any other thing
upon which the brazier has been called to exercise his skill. They
have also unconsciously furnished a stepping stone or preparatory
course for the perceptive and studious beginner at the trade. In the
manufacture of the various kinds of coal scoops which have been in
use up to the present time, scope is given for the execution of some
of the prettiest work of which the workman, under ordinary every day
necessities, is called on to perform, and, furthermore, they must give
much satisfaction to the zealous worker for the labor bestowed.
These goods may be made by a skillful workman in any shape to suit
the taste and please the fancy of the most fastidious. They furnish
sometimes for boys, or young men who are approaching the end of an
apprenticeship, an opportunity of becoming proficient in the use of
a hammer. There is, however, little profit in coal scoops ; that is, in
those ordinarily in use, for they were among the goods which were
paid the least for, considering the labor necessary to produce them in
such a maner as the purchaser desired. On this account men sought
the assistance of a good careful boy when the opportunity offered,
and in this labor a pathway was opened for the boy which was closed
in other instances where better wages were given for the work.
Coal scoops were made in a number of fashions, among which,
besides the common hod, Fig. 21Q, were the round mouthed scoop, in
Fig. 220; the square mouthed or flat bottom, Fig. 221; the Tudor, Fig.
222 ; the Florence, Fig. 223 ; the Nautilus, Fig. 224 ; the Royal, Fig.
225 ; the Boat, Fig. 226 ; and the Helmet, Fig. 227. In Fig. 228 is
shown a round bottomed scoopet and in Fig. 229 a flat bottomed scoopet
Some of these names are variable, according to the factories in which
they are made, while others have had the same name from the time
they were first designed. The hod has always been a hod, and the
common round mouth shape, as in Fig. 219, has never received any
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
ART OP COPPERSMITfflNG. 129
other cognomen; the same with the helmet scoop, Fig. 227, which has
always been wrought the same and will probably continue to be, while
the metal is used for this purpose.
We will now endeavor to describe the manufacture of several
scoops in which we participated some forty years since, and while
there have been deviations made during this long time, judging from
late observations, it would seem that nothing of any marked importance
has been introduced to inconvenience one from resuming work as of
yore. The hod seen in Fig 219 is of a cylindric form, the mouth be-
ing shaped in front similar to one-half an elbow as far as the ears,
while the other half curves or returns up a little at the back, perhaps
1% inches. Let us cut out and then work two of these hods
bright, and let them measure 12 inches in diameter, and from the front
of the lip to the bottom, 18 inches, and 1$% inches at the back, or let
A B G L K, in Fig. 230, represent the outline of the jroposed hod, of
which C D F H is the plan. To describe the shape of the top of
hod, from A to B would be about $6°. From the point E, which is
midway between M and H, on the line A H, with E B as radius, de-
scribe the arc B G, which completes the shape of top. To outline the
pattern, divide the semicircle CDF into any convenient number of
equal parts, in this case six. Lay off the distance O P, equal to the
circumference of the circle C D F H, which divide into twice the num-
ber of parts, as the semicircle C D F,and erect the parallel lines 1, 2, 3, &c.
Place the blade of the J-square at right angles to A K, or, which is
the same, parallel to the stretchout line O P, and bringing it succes-
sively against the points in A B G, cut the corresponding measuring
lines, as shown. Then trace the curved line S I J through the points
of intersection, which will give the form of the top or mouth of the
hod. Now cut out and scour bright with sand, vitrol and water;
rinse in clean water and dry in sawdust, and *then remove the saw-
dust; clean and place tT\o together and dog them so that they will be
held fast; then with a planishing hammer weighing about 4 pounds,
proceed to a bottom stake or an anvil; planish the surface in regular
blows, lengthwise or crosswise as is most practical, so long as the
surface is treated regularly all over and not in a promiscuous way.
When the surfaces have been covered entirely, take them apart and
scour the hammered side with sweet oil and tripoli, and then polish
with the dry powder, being careful that all dust and oil are removed.
When this has been done go carefully over each one singly again
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO.
Via. 223.— Thi Florin ci Coil Scoop. Pio, 224.— Thb Nxutilcb Can. Scoop.
F:o. 225.— Thb Rout. Coal Scoop. fiq. 226— Thb Boat Co»l bcoor.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 131
with a smoothing hammer. When this course is completed, wire,
torm on a former, grove together, and then bottom. The back
handle is of cast copper, filed and burnished; the cross handle or
bail is of 2^ -inch pipe, filled and bent, then filed and burnished. The
ears may be cast or wrought, and should be made so the bail will lay
on the wire at the sides, but leave room for the fingers in the loop, so
that the handle may be grasped with ease. When the hod and both
handles are ready give the hod its final clean up, and rivet on the
handles the last thing.
132 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
MAKING COAL SCOOPS.
The plain round-mouthed coal scoop, as shown in Pig. 220, is made
in four pieces, the bottom H and bridge B being shown separately in
Fig. 231. The sheet and wire from which the bridge is made are
shown in Fig. 232, while the foot is shown in Fig. 233. Let us work
up two of these plain scoops, as shown in Fig. 220, and let them meas
ure 15 inches when completed — that is, 15 inches from the back inside
to the front of the mouth. Our rule for this particular kind of scoop
was that the width should be four-fifths of its length ; hence the width
of our scoop across the bridge B or back (see Fig. 235) would be 12
inches from X to Z. The bridge itself was one-third the length of the
scoop in width when finished, or 5 inches, and the bottom of foot C,
Fig. 233, one-half the length of the scoop in diameter ; therefore, the
foot C would be 7 j£ inches in diameter when finished.
We will first describe the pattern for the bottom or body, H, Fig.
231, as shown in Fig. 234, which from E to F, including % inch for
wiring edge and }6 for back edge, is 15 14 inches, and from C to D is one-
half the circumference of a 12-inch circle, with the wire edge added ;
that is, C D = 0.5 + 5iJ: — — 0.5 + 18.8496 = 19.3496, allowing %
inch for wiring; then, with the radius H C, equal to one-half of C D
(9.67 inches), or g}i approximately, describe the semicircle C F D
and extend the ends on each side parallel to each other to M N. Then
draw M N so E F will measure 15^ inches, which gives the pattern,
of which two are to be cut. We next require the pattern of the back,
as shown in Fig. 235. The semicircle X Y Z would be 12 inches plus
the edges for seam, making i2j£ inches. The radii of arcs X O and
N Z is one-third of X Z, with the edge for seam added, making 4)6
inches. The radius of the arc O N is equal to X Z, with the edge
added, or i2# inches. With S as center, describe the semicircle X Y Z
and divide the diameter X Z into three parts, as X P, P R, R Z, and,
with P X as radius, describe the arc X O, and, with R Z as radius, de-
scribe the arc N Z. Then, with P M equal to 8 inches, erect
the triangle P M R on P R, and, with O M as radius, de-
scribe the arc O N, and we have the pattern for the back.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
134 ART OF COPPBRSMITHING.
The length of the bridge (see Figs. 231 and 232) is found as fol-
lows : It will be seen that the top part of the back is half an ellipse
whose transverse axis is 12 and conjugate 9 inches nearly; then
the length of the bridge will equal one-half the circumference of the
ellipse 9+12 thus : 9 + I2 = 10.5 and IO 5 * 3 *4i _ I 6 >4934 . to thi?
add a >£-inch for groove and we have the length of the bridge, which
is 17 inches nearly. Let it be 17 inches long and 5^6 wide, including
edge for wire and back, and we have the desired pattern.
The foot is a part of a cone of funnel fashion and cut obliquely
through the sides, as shown in Fig. 220. The scoop is set on the foot
in this way to tilt it up, so that any drip from wet coal may drain to-
ward the back rather than run out on the floor. In the foot repre-
sented at C, in Fig. 233, the riveting flange is turned inside, as shown,
but in the foot D (for an iron scoop) the riveting flange is laid off on
the outside, there being no flange in front or behind, and only enough
flange laid off to get three rivets in each of the flaps.
In order to obtain the pattern for the foot let E F G H, in
Fig. 236, represent the bottom of scoop and A B C D represent the
funnel or foot adjoining the same. The part of bottom of scoop
which joins the funnel, as X' L Z' is a semicircle struck from the
center S'. Produce A B and D C until they meet in the point Y,
thus establishing the apex of the cone. Draw the semicircle
R S T, representing one half of the profile of the cone at the
larger end or base. Divide R S T into any number of equal parts,
as indicated by the small figure 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. From the points thus
established carry lines at right angles to A D, cutting that line as
indicated. From the points thus established in A D carry lines
toward the apex Y, as indicated by the dotted lines in the engrav-
ing. The next step is to produce the opening of the funnel, as it
would appear when viewed from a point opposite the end, or as in-
dicated by M N in the engraving. Lay off the straight line M N
parallel to the axis of the bottom, making it in length equal to A D
of the elevation. Transfer to it the several points produced in
A D by lines dropped from the points in the half profile R S T,
and through the points thus established draw lines at right angles
to M N, as indicated. Then, with the blade of the X-square placed
parallel with M N and brought successively against the points
in the line A D, cut corresponding lines drawn through M N. By
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
135
Fro. 235. — Obtaining Pattern fob Back of Coal Scoop.
Fig. 2S0. — Elevation, Plan and Development of Pattern fob Foot of Coal Scoop.
136 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
this meana half of the profile will be obtained, and from it
the other can be duplicated, giving the required shape. la
tfie same . manner bring the blade of the J-square against
the apex Y in the elevation and cut the center line I 7,
thus obtaining the point X. Then, with a straight edge cutting X and
brought successively against the different points in the profile just
estaolished, draw lines cutting the plan of the pipe, as shown by the
small figures to the left of L. Then, with the blade of the J-square
parallel with the axis of the bottom, and brought successively against
the points thus established in the plan, cut lines of corresponding
number drawn from the points in A D to the apex Y, or as indicated
from C to B. This done, we are ready to lay off the pattern. With
the blade of the J-square parallel to A D draw lines from each of the
points established between C and B, producing them until they cut
the line A Y, as shown. From Y as center, with Y A as radius, de-
scribe an arc, as indicated by U Z, and upon it step off the stretch-
out of the profile R S T, as shown, marking the points, as indicated
by the small figures. From these points draw radial lines to Y,
as indicated. Then, with Y as center, and with radii correspond-
ing to the points established in A Y, as already set forth,
describe arcs, producing them until they cut corresponding
numbered lines drawn from the arc Y Z to the point Y. Then a line
traced through the intersections thus established, as indicated by V
W, will be the pattern joining the cone, as shown in the elevation
from C to B. U V W X will be one-half of the pattern, and the whole
pattern may be obtained by continuing the same process, or by dupli-
cating. Allowance for joining to be made at U V, for wire on U Z and
for the flange on V W.
Having the four patterns, we are now ready to proceed. Dog all
the pieces together, two and two, and planish them the first course,
having previously cleaned them bright ; then take them apart, and
with a clean flanftel wisp scour with oil anO tripoli and polish with the
dry powder. Having carefully removed ah oil and dust with a nice
soft, clean rag, go over them singly again to smooth and finish. We
are now ready to form and put the scoop together. First notch for
wire and groove ; then break the bottom on the former, Fig. 238.
by bending first one way and then the other, being cautious
not to rib it ; proceed slow and easy, carefully avoiding sud-
den bends. The former should be at least one-half the
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
Q HlKHIt torn PUNISHING.
Via. 238. — WOODIK Fohmee.
138 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
diameter of the scoop. When formed, turn the wiring edge and wire,
letting the wire come within 2 inches of the notch on each side, and
leave the edge open at the end on each side to receive the bridge
wire. Now fold the grooving edge and wire the bridge, turning the
edge on the inside and sink the wire into a creasing stake, the
wire being left out 2 inches at each end of the bridge, as in Pig.
232, and bent to hook hold of the bottom (see B, Fig. 231),
and complete the wiring of the bottom. The wire of the
bridge should butt the wire of the bottom in the middle
of the ear. When this is done, groove the bridge to the bottom and
finish the wiring up to the turn of the bridge. Now double seam on
the back, then make the foot, which may be grooved together or riv-
eted, the wiring edge being turned on the inside, and the flange for
riveting to be about f6 inch, also turned on the inside. Now prepare
the back handles and bails, and clean all up, putting on the handles
the last thing. The loop for the scoopet should be about 2 inches
wide and riveted to the bridge, in which the scoopet is placed when
not in use.
The flat bottom scoop, Fig. 221, is made in nearly the same pro-
portions as the round mouth, Fig. 220, and the work is about the same
or similar in the most essential features, the difference being only in
its form, shown in the back, Fig. 239, which may be made either with
the sides of the bottom straight or curved to suit the taste, as in Y or
Z, Fig. 240. If the sides be straight, then the mouth is generally
square or angular, as in Fig. 221, but if they are curved, then from
the corner of the mouth to the ear it would usually be made curved ;
they may, however, be made either way without offending the eye, if
Note. — In an old shop I once saw and used a simple, yet effective, substitute for a
tilt hammer, which is shown in Fig. 237. A large block was made fast to the floor, and
an anvil some 8 or 9 inches square on the face set in it. There were four upright tim-
bers fastened to the floor and ceiling. The hammer, which weighed from 10 to 14 pounds,
was put on a long elastic handle, made of ash and having a sufficient spring to lift the
handle after the blow was struck. The shaft was bolted, as shown, to the two upright
pillars, and the hammer end of the shaft raised and made to work between two others,
as close to the hammer as convenient. One man or boy gave the blow while the other
manipulated the work under it. The block was of such a hight that a man could com-
fortably slide the sheet or work it about on the anvil, which weighed some 75 pounds or
more. The whole contrivance was considered a good tool then, and I have done, and
seen others do, some good work with it ; the blow when struck covered a space as large
as a half dollar. If a hammer like this were to be provided, the sheets could be planished
the first course before the work is cut out.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
13d
1#*
FlO. 242. SECTION THROUGH FOOT.
Fto. 289. — Back for Flat Bottom Scoop.
Fig. 240. — Bottoms with Straight and
Cubted Sides.
Fig. 243. — Pattern for Foot.
Fig. 241. — Pattern for Bottom of 8coop.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Fia. 248. — Uohth Formed on PITIHUC.
Fia. 3*7.— Wamm cp tot pattisn.
Fia. 250. — WobxIno dp Back i
1 NACTILDS SCOOP.
ART OP COPPERSMITfflNQ. 141
the work is done well. We will mark one out and describe the varia*
tions which may be made in this class of scoop. Let it be required
that the scoop shall be 17 inches ; then, as the back of a 15-inch scoop
is 12 inches across at the bridge, 15 : 12 : : 17: 13.6 ; that is, 13.6, which
in practice would usually be called 13^. Now divide the distance a b
across the bridge into three parts, as in Fig. 239; that is,
-" = 4.5. Then on c d, with eg equal to a d f erect the triangle eg d
and continue g d and g e to e and/y then with db as radius describe
the arcs £/and a *, and with radius £■ e describe arc efj then draw b I
and a h parallel to d g and e g t and h I parallel to a b,
making a h equal to e k and b I equal to d k. Then h a e bfb I
forms the back. If the side is to be curved, then with the radius a b
describe the arc b /, as shown by the dotted line, and the form of the
back is again complete. Thebottpm, Fig. 241, or body of scoop from y to
T is 17 inches when finished; from wjtb x two-thirds of 1 7 or 1 i-h inches,
from w to u 6 inches, from u to v 10% inches, from the notch s to w
one-third of 17, or 5 T 9 6 . Join x P and n; then w T is the pattern for an an-
gular flat bottom coal scoop. If the bottom be curved at the side, then
from the point q on the line y T, with q as radius, describe the arcs
shown by the dotted lines op and P s f and the pattern is indicated by
the dotted lines from top and from P to s. The bridge finished will be
5^ inches wide and one-half of — '—- — — X3.i4i6,which is 18.0642, long
without the grooving laps and edges. The foot, Fig. 242, may be
marked out as in Fig. 243, and will very nearly fit, but not near
enough. To meet this, in the absence of scientific knowledge, the
foot is formed and placed in position on the scoop and marked around
with a compass, and then trimmed to fit ; and this "means often is
adopted in practice to save time, even when the knowledge is
possessed by the workmen. The Tudor, represented in Fig. 222,
and the back of which is shown in Fig. 244, will now be con-
sidered. By examination it may be seen that the measurements are
nearly alike. If the scoop is to have straight sides, then a hi b will
represent the bottom or body, «and a e f b the bridge, taking
the dotted lines on each side as the shape. If the scoop is to
have the sides of the bottom or body as shown by the semicircle
a k b y then the bridge is again shown by a efb, taking the solid line
area on each side as the shape. In these Tudor scoops the patterns
142
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
D
H
P
z
h
O
%
o
§8
H
00
I
4
2
£
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 143
for the bottom were furnished to us ; the illustration wiil suggest the
shape of the sides at the mouth, which is variable, according to the
taste of the employer when he superintends the design. I may here
say that while these different styles have been frequently made and
were fashionable in their turn, I think, generally, those made easiest
and with the fewest corners or angles were most popular, aad gener-.
rally took the best with the purchaser. The planishing is performed
as described in the previous article, and the torming suggests itself.
The scoopets were made similar and to correspond with the scoop, as
shown ; the scoopets were usually made one-half the length of the
scoop for this size, and 6% inches "across the bridge ; that is, the
scoopets were about one-eighth the size of the scoop. They were
supplied with a socket and wooden handle, japanned, oiled or
polished.
The Nautilus is next in rank, and is represented in Fig. 224. In
this style of scoop the bridge is formed in such a manner that it sup-
plies one-half the back, which is razed down from the end of the bridge,
as it were, while the other half of the back is raised up from the bot-
tom or body. Now, these are a good job, and require altogether
another method for their construction than the preceding styles.
The back - when complete, it will be seen, is one^half a hollow
sphere, the bridge being a little in excess in the front,
to ornament or give a finished aspect to the scoop. Let
us cut one out, required to measure 16 inches, and pro-
ceed to work it up. Proceeding as before, 15 : 12 : : 16 : 12.8, or 12^
12 *7 C ^C 1 T A 1 6
inches we should call it in practice ; then — — = 20.0277 ;
that is, the circumference of the bottom half of the scoop is 20
inches. Let Fig. 245 represent the pattern for the bottom of
our scoop, to describe which we proceed as follows : Draw a b, making
it 20 inches from a to b, and erect the perpendicular c d at the
middle ; now lay off the distance c d on perpendicular equal to 16
inches. Draw e b and / a parallel to c d t and / e parallel to a b ; then
dividing f e into three equal spaces,/^, g h,he y and with the radius
fg (that is, g /), describe the arcs g m and h n, from / and k as
centers, and we have the form of the mouth indicated by mghn.
Now we want the back, which may be raised up solid, or cut and
brazed together if time is an object. If the end is raised up solid,
it will be seen in Fig. 246 that the whole back finished forms a half
ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
Ft 0. 252— Bui due
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 145
of a hollow sphere approximately, the curve of the razed down
bridge being made spherical, while the curve of the raised up back is
elliptical in form when finally nnished, u u being the foci.
The pattern, however, it would seem, was cut to suit a spherical end,
the deviation being made during the process of raising, as the surface
is about the same or near enough for practice. Let the pattern then
be made to suit a spherical back of i2# inches diameter across the
bridge, as above ; then from a to b, Fig. 245 is 20.0277 inches, and from
a\oc one-half of a b, or 10.01385; then ^* ^ = s u * that is 7
/ io.oi33 5\
ra +5-00697
\ 5-°° 97 / _ _ I2 ^ the radius s b (that is, s u). Describe the
arc a u b 9 and the surface outlined by the segment aub c will be equal
approximately to the back required, but the parallelogram a T R b
containing the segment a v b is in excess of needs by the corners v R
b and vT a, and the segment is lying the wrong way. Turn it, or
describe it as shown by R c T v> and with the radius v R describe the
semicircle R u T, forming the lune R c T u, and we have the pattern
T U R n h g m for the bottom or body completed. Now cut it out and
wrinkle up the pattern around the lune, Fig. 247, forming at the same
time the turn at the mouth as shown in Fig. 248, making the wrinkles
small at the sides, and enlarging them in proportion to the sur-
face to be operated on. Then take it to a suitable head, Fig. 249, in a
square shank, as in Fig. 250, and proceed to work up the back until
the distance across the bridge is 12^ inches and the back is the curv?.
required. Now mark out the bridge, using Fig. 251, and the dimen-
sions delineated by a v b u f as in Fig. 245, leaving on one
side enough in excess so that it may hang over in front 2 inches, as
shown in Fig. 246. Extend Y u, Fig. 251, 2 inches to x, and form the
lune a x by, and the pattern of the bridge is complete, but without
edges for wire or groove, which must be allowed and left on. To raise
up the bridge, wrinkle the edges both sides, Fig. 252, in the same
manner as the bottom, and sink the center in a hollowing block, Fig.
253, letting the wrinkles f ->rm regularly round the edge until the
proper curve is reached. Then take it to the shank or bullet stake,
146 ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
shown at the right in Pig. 250, and with a razing hammer raze down
the wrinkles one course, and then wrinkle again until the desired
curve is obtained. When this is accomplished trim the edges on each
side ready for the wire and groove, then planish and smooth both
bridge and body, and wire both, leaving the wire out at each end of
the bridge, and turn the grooving edge inside so that it will lap over
the bottom. Now lock them and groove them together, letting the
end of the bridge wire butt the wire of the body in the middle of the
ear of the bail. Then make the foot and prepare the bail and back
handle, and clean all up, riveting the foot and handles on the last
thing.
If the back of the body for a Nautilus scoop is cut to bring it near
the shape required, and then brazed together, it may be formed, or
the pattern may be cut as follows, see Fig. 254 : (The pattern of the
mouth is the same as in the last example, and has been already
described.) In Fig. 255 let A E C B represent the back of the scoop
and A B the radius of the curve. Draw A D perpendicular to A B,
and from B lay off the distance B C, one- fourth of the semicircle GE
C B, and draw B D through C ; then B D in Fig. 255 will represent
and be equal to a R, u R, T S and b s in Fig. 254. Divide a b in Fig.
254 into four equal spaces, ap,p c,c and b, and with / c as radius
describe the semicircle oyp. Now, with the radius R a (that is, D B
in Fig. 255), describe the arc a u y and with S b> also equal to D B, de-
scribe the arc T b. Then, with s o in Fig. 254 (that is, D C in Fig. 255),
■describe the arcs v and/ x, making them equal to o y and/^ respect-
ively : join u x and T v, and the pattern is complete and- ready for
work. First punch two small holes at/ and and thin the edges and
cramp them one side ; then form and brrflg the edges together and
braze them, as shown in Fig. 256. Clean off the joint, knockdown and
anneal and wrinkle the edges,as in Fig. 256, and then proceed to pounce
the bottom into shape on a bullet stake, at the same time break-
ing down the corner or lag along the curved seam. While this is being
done, the side and bottom will bulge out sufficiently to give it the re-
quired shape if it receive the proper treatment, which treatment,
however, can only be learnt by practice or from a tutor on the spot.
When the bottom is prepared, proceed as before to trim, planish, put
together and finish.
The Royal comes next. This scoop has no bail, but is mounted
with a handle similar to the back handle, as shown in Fig. 225. The
ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
147
*9
3
I
M
9
►
Z
O
jo
*
r
n
o
148 ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
bridge is made a little stronger and the wire about two sizes larger
than usual, to strengthen the bridge enough to bear the strain of
carrying when filled with coal. The pattern for the bottom may be
the same as for the round-mouth scoop, or, as is sometimes done, made
a little fuller, or to rise about i inch in the curve at the mouth,
as shown in Fig. 257. When the bridge, see Fig. 258, has been brazed
to the bottom, the back end is wrinkled and razed in, forming the
curve, as shown in Fig. 257. After this is done the back is cramped
in. The wiring is made to go completely round the scoop, commenc-
ing and finishing in the middle of the bridge. The scoopet is made
to correspond with the scoop.
The Boat, Fig. 226, is next in order. It will be seen that this
scoop is formed like and a little in excess of three-fourths of a sphere
that is, up to and where the lip commences the back and bottom, so
far as the ears are, are formed similar to the Nautilus ; the other
quarter, when half up, being worked out again to form the lip, similar
to an earthen jug. Let it be required to make a Boat scoop of the
same dimensions as the Nautilus — namely, i2# inches across the
bridge. The bridge may be cut from the pattern already described
(allowing for the extra dip in the front), and the bottom may be made
thus: Conceive the bottom to be one-half a sphere, 12^ inches in
diameter, then a disk whose surface is equal to this half sphere of
i2# inches will be :
J «
* * 2 -75 x 3- x 4i6
0.7854 = l8 ' 0312
Then draw the line A B in Fig. 259, making it 18 + inches long, and
draw D C at right angles to it ; then with the radius P C describe
the semicircle A C B. This forms the pattern for the back of the
bottom, A E B for the front, and the lune A D B E is the pattern for
the lip. Then A D B C is the pattern required for the bottom of the
boat scoop without wiring edge. Wrinkle up the edges and raise up
the back and sides with a razing hammer on a bullet stake until the
curve has reached the middle of the back, and as far as the lip in
front, leaving wrinkles enough to form the lip in the second course ;
then proceed to work back the lip of the mouth with a round-faced
mallet, which will require perhaps three courses. After the
desired shape is obtained, planish and smooth ; then wire both bridge
ART OP COPPERSMITH1NG.
149
FlO. 267. — SlDl ©LIVATIOIf OF BOXAL SCOOP.
BOTTOM
BRIDGE
Fig. 258. — Pattbsns fob Bottom and Bbidob of Royal Scoop.
150
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
T "^^
sV
• / ^v
K \
IE
G / \
P ]
\H
B *"^
Pig. 259. — Pattern for Bottom of Boat Scoop.
Fig. 260. — Side Elevation of Helmet Scoop.
Fig. 261. — Body of Helmet Scoop
Brazed Together.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 151
and bottom as directed for the Nautilus and put them together ;
clean up and put on the mounting.
The Helmet scoop, Fig. 227, was considered at one time by old
braziers as the summit of excellence in this line ; but I think that a
careful study of the subject will show that there is as much or more
skill required to produce the Natilus or the Boat as is required for
the Helmet. They however, all demand proficiency and along, care-
ful training with much patience to acquire the skill necessary for the
execution of the various steps through which they pass to completion.
In my boyhood we knew nothing of buff wheels or any of the .other
devices which have sometimes been used to substitute this labor ; our
work was smooth and complete from the hammer except the final
scouring to remove the hand or finger marks. While it was a tedious
task to acquire this proficiency, it was a continual source of pleas-
ure and profit to any who possessed the attainment.
We will make a Helmet scoop, and then describe the planishing
and smoothing as I was taught to do it. It will be seen by reference
to Fig. 260 that the scoop, if made true by a workman, is two-thirds of
an ellipse, with the lip added, as shown by the outlines G D A C. The
foci of the ellipse are B and S, which are obtained thus, and form the
foundation of the work. Draw B A equal to the depth of the scoop,
and D C at right angles to it ; divide B A in two equal parts at S, and,
with S A as radius, describe the arc I H ; then with S A lay off from A
each way the distances A I and A H, and through S draw the line H
N, cutting the line N B C at N. Now, with K H describe the arc H
C, and with J I describe the arc I R, and draw R D at right angles to
N D ; with N D as radius describe the arc G D, and G D A C forms
the outline of the body required. Continue I M through M to F, and
with B A or K H describe the arc X B C, and join G X, giving the
curve of the mouth when finished. To fashion this we must prepare
a cylinder, indicated by the dotted lines running through E B C P O
in Fig. 260, and more clearly shown in Fig. 261 The envelope or pat-
tern for Fig. 261 may be drawn similar to that described for a coal
hod in a former chapter. The pattern then being given cramp, put to-
gether and braze, trim the joint, knock down and anneal, then wrinkle
at O P, and on a head in the square shank raze in the end so that
the seam of the bottom may be covered by the edge of the foot when
riveted on. When the proper size, stag in the edge to stiffen, and
proceed to work out the lip, after which put in the bottom ana true
up to shape and make the foot ready.
152 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
PLANISHING AND SMOOTHING
Planishing as understood by braziers is the art of first molding
smoothly or shaping the metal when first formed; second, hardening
or closing the [grain, and third, by the aid of the hammer giving it
a gloss or a kind of case-hardening sufficient to receive the final polish
with tripoli, which is a very fine powder having a purple hue. To
planish the goods under consideration, it is necessary to have the
heads as near their curves as possible, and the square shank of the head
should be taper enough to make it fit tight into the tools which receive
it; the convex curves of the round heads may run from 4 inches
to 2 feet or more, the long heads the same, the long heads being
about twice their width in length. It is also necessary to have a few
saddle heads for such work as requires them, and though we had no
bright mandrels then, later experience has taught me that they would
have been better adapted to our use for many things than the little
short heads we had. Our hammers were various, some with round
and some with square flat faces, see Fig. 262, or commonly called so,
and ranged from 10 ounces to 3 or more pounds. The concave ham-
mers, Fig. 263 — that is, those whose faces are hollow — ranged from
a circle of 4 or 5 inches to 15 inches, and were used for spheri-
cal or ball-shaped work. The saddle hammers, Fig. 264, and
those with long faces were used for such work as helmet scoop lip ;
we also had a number of bright bullet or convex hammers for special
purposes.
Now, let us suppose we have heads and hammers suitable for the
Royal scoop, and that the scoop has been scoured clean and bright.
We first take it to a long head, and commence by smoothing down all
the irregularities with a clean, smooth-faced mallet. Take then a
suitable flat-faced hammer weighing, say, about ij4 pounds, and com-
mence with blows from back to front in the middle of the bottom,
and in regular succession until the edge is reached, making each line
of blows lap a little at their edges ; now work up the . other side
and over the bridge. Then proceed with the back in circles on a
bullet stake, or a head in an upright shank, the same way until the
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
153
Fig. 262. — Round-Fact Hammeb.
Fig. 263. — Concave Fact Hammeb.
Fig. 264. — Saddle-Face Hammeb
154 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
first course is completed. Next give it a good rubbing down with a
clean rag, so that the blows of the next course, which is done with a
spring-faced hammer, may be readily seen. When this course is fin-
ished the scoop should be in good shape. With a flannel wisp scour
with sweet oil and tripoli, and clean off carefully all oil and dust.
Look over and examine to find omitted spots and touch them up.
Then muffle the head with a piece of shalloon or a piece of skin parch-
ment drawn tight over it, and go over the work lightly to finish. The
spring face may be changed from hammer to head, according to the
ingenuity of the workman and to suit the work in hand. The shal-
loon supplies the place ot a spring face, as also does the skin, their
purpose being to take off or counteract the effect of the impact of the
hammer, the impinging of which on a naked head causes a sharp
ridge all around the blow, and this can only be obviated by the
muffler inside or by the spring face outside. The concave
and all other hammers may be fitted with false or spring
faces, according to the work for which they are to be used.
The parts of the Nautilus may be treated in the same manner as
directed for the Royal. The Boat and Helmet scoops will call into
requisition both flat and concave, as well as long and saddle-faced
hammers. In working around the lip of these scoops it should be
stated that the lips should be bright and smoothed on the inside as
far as the eye catches them at first sigfht ; the rest is left dead — that is,
as the skin or shalloon leaves it, clean but dull, not bright.
The planishing described in the foregoing is for the best kind of
bright work. The next grade is for common brown work, which is
finished in two courses. The brown used is good Spanish brown, put
on dry with a tow wisp, well rubbed into the grain and applied so that
plenty hangs on, but uniformly all over ; it is then hammered into the
grain in the first course, and then smoothed in the second. Another
style of planishing is executed in a way that every blow may be seen
distinctly and in regular succession, and is adopted in that kind of
goods where closing the grain or hardening is the principal object in
view, as in washing coppers and some other work ; while for many
rough kinds of braziery, such as carboys, sugar molds, pump heads,
air vessels and various kinds of boilers, the hammering is done in a
promiscuous way, so long as the surface is covered and the work
hardened sufficient to maintain its shape.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 155
CRANES OR SYPHONS.
Cranes or syphons may be said to possess or perform the func-
tions of a self-acting pump, but their operation, in reality, is only the
effect of destroying the equilibrium of the liquor by the unequal
lengths of the legs or ends of the bent tube through which the liquor
passes. The liquor acts as if it were a rope hanging or passing over
a nicely adjusted pulley wheel, Fig. 265, the excess of weight on the
one side pulling the lighter or shorter end over; or, as the perpendic-
ular hight of the column A C, Fig. 266, is greater than that of B D,
and the pressure of the atmosphere the same at both orifices, the
pressure or weight of water at C is greater than at D, and therefore
the weight at A, Fig. 267, overbalances that at B, and draws the
liquor over the bend. In the meantime the atmospheric pressure at
the end B is forcing the liquor up through the orifice at B, and it con-
tinues to flow from A until the liquor in the vessel falls to the level
of the orifice B. These simple machines were made for, and are
principally used by, brewers and wine and spirit merchants to draw
off the contents of casks of various kinds, where it is not desirable
to insert a faucet. They are usually formed of a copper tube about
1% inches inside, and with a cock at the longer end, as shown in Fig.
268, for_the purpdse and convenience of stopping the flow when
necessary. They are also supplied with a small tube, E, running
along the side, by which the liquor is made to flow when
the air has been exhausted through it by the mouth, the long
end of the syphon being stopped with a cork or by the hand covering
the orifice, or the syphon may be charged through a stopcock with
funnel at the crown G when the liquor to be drawn off is of an offen-
sive nature, as is sometimes the case. The inside of the bend H is
reinforced with a saddle piece from A to B to protect the bend from
the hoops of barrels being emptied. The stopcock was soldered to its
place and the end lengthened out with two plumbers' joints, D and F,
and the ends strengthened as. at C, to shield it from contact with the
ground while moving it about when in use. A pipe of 25 to 30 pound
plate was considered fairly strong.
We will make one, and let be 1% inches inside (the thickness of the
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Ho_.
Fio. 287.— Brraox in Ohutioh.
PlO. 288.— COPPB* 8IFHOH.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 157
metal will be about 1-16 inch) ; then to make a pipe 1-16 inch thick and
1% inches inside diameter we have 0.0625 + 1.25 x 3 1416 = 4- I2 33> or
4)4 inches wide, and some 7 feet long.* Now thin the edges on oppo-
site sides and trim and smooth them with a file and anneal ; when
cool scour clean and take it to a vise and with a razing hammer sink it
between the jaws of the vise or some other suitable tool, such as a
blacksmiths' swedge block (if handy). When half turned finish it on
1 inch steel bar, closing the edge uniformly down the whole length.
Now jar some borax and water through the joint and charge it with
solder, which may be done on the outside or inside, as preferred by
the operator, although it is the best job when charged inside. Dry
carefully, and when the borax is all down run the solder down the
joint with a moderately brisk but clean fire. When cool examine and
repair any deficiency ; then trim the joint and swage on the bar; then
anneal, and fill with rosin, and in the absence of any other conven-
ience it may be bent in a well-worn hole in the edge of the bench.
Before bending see that the edge of the seam is perpendicularly in
the center of the pipe and that it laps toward the inside of the bend*
because if it is bent with the seam lapping toward the outside there
is a tendency to break. Be careful that no cinders or other foreign
matter gets into the pipe ; and have the rosin clean and solid when
cool. When bent and the resin has been taken out solder in the sad-
dle piece, A B, put on the rings, C and K, and fasten in the cock; next
put on the air tube, F, below the cock, clean off all the soft solder
practicable and finish up clean.
* Note.— The first syphon I saw when a boy was made in three pieces— that is, the bend and
two legs soft soldered together. The reason for this was, oar sheets were only 4 feet long ; and
again, oar forge was not adapted for this kind of work. The next one was made in two pieces
and brazed together and bent after. The last one was in one piece of solid drawn tube with
the cock and the air tube brazed on.
158 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
PUMPS.
Copper pumps, or rather pump heads with cylinder, have been
and are now made in several different styles and shapes to be used
for various purposes; among which are those made for brewers and
bargemen, tanners, oilmen and others. The pump illustrated in Fig.
269 is the simplest kind made, so far as the brazier is concerned. It
consists of a straight piece of pipe of the desired length, usually from
8 to 10 feet long, with a flange at each end, the head being made large
enough to hold about two strokes — that is, to have room enough so
that it may not overflow while in operation. The head is a straight
cylinder, Fig. 270, having the bottom turned in far enough to take
the bolts so that it may be bolted to the flange, as shown, the bolt
heads being on the inside; the spout, Fig. 271, is flanged and riveted
to the side of the head near the bottom. The iron ring and double
eye, Fig. 272, in which the handle works, is then riveted to the top
edge and the copper turned over evenly all round the rim.
We will make one 10 feet long from bottom to spout, and let it be
1-16 inch thick and 2% inches in diameter inside; then we have 0.0625 +
2.5 x 3.1416=8.0503, or 8 inches; cut the strip and trim the edges, an-
neal and scour clean. Now lay it in a trough, Fig. 273, made by a 10
x 2-inch oak plank, having two other pieces 2 inches thick fastened
to its sides, making a trough about 5 inches wide. With a mallet sink
the sheet in the trough; then turn it over on the mandrel and finish
the turning, being careful to keep the seam straight and closed down
evenly (I have sometimes put a cramp at each end and one in the
middle to keep the joint close). Now jar some borax and water
through the seam and with a reed, Fig. 274 (that is, a strip of light
copper about 1 inch wide turned half round), filled with solder, charge
the seam by sliding the full reed through the length of the pipe, and,
turning it over on the joint, jar the solder out of the reed and remove
it. Take the tube to the fire and dry it; then gradually make it hot
all along, and when the solder is all down, run it down the seam on a
moderately brisk fire. When cool examine and repair all faulty
places, if there are any; clean off the joint and planish on a smooth
mandrel as near the size as you have at hand, and then braze on the
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
1^
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
*L&
Fro. 275, — BiiuB oa TiJtJfiM' Ptwr.
ART OF OOPPERSMITHING. 161
flanges. Make the head to hold, say, i gallon. A strip of copper 24
inches long and 6 inches wide would make 1 gallon head, but there
must be in addition 1 inch to turn in for bolts and 34 inch to turn over
the iron ring, making the width, therefore, 7}4 inches. Cut it out and
work it up, and make the spout 2 inches in diameter, flange it, fit it
and rivet it on, and then bolt the head to the flange and clean up.
The cylinder for this pump is made of gun metal and the clacks are
all ground in the pump, as it is used principally for hot work.
The next pump, Fig. 275, is used by bargemen, tanners and others
to pump liquids from barges and tan pits, wells, cellars, foundations,
&c. This pump is somewhat similar to Fig. 269, but is usually fur-
nished with a wooden bucket and leather clack; the bottom clack is
also of leather, although it may be, and often is, fitted with brass
bucket and clacks when made for brewers. The pump, when com-
plete, is usually 10 feet from bottom to the delivery spout, but they
are made whatever size is required, so that any number of men may
be used to work them. It will be seen that the cylinder of this pump,
in which the bucket or plunger works, is enlarged, and forms part of
the pump, and is drawn in small enough to suit the suction pipe,
which is invariably the same size as the bucket clack, so that the full
column or capacity of the suction pipe may be thrown from the de-
livery spout. When this pump is correctly made the barrel is per-
fectly cylindrical, and is a good job when completed. Let us make one
and suppose the cylinder to be 4 inches in diameter inside and 2 feet
long, and let it be 1-16 inch thick; then 0.0625 + 4 x 3.1416 = 12.75, the
circumference or width of the sheet required. Cut it out and trim off
the burrs and trim; cramp, making the cramps about 2 inches long,
turn and bind with wire, and close down the joint carefully, so that the
inside is smooth; that is, after the joint has been laid with a hammer.
Then take a mallet and with a few smart blows bring the joint down to
the spindle, which should not be less than 3 inches in diameter; next
charge the joint and let the solder follow the zigzag course of the
edges of the cramps; dry and heat the back of the pipe to take off
any spring, and then turn the joint to the fire, and run it down, care
being taken that the fire is clean. The suction pipe is made in a
similar way, but need not be cramped. Flange the cylinder G, Fi£.
276, and draw in the end, making a collar, say, i}& inches wide, and
fit the suction pipe to it and tin both parts of the joint Make the
head Y, Fig. 275, about 8 inches in diameter and the same in depth to
162 ART OP COPFERSMITHING.
the turn of the bottom. To do this there is required a strip 10 inches
wide, together with % inch to turn over the ring and double eye,
making a strip 10^ wide by 25 # inches long. Cut it out and form
and raze in the bottom end of G, so that the hole is 4 inches. The
barrel, or cylinder, may now be riveted to its place and the suction
pipe joined to it by a plumber's joint, D, Fig. 275, or it may have a
socket joint, Y, also soft soldered. Solder the length of pipe together,
making the whole, when complete, 10 feet from bottom to delivery
spout. Now put in the lower clack about 12 inches from the bottom,
then the bucket and clean up. The next pump, Fig. 277, is made in
every way similar to the last, excepting that it has a flange brazed at
the bottom of the barrel, Fig. 278, while the additional coupling flange
is attached to a piece of iron pipe and screw threaded, for iron pipe or a
leather hose.
The pump, Fig. 279, is used by oilmen and others to Hft oil out of
barrels and is a good job for a young man approaching the end of his
apprenticeship. The head is made spherical, and the spout after being
bent extends from the pump about 2 feet. The pump from clack
to 'delivery spout is usually xrom 4 to 5 feet long and 2 inches in
diameter. The spout is tapeVing from \% inches at the bend to 2 at
the flange. This head may be formed from a strip of metal the
required size, as shown in Fig. 280, the two ends being razed in
similar to a round tea kettle body, leaving the wiring edge as the work
proceeds. When the bottom end is razed in sufficiently the short
flange pipe or flanged collar is cramped in as shown and brazed; the
head is then planished brown and wired and the collar tinned. The
flange of the spout, Fig. 281, is worked out so that it will fit on the
underside of the head to empty it and the operation of flanging is
performed during the turning; that is, it is begun while flat, and as
the work proceeds the spout curls round the seam, being on the under-
side. When flanged and the seam soldered, fill with rosin or lead and
bend the end. Now make the pipe, Fig. 282, and let it be 2 inches
inside diameter. Cut out the strip, thin, sink in trough, Fig. 273, and
finish, turning on the bar and making the joint straight. Solder it
downward, clean off and put it on the bar, Fig. 283, then with a swag*
and a sledge hammer smooth the pipe, making it cylindrical and
smooth, so that a brass plunger or bucket will work uniformly through
it. Next swell out the end to receive the collar of the head, Fig. 284,
which must be the same size as internal diameter of the pipe, so that
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
!H
'■sand a»T incus— -181 'WJ
¥
^
"^ IIIIU E3
ART OP COPPBRSMITHINQ.
ART OF OOPPERaMITHING. 165
i
the joint may be smooth inside. Rivet on the spout, solder in the
head, fit in the clack and the bucket, put in the handle and clean
all up.
The next pump, Fig. 285, is called a single jigger. This pump is
mounted on a heavy cast-iron plate with avenues or water courses on
the underside. The cylinder and first bend with flange is cast of gun
metal, and the stand or upright pipe and air vessel are made of
copper. The outlet or discharge pipe may be either soft soldered or
plain, or it, may be riveted and soldered, or brazed on. The air
vessel may fit on the inside or end of the pipe, or be swelled
out to receive it. The handle, or jigger, is fastened to the stand pipe
with a clamp and bolt, which is made to form the double eye for the
jigger which is suggested by the sketch.
The last or double- jigger pump is shown in Fig. 286, and as far as
the brazier is concerned, is the same as the pump, Fig. 285, with the
addition only of the J piece at Y, the cast-iron plate also being
made larger to conform to the needs of the two cylinders forming the
double-action pump.
And now in closing my recollections of light sheet copper work-
ing or braziery, from early childhood to manhood, if I have been
fortunate enough to have supplied the means of helping some
struggling, earnest boy on the road to success, the purpose of these
articles is accomplished. At the same time, it is hoped by the writer
that they may be read with a degree of pleasure and profit by some of
the elders of the craft.
166 ART OP COPPBRSMITHINO.
RAILWAY AND MARINE
COPPERSMITHS AND THEIR APPLIANCES
Men skilled in the art of working sheet copper are usually divided
into three classes, which may almost be designated as three separate
trades. The first and most ancient have been known for centuries as
braziers. These men were employed in the manufacture of all kinds
of cooking utensils, transmitting their craft from father to son for
many generations, and have guarded their patrimony with a jealous
eye. The next division was turned in the direction of larger and
heavier vessels, such as brewing coppers, tallow coppers, dyers' cop-
pers, stills of various kinds and vacuum pans for refining sugar, worms
and coils, pumps, and many other heavy articles and vessels. These
men are called coppersmiths, and properly so, because a majority of
their work has no need of soldering or brazing, and as a rule they are
poor brazers. With the advent of the steam engine another and third
branch was called into existence. These men are employed about
locomotive and marine engines, and seldom seek employment in any
other line. Their work principally consists in making pipes of various
sizes, forming bends, tee-pieces, cross-pieces, and, in fact, twisting a
copper pipe into any conceivable shape required to fit the position it
is intended to occupy. We shall for the present engage the attention
of the reader to this last class of coppersmiths, and endeavor to de-
scribe a well-appointed shop for this kind of work. The first and
most essential thing for a healthy coppersmiths' shop is a lofty,
spacious room ; if possible, not less than 20 feet high, with a floor 50
x 60 feet ; the light should, if practicable, come from the roof through
opaque glass ; the roof should be furnished with dormers having mov-
able slats, which may be raised and lowered as occasion requires to
let out the fumes and gases that arise frpm the fuel in the forges and
trom the metal which is being worked, for they are often of a most
repugnant and almost suffocating nature. The room having been ob-
tained and provision made for the easy exit of the poisonous gases,
benches for the accommodation of from six to ten men may be erected
and fixed firmly against the wall on one side of the shop to suit con-
venience, as shown in Fig. 287. The benches should not be less than
3 feet wide and 3 inches thick, of some hard wood. They should
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
167
-l-VWE
-JL-VISF
-H- vise
-* — %
TOOL BLOCK
SHOP
50 X 60'
MANDRLL BLOCK
BENDING BLOCK
Q
B
CAULDRON FURNACE
PO D
3-^-
BELLOWS
tf
BRICK FORGE
□
BRICK FORGE
BELLOWS R
COKE BIN
Fia. 287.— Pijin of Shop.
ART OP COPFBRSMITHINO.
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO. 169
be provided with capacious drawers for the tools of each man, with a
vise at each drawer, Fig. 288, the vises being not less than 8 feet
apart. The bench may reach as far as necessary along the side of the
shop, and may turn at the end as far as the door. The doors should
be in the middle of each end, and large enough to allow such work to
pass through as is likely to be done, and admit a current of air readily
when necessary. On the opposite side of the shop three forges may
be placed, two made of brick, and one, A, of iron. The two of brick,
Fig. 288, should be about 3 feet high and 3 feet wide, and reach 5 or 6
feet from the wall. In the center of the top is the fire hole, which is
about 10 inches wide and 12 long and from 8 to 10 deep. The blast
can be supplied in the most convenient way, either from a fan or a
large bellows ; if from bellows, they should be hung overhead out of
the way, so as to be convenient for the two outside forges, pipes being
laid so the blast can be carried from one fire to the other, and to all
if necessary. The iron forge, Fig. 289, should be made of f£-inch
boiler iron, and so constructed that the side leaves can be taken off
easily when necessary.
In the spaces between the three fires should be two pits of con-
venient depth to receive from 8 to 10 feet of pipe. These pits are
about 3x4 feet and 6 deep, and covered with a lid of 2-inch oak plank;
one plank of the lid or cover being left loose, to give access to the
pit In one of the outer corners of the pits a blast pipe is fixed for
work which must be done over or near a pit. On the same side of the
shop is a bin to hold coke, Figs 287 and 289, and which is placed close
to the door. On the opposite side and in the space from door to wall
a furnace is erected having a cast-iron caldron for the purpose of
melting lead, also a fire to melt the rosin used to fill pipes for bending.
Above each of these fires and forges is a kind of tramway for wheels
to run on, the lower wheel carrying a chain, as shown in the cuts.
The chain should be large enough so that a hook at each end of it can
be readily caught in the links. The chain is used to hoist up and
sling the work that it may be easily manipulated over the fire and at
the mandrel block. To the wall is fixed a hitching hook for the pur-
pose of tying the fall end of the chain when work is slung over the
fire. The tramways are conveniently placed so that work may be
easily carried from one place to another and to and from the fire; also
to hold the work balanced while being operated on at the mandrel
block or bench. The mandrel block is made of cast-iron plates some
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
ART OF COPPBRSMITHINQ. 171
2 inches thick, and about 5 feet long and 4 feet wide, stood on edge,
2 feet apart The plates, which are firmly fixed opposite »each other,
have holes in them both round and square to receive round and square
mandrels, which go through both plates, so that the mandrels may be
securely wedged and held fast in their places. Some 20 feet from the
back or furnace end of shop floor is fixed a cast-iron post, B, from
12 to 14 inches square. This post is for the purpose of bending pipe,
and is called a bending block. It should be placed as near the middle
of the shop as convenient, and must be firmly set in the ground with
a good broad foot at the bottom, as it requires considerable power to
bend 5 -inch pipe filled with lead, and if the block is not solid the
power used in bending would loosen it: The top of the block has a
ledge 4 inches deep for a strap to rest upon, the strap holding the
lead-piece. The strap is of iron, 1 inch thick and 3 inches wide, made
like a square staple with the ends drawn down so that a i#-inch
thread can be cut on them. Another piece of iron with holes in each
end is made to go over the threaded ends of the strap. This strap is
to hold a thick lead-piece on top of the block, the lead having a hole
in it large enough to take the pipe in easily which may be required to
be bent.
Since this article was prepared I have been favored by Mr. More-
ton, one of the workmen in the coppersmiths' shop of the London and
Southwestern Railway of London, England, with two views of the in-
terior of a new and larger shop than the one above described, the
arrangement of which is a little different from the old shop. In these
two illustrations of the new shop, Figs 290 and 291, I notice the old
brick forge has been discarded and the position of all the forges has
been changed. The new ones are apparently placed in the middle
of the shop, which has probably been found more convenient. The
first object in the picture, Fig. 290, is the floor block, with a bottom
stake standing in it. A little to the right of this is an anvil, used to
work down the saddles of bends which are made in two halves. (One
of these bends is lying on the end of the mandrel block in Fig, 291.)
On a table near are two brass valve covers, the crowns of which
have just been brazed in. The next thing beyond these covers is a
forge, in which there was a fire when the picture was taken. Other
prominent objects are three brass dome covers, the making of which
will be described later.
The next thing we notice is a coping, which is made of sheet
art qv COPPKR-SMITHINO.
ART OF OOPPERBMITHING. 173
Iron and screws as a finish to the lagging of the back end of the fire
box. Under the left-hand end of this coping is a pit with a blast pipe
at the southeast corner of it. Hanging on the wall is another kind
of coping for the front end of the fire box, and which connects the
lagging of the fire box with that of the boiler. The traveler chains
used for slinging work are all clearly shovyn hanging at different
points in the shop. In the other picture, Fig. 291, taken from another
point, the benches are shown. The principal object on the bench is
another iron coping finished ready for fitting, and in the corner are
two long boiler steam pipes 6 inches in diameter, which are the larg-
est pipes usually made in a locomotive shop. The next thing is the
mandrel block, upon which are lying four cods, six small heads of dif-
ferent shapes and three large long heads: In the end hole at the left
hand of the mandrel block is a wooden bar made to receive the shank
of the large heads, the end of the bar being shoed with an iron strap
to keep the head in and form the hole for the head shank.
The shop, it will be noticed, is illuminated by electric light,
two lamps being shown. In the left-hand corner of the mandrel
block, and securely fastened, is a 3-inch round iron bar about 7
feet long, upon which are two cast-iron blocks that slide up and
down the bar as required. These blocks have holes in them to
receive mandrels, and are made fast by a suitable set screw at the
back, which holds the block at any required hight when the main
mandrel block is too low for the work in hand. A little to the left of
this bar is a screw jack, used to hold up one end of a pipe at the fire
or for other purposes. On the wall may be seen variousr wire tem-
plates of delivery and other pipes. Altogether these pictures afford
an interesting peep into a London railway coppersmiths' shop.
ART OF COPPER8MITHING.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 175
MAKING COPPER PIPE.
Copper pipes until recently were made by hand in 10 and 12 foot
lengths, and from # inch in diameter to any required size, and so great
was the demand with the advent of the steam engine that many men,
who were called pipe makers, were employed exclusively in making
copper pipes and brass tubes. The marine coppersmith is now sup-
plied with all sizes of straight pipes ready to his hand, but formerly
he made them all. There have been rapid strides made in this art,
and, like all other arts, that of the coppersmith has had to succumb to
the march of scientific and practical research. Copper pipes are now
drawn and made without seam, yet it often happens that the copper-
smith is called on to make a few lengths in an emergency, and the
most efficient method of doing this by hand will now be described.
If the sheet of which the pipe is to be made is heavy the edges are
thinned on the opposite sides of the strip; it is then turned and lapped
only. If, on the other hand, the sheet is light, the edges must be
cramped before thinning. If the pipe to be made is more than 6 feet
long, we use a trough, Pig. 292, made of two long planks about 2
inches thick, placed in crossed pieces similar to a sawbuck, and lying
at right angles to each other. The sheet is laid in the trough and a
straight bar is dropped on the sheet metal, which yields to the falling
bar, and the first form is thus given to the sheet. It is then further
rounded by placing it the other side up over one of the edges of the
trough and bringing it together with a mallet. When brought together
sufficiently the joint is laid even on a long steel bar fastened at
one end in the mandrel block. If the pipe is to be made of thin
sheet metal, then the joint should be cramped together. This is
done by cutting the edge on one side about every 2 or 3 inches
with a chisel held slanting so that the cramp will form a lap where
cut, as shown in Fig. 293. The edge is now suitably thinned, after
which the sheet is turned round. The outside cramps are then lifted
so as to admit the other edge, which is not cut, and which is put
between the cramps, one going inside and the other outside.
The pipe, Fig. 294, is then bound together with pieces of binding
wire placed about 2 feet apart and pulled up tight, the cramps are
closed down and the joint laid evenly with a hammer or mallet to suit
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Via, 292. — Though fob Foimina Coffee Pipe.
Fia. 293.— Bun OF Sheet CeimfmD. Fia. 284. — Pirn React fob BlAiitca.
Fia. 295. — Bmed fob Placikq Spelter oh 8»aw.
Fia. 296.— POBiiBLi Supfoets fob Holding Fifes while Bbuino.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. - 17?
the joint required. ^ The joint must now be made to chatter — that is,
jarred to loosen it enough so that the spelter may have room to flow
freely through the joint when it is being brazed. All the foregoing
directions having been followed successively, we now proceed to
charge the joint with spelter. The spelter is mixed with clean water
and borax, equal amounts of spelter and borax by measure being
used. The best results follow if the mixture is made ready two or
three days before wanted. To charge the joint take a strip of metal
and form it into a V-shaped reed, Pig. 295, the length of the pipe
and large enough to hold a sufficient quantity of spelter for the joint.
Fill the reed evenly with spelter, and then slide it carefully
through the pipe, laying it evenly on one side of the seam.
Then turn the reed over on the -seam, jar the spelter out of it
and carefully remove the reed. The pipe is then ready for the
fire. The fire must be clean and made of clean coke, care being taken
that no lead or soft solder is on the forge or in the fire. The pipe is
laid on the supports, Fig. 296, which are made of angle iron and bolted
to a heavy foot so as to stand firm. The angle irons have holes
punched about 1 inch apart, and a #-inch rod run through with a
wheel between the standards having a groove in it large enough to
lay the pipe in so that as the joint is brazed it can easily be drawn
through the fire without any unnecessary friction. During the process
of soldering a pan of powdered borax must Ije at hand in case at some
point the spelter should need more to flux it. After the pipe is cooled
the seam is cleaned off by a sharp file and taken to the mandrel, and
with a bright top swage it is rounded up and smoothed ready for use.
PIECING AND JOINING PIPES.
There are two ways of piecing or joining copper pipes — namely, a
flush joint and a socket joint, soft soldering and hard soldering or
brazing being employed. The manner of making a flush joint for
soft soldering is shown in A and B, Fig. 297. A represents a flush
joint prepared and ready for soft soldering. B represents a socket
joint prepared for soft soldering. C a flush joint for hard solder, and
D a socket joint for hard solder. The socket joint is adopted when
it is necessary to preserve the full bore of the pipe ; the flush joint
when it is necessary to retain the exact size outside, as in the case of
a gland, or where a screw nut has to pass over the joint.
In Fig. 297, A, it will be noticed that one piece has been reduced,
or swaged down ; this may be done with a top and bottom swage used
178 ART OF COPFERSMITHING.
by blacksmiths, if proper care be exercised, and the part operated on
kept soft, or it may be reduced with a raising hammer. The inner
piece should be carefully fitted, and, where reduced, of sufficient
length to allow of its being kept cool at the end, so that it will retain
the solder when the fire is applied to the joint. The female or outside
piece should be thinned at the end, and the male or inside piece care-
fully hammered (not filed) to fit the scarf of the female end, which
should project from the side sufficiently so that a suitable stick or bar
of solder, when the joint is made hot enough to melt solder, can be
drawn around the joint without any of it running down the outside, or
when being filled from a ladle of solder, as is often done. Sometimes
it is best and most convenient to wipe a plumber's joint, as it often
happens that a fire cannot be applied or used in the work, either from
its situation or because it would be unsafe to apply a fire.
The socket joint, Pig. 297, should be carefully fitted as in the case
of A, the projection of the edge of the socket answering the purpose
of the projection as in the flush joint A — namely, to insert or run the
solder into the joint.
The flush joint C should have the same care given to it as in the
case of A and B, but with this addition : On the female end a collar or
flange must be laid off of the desired width, as shown, to form a chan-
nel or receptacle to hold enough spelter or hard solder when melted to
fill the joint full.
The socket joint D is prepared the same as B. These sockets are
made or enlarged on a suitable mandrel or steel stake by hammering
until expanded to the proper size ; the flange or collar is then laid off
and the two ends are fitted easy, so the male end will go snugly into
the socket without binding, but with sufficient room for the solder to
flow freely about it and fill the joint full and make it solid. If the
foregoing instructions are closely followed we are now well on with
the work to be accomplished. We must now tin the joint (coat the
ends with tin), both male and female, if for the joints shown by A and
B ; but the male end should be tinned only to within % or }& inch of
the end. On this spare space a little plumber's soil is applied to pre-
vent the solder flowing down too far while the joint is being made.
To clean the joints for soldering cover the parts with a strong solu-
tion of common salt and water, heat them in a clean coke fire to a
cherry-red heat, and then plunge into water; next scour with a clean
tow wad and sand and water, and finally dry. The pipes are now
ready to place in position for the fire.
ART OF COPPBRSMITHINQ.
Fio. 298. — Pibbt Form of Fibs Pot.
i
FlO. MB — Second Fobm 01 Fihb Foi. P"». 300.— Cast-IBoN FlM POT.
FlO. 297. — WAYS Or JOIHIMO COPPIB PlPlS.
150 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Having secured a suitable position, the application of the fire
is next in order. In Fig. 298 is shown my first fire pot, which subse-
quently went through. some two or three transformations, but was only
improved to a limited extent by being cast in halves to suit some pur-
poses, and in three sections tor work of larger proportions. The first,
however, was a ring of No. 20 sheet iron, about 3^ inches deep, and
perforated with holes, which, in the aggregate, were equal to or a little
in excess of the capacity of the supply pipe. Around this iron ring was
placed a hollow half-round ring made of copper, to receive and con-
fine a blast from a fan, or wind from a bellows. The copper was in-
closed as shown by section in the flanges of the iron ring, which was
closed down close to the hollow half-round copper ring top and bot-
tom. The supply pipe was flanged and riveted to the hollow copper
ring as shown, the supply pipe being about 2 inches in diameter. The
holes in iron ring were burred toward the inside, projecting enough to
assist in holding a coat of fire clay to protect the iron from the action
of the fire and keep the ring from burning. This answered for a time,
and was fairly successful, but many little difficulties, and sometimes
great ones, attended its use. The next pot, Fig. 299, was constructed
in a similar way ; but the iron ring was of boiler plate, about # inch
thick. This obviated the use of a fire-clay lining, and was a partial
success until we got a job for which it was not applicable, in conse-
quence of its being a complete ring. This compelled or suggested
that the pot should be made in two parts, which was done in the best
way that would answer the purpose. This one finally gave way to one
of cast iron, a little different in shape, but the same in principle.
Fig. 300 shows the shape of the last pattern, which was of cast iron.
It will be seen that the cavity for the blast was easily provided in
this form, and the inside wall was made thick enough to render the
lining unnecessary. With this pot the bottom of a joint could be more
successfully kept cool, so as to check the molten spelter from running
down too far, or leaking through the joint at the bottom. For gen-
eral purposes this was the best, and we are not aware that it has ever
been improved. Fig. 300 also shows a sectional view of this pot cut
through the feed pipe. For large work it is necessary to have the
blast let in on both sides, and sometimes in three directions, the pot
being then made in sections, with a feed pipe in each section,
care being taken that none of the inner holes are opposite the inlet
blast pipe.
ART OP OCKPPERSMITHING. 181
FIRE POT SET FOR BRAZING JOINT
We shall now proceed to make use of the fire pot, and describe the
process of hard soldering or brazing by its aid. The pipe having been
placed into position, care is taken that the socket is level across the
brim, perhaps secured in the pit, or fastened to the forge or other
suitable and convenient place, so that the roller and chain overhead
is handy if necessary to the job. By referring to the engraving, Fig.
301, the clamp to hold up the pot is seen, which is made of 2J4 x %
inch iron, the arms being formed so that they will clasp the pipe, and
are held there by two bolts, as shown. There may be space between
them, so that they could be used for different sized pipe. These
clamps are fastened up under the bottom of the socket, then the plates
which form the fire-pot bottom are laid on, as shown in Fig. 302. Now
spread a thin coat of moist fire clay over the plates, and hollow it up
the socket from 1 inch to ij4 inches. This is to keep the joint cool at
the bottom, so that as the spelter melts it will not run down through —
that is, not lower than the clay. Now place the fire pot in position,
as shown in Fig. 303. This is the most critical and important feature
of the work. Care must be taken to have the pot level with the
socket flange which is to hold the solder. The pot would be better
rather below than above, for if the spelter be too far out of the pot
the blast will be too low down, and if it be too low in the pot there is
danger of running out the seam in the upper pipe. Then, again, the
joint cannot be skimmed off handily or so well attended to. When
the pot is in position draw the clay around the bottom of it on the
outside, so that the flame will not escape between the pot and bottom
plates ; then apply the blast pipe. If the joint be less than 6 or 7
inches in diameter one blast pipe will be enough, if the blast is of
sufficient strength, but if the pipe to be joined be larger than 7 or 8
inches, then there should be two entries, as in Fig. 303. The joint is
now filled with clean mixed spelter and borax. If the joint to be made
is on brazed pipe, then spread a little of the moist fire clay over the
seam up to tne rim of the socket. Fasten the two screw clamps,
Pig- 3°4» opposite each other on the top end of the pipe, and pass the
chain through them and hook in a link or hook around the chain.
ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 183
On the other end of the chain a counterbalance weight is attached,
nearly equal in weight to the male part of the job, or upper piece, or
the chain may be fastened to the hitching hook on the wall in such a
way that it will take the weight of the top piece of pipe while the
joint is hot.
We are now ready for the fire. First, place a little dead charcoal
on the wet clay, then put in a layer of live hot pieces, and cover them
with a few more dead ones, and fill up with nice clean coke of the
size of a walnut, covering the spelter some 2 inches ; that is, pile the
coke up around the pipe in a conical form from the edge of the pot,
Then let in the blast slowly and be patient until the joint is just red-
hot right through. While this is going on slowly, touch down the coke
into a compact mass. When the joint is red-hot take the coke back a
little from the pipe and dust a little freshly-powdered borax on the
spelter ; by this time the fire should be in good condition. Draw the
coke up to the pipe again and replenish the fire and let in the blast at
a brisk rate, keeping a watchful eye on the spelter and the blast slide.
When the spelter has run and the joint is full and well fluxed, skim
it off with a hot iron poker or a rod, Fig 305, flattened at the end,
and stop the blast ; take off the pipes and lift the pot, then throw a
little common salt on the joint to kill the borax, which is hard on a
new file. In all cases the draft through the pipe should be stopped,
as the cold air going through tends to keep the joint cold, and in the
larger pipes greatly retards progress. The directions above given
are intended especially tor learners, although old hands would save
themselves some time, and often trouble, were they in the majority
of cases to follow them out. The practice in many shops is to make
a large fire on the brick forge, and then take a shovel full of hot
coke and fill the pot with it ; and a failure is often th e result. But
practice will partly balance the chances, because a man must make
himself acquainted with the " ropes " (customs) of the shop in which
he gets employment, no matter how absurd they are. Advance or
innovation is seldom countenanced by workmen without trouble. I
never failed when the fire was started with charcoal as above
directed.
Soft Soldering the Joint.
To make a soft solder joint, the fire pot is placed in position in
the same manner as for brazing, and charcoal is used in preference
to coke entirely. The solder is run from a suitable stick or from a
184 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
ladle. Joints in small pipes may be made with the aid of a pair of
round tongs made hot. Joints in large pipes are sometimes more con-
veniently made by a pot of burning charcoal. Fig. 306, applied on the
inside, held by and lowered into the pipe with the chain, care being
taken to keep the lower end of the joint cool, and sizing the male
part with size made of lampblack or ivory black and gold size, or any
other pigment that will answer to prevent the solder from running
through the joint. The fire pot for large soft solder joints is made
to fit easily, and to hold a sufficient quantity of charcoal to do the
work required. The bottom end of the pipe in this case is kept open
if possible, so as to permit the draft, which in the other case it is
necessary to stop. It will be seen that the bottom of the socket must
be kept cool enough to stop the solder from running through ; or the
possibility of a leak may be prevented by rubbing into the inside
some moist clay, if one can get to it to do so
. o
Fid. 305. — Skiuuinq Rod.
ART OP OOPFERSMITHING. 185
usually roll up hard a ball of waste or paper and ram it in tight as far
as it is necessary to fill it, and then pour in the lead or rosin as the
case may be. When the work is done and the lead is out, heat the
pipe blood red and the wadding will fall out, or it may be blown out
by applying the blast pipe to it. We now proceed to the bending
block. The center pin is used when from the nature of the work noth-
ingwill answer in its place. It is adapted to a great many forms of
bending which practice alone can teach the learner. It will be no
ticed in Fig. 308 that the back plate is a piece of iron, usually about
ij£ inches thick, with two legs, the top of the bending block having
four holes an equal distance apart at each corner to receive the two
legs on any side, so that with the center pin the bending may be
done on whichever side of the block is most convenient to the
operator.
F*£- 3°7 shows the block ready for bending. A, loop ; B, packing
C, lever ; D, pipe to be bent ; E, center pin, and F, back plate in po-
sition. The pipe is first marked by laying the straight part of the
template on the pipe and running the curved part along until the
straight part at the other end of the template lies level on the pipe
again, and marking with chalk where the bend begins and terminates
on the pipe. It is then laid between the pin and back plate, Fig. 307,
or put through the hole in the lead piece, as shown in Fig. 309. Be-
tween the plate and pipe is put a soft piece of wood or lead, and be-
tween the pin and pipe a piece of thick sheet lead ; these are to save
the pipe from being marked by the pressure exerted against the pin
and back plate in the operation of bending. (It is always necessary
to have a helper at the block when bending.) Now put the loop A on
the pipe and slip the lever C through it, which may be of iron or
wood — in some cases a wooden lever is the best, in others an iron one.
Then put a block of soft wood, B, between the lever and pipe. After
the loop is on one mark and the other mark behind the pin, or just
inside the hole in the lead piece, then apply the necessary pressure to
bend it to the required curve. The rope loop A, Fig. 307, is made of
one strand of rope and formed like a sailor's grommet. The copper
loop shown at the side in Fig. 309 is made of a strong piece of sheet
copper. Sometimes the rope is the best adapted to the job in hand,
at other times the copper loop ; experience must dictate this. With
the apparatus described, pipes up to 5 inches in diameter may be bent
If anything larger is needed, a hydraulic press must be provided.
186 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
i
TEMPLATES.
Taking templates for bends is an important feature as an adjunct
to the successful performance of the operation of bending ; for if the
template be taken without a proper knowledge, trouble often ensues.
Many a good piece of work has been mutilated and valuable time con-
sumed by ignorance on the part of the maker of the bend, or the
maker of the template, or perhaps it should have been said, from the
want of a mutual understanding between them, when it happens that
the coppersmith does not take the template himself. Templates for
use at the bending block are usually made from an iron rod, which is
stiff enough to retain its form without fear of alteration while being
handled. It should be formed so that it will run through the center
of the pipe after it is bent. Templates for large work are usually
made by a pattern maker, showing the exact curve by cutting boards,
and nailing the flanges to them in the position desired. When the
position the pipe is to occupy affords sufficient space, due regard, care
and attention should be exercised so that the pipe when finished will
hang perpendicular, and lie horizontal, and the bends occupy as near
as practicable the center of the space through which the bends run —
that is, neither cramped nor straggling, but filling the space with a
flowing ease. Having the templates in proper shape, we will now
proceed to filling and bending.
FILLING AND BENDING.
All copper pipes and brass tubes should be carefully annealed
before bending—that is, that part which is to be bent ; the other ought
to be left hard. The part to be softened should when hot be a cherry
red in a clear north light (not sunshine); when cold the part to be
bent is filled with either lead or rosin, whichever is the more suitable
to the particular bend it is required to make. If the desired bend is
short— that is, part of a small circle— lead is the best for the pur-
pose, new soft lead without any foreign substance mingled with it.
If, on the other hand, an easy, flowing bend is desired, then rosin
is the best adapted to the purpose. If the bend is to be made at the
end of a long pipe it is not necessary to fill it the whole length. We
ART OP COPPBRSM1THINQ.
Fio. 306— 1
Fio. 309.— Bbkdi
a Piecb and Baci Pun
188 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Made Bends.
Bends that are not filled and bent are made in two ways princi-
pally and in halves ; one way the seams are on the side, the other the
seams are in the throat and back. When the seams are on the side
the inner piece is called the saddle and the outer piece the back. To
make a bend saddle and back, take two strips of copper, each one-half
the circumference of the pipe in width ; let the saddle piece be nearly
the diameter of the pipe shorter than the back piece ; file the edges of
each piece up carefully, half round, so that there are no rough burrs
or small cracks left made by the shears in cutting the strips. Bend
each to the working template. It will be found that the saddle, as
the edges are being turned over on a mandrel, has a tendency to open
out straight ; this may be obviated by bending the saddle piece a
third smaller than the bend is required to be when finished, as shown
in Fig. 310 ; that is, if a mallet is used in making the saddle. If the
saddle is made with a hammer and drawn over on an anvil, the ham-
mer will curl it around enough to the template, because the edges will
be drawn longer. When the work is performed with a mallet the
center is upset nearly as much as the edges of the strips are drawn,
and a more equalized thickness is obtained and therefore a better
bend. The back is turned similarly, under the same conditions, to
the saddle, and the edges are puckered or wrinkled at regular inter-
vals and then brought round to the template by hollowing in the cen-
ter of the back in a hollowing block, Fig. 311, allowing the wrinkles
to come up regularly until the back has curled round about a third
less circle than the template. Gradually work out the wrinkles, first
a little on one side and then on the other, over a J-stake, as shown in
Fig. 312, until they are worked down and the edges are smooth and
fit the edges of the saddle half. Then thin the edges with a double
paned hammer on the inside of the two halves, saddle and back, and
file the edges true along them. They will now be ready for softening
and cleaning, which is done at one and the same time by covering the
parts with strong brine of salt and water and heating to a cherry red
(out of the sunshine), and quenching in a vessel or trough of clear
water, and scouring with a clean tow wad and clean sand and water.
It is now ready for cramping, as shown in Fig. 310. When cramped,
open the cramps and bring the back to it ; let one go inside and one
outside ; pull them up together in a vise and wire them together, as
shown at D in Fig. 313. Dress down the cramps and hammer them
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
Fid. 310. — Hun Bends.— Skauh
ART OF COPPBRSMITHINO.
I. 114.— A Cod.
Flo. 318.— Duiirau Showinu Bin or B
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO. 191
close and even on a bent mandrel and a cod to fit. A cod is an egg-
shaped casting, Fig. 314, having a square hole through its transverse
axis, so that it can be keyed on the end of a bent square mandrel, as
at D and E, one end of which is fastened in the mandrel block T, Fig.
313. After the cramps are hammered down smooth, chatter the joint,
when it is ready for charging with spelter and the fire.
Seam in Throat and Back.
We will now work on the other two halves, top and bottom, Fig.
315. In working these two halves into shape, the method usually
adopted by workmen is to draw the throat down on an anvil, and then
hollow up the back in a block ; but this is not satisfactory nor can a
real good job be done in this way, because the throat is drawn thin
too much by the hammering and there is difficulty in keeping the
work to the template ; then, again, there is an excess of stuff in the
back ; yet this method is still in use. While engaged at this kind of
work the writer discovered a very much better way by which the
throat is scarcely touched ; and when the bend is finally shaped
the throat is practically the same thickness as th^ sheet from which
it was cut. This method has never been taught to any one but one
apprentice boy, and it is given to the public now for the first time ;
that is, the formula. All bends are in the abstract but sections of
a hollow cylindrical ring, and a square bend is one-fourth of a hol-
low ring, having the straight part, if any, joined to it or left unbent
A little mathematical knowledge is now required to be able to fully
understand the ground work or the theoretical part. Referring to
Fig- 316, let the inner dotted diameter of the diagram be equal to
9, and the diameter of pipe X equal 6 ; then the outside diameter
of the diagram will be 21. Now we want to unroll the outside edge
of one-halt ol this hollow ring, see Fig. 317, when cut horizontally,
yy\ and form it into the frustum of a cone, E. To do this we pro.
ceed thus : First find the convex surface of the whole ring. Here
the inner diameter of the ring is 9, and the diameter of the thick-
ness or size of pipe is 6 ; then (9 + 6) x 6 = 15 x 6 = 90, and 90 x
(3.1416)* = 90 9.8696 = 888.2685, the convex surface of the whole
ring; then 888 - 268 5 = 444 I342 , one half surface, and 444*342
2 7 8 54
565.488+. Now add the square of 9, the inner diameter of the bend
or ring, to this last result, and 565.488 + 81 = 646.488. Extracting the
192 ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
square root of this last sum gives us 25.4262, the outside diameter of
the circular disk G, Fig. 317. Now we want to transform this flat
disk ring G into a frustum of a cone, E, whose convex surface is
equal to the flat disk ring G. Practice has shown that frustum of a
cone formed of 315° of a circular ring is the best pitch it can have to
obtain the result required with the least work. To raise this disk to
a frustum of a cone proceed thus : -■ ' ■-- - ■ ■■ - 14,5292, the radius
or slant hight of the complete cone of which the frustum E is a
part. Now take for a square bend one-fourth of 315* of circle D, or
78.75 , F, and add to it whatever is required for the straight part at
either end, if any ; then round up the edges with a file (as before
directed), smooth, and it is ready for forming up into a half bend, pro-
ceeding as follows : Take two pieces of copper, F, and curl them round,
PiO. 318*. — First Cubts Gitis to P Pattmm.
a third smaller in diameter, Fig. 318, in the throat than they are re-
quired to be, the circular part forming one-fourth of the cone E, and
turn them right and left in opposite directions, forming one-fourth of
a cone with the part intended to form the bend. Now turn thi
OD TEE EDGI WlIMKLD).
throat in to begin the forming, A, Fig. 318; then turn the outer edge
up and pucker or wrinkle the edge at regular intervals, as shown in
H, Fig. 318; then take it to the hollowing block. Fig. 311, and sink it
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
in the hollow in the croner, letting the wrinkles come in regularly all
alike, until it is curled up enough, Fig. 319 ; now work out the
wrinkles, partly in the block on the inside and part on a 'cod joutside,
until the edge is smooth and the two edges of the halves fit each
other, Fig. 320. Then thin the edges, file them true, cramp one-half
and bring the other to it and wire ; dress down the cramps and
chatter the joint; it is now ready for charging with solder and the
fire.
ART OP COPPBR9MITHING. 196
Template Boards.
The template boards are a very useful and convenient contrivance,
made for the purpose of substituting the position in which pipes are in-
tended to be coupled or occupy on an engine or tender or in a ship's
hold. The single board is shown in Fig. 321. This board, or rather
two boards, are hinged together at A and provided with two wings,
B, about 1 inch wide, similar to that of a pair of compasses. These
wings are fastened to the bottom leaf of the board, and slide through
a loop which is fastened to the side of the other leaf. The loop is
provided with a thumb screw, which holds the upright leaf in any
position the flanges of a pipe may require. The double board, Fig.
Pit}. 321.— Single Template BoabD.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Fig. 822. — DotiBLB Tkmi-late Boadd.
i. 824.— Conn Btiip.
Fio. 82S. — CoLUs.
Fla. S26. — THik
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 197
322, is similar to the single board, but has two leaves. This board is
to take the set of S bends, which are set at right angles to each other,
as shown by the pipe standing on the double board, Fig. 322. Here
is an example of its practical use. It often happens in the case of
steam pipes, feed pipes and suction pipes that the pipe breaks off
close at the back of the flange A, Fig. 323, and the flange is not dam-
aged or the pipe either further than the flange being broken off, and
it is necessary to put the flange back on the pipe again without piec-
ing, and to have the bolt holes in the exact position after the pipe is
repaired as they were before the pipe was broken. Suppose the pipe
is broken at the bottom flange C, Fig. 321. First match the fracture
and take a template of it on the board by making the board fit the
flanges, as shown. When they are in their true position, as they were
before the pipe broke, mark the flanges around with a pencil on the
board and all the bolt holes ; then make a chisel mark on the edge of
the flange, and at this point mark it on the board. Now all is ready
to proceed with the repairing. Anneal and clean the end of the pipe
inside and outside, and make a short thimble 2 inches long, D, Fig.
326, of light copper and fit it tight into the end of the pipe, and place
it so that when the flange is put on over it the thimble will come
through the flange E, Fig. 323, # inch. Braze the ferrule in the pipe
on two sides inside, and run off all the old solder from the flange A,
and when cool fit it to its place again, being careful to match the
fracture exactly and the holes and chisel mark on the template board.
Then turn the end of the ferrule over the flange, forming a rivet,
and draw the flange close to its place. Make a collar of a strip of
thick copper, B, Fig. 324, and scarf the ends, and after bending, C,
Fig. 325, put it around the fracture F, Fig. 327, making it wide enough
to cover the break % inch. Then wire it on tight, and after care-
fully charging it with solder around the top edge of the collar, sling
it over the fire and run the solder. When the solder is set the wire
may be taken off, while it is yet hot, quite easily. It the instruction
here given be carefully followed, a strong, substantial job will always
result.
198 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
PATCHING PIPES.
Patching copper pipes, like most other branches of the copper-
smith's art, requires perception first, and then skill, with patient, per-
severing ingenuity. Pipes are liable to so many different kinds of
fractures and breakages that one can hardly prescribe beforehand a
remedy suitable for all the many contingencies that may arise. We
will, therefore, mention a few occurrences that are happening fre-
quently, and let them act as stepping stones to the performance of
others that may call for the attention of the operator. It often
happens that pipes burst at the seam ; this may arise from one of
several causes — namely, from imperfect brazing, such as overheat-
ing while at the fire, or not enough heat to fuse the spelter so that it
firmly adheres, or from freezing, continual jar, overpressure from
force pump or flaws in the metal. If a fracture should occur from
overheating — that is, if the part has been burnt — it is best to cut it
out, as it can never be successfully repaired.
If ever so good a job be done it is all to no purpose, seeing the
foundation of the work has been made rotten, and it is useless, ex-
cept in cases of extreme emergency, to waste time or material on it.
If the fracture arises from the want of heat, or the spelter has not
been run enough to adhere to the joint, then open the joint and
properly clean it ; then close it down and give it a coat of warm
borax and water, the borax having been previously dissolved in
water ; jar this through the joint, then charge it with spelter, either
inside or outside, as seems best. If outside, the addition of a little
spelter inside will do no harm if care is taken to see that it is com-
pletely run. If from freezing, the fracture may be anywhere as well
as at the seam ; then the metal will be parted as if cut through with
a knife. If this be the case, file it down at the fracture, as at C in Fig.
328, so that where the split is the edge is thin, making a scarf
similar to those at the seam, and clean the split carefully on
the edges. Make the patch a, thinning the edges down to
a suitable thickness, 6 9 and so that the edge of the patch will
just cover the outside edge of the scarf on the pipe at c. When
the patch is properly fitted, anneal it with some salt previously put
h
AKT OF COPPERS MITHING.
I
200 ART OP COPPERSMITHINO.
over it ; when scoured clean cover it with a thin coat of fine spelter
and run it smooth at the fire, throwing off all that will leave it while
hot (this is to answer the same purpose as tinning). Wire the patch
to the pipe, as shown in Fig. 329, the wires being sufficiently close to
keep it from bagging when hot ; charge it with spelter, one-half on
the pipe and the other on the patch, then make the pipe red hot all
around at the back of the patch and along the length of it, preventing
oxidation of the spelter by a supply of borax. When sufficiently hot
gradually turn it over and offer the spelter to a brisk fire. It should
run easily, and if carefully performed, a good, sound and durable job
will be insured. The cleaning off of the patch is next in order, which
may be done as tastily as the job will admit of, to make it look as if
the work had been performed by a mechanic. If a fracture is caused
by continual jar or overpressure by a force pump, it will in all proba-
bility be like that caused by freezing, and may be. treated the same.
Flaws in the metal are from many causes, and their particular condi-
tion must govern the measures to be taken to remedy the defects. If
in large work the flaws may be cut out and a piece cramped in or
riveted, and then brazed. It often happens that continual jar pro-
duces a lateral fracture at right angles to the length or around the
flange, immediately above the spelter. To repair this a collar e } Fig.
330, from }i to y± inch wide, is prepared of about the same thickness
as the pipe. The pipe is cleaned as far up as necessary, then the col-
lar is prepared to suit and covered with spelter as before directed,
then coiled around the pipe and wired close, as at//, Fig. 331, the wire
being placed on the upper edge of the collar to fprm additional room
to lay the solder, care being taken that the collar fits tight up to the pipe.
If the work is on a small pipe it is left open so that the heat may
readily run up through the pipe to assist in the running of the spelter
laid about the upper edge of the collar d. If it be a large pipe on
which the work is being performed, then the end is stopped with a
piece of sheet iron, clipped and bent at the edges, which is placed
about a foot up the pipe, instead of 3 or 4 inches, as when brazing on
flanges, as previously described.
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO. 201
OUTLETS.
Outlets are made in two ways principally, and may be soft sol-
dered to their places, riveted and soft soldered, or brazed after being
fixed in their positions, as the circumstances of the case may require.
In* many kinds of work where outlets are necessary they are more
often soft soldered in place than brazed, but in marine work all are
brazed, excepting when they are worked out from the main pipe, and
can be of any size to suit the requirements of the work in hand. We
will suppose that in the example before us the pipe, Fig. 332, is 6
inches in diameter, and an outlet 3 inches in diameter is required at
the point V. A short piece of pipe to form the outlet, of the length
required, is cut to fit the pipe, the outlet being drawn a little taper-
ing at the bottom ; then the edges are rounded up smooth and free
from cracks, and a flange from % to ^ inch wide is laid off from the
edge, the flange being next fitted close to' the main pipe. The hole in
the main pipe is cut out about }& inch smaller than the hole is required
to be when finished, and a bur is worked out from the main pipe, as
shown at T, and made to stand up % inch inside the outlet when it is
placed on the pipe. Let the bur fit close and snug on the inside*of
the ojitlet, and the outlet flange fit nicely down on the main pipe.
When the flange on the outside is fitted, clean the place it is to occupy
by the heating process, using the salt and water pickle before making
hot ; also clean the outlet the same way. When this is done spread
an even coat of fine spelter on the flange of the outlet on the inside,
Fig. 333, letting it extend as far into the outlet as the bur of
the main pipe is likely to reach. Now take it to the fire, and run the
solder smooth all around the flange, giving it a coat of spelter all
around evenly. (This is to answer the same purpose that tinning
does when making soft-solder joints.) Cool it in clear water,
when the face of the flange should look like a piece of
clean sheet brass. Place it in position and wire it fast
to the main pipe. It may now be brazed on the brick forge,
Fig. 334, by laying solder ^ inch wide, more or less, around the joint,
one-half of which should be on the outlet flange, the other on the
202 ART OP COPPERSMITHINO.
main pipe ; heat the main pipe slowly until it is blood red in the
shade ; by this time the borax and spelter on the joint should have
the appearance as if varnish was among the spelter, caused by the
melting of the borax. Now offer the spelter to a brisk fire so it will
flow with ease and fill the joint right through to the edge of the bur
inside. If, however, it is inconvenient to handle the job by reason of
itjs size and weight, or some other contingency, a balloon fire may be
brought into service with advantage, and, as stated in a previous
article, the fire may be taken to the work, as in Fig. 335. This fire
pot is called a balloon fire pot from its similarity to a balloon. It is
made of boiler iron, and usually from 10 to 12 inches in diameter and
12 to 14 long, with a conical point at the bottom, at the end of which
is an opening about 2 inches in diameter, through which the flame is
driven by the blast, which is conveyed from the supply pipe to the pot
by means of a hose. The cover is a flat piece of heavy boiler plate.
Before using this fire pot it should be lined on the inside with about
}i inch of fire clay. The work is first made ready for this fire by
heating it, as near as can practically be done, to a red heat, so that
the pot may not have to supply too much heat to the parts surround-
ing the joint, but that all its power or intensity may be concentrated
on the point where it is required and most necessary ; when this
instruction has been carried out the work is ready. The pot having
previously been hung in position, it is now filled with live hot coke,
which is made to lie compact in the pot, when it is then brought to
the joint and a brisk blast thrown on the spelter, which will quickly
run if it has been properly handled and kept in condition with a suf-
ficiency of borax, and the parts adjacent to the joint have been
kept hot.
Outlets intended to be soft soldered should be fitted with the
same care as are those for brazing, and may be riveted as at V, in Fig.
332, in addition ; in some cases this is quite necessary and should not
be omitted. To work outlets from the main pipe we proceed as fol-
lows : On the pipe, Fig. 336, at the point where the outlet is to be,
measure off the distance equal to one-half the circumference of the
outlet required ; from the two extremities of this half circumference,
and between them, measure each way a distance equal to the turn to
be made for the flange I. Now drill two small holes, and with a file
round up the edges of the holes smooth ; then insert the bar, Fig. 337,
and with the end jar or drive out the collar while the pipe is hot ;
AKT OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
F:o. 338. OUTLET B
Fl.ANOB COVERED 1
&FELTIB.
FIQ. 335— Billoon Fcbe Pot USED IN Bbazixo. Fio. 337.— Bcbbinq
Fio. 338. — Wobeiho Outlets frou Pipe.
204 ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
when it is out as far as necessary, slit it down between the holes as at
A, Fig. 336, and open it ont until completed as shown. Care must be
taken to file the edges of the outlet up round and keep them that
way, so that no rough burs are left on. With ordinary mechanical
ability an outlet can be worked out from the main pipe long enough
to get on a flange, I, Fig. 336, by which to make connections with
other pipes.
Fid. 334. — Buck Foik.e Used in BbaziNO.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
EXPANSION JOINTS.
Expansion joints are used in places where a long length of pipe
is necessary to conduct steam or hot water from the boiler to its
destination. These joints are made of any required size to suit the
particular case, and are a means whereby the expansion caused by
the heat may be taken up, and when the contraction takes place on
cooling the deficiency may be supplied. Fig. 338 represents a broken
view of an expansion joint in its finished state. Now we desire the
easiest way to form this, so that the outer edge of the part intended
to supply the elasticity may be about one-half the thickness of the
206 ( ART OP COPPER3MITHINQ.
original sheet from which it was cut, and give the required flexibil-
ity to the joint. First represent one-half the joint in outline, asm
Fig. 339, b dc e\ divide the diameter c d into six equal parts ; second,
divide the diameter b t into four equal parts, and through the points
/and h draw the lines fg and A g, passing through the points/ and
s ; then, with the length of the curved lines, b d and c e, measure off
a distance equal to them on the lines s h and # f extended, and with
the radius g v and g s describe the arcs x y and s n. Now develop or
unfold the convex surface of the frustum, Fig. 340, along the curved
line xy, making the line x y equal to the circumference of the trun-
cated cone, Fig. 340. Draw lines xsy nj then the pattern x ynt will,
when turned round, form the envelope of the surface of the trun-
cated cone, shown in Fig. 340. Having the pattern, two pieces are to
be cut from a sheet of copper of the required thickness. Thin the
edges, cramp them and make the joints by brazing ; when this has
been done, clean them off and knock them down ; then anneal. Mark
off with a gauge or racer, Fig. 341, the distance of the straight part
in Fig. 338, as further shown in O M, Fig. 342, and with a bullet ham-
mer inside, or a hammer pein outside, draw or stretch the edge one
course out ; now turn the big end up, and take a course around that
on the mandrel, Fig. 343, expanding or stretching the edge in each
course as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 342, annealing at the
end of each spell. When by these stretching courses the outer edges
are of the required size, turn it back again and with it hanging on the
mandrel, take in successive courses with a mallet until the straight
Fig. 341. — Gadob o
ART OP COPPERSMITHINQ.
ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
Fig. 348. — Joimt with P'ra SirimiTiD.
Flo. 341.— Bent Pipb Exp
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 209
part remaining is of the curve desired. True the job up, smooth and
planish on a suitable mandrel ; then turn up the bottom edge all
around, as shown in Fig. 338, and bring the other side to it and place
it inside this edge and close it down. Charge with spelter and braze
it round, then clean off the joint and braze on the flanges.
The foregoing specimen may be changed in form — that is to say,
instead of the outer edge being put together sharp, we sometimes
find it more suitable to make the edge round, as shown in Fig. 344.
The process of making this joint is similar to the last example up to
the point of preparing for putting together, when in this case the
edges should be worked up in an easy curve, so that when they are
brought together they would make a half circle, and form the out-
line of a body like an oblate spheroid or a skittle ball. The edges
are then cramped together, as shown, and after the seam has been
properly closed down on the head and bent shank, as represented in
Fig. 344, the work should be slung over the fire for brazing, and have
enough solder placed inside to flow around the seam. If carefully
charged, however, it may be soldered from the outside, being slung
at the fire in the same way.
Fig. 345 is similar also to the first pattern, Fig. 338, but made
double. The middle section in this one is made like the inside half
of a cylindrical ring or the outside rim of a pulley wheel. The two
outside pieces are made nearly like the single joint first described,
with the addition of the circular or saddle piece between them, as
shown in Figs. 345 and 346. Fig* 345 shows the joint put together ;
Fig. 346 shows them separated for closer inspection. This is called a
double joint, and will be readily understood from the engraving.
Fig. 347 is another form of expansion joint, which is frequently used
where there is plenty of room for it, and is a good device for the
purpose for which it is intended. The engraving fully explains
itself.
210 ART OP COPFERSMITHING.
TEE PIECES.
Tee pieces are made in several ways, but there are only two in
common use as a general rule. These are, when the three passages
are all of one size, as in Fig. 348, and when the inlet is equal to the
two outlets or the reverse, as in Figs. 349 and 350. The first is
formed by making two saddle pieces, a cap or bottom piece, and
gusset, A, as in Fig. 348. This piece of work would look better
without a gusset, as in Fig. 351, which can be done by leaving the
corners on the two saddle pieces and squaring them up before
putting together ; but there is the advantage of economy in favor
of the gusset, as there is always a good supply of pieces available in
all shops. The tee in Fig. 349 is formed of two taper pieces, the large
end being equal to one-half the circumference of the inlet at one end
and half of the circumference of the outlet at the other. This can be
made with or without a gusset, as desired. The large end or stem
should be kept the same thickness or diameter right through to the
bottom or cap, and the other two taper off as if two frustums ot
cones were joined together at the base, the small ends having a short
distance of them parallel from the end for a flange to fit on, to make
connections with other pipes. I have made small tees from one piece
cut from the sheet, as in Fig. 352, by working down the throats into
shape with a razing hammer and fortaing the two outlets by bending
the pattern in the middle and bringing the two edges together. The
stem is thus in two halves, while the part forming the two outlets is
one continuous piece, having the seam in the two throats; as in Fig.
352. There is no reason why a large one could not be made the same
way with economy in labor, but I never made one nor saw one made.
ART OP COPFERSMITHING.
K
I
3s
ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
THREE-WAY PIECES.
Three-way pieces, Fig. 353, are made by putting together three
saddle pieces and a gusset, the outlet pipes being an equal distance
apart and usually of one size. They sometimes require one outlet
equal to the other two in area. If the two inlets are made to approach
nearer to each other than in the three-way piece, and the outlet equal
in area to these two, as in Fig. 354, it is called a britch piece, and is
made of pieces similar to those described for Fig. 349, excepting the
crotch piece at the bend or turn is cut a third through on each side, as
shown, and a gusset, A, cramped in and brazed; then the other two side
pieces are brought together and wired, the seam dressed down and
then brazed.
Fio. BBS.— THMB-WiT Puce.
Fin. 354. — BntTCH-PiEcs with Labor
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO. 213
CROSS, OR FOUR- WAY, PIECES.
Small four- way pieces are made similar to three-way by joining
four saddle pieces together with a gusset, unless some special purpose
calls for another method. In large work two ways are adopted.
The first by cutting out two pieces as shown in Fig. 355,
and razing down the throats and making the four joints by cramp-
ing the pieces together in the four throats or saddles, and brazing.
The other by making it in two halves with the seam on the side and
cramping together, as shown in Fig. 356. To do this with the least
amount of labor, we must reduce the surface of one-half of the piece
to a flat sheet of metal, as in Fig. 357, proceeding as follows : From
the point A, Fig. 358, with the radius A B, describe the arc B C ; divide
the arc B C into three equal parts ; through the two points B and D
draw the line G E ; on the opposite side of the figure draw E H, simi-
lar to G E; then B I H G will represent a frustum of a cone. Now
find the convex surface of the frustum which is thus represented
Let B I H G, Fig. 358, be a frustum of a cone, and let I B = 3
and HI= 4, and H G = 5. Then the convex surface of the frus-
turn = 3 + 5 x 3.141 _ 50.2656, and converting this into circular
2
or disk inches we have $°' 2 ^ = 64. Now add the square of the di-
0.7854
ameter B 1 3' = 9; then 64 + 9 = 73, the convex surface of B I H G in
circular inches ; extracting the square root we have V 73 =8.544, or a
disk of sheet metal 8 544 inches in diameter, as in Fig. 357. Draw the
line through the center O, and from the points P and G draw the lines
N P M and S G V at right angles with the diameter P G, and measure
off from the points P and G one-fourth of the circumference of I B,
Fig. 358, making the lines M N and V S join R M and U N, which are
tangent to the circle. Then the pattern V S M N, Fig. 357, will equal
approximately the convex surface of E, Fig. 357.
Having cut two pieces of copper like the pattern in Fig. 357, they
are ready for forming after the edges have been rounded smooth.
Begin this process by wrinkling or puckering, as in Fig. 359, then with
the razing hammer, Fig. 360, raze the wrinkles down on a suitable
ART OF COPPERSMITHING,
T
—Method of Fohmino E, Fiq. 3GT. Fig. 300. — Rasing Haumeh,
ART OF COPPERS MITHING. 216
mandrel, Pig. 361 (secured in the mandrel block or bench strap), to
form the frustum, and when it is of a sufficient length turn the two
ends to form the cross way.
Practice and experience only can supply the place of an instructor
when making this bend. Care must be taken during the work not to
press it too severely or work the metal when it is too hard, but anneal
it at the close of every course ; when properly formed, the edges can
be trimmed off and thinned from the inside. Now take the crown of
the cone, about % inch from the edge, round up the edge free from
rags and chisel marks, and then turn out the edge level with and
forming a part of the outlet, thus extending its length that much
further. It is next covered with salt and water, made blood red and
quenched in clean water, scoured and dried. The halves, after one
has been cramped, are now brought together and wired ; the seam
dressed down and brazed, the work being slung in the traveler chain
from overhead if necessary. When the seams are cleaned off and the
work again scoured clean, it is put in shape and final symmetry on a
cod. The seam is knocked down and the piece planished over to
smooth and harden it. The mandrel, Fig. 361, is a piece of cast iron
or steel some 6 inches in diameter having a i-inch square hole in the
center, so that it will slide on a square bar ; the four sides»are planed,
turned or cast from a pattern so they are segments of four circles
from to 20 inches in diameter, to suit the different sizes of pipes or
cylinders. The mandrel is about 3 feet in length. It is necessary to
have several of these mandrels of different sizes and lengths to suit
different work.
FiO. 881. — Mandrel r
216 ART OP COPPERSMITHINO.
THE SADDLE FIRE.
Bends made with the seams on the side are brazed on the brick
forge ; but those with the seam in the throat and back must have a
fire for the purpose, and made narrow enough to suit the curve of the
throat seam. This fire is very useful for a great many special pur-
poses besides the one under consideration. It is made of pieces of
)£-inch boiler iron, Fig. 362, with four legs made of angle iron ; the
hight of the fire being the same as the brick forge. This fire is about
6 inches wide, 18 inches at the bottom where the blast pipe lies, and
24 inches at the top, and 10 or 12 inches deep. It is coated with an
inch of fire clay, and left to dry hard ; it is then fit for use. It could
be lined with fire tiles inside, made to fit, wliich would be better, if
they are obtainable ; if not, then fire clay must be used. The blast
pipe, Fig. 363, at the bottom of the forge, is perforated with holes,
whose aggregate area is equal to about twice the area of the convey-
ing blast pipes, because when necessary the wind is let in at both
ends. There should be two fires of this kind, one hollowed out, as it
were, to fit the pipe nearly, Fig. 362 ; the other straight across, Fig.
364, as they arg often very convenient.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
218 ART OP COPPBRSMITHING.
MARINE WORK.
In the preceding chapter we have been speaking of small bends ot
from 4 to 5 inches inside diameter, which is the largest size usually
made in locomotive works or railway shops. Marine work for war
ships or ocean steamers is very much larger, requiring heavier tools
and appliances, and we shall now describe some of the means em-
ployed in the working up or making of pipes and bends from 6 to 15
inches in diameter and upward. By a careful study of the engravings,
Figs. 365 and 366, which we here present, * the reader can get a better
idea of what marine work is than by the best written description with-
out their aid. These large pipes and bends here represented in Fig.
365, judging by the bench vise, the jaws of which usually measure
from 5 to 6 inches wide, are about 15 inches in diameter, and, as will
be noticed, the bends are made saddle and back, which is the usual
way of making tftem when the bend required is of a reasonably long
curve. A specimen may be seen in the middle of the two pipes, one
of which is slung over a fire, the back being slung to the traveler by
suitable hooks and in position for annealing. The large pipe slung
on the right-hand side of this back has just had a flange brazed on ;
the one on the left hand, it will be seen, is in position, and
has a fire pot placed around it, for brazing a round joint, or
joining this bend to another pipe. Carefully notice the standards
upon which the bottom or floor of the fire pot is arranged. The pot
appears to have two inlets for the blast, one on each side of the pot,
so that the fire may be regulated in such a manner that all the solder
will be run at the same moment of time, and the joint skimmed off
all round instantly when ready. A little at one side of this pipe is an
open hearth under a chimney, where the coke is prepared and made
hot for the fire pot, a pan of coke being at hand. The apparatus oppo-
site the hearth is for straightening and rounding up the pipe after the
seam is made. The bend, which is slung and balanced at the vise
* These engravings are from photographic views of the interior of the coppersmiths'
shop of Messrs. Maudsley, Sons & Field, one of the oldest and largest marine engine
builders of London, England, and kindly furnished by them especially for this work.
)f
J
r
s
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 219
bench, is in position for truing up and planishing on a cod. The next
object is a wooden template for a pipe with two short bends in it, and
showing the position of the flanges ; further on are two breech pieces,
which appear to have their seams recently soldered or brazed to-
gether, the seams being in the saddles or throats — that is, they are
made in halves and from a sheet about a quarter inch thick. The
several other pipes lying around are of minor interest, but the view,
as a whole, gives a clear idea to the learner and those interested of
what is necessary for a well-appointed shop. In the other plate, Fig.
366, the first object on the left hand is an old bending apparatus,
which no doubt is still found to be very handy. The next is a large
bend, apparently about 20 inches in diameter. The main object is a
hydraulic bending table, the whole machine being clearly shown, with
a pipe about 8 inches in diameter in position for bending, and having
one bend already completed. Carefully examine this machine.
The hydraulic cylinder and piston are placed in an immov-
able position at the table," and before it in a groove in the
table is a large screw, to which is attached the handle on
the right hand of the table. The two upright pillars on which
the concave blocks revolve are drawn together or spread apart by a left
and right thread, the link placed over the pillars being to regulate
and hold the pillars securely to the place required. These concave
blocks revolve to suit the condition of the pipe as the power of the
piston is exerted to bend the pipe between them. The workman's
chalk mark is plainly visible, showing where the bending is to be, or
the power applied to effect the bending. The link which helps to
hold the pillars in position is provided with a screw and sliding block
so that it may be lengthened or shortened to suit the distance the
pillars are required to stand apart. Another and longer link is lying
on the floor to be used for longer bends. The pext prominent object
is a pipe with a double bend. These bends have been soldered together
just where the workman's file is lying, and the joint has been made
with a round fire such as we have described in a previous chapter.
Behind this pipe is the back of a bend in course of construction The
block on which it is being worked is cubical and made of cast iron
or some hard wood. The holes or hollows are plainly shown in the
block, and* each face has a different size and hollow to suit different
sized pipe. Notice the travelers at each mandrel loop along the
bench and at other parts of the shop which show how the work may
220 ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
be slung and manipulated with as much ease as possible. These views
were taken from opposite corners of the shop, so that all the most
important appliances could be clearly shown. The other objects are
of minor interest* As I have said before, these larger bends can be
and are made saddle and back, according to the capacity of the work-
man or the desire of the employer; but much' better results may be
obtained by competent workmen when the seam is in the throat and
back, especially if the inside curve of the bend is short or of small
diameter.
PlO. 887. — HALTIS
TOGBTKa* WITH
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 221
MAKING LARGE BENDS.
The large bends, Fig. 367, cannot be brought together after being
formed by a vise ; it is therefore necessary to use a chain and lugs, A,
and pull the halves together with a bolt. Neither can they be dragged
along on the fire, owing to their weight, which would crush the coke
and break down the fire, besides exposing the joint to probable injury
while hot. They trust be slung as shown in the illustration, so that
the joint will lie level when on the side, and so that it can be brought
to the fire continuously and with ease. When the slinging chains are
properly adjusted, the sling is hooked to the traveler chain overhead,
and the work may then be handled over the fire with ease. In the
case of the joints being in the throat and back, as in Fig. 368, the
halves are brought together with the chain and lugs as before
directed, and then wired ; then two screw clamps N and U are
fastened at each end, through which chain M is passed loosely. A
hook and pulley, O, are now applied, the loose chain running through
the clamps over the pulley wheel and the hook hooked to the traveler
chain P from overhead, as before. By this means the throat seam
may be easily handled, as also the back one, reversing the screw
clamps to suit, as in Fig. 369, and guiding the work with the tongs K.
A good fire is to be kindled in the forge, Fig. 362, with a supply of
coke in the pans or hoppers on each side. The back of the bend is
usually brazed first on the brick forge, and then the throat on the
portable forge, Fig. 362. It sometimes happens that a job cannot be
got at even with this narrow forge fire, or there is no convenience by
which it can be used to advantage. When this is the case we carry
the fire to the job, instead of the job to the fire, and charge the joint
with spelter outside, carrying the fire inside with a pot having a
hose pipe attached to it, Fig. 370, and slinging the fire on the traveler
chain from overhead. The fire pot for this operation is made similar
to those used for the joining of pipes, but with a bottom fixed to it.
The work to be done governs the size and shape ; it may heed to be
of an oval shape in some cases.
ART OP COPJ*ERSMITHINQ.
Via. 860. — Bend Rktkrsfd and with Tonus fob Gi
FlO. 870. — I'OBTIBLE FlEE TOI TO 00 INBIDE OF BENI
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 128
DOUBLE BENDS.
In large work we have only noticed so far single bends. We now
come to double ones, which are, as occasion requires, twisted from a
flat S-bend # to any pngle required. When bends require to be twisted
they are made single and then joined and brazed together, as in Fig.
371. The operation is the same in principle as that described for
joining straight pipe, the difference being only in the size of the fire
pot and the manner of application, which is shown in Fig. 372. Four
upright standards, with holes in them, are placed in position near the
pipes, and the bottom plates laid on the two rods, which are put
through the holes in the standards at the proper hight. The bottom
bend is held in position so that the socket is level and securely
fastened there, the top bend held in position and balanced with the
traveler chain and then lowered into the socket. The pot is then
placed around the joint as before directed, Fig. 373, which may be in
two or three sections, see Fig. 374, so the blast can be applied by two
or three supply pipes, as is most convenient or may be desired to suit
the work in hand* After the seams of each bend have been dressed
off clean and are in proper shape, they are cleaned with a pickle made
of vitriol and water, about one part vitriol and two parts water, which
may be varied to suit the requirements of the job. When it is
thoroughly scoured and all the acid washed off in clean water and
dried, it is usual to rub some dry Spanish brown all over, so that in
hammering the hammer marks can be more plainly seen. It is then
taken to the mandrel block, where it is planished true and into its
final shape on a cod, and hardened by closing the grain of the metal
with a hammer at the same time that it is planished.
AHT OP COPPERSMITHING.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 225
BRAZING ON FLANGES.
The brazing on of flanges, large and small, has caused as much or
more objectionable language to be uttered than almost any other
operation usually performed in a coppersmith's shop, owing princi-
pally to a want of a little knowledge, or the possession of an inquiring
mind; sometimes, too, owing to the greed of a manufacturer
who will palm off a flange for pure copper that will not bear
enough heat to run the spelter. This entails much trouble and
annoyance to the workman, and not a little loss to themselves,
because the extra time spent and liability of failure more than
balances the advantage sought to be gained by the use of spurious
metal. In speaking thus I do not wish it understood that pure cop-
per is the best material from which flanges can be made, for the
best flanges the writer ever operated on were cast from a mixture
composed of i pound of old copper and i pound of brass tubes, which
reduced to its elements would make the flange about 16 parts
copper and 3 of zinc ; this makes the flange stiff and close
grained, and much better for general purposes than pure copper.
Having a good flange provided, the next thing is to have it properly
prepared while at the lathe ; the only thing, however, that concerns
the coppersmith is the hole into which the pipe is to fit. This should
be tapered }i inch so that it will drive on tight, the end of the
pipe being reduced that much. On the face side an eighth counter-
sink should extend into the hole one-fourth of its thickness. When
the flange is eased on the end of the pipe and the pipe is through a
short distance, drive it back into the countersink, turning it over a
little toward the face of the flange. It is now ready so far for braz-
ing, but before taking it to the fire, if the pipe is small, it is sufficient
to stop the opposite end of the pipe with a ball of waste or a wooden
plug, so that the heat cannot run up through the pipe. Around the
countersink of the pipe, which is through the flange, rub some soft fire
clay, and a little up the seam if it be brazed pipe. It is now ready
for charging and the fire. Flanges for large pipes are bored the same
as small ones, but it is necessary to take a little more precaution in
preparing for the fire, so that the heat does not run up through the
226 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
pipe. In this case take a disk of light sheet iron about 3 or 4 inches
larger than the diameter of the pipe and clip this disk all around with
the shears at intervals of about 1 inch ; now turn the edges up, form-
ing a kind of pan, the places clipped acting as a spring. This pan is
crowded into the end of the pipe about 4 or 5 inches from the end, and
some soft fire clay is plastered in the cracks of the pan all around the
edge, and also around the edge of the countersink of the flange. The
edge of the fire clay should be an inch or two above the flange, or above
the thickness of the flange, and so that no flame goes up the pipe.
See that the joint of the pipe is well covered with clay a Jittle beyond
the top of the flange where the solder is to lay. Sling the pipe so
that it will hang level, and it is ready for charging and the fire. If
the flanges are of doubtful metal, try their quality before putting on
the pipe by trying to run a small portion of the spelcer on the flange
first. If it is suspected that the spelter will not run on the flange, it
should be rerun — that is, remade — to do which take 1 pound of the
spelter and melt it and add 1 ounce of zinc while it is in a state
of fusion, and when cool enough to just char a hazel stick, place
it in an iron mortar previously made warm, and break it up again.
Then try it on the flange. If it still takes too much he?t, or
more than it is thought the flange will bear, lower it again with zinc
until it runs at a low enough temperature to preserve the flange and
there will be no danger of failure. Never use what is called black
solder or spelter ; it is only used by those wanting a sufficient knowl-
edge concerning spelters suitable for their work ; neither be tempted
to add tin under any circumstances.
ART OF COPFERSMITHING.
227
SHORT BENDS.
Another bend of a special kind is sometimes needed to be worked
on the end of pipes when it is required to get the shortest possible
turn that can be made so that a flange will set right down close on the
straight part of the pipe, as in Pig. 375. To turn this bend we proceed
as follows : First measure along the pipe a length equal to one-half the
circumference of the pipe on which it is required to make the turn,
Fig. 376. At the point B make a small hole, and with a round file
round up the edge all around the hole carefully. Now take the steel
bar, Fig. 377, having the point bent as shown, make the pipe red hot
about the hole, insert the point of the steel bar and jar it out with a
hammer, as shown in Fig. 378, until there is a burr or turn, C, as high as
the flange is thick on the long part. Then cut the pipe from the hole
to the end, as in Fig. 379, and run out the seam at the back if it is a
brazed pipe. If it is drawn pipe make a hole at the back or opposite
Fig. 375. — Short Bend.
Fig. 376.— Pipe Measured fob Bend.
•
Fig. 377. — Burring Bar, for Enlarging
Hole for Bend.
Fig. 378. — Enlarging Hole with Bar.
228
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
side (without burring), and cut the pipe down as far as this hole and
open it out, as in Pig. 380. Flatten out the flaps. Then with the radius
of a circle whose circumference would be equal to one-half of the cir-
cumference of the pipe describe the curve shown in Fig. 380, E, and
from the line where the burr or bend turns take 78.750 of the circle (as
shown in a former chapter), of which the section X is a part. Now
thin the back edges of the flaps of the turn, Fig. 381, and work them
over on a cod or some suitable bullet stake, and if large enough cramp it;
then close the seam, and finish by brazing, Fig. 382. . This is a method
of making a short turn which it is often necessary to adopt in steam-
boat work, and when it happens that workmen do not know how to
make this turn a casting has to take its place at a much greater cost.
Fig. 379. — Manner of Cutting Pipe.
Fig. 380. — Pipe Opened Out.
Fig. 381. — Edges Thinned.
Fig. 382. — The Finished Bend.
ART OT COPPERSMITHING. 229
AIR PIPES.
Air pipes are used by ocean and other steamers for conveying
fresh air from the upper to the lower decks and are somewhat similar
in form to the bowl of a tobacco pipe, Pig. 383. They are frequently
made of copper, the mouth being of any size required to catch and
convey a sufficient quantity of air to the lower decks and cabins.
When made of copper, the easiest and most economical way is to make
the bend of three pieces or sections, as shown in Fig. 384. After the
pattern has been cut out, the pieces, b and s, Fig. 385, are thinned at
each end and cramped ; they are then bent, as in Fig. 386, and held to-
gether with dogs, dor/. Figs. 387 and 388, at each side, as shown.
Now wrap a chain around the section, as in Fig. 386, and sling it
to the traveler so that it hangs level. Take a little warm borax and
water, the borax having been previously dissolved, and jar the joint
so that some of the liquid may penetrate through and all around and
under the cramps in the joint, then charge it, laying the spelter on
first with a short reed. Move the spelter over the edge of each
cramp in a zigzag form, then slowly dry it ; when dry, slowly heat it,
first on one side and then on the other, until the part is red hot and
the spelter is all down on the joint ; next bring it over a brisk flame
and run down the seam. The directions given may be followed for
the other two sections. When the seams are cleaned off and knocked
down and the sections annealed, open them and round them up on
the mandrel block for the next step, which will be to draw the edges
in at the back part extending to one-fourth of the circumference
from the center of the back each way. This is done on a suitable
head, Fig. 390, secured on a bent bar fastened in the mandrel
block B, the part drawn in forming part of the regular curve
and some 2 or 3 inches wide. When this is done sufficiently,
pare the edges true, and see that the two parts which are to be
joined together are exactly the same size in diameter, or as
near so as possible ; then thin them with a hammer, which may
need to be done with the pane if the copper is heavy, or with the face
if it is light. When the edges are thinned and the ragged edges, if any,
ART OF COPPEH3MITHING.
i Trestle Fhamk.
AUT OF COPPERSMITHING.
H3
232 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
filed smooth cramp one side, making the cramps which will be on the
inside one- half longer than those on the outside. Bring them together
and secure with the lugs and chain, as in Pig. 384, the hooks g, Pig. 389,
being made to hook on the ends of the pipe. When the seam is closed
down true make a suitable cradle with wire and sling it, and proceed
to charge the cramps, following them in their zigzag path so that the
spelter covers the edges of the cramps, not forgetting to jar through
it previously a solution of borax. Dry the spelter and heat the joint
slowly. When hot enough show it to a medium brisk fire and run the
joint around. After the circular joints are made, knocked down and
annealed, scour it clean with vitriol and water and rinse off clean and
dry it. When dry rub it over with Spanish brown. Now shape it up
true and planish on the double-faced head, Fig. 390, at the mandrel
block, finishing the small end on the mandrel C. The endless rope
and small pulley D has a weight hung to it sufficiently heavy to coun-
terbalance the weight at the large end. The chain and pulley E and
sling hooked to the traveler chain assists the operator by balancing
the work and giving him power to manipulate it with ease.
The straight conductor pipe to convey the air to its destination
is usually of light copper and made in lengths of from 6 to 8 feet
long. Straight steam pipes may be made from material from }£
to X * nc k thick and from 6 to 8 feet long. To planish these pipes
after being made and properly cleaned a mandrel is placed on a tres-
tle frame, Fig. 391, which supports the bar at both ends, or one end
may be secured in the mandrel block and a screw crutch, A, Fig. 392,
placed under it at the other end to support it. The mandrel should
run through the entire length of the pipe, or as nearly so as is prac-
ticable.
The planishing should begin in the middle and finish at the ends;
that is, about 2 feet at a time, beginning with the first 2 feet in the
middle of the pipe, then finishing up at the joint after the planishing
of the whole length has previously been completed. The planishing
is done,with a bright double-faced hammer, No. 3> Pig. 393, of suffi-
cient weight, a number of which form the necessary equipments of a
shop, and vary in size and weight from 8 ounces to 3 pounds or more,
having square and round, flat and bullet faces, others having two
panfes for razing down, and bullet faces for hollowing up. These
hammers are carefully looked after, and kept bright by being cleaned
on a buff-board before being put away in the rack, and greasing with
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 2M
pure goose grease to protect them from the various gases and acid
vapors which always occupy a coppersmith's shop more or less. The
Hammers shown in the rack, Fig. 393, are No. 1 round face and pane;
No. a round and square face ; No. 3 two round faces ; No. 4 cross
paned ; No. 5 two flat paned : No. 6 bullet or hollowing.
Via. 892. — Mandrel for Planishing I.ono Pipes.
Fig. 393.- -Hikkkb Back.
234 ART OF COPFERSMITHINC.
HOLLOW SPHERES.
The forming of spheres or balls has taxed the ingenuity of the
youthful metal worker, it is presumed, in all ages ; the coppersmiths
of my youth have, and those at present engaged in the craft will con-
tinue an ineffectual wrestle with this problem until there is a more
universal application of the system of industrial or technical educa-
tion so happily inaugurated now in some of the large cities. How
strange it is that our public educators scarcely ever seem to venture
from the beaten paths of school book routine for the purpose of
assisting the student to grasp a subject or shed a little light by
which a pupil can mark out his course prior to an apprenticeship
The properties of circles, squares, cubes and spheres are all Greek to
the majority of boys sent into a shop ostensibly to learn a trade,
and particularly does this happen in country places, as in the writer's
case, where among all the men he was brought in contact with it is
not remembered that one could measure the superficial area or solid
contents of a single vessel they were working at in a mathematical
way ; it seemed one continual grope in the dark, guessing, or work-
ing by iule of thumb. It is hoped that this chapter may be so clear
that any one who will exert an effort to make himself familiar with
any ordinary work on mensuration will be able to form a hollow
sphere of any metal ductile enough to bear the different operations
necessary to its formation. The greatest stumbling block has been
a want of knowledge as to the exact size of patterns necessary to
cover the surface. It is a well known property to those versed in
geometry that the convex surface of a sphere is equal to its circum-
scribed cylinder, or the surface of a sphere is equal to four times its
generating circle ; that is, the surface of a sphere is equal in area to
that of four disks whose diameter is the same as that of the sphere.
Then the surface of one-half a sphere would be equal to two disks
the same diameter as the given sphere. » Now, as hollow spheres, or
balls, are usually raised up in halves, therefore to make a ball we
must first start with two disks of metal, the surface of each being
equal in area to the sum of two others whose dianeters are the same
ART OF COPFERSM1THING.
Fig. 394.— Dim fob Halt Bill.
—Disk Wbinkled f
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
j^
Ens
Fio S8T. — Floor Block with Stakes aicd Hud fob Foihinq Hal* balls
Fm. 8E>9. — Finished Halt Ball.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 237
as the diameter of the hollow sphere required ; that is, the two taken
together shall equal four times the surface of a circle whose diam-
eter is equal to the diameter of the ball required.
Let it be required to make a hollow sphere, or ball, 9 inches in
diameter; then 9x9 X2 - 162, the number of circular inches in the
convex surface of one- half a sphere 9 inches in diameter ; therefore,
♦*
9X9X2 « 12.729, the diameter of a disk of metal required to
make one-half a hollow sphere, or ball 9 inches in diameter, no allow-
ance being made for the thickness of metal or for joining together.
Let us add these now, and suppose the metal to be yi inch thick, and
that the joint requires }£• inch lap, which will be a quarter on each
half ; then the area of this }£-inch band for lap or joint will equal
9.125 x 3.1416 x .5 = 14-3335- Converting this into circular inches we
have ■ 'i^i* = l8 - 2 5- Dividing this by 2 and giving one-half to
each disk we have — ^ — = 9.125. Therefore, the whole. value of one
disk for one-half of a 9-inch hollow sphere }i inch thick, and % inch
for lap will be (9.125)' X 2 + ( 9-»5 X 3 .i 4 »6 X 5 » .?8S4 ) . I75>6 ,. 62
and extracting the square root of this last result we have 13.2535, the
size of a disk required for one-half the ball.
We will now proceed to raise these halves to the spherical form.
First, divide the diameter A D, Pig. 394, into four parts, as shown by
A B C D, and with the radius B O describe the circle B C, which will
be about 6# inches in diameter. Wrinkle the disks in' spaces of
about 2 inches apart at the outer edge, forming a pan, as shown in
Fi £- 395 ; n °w take it to the floor blockj Pig. 397, and on a suitable
bullet head in the shank S take in the first course, draw out the
wrinkles, working first on one side of each one, as in Pig. 396, and
then on the other until they are all worked out and are smoothed
down. Now smooth it some with the face of a hammer. This will
conclude the first spell. Anneal it by heating to a cherry red, cool in
water and wrinkle again, making the wrinkles which were the lower
ones in the first spell the upper ones in the second, and continue the
process with the razing hammer until the last course. This is brought
up to the size without wrinkling. It should be a little under size,
because smoothing and planishing will expand or draw it some, there-
238 ART OF COPPERSMITHINO.
fore it may be about Sji inches in diameter when finishing the last
course before smoothing. We now are supposed to have two pans as
shown at R in Fig. 398, that are about 6 inches at the bottom, and
4*4 inches at the side. These are to be taken to the block and on a
suitable bullet head, S, or bullet stake, T, Fig. 397, break down the lag
or corner of each pan with a mallet. As this is being done, the curve
will be bulged out, part in the bottom and part in the side, as indi-
cated by the dotted lines in Fig. 398. It is now easy to smooth them
down true to the size required, after which anneal, clean and planish,
as in Fig. 399. They are then ready to put together and finish the
sphere.
The directions in the foregoing are for metallic balls raised or
formed of two solid pieces or halves — that is, with the middle seam
only. It often happens, however, that time is an object in the con-
struction, as also sheet metal of a sufficient size or convenient shape
from which to make a ball in two solid parts. When this is the case,
it may be made in this way : - Let it be required to construct a ball 10
inches in diameter; then proceed as follows to get out the pattern
for one of the halves : In Fig. 400 on the line A B describe the semi-
circle B C A, 10 inches in diameter, and with the radius A E divide
the circumference of the semicircle into three equal parts, as shown
by B H, H G, G A. Divide the versed sine C D into two equal parts,
and through the center of it draw the line Y X and similar lines V Y
and X O parallel to B H, H G and G A; then the convex surface of a
truncated cone, Fig. 401, represented by the lines V Y, Y X, X O,
Fig. 400, will equal approximately the convex surface of one-half of
a sphere, which is represented by the semicircle B C A. Extend
V Y and O X to K ; then with K as center describe the arc O N S
and with the distance V O space off three spaces on the arc O N S, as
shown. With the radius K X describe the arc X M Z and join S K ;
then O N S X M Z will be the pattern for the frustum of a cone, Fig.
401. File and round up the edges to rid them of all rough burrs,
cracks or flaws, and thin the edges O X and Z S. Cramp one side ;
then double up the pattern, as shown in Fig. 402, and braze the seam
as directed for section of air pipe. Clean off the seam and knock it
down — that is, hammer it down so that the joint is the same thick-
ness as :he rest of the sheet ; then round it up true, producing the
sides of an inverted pan without a bottom, shown in Fig. 401. The
next step is to prepare the pan for the bottom. 1. Commence to form
ART OF COFPERSM1THING.
<fl8SS£^-*
240 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
the lag by a course around the small end about % inch wide on the
end of a mandrel of suitable size ; then anneal on the brick forge,
cool and take to the floor block, and on a bottom stake, Fig. 403, finish
razing down the lag iov the bottom. Next cut out the bottom, which
may be the exact size of the hole or a trifle larger, and thin the edges
both of the bottom and the part forming the lag, after which
cramp the bottom with a chisel if it is of heavy copper, and with
the snips or shears if of light Open the cramps far enough so that
the bottom may be put in from the under side, or inside, each alter-
nate cramp going through the hole ; that is, one inside and one out-
side. Place it on the bottom stake and smooth down the seam and
" popple " the bottom by a few blows in the center, then spring it in
and out a few times — this will loosen the joint and answer the same
purpose as chattering straight seams, to give room for the borax and
spelter ; it is now ready for the fire. Charge the seam with spelter
as previously described, following the cramps in their zigzag path
around it ; then take it to the fire, and when the borax and solder are
thoroughly dry roll the sides of the pan around on the fire, using a
pair of duck-bill tongs for the purpose, until the fire can just be seen
through it. Show the sean; to the fire, turning the pan while the
spelter is running ; then cool, clean off the joint and knock it down
smooth, and afterward anneal it. Take the pan to a suitable bullet
head and raze a course at the brim, enough to make it about gji
inches in diameter ; then break the lag down, round up smooth and
planish. To one who is apt and quick at perception the outlines
suggested above will give the cue for many similar pieces of work
which offer themselves occasionally to the practical coppersmith or
sheet-metal worker, who is called on sometimes for something out of
the common run of every day work. One of the uses to which an
article of this kind may be and often is put to when suitably perfo-
rated is a strainer to keep out rubbish that might interfere with the
working of bilge pumps on ships, or it may be used wherever it is nec-
essary to have a strainer with capacity largely in excess of the pipe
leading to the pump.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 241
BRAZING SHEET BRASS.
In both marine and locomotive work there is sometimes consider-
able ornamental brass work of various kinds, such as edging for
splashers, coping, hand rails, domes and a variety of moldings, and I
have often witnessed a good deal of annoyance and disappointment
among workmen (myself included) on account of their want of knowl-
edge in relation to the law of expansion and contraction while
attempting to braze joints necessary to the completion of their work.
Then, again, the many different kinds and qualities of brass made
and sold often lead men into trouble, partly through the deception of
the dealer or manufacturer, but mainly through their own ignorance
of the nature of the material they are expected to work up.
There are so many mixtures called brass that unless the
workman is quite familiar with them, or on the alert and
wary, he may encounter a failure when least expected. After
much unpleasant experience in this direction it has been
learned that when working on sheet brass of an unknown quality
which it is required to join and solder together, before the work
is begun, it is best to take a small corner and try its merits with such
spelter as may be at hand ; if it can be made to run with ease on the
scrap being tested, there will be no further trouble, but if it will not
run on it, then it is desirable and necessary that some should be pro-
cured that will. After the work is cut out there are usually some
scraps that cannot be used for anything to advantage ; take a portion
of these scraps, if there are any (if not, take a part of the sheet) say i
pound, and having provided a small crucible, melt the scraps with
some borax, and in the mean time have i ounce of zinc melted in a
ladle ; when they are both in a liquid state, mix in the zinc and stir
with a stick, then pour it out, and when cool enough to only char a
hazel rod, break it up in an iron mortar and try its merits on another
scrap of the brass. If this new composition, now to be used as spelter,
is found to require too much heat, melt it again and add a
little more zinc, so it will run with safety to the work in hand —
that is, without fear of burning the parts adjacent to the joint
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO.
Fig. 404.— Bbazi.no Seau in Sheet Brass.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 243
or having the cramps fall off from excessive heat. Brass made to
have a silvery hue when polished is always difficult to work, and
requires the utmost vigilance while being brazed, as well as in the
preparation for that operation. In some instances it is necessary to
add a little silver to the spelter in addition to the zinc, which will
reduce the heat necessary to run it, and add to its malleability ; the
quantity required, however, will necessarily depend on the kind of
brass, and must be left to the scrutiny of the operator. Having
procured a spelter suited to the brass, we will suppose the work
requires a strip of brass 12 inches wide to be joined and brazed
together ; then trim the edges of both ends and thin them, and cramp
one. The next step is to prepare a frame from a piece of ^-inch boiler
plate, Fig. 404, in the shape of a horseshoe, some 4 or 5 inches wide,
and about 15 inches long, also two screw clamps C, and two pieces of
bar iron D, strong enough to hold the brass fast on the horseshoe
plate when the screw clamps are applied. Bend the sheet in the form
shown, so that when the joint is brought together within the horse-
shoe frame it will hang in a curve or bag between the legs of the
frame. Now bring them together, open the cramps and let them
receive the end of the other piece, and screw it fast to the plate with
the clamp* Put an iron rod through the sdrew clamps and sling it to the
chain. Remove it to an anvil and close down the joints, care being
taken that all the spring is taken out of the parts about the joint
before going to the fire. When at the forge, jar some liquid borax
through the joint, charge it, and sling it so that it will balance and
hang level ; then with a slow fire heat the parts within the frame
gradually until the solder is all down ; then with a gentle fire the
joint may be easily and successfully run down.
The strongest spelter used by coppersmiths for heavy work is
composed of three parts copper to one of zinc. Another is made of
eight parts of old tubes or Bristol brass and one of zinc. Another,
for copper of medium strength, is composed of 16 parts copper and
12 of zmc ; for the better kinds of brass, 16 ounces of copper and the
same amount of zinc. It may be well to notice here some of the
many alloys called brass. The following have been collected in a
promiscuous way, as opportunity has offered, and are presented for the
benefit of those interested :
244
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Bristol brass
Muntz metal
Pale yellow brass. . . .
Muntz sheathing
Mosaic gold
Brass, reddish yellow
Princess metal
Rolled brass
English brass
German brass
Watchmakers' brass . .
Pinchbeck
Tombec
Mannheim gold
Button brass (white) .
Bath metal
Copper.
Ounces.
16
16
16
16
16
Zinc.
Ounces.
6
10}
12
16
17
Copper.
Parts.
86.6
83
79.6
74.6
66.2
49.5
88.0
44.5
70.0
30.4
82.0
Zinc.
Parts.
114
17.0
20.4
25.4
83.8
50.5
11.0
15.5
80.0
69.6
9.0
Cymbal metal, 80 copper, 20 tin.
Gilding bronze, 82.3 copper, 17.5 zinc, 0.24 tin. 0.02 lead.
Button metal, 82 brass, 4 zinc, 2 tin.
Tutenag, 45.7 copper, 86.9 zinc, 17.4 nickel.
Chinese white copper, 40.4 copper, 25.4 zinc, 81.6 nickel, 2 6 iron.
It will be seen that the workman who is ignorant of the many
alloys commonly called brass, and incapable of forming an opinion as to
their quality or the spelter necessary for the particular kind he may
have to work up, can very easily and innocently fall into an error
and be placed in a very unpleasant position. I have found but little
charity shown toward workingmen, or by them, when innocent fail-
ures of this kind have happened, and I have had my share. It is
hoped the tables above given maybe the means of assisting the young
workmen, and old ones who are willing to learn, to avoid the chances
of failure likely to occur in the working of any of the poorer kinds
of brass, if called on to do so.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. * 245
LOCOMOTIVE BRASS WORK.
Among the various kinds of metals and their alloys which have
been brought into use and wrought from the sheet into many forms
of ornamental work, there is none excepting the two precious metals
that has or can give to the zealous workman as great delight and
satisfaction for the labor bestowed as sheet brass ; it matters littje
what hue or tint may be the most prominent, there is always a pleas-
ant satisfaction after the work is finished, cleaned and polished.
Especially is this the case when the work is finished complete from
the hammer. • The thought ever present in the mind of the careful
workman, that the result of his efforts is destined to be brought under
the scrutiny of the public eye, as well as of his fellow workmen, is
an incentive to greater caution and care on his part, that the work
shall be carefully and well performed. ^ While there is work executed
in copper which requires much greater skill on the average than is
called for ordinarily in working sheet brass, it is almost always from
the nature of things carried out of sight and covered up. Most work-
men like to work brass after they have become familiar with its
properties, and have learned by experience the best method of treat-
ing it during the operation of shaping to the form desired . In this
article, closing the description of a coppersmith's shop adapted to
marine and locomotive work, I will describe three pieces of orna-
mental brass work for a locomotive, at the same time showing the
necessary appliances and their application, so that the young me-
chanic may, by using ordinary intelligence, successfully perform that
which has been and is now under some conditions regarded as a lead-
ing or first-class piece of work in the coppersmith's art, and which
will serve as a guide to others of a similar nature, although they may be
required for an entirely different purpose. The best brass — that is,
the safest for the beginner — is Bristol brass (see tables in a previous
chapter), which, being composed of 8 parts of copper to 3 of zinc, leaves
a good margin for the spelter, which is of equal parts copper and
zinc, and will run readily on brass as low as 6 of copper and 3 of zinc
with safety.
246 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Now, it would seem there are fashions in dress even among loco-
motives, for at one time they were covered with ornamental brass
work and were very attractive. Among these ornaments was a chim-
ney to take steam from the safety valve, while another was a cover for
the regulator dome. These were of many different kinds and shapes,
and as the three I shall now consider will answer as a guide to all the
rest, I will try to give the details as fully as possible, so that they may
be easily understood by those interested and seeking such information.
Let Fig. 405 represent the covering for a safety valve, and also to
answer the purpose of a chimney to convey the steam escaping from
the valve, above the Jiead of the engineer. These chimneys were about
a feet 6 inches in hight, and some 18 inches in diameter at the base,
the foot of which was razed out and given an easy graceful flow over
the boiler. The chimney proper, as will be seen by a b c of Fig. 406,
was made in three pieces, which with the base, or foot d 9 made four.
Thus the cover at the outset was in four pieces, three of which, a b c,
were brazed together after being formed into shape, and the fourth,
which was the base or foot, slipped into a bead formed on the lower
end of the chimney and soft-soldered in place. I will now give
directions for forming it, and for the different stages through which
it will pass until finished, together with the tools used. Let it be
required that the bell a, Fig. 406, at the top, measures 12 inches, the
straight part b measures 7 inches at the top and 8 inches at the bot-
tom, and the bell c 18 inches at the bottom. First prepare the top, the
outer edge of which must be enough larger than 12 inches to cover a
#-inch wire, say, about }* inch each side; then the bell at the top
before wiring would be 13 inches in diameter. The curve or flow of
the bell is most pleasing to the eye when it is an elliptic curve, as
shown in Fig. 407, all the lines of which are given as a guide. Let ay
db of Fig. 408 represent the top bell of Fig. 407 before wiring— that
is, with the edge flat and measuring 13 inches in diameter, the
bottom next the pipe or straight part being 7 inches. Draw the
line a b of Fig. 408 from the point a J£ inch from the outer edge
through the points a and b, and divide the versed sine of the arc or
curve into three equal parts. From the point b on the line b d mark
off a distance equal to one-third the length of the versed sine, aad
from the point a on the line ay mark off a distance equal to two-
thirds of the length of the versed sine. Draw the line m c and con-
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
FlO. 405.— VALVE CHIUNt
10. 406. — Pabtb OF Valvk Chii
- ~r~
— ^_
r
V
>
\
^-
/
19
248 ART OF COPPERSMITHING. -
tinue it to x. Draw xy. From the points c and d on the lines x o and
xy, lay off the length of the curved line of the bell; then, with the
radius xy thus obtained, describe the arc^ ay /*, and with the radius
x s describe the arc re ds. Then the surface ot the truncated cone
cd my will equal approximately the surface of the bell of which g a
y As r is the pattern. The pattern for the bottom bell may be ob-
tained in a similar manner. File up round the outside and inside
edges, after which thin the two ends and anneal and cramp them.
Then fold it up as shown in Fig. 409, being careful that the two
edges lie snugly together, and that all the spring is taken
out after the joint is laid and ready for the fire. To assist in this,
let the pattern be held together by four dogs, two on each side,
as shown. Jar a little borax and water through the joint, and charge
it Now sling, and with a clean fire slowly heat it, first on one side
and then the other, until the borax is all down; then with a gentle
fire the joint may be easily run down. When cool, the joint can be
cleaned, care being taken to see that all cramps are well filled. If any
are deficient, open the cramp and carefully clean it on the under or
inside, then close it down and lay a little fresh spelter on the outside
and inside, and run it afresh, keeping the solder outside from oxidiz-
ing by applying powdered borax. After the seam has been cleaned
off outside and inside it inay be rounded up into shape. A hammer
should be used as little as possible in dressing the joint. If an oven
of a proper heat is at hand, the annealing can be better performed
in it than in any other way. If there be none, place it
over a clean coke fire, and gradually make it blood red.
When cool take it to a suitable sized mandrel, and with
a ball- faced mallet work out from the inside a light course at
the small end, then turn it up and work out a course at the large end,
also from the inside. Now hang it on the mandrel and work in a
course each way from the outside, being careful that the blows are
regular, so that all parts receive an equal amount of working strain.
If this is not properly attended to it may crack when the annealing
begins, as brass is very brittle when hot, hence it is necessary that the
work should be performed regularly and uniformly all around in each
course. When by continued courses, first inside and then outside, the
desired curve is obtained, the edges at the small ends of bell and pipe
.may be thinned and annealed and the pieces planished, leaving
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Fm. 411— Hanvbbl roa FuKiBHiira Bill.
* » hen the writer first began making these chimneys a number of failures resulted, partly
from Ignorance of the laws of expansion by heat, but mainly from the fear that if the irons and
rod were taken off the Joint would separate; but one day, by accident, the joints not being in
line, the bolt was taken out to adjust them, when it was found to be quite a job to pull the
joint apart ; to after the adjustment an attempt was made to braie the joint without the bolt
to hold it together, with complete success. The work was much better than ever it had been
done before.
260 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
enough of the outer edge of the bell soft to cover the wire at the top
en d and to form the bead to receive the foot at the bottom. The plan-
ishing is best performed on a saddle head, Fig. 410, if one is at hand ;
if not a mandrel, Fig. 41 1, may be cast to suit the curve and slide on a
bar fastened in the mandrel block or in a loop in the bench. When
the planishing of the two bells and the straight piece is completed and
all the edges are thinned, annealed and scraped or filed clean, cramp
the straight part and bring the bell to it, as indicated in' Fig. 412, and
with a bolt and two pieces of stiff iron draw them together, passing
the rod through them and pulling them together, as shown. Smooth
down the cramps, and the work is ready for the fire.
Fig. 413. — Saddle Fobqe,
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 251
BRAZING THE JOINT.
Now take the straight saddle forge, Fig. 413, place in position and
make a clean fire in it ; jar some borax through the joint and
charge it slowly all around on the inside, and sling it in an endless
chain running over a pulley. Hook it to the chain overhead, holding
the end with a suitable pair of tongs. Now heat it slowly ; then tack
it by running the spelter in two opposite places, slowly making it hot
enough to bring the borax down, then with a gentle fire run it around,
one cramp at a time, always having command of the blast slide so as to
stop it immediately if necessary. The lower bell may be brazed on in
the same way. When both joints are cleaned off and the parts plan-
ished about them, it is then ready for polishing, which is usually done
on a lathe. The foot, by reason of its size, is usually made in halves
in order to economize the sheet. After the pattern is cut (which will
be described further on), the seams made and the foot rounded up, an
iron baud or hoop, Fig. 414, about 1 inch wide and % inch thick is put
on the level end, and the brass partly turned over in some six or seven
places. This is to keep the foot in proper shape while working out
the flow — which is done after the same fashion as the bell — in light
courses with a mallet. The valve cover, Fig. 415, has no straight part
The two bells ef of Fig 416 are put together at the small ends; the
top or upper end of the foot g of Fig. 416 and A of Fig. 417 being razed
over enough so that the lower bell may be cramped in with ease and
readily brazed on the narrow fire, being slung as in Fig. 418. After
the joint is brazed and cleaned off and the planishing is completed, it
is put in a lathe and polished.
We will now turn to Fig. 414 and cut out the pattern for this foot.
Let the crown of the fire box A, C, Fig. 414 a, upon which the foot is
to stand, have a radius of 2 feet, and the foot of our valve cover D e f G
have a diameter of 18 inches at the top e f, and a flow of 4 inches,
over the crown on each side, as shown at e D and f G, and the flow an
elliptic curve, as indicated by the ellipse on each side. Divide one-half
the conjugate axis of the two ellipses which form the curves into four
equal parts, and through the points of division n and m draw the
line D n and P w parallel to the two transverse axis E b
and G a, cutting the crown ABC in D and P, making the line D
24 inches. Draw HBO. Through P f and D e draw P f O
252
ART OF COPFERSMITHING.
and D e O, and let them meet in 0. Describe the arc Z Y X with the
radius O D and make it three times D P ; now divide the arc Z Y X
into eight equal parts as shown. On the lines Z O, Y O and X O, from
the points Z, Y, X, lay off the distances Z I, Y N, X J equal to D E.
Through the points N g and N h draw the lines N V, N U, and through
the points I d and J t draw the lines I V, J U, letting them meet in V
and U. Now, with N Y as radius, and from the points I, N and J, de-
scribe the arcs Z R, T Y R' , and T' X. Then, with UR'orVTas radius ,
from the points U and V, describe the arcs R T and R' T'. From the
point S, on O K, lay off S r y the length of the curve flow f G, and with
O r as radius from the point O, describe the arc xyz; then ZY'X.xyz
is the pattern for the foot which is represented in Fig. 414.
Dome.
Fig. 414a. — Pattern for Valve Cover Foot.
ART OP COPPEESMITHING.
254 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
BRASS COVER FOR REGULATOR DOME.
The cover for a regular dome, Fig. 419, is about 2 feet 3 inches in di-
ameter and 3 feet high, made from brass of No. 12 wire gauge in thick-
ness. To mark out the curve which will fit the boiler when the sheet
is turned round, as in Fig. 420, proceed as follows : Let a b of Fig. 421
equal the diameter of the boiler, and c d equal the diameter of the
dome cover. With the radius e d describe the circle c b dg % and
divide the circle into sixteen equal parts; then on the line h i lay off
a distance equal to the circumference of the circle c b dg and divide
h i into sixteen equal parts. Draw the lines parallel with h k to * n f
then from the points 1 2 3 4 of the circle a o b draw the lines 1 1, 2 2,
3 3, and 4 4, parallel to h i. Through the points of intersection draw
the curved line h op t\ which will fit the boiler when formed into a
cylinder. Round up the edges and thin the ends; cramp them and
double the sheet, being careful, as before directed, that all spring
caused by doubling is taken out before going to the fire: then sling it;
jar some borax through the joint, and with a reed, charge it, laying
the spelter in a zigzag line, following the edge of the cramps, which
should not exceed an inch in length. Now,' be patient, and slowly
heat the sheet, each side, on a clean fire, being careful that there is n»
lead, salt, or any foreign matter in it (the coke should be clean and *
about an inch square). When the borax is all down, with a gentle
blast slowly run the joint down, and when cool, clean off and round up
on a suitable mandrel. In working out the foot, as previously ob-
served, the most pleasing curve is that of the ellipse, which may be
made of any length desired.
Having the pattern of the curve, which will be one-fourth of an
eilipse, commence razing out the foot or flow by a light course with a
ball faced mallet, represented by F in Fig. 422, using a thick wooden
block E hollowed out to nearly fit the circle of the cylinder, and
sloped off at one end, being rounded nearly to the curve it is desired
the foot should be. The block is dogged to the bench G as shown.
Let each course taken to raze the foot out be light and the blows reg-
ular, annealing at the conclusion of each course. The top, or crown,
of Fig. 420 may be worked with the foot in alternate spells as they
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
255
•3
I
►
3
o
O
as
o
2
H
W
3
o
?
S
H
ART OP COPFERSMITfflNO.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 257
are cooling, and thus economize time. When the writer first began
to make these covers the crown was made an exact half- sphere, but
while in the act of drawing the outlines it was noticed much time
could be saved by taking a wider sheet and tucking in the top end,
making the crown smaller, which method was adopted, the work being
much easier performed with less time spent at the fire. The difference
is illustrated at C in Fig. 419, where it is shown that two-sixths of the
circle is taken for the crown and the other sixth left on the cylinder,
which lessened the labor and made the work required much easier
than when the crown was one-half a sphere.
1 will now form the top or crown, first cutting the pattern and
forming it, and then complete the job. Let ag c, Fig. 423, represent
the crown for the dome-cover, which is two-thirds of one-half of a hol-
low sphere whose diameter is the same as the cylindric part of the
dome-cover. Draw the line g c from the edge of the hole g to c ; then
draw the versed sine x and divide it in the center; through the center
of x draw the line b e parallel to g c and meeting a c at e. With the
jadius b e describe the arc e a 0/and measure off on its circumference
six times the radius n <?, and draw bf. With d b as radius, describe the
arc d k A, then eaofdkh will be the pattern for the segment of the
hollow sphere age, or the crown of the dome-cover. Now make the
joint and braze it ; round up into shape and anneal, when it is ready
for the first course. Crimp the edge at the bottom and take it to the
mandrel block, Fig. 424. With a mallet, on the head take in a course,
beginning one-third the distance up the side ; then the same at the
top, and anneal. The next course should be enough to bring in the
edge at the bottom and also at the top; then take a course in the mid-
dle from the inside, which should complete the curve. It may now
be smoothed up true, after which the crown is ready to be put in.
Before proceeding to do this, see that the edges are true across their
diameter, then thin them with a paned hammer, after which anneal
and clean either by scraping or filing. Cramp the base part, then
open the outside cramps, bringing the crown to it, and with a cross-
piece, or two pieces laid across each other, pass a rod through them
and through the crown, upon which lay another short piece, the bolt
passing through it. also. Now screw it up tight, tapping the joint
occasionally all around to assist the bolt in bringing the joint up
close. Turn it with the foot up, and at four opposite places close
down four cramps and drill four holes, patting in four small brass
ART OP COPPERSMITHINQ.
ART OP COPPERSMITH1NO. 259
rivets, enough to hold it while the joint is being closed down smooth —
which may be done by a helper holding a head inside or by putting
it on the head as in Fig. 425 and balancing it with a weight, as shown.
When the joint is ready, take to the fire and sling it in an end-
less chain with pulley wheel, Fig. 426, hooking it to the traveler over-
head. Jar some liquid borax through the joint, and sprinkle some
powdered borax outside ; then charge it with spelter all around,
warming it gradually, and then tack it in four places between the
rivets. By this time it will be fairly hot. Go once more around
slowly, and when at the place of starting begin to run the joint with
a gentle fire, one cramp at a time. A little help is now necessary to
attend to the blast and sprinkle borax on the joint as required. As a
hand-hold to use while at the fire, two screw-clamps are fastened to
the points of the foot, as shown. When the joint is run and has had
time to cool, it may be cleaned if found to be perfect. The whole job
is now trued to shape and planished ; first the body, as in Fig. 437, the
mandrel curve being rather smaller than that of the dome cover ;
and then the crown, as in Fig. 425. Tie cleaning and polishing can be
done in a lathe.
260 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
HEAVY PIPES FOR BREWERY WORK.
The earlier pages were principally devoted to a description of tne
working of light sheet copper in the manufacture of cooking utensils or
small articles generally, and known better as the braziers' art. This
was followed by the work for the locomotive and marine engine, which,
it will have been seen, in the main comprises the making of copper
pipes, large and small, bending and twisting them into any shape to
suit the position desired or exigent circumstances, and is known as
light coppersmithing. From this point an endeavor will be made to
interest the reader with some examples of heavy work, such as he may
occasionally encounter in his way (as has happened with the writer)
while moving from shop to shop, either from choice or necessity. To
keep as nearly in a progressive line as possible, the subject of pipes will
be resumed and considered in their various forms in large and heavy
work for application in breweries, sugar and still houses.
In breweries the principal uses for pipes are for refrigerators and
attemperators, and these consist of coils of pipe of various forms which
are made to fit the coolers or fermenting vats for the purpose of raising
or lowering the temperature of the liquor by the aid of a current of
water or steam passing through the pipes.
In Fig. 428 is presented a view of the interior of a shop engaged in
this kind of work, which gives the reader a good idea of the conven-
iences that are necessary to perform it successfully. The photograph
from which the cut was made was kindly furnished by G. Hendry & Co.
of London, England, especially for this work, with a view of giving the
reader a more faithful illustration than can be done by a pen descrip-
tion. The picture is so complete that it would seem to need no further
explanation.
In Fig. 429 is represented a cooler having a group of pipes made to
fit it, and so arranged that the pipes may be raised or lowered in a con-
venient way when necessary to do so for cleaning. This grouping of
the pipes is perhaps among the oldest contrivances used for cooling
purposes in the manufacture of beer. It consists of a number of pipes
of equal length, grouped together with horseshoe bends to form a con-
ART OP COPPERS MITHING.
Fin. 429. — COOUt WITH MOVASLB PlPBB.
I. 480. — Homhihhoi Bend. Fia. 431. — S«T or Pins fob Small CoOLit
ART OF COPPEBSMITHING.
H
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 263
tinuous run of piping sufficient to fill up the space on the bottom of a
cooler, as shown. The horseshoe bend is shown in Fig. 430, and is
made of brass or gun metal. The pipes are separated from each other
by boards called channel boards. The two end pipes are left open and
are provided with hose unions for connection with the water supply,
which is made to run along inside the pipes in the opposite direction to
the wort in the cooler. Fig. 431 shows a set of pipes for a small cooler
without the lifting appliance shown in Fig. 429. For large coolers iwo
and three sets of pipes may be and often are connected together, each
working independently of the other, but all bolted on the same frame
by means of the lugs on the bend." By this arrangement smaller pipes
can be used and the cooling surface increased, while the consumption
of water is proportionately diminished. The pipes are usually soft
soldered into the bends. The foregoing apparatus is designed and
used for cooling purposes, but the conditions are sometimes changed,
and similar pipes are used for warming, which are called attemperators,
and others are used for boiling coils. In Fig. 432 is represented a boil-
ing round— that is, a round vat or tub, supplied with a coil of copper
pipe lying on the bottom, which is set with a gradual fall toward the
center so that the condensed steam or waier is drained off through the
bottom, the condensed steam keeping the live steam at the full press-
ure, thus making the liquor boil quicker, and preventing a waste of
steam, which must occur if it was allowed to blow off into the air. The
steam is turned into the coil by a valve fastened to the side of the round*
as shown at X, Fig. 432. Fig. 433 is the same in principle, but made to
suit aa oblong vessel. This vessel is called a back, on account of its
shape, so that it may be easily distinguished from a round vat. Another
form of liquor back is shown in Fig. 434. The set of pipes is furnished
with either ball joints or gland and stuffing box, so that it can be raised
or lowered at will for cleaning, or to get it out of the way when neces-
sary to do so. It is therefore much better and more convenient than
the kind with fixed coil. Vats and backs are also fitted with spiral coils,
as shown in Fig. 435 and Fig. 436. When they are fitted with coils in
this way they are used principally for fermentation, thus distributing
the temperature evenly through the mass of liquor.
Let us make one of these coils, and let the pipe of which it is made
be 3 inches in diameter and the coil consist of four rings, Fig. 437, the
outside ring being 6 feet in diameter from center to center, and the in-
264 ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
side ring 2 feet. The first thing is to find the length of the coil, which
we do by marking out the coil in Fig. 437, as follows : Draw the line
Z Y, making it 6 feet, and bisect it in V, and with V as center and V X
as radius, equal to 1 foot, describe the semicircle X U W; then divide X Z
and W. Y into three equal spaces, Xa 9 a b,bZ;W c 9 cd,dY 9 and from V on
V Z lay off V e 9 equal to one of the spaces X a, and divide V e at T; then
from the point T as center, with T W as radius, describe the semicircle W
S a 9 changing the centers V and T for each semicircle in succession until
the coil is complete. Now, we have seven semicircles, the center one,
X U W, 2 feet in diameter, the next, WSfl, 23%, the third, a R c, $}4,
the fourth, c Q b 9 4 feet ; the fifth, b P d> 4^, the sixth, d O Z, 5^, and
the seventh, Z N Y, 6 feet. Now adding these all together and divid-
u u 2 + 29$ 4- 3# + 4 + 4?4 + 5^4 + 6
mg by 2 we have — - — 7 0/ * n/ D/ T — = 14, or a cir-
2
cle of 14 feet equal to coil; and multiplying this by 3.1416 we get
14 x 3. 141 6 «■ 43.9824, the length of the coil. Hence we want 44 feet
of pipe (exclusive of that required to make the joints) to make the coil.
The pipes may be made, fitted and bent and joined together with
socket joints.
Copper pipe used in the making of coils of various kinds has usually
been made in lengths varying from 10 to 14 feet, therefore all coils of
any considerable size must be made in sections and joined or brazed
together. To do this brazing in the most convenient and expeditious
way it is necessary to provide a wheel and axle, as shown in Fig. 438,
upon which the coil may be fastened with a strap, A, and held in posi-
tion for manipulation as each section of pipe is added to the coil and
the process of brazing together is being executed. The wheel and axle
are fastened to a suitable post and over a pit, the axle being placed
about 3 feet from the floor, so that the socket when level will be on a
line with the center of the axle, and can easily, be attended to when
the coil exceeds 6 feet in diameter. The accompanying illustration,
Fig. 438, sufficiently explains itself.
The method given above for describing a flat coil is perhaps the
simplest that can be used. For those who desire to make a coil nearer
the truth, it is necessary to resort to what is called an eye — that is, a
group of points situated in regular polygon form for centers, which may
begin with a triangle, as in Fig. 439, or with any other number of
points, as in Fig. 440. I will explain these two methods, and leave the
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
265
Fio. 437. — Diagram fob Coil.
Fig. 436. — Attbmfbratob Suitable
FOB FBBMBNTIMO
Fio. 430. — Latino Out Coil with Tbiangls
fob center.
ART OP COPPERS MITHING.
FIG, 43a. — WHEEL A*Q AlI.E FOR BKAZI3G TlPI
Fiu. 440.— Latino Oct Coil with Hexagon fob Ci:
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 267
learner to pursue the further study of the subject as he may desire. In
Fig. 439, the eye of the coil which governs the distance between the
rings is an equilateral triangle. Now let it be required to make a coil 6
inches apart from center to center of the rings, then we divide the 6
inches into three and erect a triangle, ABC, making the sides equal to
2 inches; then with B as center and B a as radius, describe the arc a b;
and with C as center and C b as radius, describe the arc b c, and with A
as center and A c as radius, describe the arc c d y and repeat the process
until the size of the coil is reached. In Fig. 440 the eye of the coil is
a hexagon. Now let the distance apart be the same as in the last ex-
ample. Then 6 inches divided into six parts gives us 1 inch for one
side of a polygon of six sides. Draw a hexagon, A B C D E F, Fig.
440, and make the sides equal to 1 inch ; then from A as center and A b
as radius, describe the arc b r, and with B as center and B c as radius,
decribe the arc c </, and repeat the process around the polygon, taking
each corner in succession, until the coil has been completed the required
size.
The length of these coils may be obtained in a similar way to that
already given — that is, by adding together the diameters of all the
circles which compose the coil and multiplying by 3.1416 and dividing
the product by the number of points in the eye of the coil.
Fig. 441 shows a portable coil and the manner of using. The three
supporting stays are iron, bolted together and provided with eye bolts
for suspending rods by which the coil may be hung in a vat or tun at
any hight desired. The ends of the coil are supplied with unions for
connecting leather or rubber hose. These portable coils are quite
handy, as they may be removed readily with pulley blocks out of a tun
when not required. Portable coils may be made any other shape de-
sired.
It sometimes happens that it is better and more convenient to have
the two ends of an attemperator — that is, the outlet and inlet — lying
side by side or close together in preference to having one end cross the
coil, as in Fig. 441* In this case we resort to another plan, which is
shown in Fig. 44a. When it happens that the workman does not pos-
sess the skill necessary to perform the operation of brazing the sec-
tional joints of the coil, flanges may be employed for joining the sec-
tions together, as shown in Fig. 443, the flanges being made just wide
enough to get b Its in, and of sufficient strength to make the joint se-
ART OF COPFERSMITHING.
FlO. 442.— Coil
OKNINOH TtXJ 151' H Eli.
B. COIL. WITH FUSCED JOINTS.
FID. 441. — POBTASLI Coil.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 269
cure. It may sometimes be better to put them together in this way, so
that any section may be taken out for repairing when necessary.
To find the length of a spiral coil, as in Fig. 435, whose diameter is 6
feet from center to center of pipe and having three rings, with a rise of
1 foot to each ring, it will be seen that as each ring rises 1 foot the
length of pipe required for the three rings of the coil would be the
hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle whose base is equal to the circum-
ference of three flat rings as the base and the foot rise of each of the
three rings of the coil as a perpendicular. Then the length of the coil is
y (6 x 3.141 6 X 3) 2 + (1 X 3) 2 - 56.6619 or 56 feet 7.42 inches;
therefore to make a spiral coil, as in Fig. 435, we require 56 feet 7
inches of pipe, which is made of convenient lengths and put together
with socket joints as before directed.
270 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
BREWING COPPERS OR KETTLES.
Large brewing coppers are made in several different ways ; the
accompanying illustrations give three of the styles most in use, and
will, I think, be sufficient for our purpose.
Fig. 444 is an open copper with a light course ; that is, an addition
to the copper proper, to enlarge its capacity and lessen the cost, the
light course being made of lighter material than the copper proper,
and yet of sufficient strength, as it is usually supported by brick work
built around the course nearly or up to the brim. Let us build one of
these large coppers with a light course, and let it hold, say, 50 barrels
in each course ; that is, the copper proper to hold 50 and the light
course to hold 50 barrels also. The coppers may be made in any pro-
portions to suit the place they are to occupy ; that is, they can be tall
or squat, as the room can be spared, because the copper, in consequence
of its bulk, together with the brick work necessary for the furnace,
takes up considerable room, and therefore is usually placed in some
convenient position, as much out of the way as possible.
In an early chapter it was shown that the usual proportion for a
copper to hold 106 gallons is, top 38, bottom 33^ and depth 28, so we
will make our proposed 50-barrel kettle in the same proportion, and
then add the light course to it. Now, all vessels of capacity are in the
triplicate ratio ; that is, comprise length, breadth and thickness, or
their capacity is found by multiplying these three dimensions together.
Therefore we will take the diameter at the top as the basis by which
to obtain the dimensions required for the sides and bottom. Then the
top diameter of a 106-gallon kettle measures 38 inches, and -^ = 54,872
inches, and as a barrel (English) contains 36 gallons, therefore 50 bar-
* rels contain 1800 gallons, and 1800 -*- 106 = 16.981, or the number of
times 106 gallons is contained in 50 barrels. We now multiply the cube
of 38, or 54,872, by 16.981, the number of times 1800 gallons contain 106
gallons, which gives us 930,781.432, and then extracting the cube root of
this last result we get 97.63, or the top diameter of a copper to hold 50
barrels, which, in practice, we should call 8 feet 2 inches. Here then we
ART OF COPPERSMITHING
Fio. Hi.~ Open Coppm, with Light Coomb.
272 ART OP COPPERSMITfflNG.
have the first dimension of our proposed copper, 8 feet 2 inches. We
will now proceed to obtain the other two dimensions by proportion,
thus : Taking the dimensions of our 106-gallon vessel, as stated, top
38, bottom 33 5, and depth 28 inches ; then 38 : 33.5 :: 97.63 : 86. Again,
38 : 28 :: 97.63 : 71.938 From this, then, we find the three dimensions
of a 50-barrel copper to be : Top, 97.63 ; bottom, 86.068, and depth,
71.938, which we should call 8 feet 2 inches top, 7 feet 2 inches bottom
and 6 feet deep. We must now have the pattern for the sides, which we
will proceed to get. By referring to Fig. 445, it will be seen that a
copper is a part of the middle zone of a circular spindle ; that is to say,
the body of which it is a part is generated by the revolution
of the segment of a circle, and the versed sine of the segment is one •
half the diameter of the copper at the brim. Without a knowledge of
the properties of the circular spindle, we can at best only make a good
guess at what the pattern should be.
The illustration here given shows two coppers with their brims
placed together, and then the outline of the spindle completed. This
when carefully and intelligently performed gives the key for cutting
the sides of all bellied vessels which are built up of a number of pieces,
as in the case of large coppers. Then as stated : The depth of the
copper is one-half the chord of the arc A B, and is 71.938 inches, and
the versed sine of the arc A B is one-half the difference between the
If en
diameter of the top and bottom, which is — '— or 5.785.
Tl*S + s ' ?8s
— ! s= 450.176, the radius E I, Fig. 446, of the circle of which
the curve of the spindle (that is, the sides of the coppers from top to
bottom, or from A to B) E A B F is a part. The diameter G H at the
07 6*
center of the spindle is 97.63 ; then one-half G H, or ZLL -^ s 48.815, of
the versed sine G J of the arc E G F, Fig. 446, and 450.176 x 2 —
48.815 = 851.538; then ^851.538 x 48.815 = 203.611, or E J, which is
4/ =3
one-half the length of the spindle, and V 851.538 x 48.815 + 48.8x5
a 209.586, or G F.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
S73
Fig. 445. — Sketch Illustrating Shape of Coppers.
Fig. 446. — Diagram Used in Calculating Patterns.
274 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Vtei.
But G F = G K, therefore V 8 5 T "8 * 48-8i 5 + 4 8.8r 5 = or
2
K N, the radius of the circle MGK; whence K M is 144.91 * 2, or
289.82 ; that is, 24.15 feet is the radius of the curve at the brim edge of
the pattern, and 289.82 — 71.93 = 217.89, or 18.157 feet, is the radius
for the arc S T at the bottom edge. Again : 97 ' 63 * &' 1 * 16 _. SI . I424 ,
6
or the versed sine of the arc of the circle of which curve the side edges
must be cut before hollowing in the hollowing tub, Fig. 447, ready for
placing in position for riveting — that is, when the sides are in three
203 611
pieces. Then — ^ h 51.1424= 812.78, or the diameter in inches of
51.1424
the circle of which the curve of the two edges are a part or must be cut
before hollowing.
Therefore 12 ' = 406.39, or 33.8658 feet, for the radius of the two
2
side edges of the pattern. Here, then, we have three pieces or sides in
the small sketch, Fig. 446, 102.2383 from O to P, 71.93 from M' to R,
and 90.059 from S to T, with a radius of 33.8658 feet for the curve of
the side seam edges, and a radius of 24.15 feet for the curve at brim,
and 18.157 the radius of the curve at the bottom.
These dimensions are, of course, all bare — that is, nothing allowed
for the seams or the brim, which must be left on to suit the rivets
which are to be used in the side seams and the width of the brim
required for the light course, a part of which would be taken from
the depth, as the side would not reach the lag of the bottom by some
2 or 3 inches, for which allowance must also be made We now come
to the bottom. To-day they may be had already milled up in one
piece of any size or strength up to 15 feet in diameter. But when
I was a boy there was no machinery then in existence of such capac-
ity ; hence it was necessary to make large bottoms by hand in four, five
and sometimes more pieces, Figs. 448 and 449. But we will suppose
that we have the bottom supplied to use in one piece, and let it be 7
inches deep. Now, the first thing is to put the bottom in shape for
planishing — that is, form the crown, as shown in Fig. 450, by hollowing
in the hollowing tub. This hollowing tub, Fig. 447, as we call it, is a
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
si
I
276 ART OF COPPERSMITHINQ.
wooden ring like a washtub without a bottom, made of oak staves about
a}b inches thick, about 2 feet high and from 3 to 4 feet in diameter,
taper, and supported by three stout hoops, which are bolted to their
places after the wood has shrunk sufficiently. The bottom is laid over
the tub bottom side up, Fig. 451, and two men with large mauls or ham-
mers sink the bottom in the tub, while another man guides the bottom
on the tub with the iron dog D, shown in Fig. 453. When the bottom
fits the template it is turned the right side up and the planishing is be-
gun, which is done as shown in Fig. 45a. A suitable large head is placed
in a block and the bottom is then smeared all over on the outside with
wet plumbago, also the surface of the block on which the bottom rests,
so that the bottom will slide about with ease while the planishing is go-
ing on. The inside is rubbed all over with either wet or dry Spanish
brown, so that the blows may be plainly seen. When the planishing has
been completed, the bottom is placed on two or more suitable trestles,
Fig. 453, and after marking the holes the proper distance apart, the
rivet holes are punched in the bottom with a punch placed in a chisel
rod and the hammer i, while a man holds a bolster, a, on the outside
(the bolster a explains itself). Then all three sides, which have been
previously prepared — that is. bellied or hollowed and planished, Fig.
454 — are placed in position and secured with bolts. Then the head is
taken out of the block and put into a sling, d, Fig. 453, and one man
-A
Via. 452. — Pun»bii><3 Bottom.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Via. 463. — COPPBk on Tubtlii, Bust I
holds the head in position inside while two others, opposite each other
outside, work in the rivets, first with long-handled cross-peined ham-
mers, t, and finishing with hammer b. The light course is now prepared,
the sides of which may be brazed or riveted together, as desired, when,
after planishing, the holes are punched in the bottom edge, and then
the course is set in its place on the copper brim and the rivet holes
punched through the riveting edge into a small bolster and the rivets
278 ART OP COPFERSMITHING.
worked in with short-handle hand hammers. The pipe or outlet is next
worked in and all finished up complete.
The same methods which are here described may be used for build-
ing a vessel of any number of pieces in the side or of any shape. In
Fig. 455 is shown a large open copper, with a light course, completed
ready for use, and about to be set in its future resting place. This
vessel was built in 1891 by Messrs. Shears & Co. of Bank-side, Lon-
don, and is said to be the largest copper ever built in England. It
has a capacity of 36,000 English gallons. This large vessel was built
for Ind. Coope & Co. The reader can get an excellent idea of its
construction, as well as its immense size. The size of the rivets
should be noticed, the proportion of the copper proper to the light
course, and then the three iron bands placed around the light course to
strengthen it; also that the wall at the end of the building has been
taken down to let it into its place. This is a very interesting and in-
structive illustration for these engaged in this kind of work.
Fib. 45+.— Sides Be*di fob I
ART OP COPFERSMITHING.
FIG. 40B. — LiEai Opin Corns with Light CotJBSl.
280 ART OP COPFERSMITHING.
DOME COPPERS.
Dome coppers, as will be seen, Fig 456, are made similar to open
ones, the dome being substituted for the light course. Let us suppose
we have a copper ready for a dome, and it is required to make a dome
and work it on to the copper. As I have said before, a dome may now
be had in one piece, but were this not the case, as in years gone by,
then it must be made in pieces, and these must conform to the size of the
sheets at hand. Now, let the size at the brim be as in the last example,
namely: 97.63 inches in diameter, and the brim or dome seat 3^
inches wide, with a riveting edge turned up 2 inches deep, and the dome
a half sphere, made in four pieces. m To obtain the pattern for this we
proceed as follows : The diameter inside the turned-up dome seat or
riveting edge A B, Fig. 457, will be 97.63 + 3.5 x 2 or 104.63. Then
!2t£ - 52 . 3 r, and V^fi x 2 - 73.97 or C B; that is to say, it
equals the side of the inscribed square of a circle A B, whose diameter
is 104.63 inches, or the diameter inside the riveting edge, representing
the circle D C A N B. Now ^^ = 36.98 or one-half the cord C B
of the arc C D B, or F B, and one-half the diameter DE — FE = DF;
* a a 1
that is to say, 51.31 —36.98 = 15.33, an( i FB + DF = DB, or 36.98 +
a
15.33 - 4°-3° ; ^ at * s » ** equals the cord D B of half the arc CDB;
but D G equals D B and D B — one-half of D F (that is, D H) equals
HG
H G, or D G — D H = H G, which is 40.30 — 7.66 = 39.29. Then g-jj
+ DH = DNx 2, or ■ 9 + 7.66 = 209. 20, or the diameter of a circle of
7.66
which the curve of each side of the pattern is a part. Now construct the
triangle on G (that is, on O P , Fig. 458, which is equal to K G), and with
D N or 104.60 or 20 ^' (that is, the diameter of the dome seat) as a radius
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
Fio. 458. — Pattehm cob Qcabteb of Dome.
Flo. 459.— Ii.M-stiuted I
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 283
describe the arcs about the triangle O P Q, as shown in Fig. 458. Then
at one corner, O, of the pattern, with a radius, O R, equal to one-half the
diameter of the crown pipe, mark out the hole for it, making the
hole so that when complete it will be about 20 inches in diameter,
which will then complete the pattern required of one of the four
sections of the dome. Now, having the pattern and the four pieces
cut out by it, bend an iron template to the curve of a radius of 48.81
inches, and take the sections to the hollowing tub and hollow them
until they fit the template every way, after which planish them
in a promiscuous way on a suitable head placed in a solid block.
Then punch them and place them in position in the seat, remem-
bering to have the crown pipe also in position before the last quarter of
the dome is put finally into its place. Next bolt them together
in succession. The manhole may be prepared and fixed to the last
quarter before placing, or it may be worked on after, at the discretion
of the workman or employer. Put three or four temporary rivets in
each seam of the dome and in the seat at each seam, and one or two
between. We are now ready to work in the rivets, which may be done
in a similar manner to that described and illustrated for an open cop-
per with a light course.
I wish here to make a suggestion for the benefit of the boy who may
have occasion to peruse these pages in the hope of finding the assist-
ance he is in search of, because I think this is one of the most appro-
priate places which has suggested itself, where we can take a practical
lesson from nature. Fig. 459 is the picture of an orange with the rind
peeled off from three-fourths of the upper half of it, one-fourth being
left on to illustrate a part of our lesson. Lying apart from the orange
are the three-fourths of the rind which have been taken off. One piece
is lying with the concave or flesh side of the skin upward and one with
the concave side down and one lying perfectly flat* Now let us care-
fully consider these three pieces of rind in relation to the lesson under
consideration. Let the upper half of the rind of this orange represent
the dome of the copper in the next example, and let the dome be
made in four pieces, as before. It will be readily seen that the four
pieces of orange rind, after being removed from the orange, show in
miniature : 1, the exact shape of the pattern ; 2, the exact shape it
should be when hollowed and planished, and, 3, the position of the first
piece when it is placed in the riveting edge on the copper brim. Now,
284
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
Fig. 460. — Second Method of Obtaining Pattern.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 285
if we conceive the edges for riveting to have been left on at two sides
of the pattern, then the rivet holes of the seam would come down the
line of division where the rind of the orange has been cut. With a
little study this should be plainly understood. We will now proceed
to find the shape and size of this pattern, as suggested to us by the
orange rind. Let the diameter C M of a spherical dome or an orange,
Fig. 457, be 88 inches in the present example. Describe the circle A
C B M to some easy scale that would represent a large-sized orange,
say % inch to a foot, and divide its circumference into four equal
parts, A C, C B, B M and M A ; then the diameter of the circle C M
is \\ inch, or $}& inches. Now draw the diameters A B and C M, and
join C B ; then the arc C D B represents the bend of either side of the
section when hollowed to fit the surface of the orange. Draw D B, which
represents the chord of half the arc C D B. Now divide D F in two
equal parts at H, and through H draw K H G, parallel to C F B ; then
with D B as radius and D as center describe the arcs B G and C K, cut-
ting K H G in K and G ; then K G represents the true length of the
side of a triangle, O P, Fig. 460 ; that is, from point to point, when the
section is lying flat the same as the orange rind in the picture, the line
D B having remained the same as it was before the section was flat-
tened and made a plane by being pressed down level. Here, then, we
have the length K G of one side of a triangle lying within the pattern
O P, Fig. 460, and we find by actual measurement that the line K G is
full 4}i inches, which, being multiplied by 16, is 66 inches (or more
correctly, 66.1). Now bisect P Q in S, and through S draw O S and
continue it to T, making S T equal to D H, Fig. 457, or one-half of D
F ; and draw the lines, or chords, T P and T Q ; and bisect these chords
perpendicularly with lines meeting in U. Then from the point of in-
tersection of these lines at U, with the distance U Q, U T or U P
(which is 5.5 inches, and this multiplied by 16 gives 88 ; the first, the
diameter of the orange, and the second, that of the dome), describe the
arcs O P, P Q, Q O. Now, with O R as radius, describe the arc W V
for the crown pipe hole, and W P Q V is the pattern of one section of
the dome, as before, but without riveting edge, which must be left on
the two sides W P and Q V.
There are very many useful lessons that may be learned in a similar
way to that suggested here by the rind of an orange, if the student is
apt and is of an inquiring turn of mind.
286 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
DOME AND PAN COPPERS.
Dome and pan coppers are a combination of the other two coppers
we have been treating of, combined in one apparatus, with some few
additions, such as the valves at the top of the chimney and the two side
pipe; to convey the overflow into the pan should the liquor in the cop
per tend to boil over; also to convey the steam generated in the copper
into the liquor which may have been placed in the pan to be heated. It
will be seen that the pan bottom is made separate, and when formed
ready the inner edge is fitted to the sides, with the edge of the dome
crown (except when the dome is in one piece, when the pan would be
worked on the dome, as shown in Fig. 461), and then all three are riv-
eted secure, and the rivets scrubbed up so that the heads are all smooth
and even with the inner side. The inlet pipes are made of a suitable
size, as in N, and connected by flanges with the pan bottom and the
side of the copper. At the upper end of the inlet pipes and on the in-
side of the pan bottom is bolted a screw valve, Fig. 462, which is secured
to its place by the same bolts that hold the pipe flange to the pan bot-
tom. When the pan bottom and crown (if the dome is made in pieces) have
been worked in the manhole H, Fig. 461, and the inlet pipes also com-
pleted, then the sides of the pan may be put up into position and the
rivets worked in. The screw valves are now applied with a rod and X"
handle with which to open and close them, the rod being held in po-
sition by a bracket, B, bolted to the side of the pan. Any good work-
man who has made a large open or dome copper should be competent,
after studying the preceding pages and the accompanying illustrations,
to build a dome and pan successfully. I shall therefore let the direc-
tions given for the building of the other two styles suffice for that of a
dome and pan, and thus avoid repetition as much as possible.
ART OF COPPERSMJTHINQ.
FlO. 4(11.— DOME AND PAH COPPBB.
Fig. 46S.— Sceew Valyk.
288 ART OF COPFERSMITHING.
TALLOW COPPERS.
In Fig. 463 is shown a tallow copper. These vessels were made for
and used by tallow chandlers, whose principal use for them at one time
was in manufacturing tallow candles. Tallow coppers are an extra
good job, because of the greater care necessary to make them sound —
that is to say, perfectly tight and not liable to leak. These coppers
were at one time in great demand, when all England burned candles
much more so than now. But there is yet an occasional demand for
one, because tallow is still used for many other purposes besides that of
making candles, and the shape of this copper is better adapted for the
use of rendering out tallow than any other, as the curve or spherical
shape of the sides tends to throw the fat that boils up the sides toward
the center, which partially accounts for its peculiar shape, as compared
with coppers for some other purposes. This copper has a wide brim, so
that any slopping or drainings may be conveyed back into the copper
— - - — - ~
Note,— In this connection some pieoe work prices for coppersmith's work paid in London
will be of interest :
Brewing coppers, 8H cents per pound for men ; one-half the price for boy*.
Tieohes for planishing general, 2 cents for men ; one-half the price for boys.
Four-inch worms, 4 cents per pound for man and boy.
Retorts, 6 cents per pound for man and boy.
Stills, 8}£ cents per pound, metal as well.
Kiddie pieces, 4 cents per pound for brazed seams.
Four-inch tee-pieces, $1 each for men ; 60 cento for boys.
Three-inch tee-pieces, 75 cents each for men ; 87H cents for boys.
Four-inch bend complete, 88 cents each for men ; 41H cents for boys.
Three and one-half-inch bend complete, 64 cents each for men ; 82 cents for boys.
Three-Inch bend complete, 60 cents each for men, 25 cents for boys.
Two-inoh bend complete, 87)4 cents each for men ; 18 cents for boys.
Worms, when two men work at them, 8 cento ; when a man and boy work at them, 8 cents.
The time usually consumed putting up sides into bottom of a 800-barrel oopper by two men
inside and three outside, two and one-half days. Punohing holes, in bout, three men inside and
two outside, one and one-half days each.
Settlng-to 106 holes, two men one day. Setting-to 20 holes in seam and working in 20 No. 2
nails, with one man inside and two outside, three hours.
Working one seam of 20 nails, three men, one day. Working one bout of 15 nails, No. 1,
three men, one day.
Time consumed taking off old bottom from a dyer's oopper and putting on new one, the
new bottom weighing 140 pounds, 88 inches in diameter and inches deep. Cutting out old
bottom and annealing sides and planishing, ten hours. Planishing new bottom, seven hours.
Putting up block, punohing holes, bolting together and working in 40 No. 4 nails, nine hour .
Sorubbing up new bottom, eight hours. Total time for job, three days four hours.
ART OP COPPERSMITHINO
Fio. 463. — Bboib Bkia Tallow Copper
Flo, 4W. — Suction Tbbocoh Bioad-Biiii Tallow Copfb*.
290 ART OF COPPERSMITH1NG.
by it. They are made sometimes with narrow brims, in which case the
broad brim is substituted by one made of lead, covering the whole of
the brick work on its top surface about the brim, and turning down
over it on the inside of the copper from 2 to 3 inches, which, in some
cases, is preferable, because, then, none of the tallow can penetrate the
brick work from the top.
Let us make one of these broad-brimmed tallow coppers, and let the
sides be made from a sheet of, say, 35-pound plate, or about 1-16 inch
in thickness, to hold 200 gallons, and let its sides be in three pieces and
the bottom in one. It will be noticed that this vessel, Fig. 463, is
spherical in form, the body being made up of the middle zone and the
bottom segment, the other or top segment being absent to form the
brim or copper mouth. Now, the first thing we must do is to find the
size of a vesset of this shape that will hold 200 gallons, which we will
now proceed to do as follows : It is well known that a spherical inch is
represented by 0.5236, but the copper is a sphere with a segment cut off
equal in hight to one quarter of the diameter of the sphere (see Fig. 464),
and the value of this segment cut off is 0.08181 ; therefore, 0.5236 —
0.08181 = 0.4417. Now, there are 277.274 inches in a gallon (English
measure), therefore, 277.274 x 200 = 55,454.80 cubic inches, and
55>4g4- ° = I2 5,548; when, extracting the cube root of 125,548, we get 50
0.4417
inches as the diameter A B of the middle zone of the copper when ready
for the bottom. If Fig. 464 be drawn to a scale of yi inch to a foot, it
will be found that from C to B is 47 inches, from D to E is 25, from F
to E is 4 inches, and from D to G 3 inches. Adding these last three
dimensions together, we have 25 + 4 + 3 = 32 inches for the depth
of the sides before working, and the diameter C B 47 inches, when 47
x 3.1416 = 147.6552, and 147.6552 divided by 3, the number of sides to
be used, we have 49.2184, or 49^ inches. To this we add 2 inches to
each piece for seams, when we get 51 # inches for the length of each
side, including edges, and 32 inches deep, including brim and lap for the
bottom seam. Now we find the size the disk should be for the bottom
before hollowing, as follows : It was stated in a former chapter that the
surface of a sphere is equal to its circumscribed cylinder, and therefore
the surface of any segment of a sphere is equal to the diameter of the
sphere multiplied by the hight of the segment, multiplied by 3.1416 ; or
the surface of a sphere is equal to four disks whose diameter is equal to
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 291
the diameter of the sphere. From which we get 50 x 12.5 x 4 = 2500,
and extracting the square root we get 50 inches for the diameter of the
disk to form the bottom before hollowing, or V50 x 12.5 x 4- Now
we have the sides and bottom, and require the broad brim, which is
obtained as follows : The brim when completed with a J^-inch wire in
thfe outer edge should measure 10 inches or thereabouts from E to K,
Fig. 464. Now the wiring edge at K will take 1^ inches, and will
reach and lap at N 2 inches, which will make the brim before working
ioj4 inches wide. Then the diameter of the brim from K to M when
complete before wiring is 66 inches, and forms a frustum of a cone, the
slant bight of which is H M, or 34.5 ; that is, x y, Fig. 465. With the
radius y x from y as center describe the circle x u v u s, making the dis-
tance around it from x to s equal to the circumference of a circle whose
3.1416 = 216.77 an d 216.77 — 207.345 = 9 42 or i) l / 2 inches nearly; that is
to say, the segments s y x from s to x, which would be taken out, is
equal to 9J4 inches nearly. The brim may be put on in any number of
pieces. In this case let there be four ; then s u a b is one section of the
brim bare. Adding 2 inches on for riveting edge, the pattern is com-
plete and will measure from u to d 53.83 and from a to c 38.06, and from
c to d 10.5 inches. Here we have all the patterns and will now
begin to put them in shape : First, the bottom, by taking it to a hol-
lowing tub, and with suitable mauls sink it in the tub until it is hol-
lowed enough ; that is, until it measures across it 46 inches. Then mark
the rivet holes for about No. 1 or No. 2 wrought copper rivets, and
space the holes so that the edges of the rivet heads are about l /2 inch
apart. The sides are next in order. These will be put together with
No. 3 or No. 4 rivets, and the heads about Y% inch apart and reaching
to within J4 inch of the lap edge. When the sides have been punched
bend them into shape and put in a few temporary rivets ; take a racer
and divide the depth into three spaces and proceed to raze in both
ends;" the bottom end right out to the end, the top end to within
4 inches, making the lower end fit into the bottom about j^/2 inches,
and drawing the top end out until it measures 43 inches at 4 inches
from the end, when the brim is thrown back for the additional wide
brim. While the two ends are being worked in the sides are put
on the tub at the end of each course, and hollowed out to complete
the spherical curve of the body. Now we form the brim by put-
ting the four pieces together and wiring the edges with a ^-inch
192 ART OF COPPERSMITH1NG.
iron ring. The workmen may now select which is more convenient ■<>
him, and first put on the brim or the bottom. If the brim is first put
on, carefully scrub the rivets and make the surface smooth about the
rivet heads, and work the seam edge carefully down close, then the
same with the bottom. It is usual to rub the seam well with white lead
and oil on the inside after the job is finished-
Fia. 465.— Patteb* o
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 293
DYERS' COPPERS
Dyers' coppers, as compared with some others, are not a difficult
job, which will be readily seen by referring to Fig. 466. A dyers' cop-
per is made with a cylindrical body and a segment of a sphere for a
bottom. The sides are usually made in two pieces, and the bottom in
one. These coppers may be made with a broad or narrow brim, similar
to that of a tallow copper ; or they may be supplied with a lead apron
to catch and convey the drip and slopping, which, is always a contingent
circumstance in the dyers' art. Let us make a dyers' copper to hold 150
gallons American standard. Now, we have learned by experience that
the easiest way to build this vessel is to make the bottom one-fourth
the depth and the sides three-fourths, without the brim, although this,
like all others, may be made any style or shape to suit the taste or con-
venience of the purchaser. But we will suppose the sides needed are
three-fourths the depth and the bottom one-fourth. An American gal-
lon equals 231 cubic inches, and 231 x 150 = 34,650, or the number of
inches in 150 gallons, and we have 0.7854, which represents a cylindri-
cal inch ; then °'^ 54 X 3 = 0.58905, or % cylindrical inch. The value
4
of a segment of a sphere whose hight is one-fourth its diameter is
0.08 1 8 1, and adding this to the value of % cylindric inch we have 0.58905
+ 0.08181 = 0.67086, the value of the figure which represents a dyers'
copper. Then 34.650 -*- 0.67068 - 51.663.982, and extracting the cube
root of this last result we have 37. 2 as the diameter, or y ~f' \ Q = 37. 2;
°' 0.67068
xi 2
that is to say, 37^ inches is the diameter of the sides, and ^- X 3 -
27.9, or 28 inches nearly, is the depth, without seams, and
37.2 X 3-14*6 _ 58.4337, the length of one side. Add to each side
about 2% for seams and we have the full length represented by
58.4337 + 2.5, or 60.9337, which we should call in practice 61 inches.
Now we must add 3 inches for the brim, and we have 27.9 + 3 = 3°-9,
ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
ART OF COPPERS MITH1NG. 295
or 31 inches nearly. Let the sides be 60 inches long and 31 inches
deep. The bottom is obtained as follows: y 6.975 + 3 x 4 X 37.2
-■ 38.52 ; that is to say, one-fourth of the hight of the copper, or 6.975,
with 3 inches added for bottom seam, making 9.975, multiplied by 4,
and then by 37.2, the diameter of the copper, and the square root of
this last result is 38.52, or 38^ inches, which is the diameter of the
bottom before hollowing.
We are now ready to hollow the bottom, mark and punch it,
also to prepare the sides for putting together in the same way. In
the building of this copper we may use cast or wrought rivets ; let
us use cast. I should here state that the sizes of cast rivets are des-
ignated the opposite way to that of wrought — that is, No. o is the
largest size in wrought rivets, which run from o to 8, while 8 is the
largest cast rivet, which run from 8 to o. Fig. 467 shows the shape and
sizes of both wrought and cast. (We usually call the wrought ones
nails to distinguish them irom cast rivets.) Take the bottom and wrin-
kle it regularly around the edge ; then sink it in the hollowing tub,
and work out the wrinkles carefully until the diameter is the size re-
quired ; smooth up and planish. Now work and punch the sides and
bend them to shape, and put three temporary rivets into each seam ;
then with a racer mark off the depth of the brim and run around
it with a hammer, Fig. 468, to harden it at the turn, and then lay
off the brim. Draw in the other end at the sides to fit the bottom,
Fig. 469, and planish the sides on the horse as shown in Fig. 470, and
work in the seam rivets. Scrub and finish the seam, making the surface
of the seam inside smooth. Mark and punch the holes for the bottom
seam, after which set the sides into the bottom evenly all round, and
mark the holes in the bottom by the sides, and punch the bottom. Put
the sides back in the same place, and put into the bottom seam a few
temporary rivets. Now work them in all round the bottom seam, per-
forming the work on the horse. When they are all in, scrub them up tight
until the inside is smooth, after which head up the rivets outside and
finish.
ART Of COPPERSMITHINQ.
PlO. 470. — PLISISHISO DlHKS' COPPIH.
. 472— FlBE Stilj, with HUD and WOIII.
ART OF COPPERSMITHINa. 297
STILLS.
Copper stills are and have been in continual demand for many years
and are likly to be, seeing that there are so many uses to which they
may be put in the manufacture of the many commercial commodities
which depend upon the process of distillation. Stills are made from
1000 to 5000 gallons capacity, according to the uses for which they are
required. The largest, however, are used for the purpose of distilling
spirits, such as gin, rum and brandy. These large stills will occupy our
attention. In Fig. 472 is shown a squat or fire still with head and
worm. This apparatus is usually made in three sections — that is to say,
the still boiler, the head, and then the worm, which together complete
the still proper. But they are often supplemented with retorts of vari-
ous designs, the most common of which is shown in Fig. 472. These
retorts are used for rectifying purposes, and there are sometimes several
interposed between the still and the worm, according to the degree of
rectification required. As all large stills are made nearly the same pat-
tern, we will make one as an example or guide for ascertaining the di-
mensions and pattern of those most in use and then consider their con-
struction. Let our example be required to hold 500 gallons. It will be
seen by reference to Fig. 472 that the outline or design of the body of
the still boiler is that of an oblate spheroid — that is, down to
the lag of the bottom, when the bottom is reversed or pressed up-
ward to form the bottom crown, in the same way as that of a brewing
copper. Here, in the case of a still, as in a brewing copper, the quan-
tity displaced by the crown of the bottom is quite an item in the capac-
ity and must, therefore, be taken into account, although it was ignored
in the case of large brewing coppers. Our body, then (that is, the
boiler), is to hold 500 English gallons. Now, we find the solid contents
of a spheroid by multiplying the square of the revolving axis by the
fixed axis and this product by 0.5236. Here, then, we have the key to
the solution of the various problems involved in the sizes or dimen-
sions we should make the still boiler, and we will proceed to find the
diameter and night of a still boiler to hold 500 gallons (English meas-
ART OF COPPERBMITHING.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING. 299
ure), to be used as a rule to find any or all others. An English gallon
contains 277.274 cubic inches, therefore 500 x 277.274=138,637. Again,
in an oblate spheroid whose dimensions are fixed in the proportions
shown in Fig. 473 — namely, two and a half diameters of the focal circles
A and B as the measure of the transverse axis of the ellipse which forms
the outline for or boundaries of the spheroid, and whose axis is C D, or
is 1 — the value of its solidity is found by the rule given to be 0.29362.
The spheroid, however, is made concave on the under side to form the lag
and crown of the boiler bottom, therefore this value must be reduced by
the value of the spherical segment E G F, Fig. 474, which vanishes,
together with the segment E H F, which forms the bottom crown Now,
irK xj+GKxGKx 0.5236 = 9.02758, the solid content of the seg-
ment H E F, and EK x 3 + HK x H K x 0.5236 = 0.02128, the solid
content of the segement E H F, or the segment which forms
the crown of the boiler bottom ; then subtracting the value of these
two segments from the whole spheroid we have 0.29362 — (0.02758
+ 0.02128) = 0.24476, or the value of solid figures whose dimensions are
similar to or like that of a still boiler. To proceed: the solid content
of 500 English gallons is shown to be 138.637 cubic inches; then
138.637 -*- 0.24476 = 566,420.168 boiler inches, and extracting the cube
root of this last result we have 82.73 as the diameter C D of a still
boiler to hold 500 gallons. Now, we want the depth, H N, Fig. 474,
which we find by multiplying the transverse axis C D, or 82.73, the
diameter of the boiler, by 0.3701 ; that is to say, C D by H N, or
82.73 X 0.3701 = 30.618. We thus have the diameter of the boiler
82.73 inches, or 6 feet 10^ inches, and the depth from the bot-
tom crown to the head collar 30.618 inches, or 2 feet 6% inches
nearly. For the pattern proceed as follows: Through S F and
TE, Fig. 474, draw the lines S P and T P, and with P F as
radius describe the arc F M, and with P S as radius describe the
arc S O, making the distance from F to S equal to 26.028; that
is, 8.85 multiplied by one-fourth of the circumference of the focal
circle. The length of each one of the sides from F to M may be any
convenient length, according to the size of the sheet, but for the sym-
metry and beauty of the work the sides should be all alike ; that is to
say, either three, or four, or any other suitable number, so long as they
300 ART OF COPPERSMITHING.
are all aliice or can be got out of the sheets at hand without wastt
Now take sides enough so that when they are put together they wir
measure 83 inches in diameter at the points C and D after the top anc 1
bottom have been tucked in to form the bulge or curves of the stdes ;
and let the sides, when ready for the bottom, go into the raise of the
bottom within about 2^ inches of the bottom lag The first section of
the crown from S to B, Fig. 475, may be made in the same number of
pieces as the sides if it cannot be supplied in one piece with the bottom,
but tne crown pieces are usually supplied. Having then the sides, bot-
tom and crown, the workman may proceed to put them together in a
similar manner to that described for the building of large brewing cop-
pers. I should here say, it is sometimes better to cover the trestles
with boards of a suitable thickness (if at hand), which will add firmness
to the trestles and make the stage more complete. The illustration,
Fig. 472, fully explains itself as to the construction of the still head and
worm, while the processes or methods used to make them have been
explained in a former chapter and need not be repeated.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 301
SUGAR-HOUSE WORK.
In the manufacture of sugar, a majority of the sugar-houses have
the greater part of the apparatus made of copper ; that is, that which is
the most immediately instrumental in converting cane and other juices
into sugar.
There have been various devices used in the production of sugar,
which have advanced in efficiency with the research in the science of
chemistry. I shall lay before the reader a few only of the best hereto-
fore in use. It should be understood our object is not to write of the
operation, or give an explanation of the merits of these machines; we
have chiefly to do with the manufacture of that part of the apparatus
which is made of copper; that is tieches, open evaporators, defecators,
boilers with their appendages, and vacuum-pans.
In the Western States of America, almost everybody has seen the
sorgham pan in operation; converting the cane juice into molasses;
and while the production of molasses is the only object sought, if the
operation was carried further on with suitable contrivances, the sugar
could be granulated and separated from the juice on a small scale similar
to that of large sugar-factories, which was the case in the primitive
stages of sugar making.
While in the employ of Pontifex & Wood and other places in Lon-
don, several kinds of sugar apparatus came prominent under notice
in the shop and at the Sugar-Houses, in the shape of defecators for
clarifying, and evaporators for concentrating sugar liquor; and we
shall now describe some of the contrivances which have replaced the
Tiech for evaporation, and close with the Vacuum-pan.
ART OP COPPERSMITHING.
TIECHES.
Sugar tieches were made the same as a tallow copper, excepting
that heavier material was used, and the brim usually made narrow, as
shown in Fig. 476. They can now be made in one piece, but where this
is not possible the same rules and directions given for tallow coppers
may be used, and will be found as useful for tieches and all other ves-
sels of this shape as for tallow coppers, due allowance always being
made for seams, as suggested in the directions given.
Pin. 476 — SoaiK TllCH. ,
As the methods for evaporating and clarifying advanced, steam heat
was brought into use, and one of the forms used is shown in Fig. 434
(Page 262). This contrivance shown here is prepared for the use of
Sugar-Houses by substituting a wrought-iron or copper tank in the place
of the wooden back. The other arrangements of the apparatus are all
similar to the liquor-back, and in the absense of sheet-iron or copper to
make the tank, the wooden liquor-back could be used as an evaporator
complete; therefore, this having been described before, it need not be
repeated.
ART OF COPPERSMITHING. 803
DEFECATORS.
A steam defecator is shown in Fig. 477. Ths part B is a spheri-
cal copper pan mounted in a cast-iron casing C, into which steam of
a high pressure is admitted through a valve bolted to the inlet D. The
upper part A is a light-course or copper curbing to add to the capacity
of the pan. The light-course is flanged on one side to correspond with
the flange of the pan and iron jacket, and then with a wrought-iron ring
about a half-inch in thickness, and suitable width, the jacket, pan and
Fig. 477. — Defecator.
light-course are all bolted together. The top or brim of the light-course
is strengthened with an iron band as shown. The copper pans B have
been made in one piece at the mill for a number of years ; but are taken
to the coppersmith to be hammer-hardened and fitted with the light-
course, the seams of which are brazed together, or riveted as may be
most convenient or preferable. Sometimes the light-course is clothed
with a felt and wood lagging to assist in retaining the heat as much as
possible .
ART OF COPPERSMITH] NG.
FILM EVAPORATOR.
This apparatus is used for the purpose of concentrating sugar
liquors, and consists of a number of copper tubes fixed at the ends into
suitable domed boxes made of copper; the boxes are mounted on a hollow
cast-iron shaft made with journals to run in brass or gun-metal bearings.
The shaft is fitted with a stuffing J box and gland at each end through
which the steam enters and passes out when condensed. The "reel"
is then mounted at each end with gear and made to connect with the
driving shaft as shown. The pan E in which the reel of pipes revolve is
provided with a slide valve F underneath for an outlet to discharge
the concentrated liquor. Fig. 4,78 is intended to show the construction of
this apparatus.
The work for a coppersmith in this device is the two ends G and the
pipes in the reel, together with the pan E, which it would seem is fully
shown by the illustration, and what has gone before.
ART OP COPPERS MITHING.
Another Evaperatob.
Another kind of evaporator is shown in Fig. 479. In this contrivance a
worm is coiled about a hollow shaft and made to revolve in a copper pan in
a similar way as Fig. 478. The pipe being formed into a coil, as shown in
this device, is quite a saving in time as compared with Fig. 478, and it would
seem to have much greater efficiency. The coil is attached to a hollow shaft,
as shown at A A; the steam for beating is admitted and exhausted through
the pipes B B. Fig. 479 fully illustrates this evaporator.
The work for a coppersmith in this machine is the construction of the
coil and the pan in which it revolves. The construction of the coil is similar
to those used in rounds and backs for breweries, and has been described on
pages 261 to 269.
306
4RT OP COPPERSMITHING.
A LATER STYLE FILM EVAPORATOR.
Another kind of evaporator and one of the latest and much approved
types is shown in Fig. 480. This evaporator, it will be noticed, is very much
simpler in its construction than Fig. 478 and consists principally of cylinders
and straight pipes.
Fig. 480-Another Sttlb Film Evaporator.
The work for a coppersmith in this apparatus is chiefly the cylinders A,
B, C, D and the pipes attached to them.
ART OF COPI*ERSMITHINO. 307
VACUUM-PANS.
Vacuum-pans have been made generally in the form of an oblate
spheroid as shown in Fig. 481. The writer assisted in the building of
one sixteen feet in diameter, the largest ever made up to that time. The
dome and bottom pan were each made in six sections ; the sections were
put together with countersink plugs Fig. 483 and then brazed down
the seams. This pan was supplied with two worms inside, one made
to fit the curve of the bottom of the pan ; and the other a flat coil made
to lay on the outside ring of the under worm, and both properly secured
in its place so as to allow for expansion and contraction.
Ordinarily these pans are made from six to ten feet in diameter, in
one piece, and are made very strong to resist the atmospheric pressure.
They have as auxiliary to their operation saveall B, and condenser C.
Eyeglasses are fitted at convenient positions aa, so that the attendant
may watch the "strike" as the boiling proceeds. The work for a copper-
smith here is hammer-hardening the pan and dome, making the saveall
B, condenser C, and building the worms. The way to build worms is
given on page 264 and illustrated in Fig. 438.
ART OF COPFERSMITH1NG.
ART OF COPFERSMITHINQ. 809
A NEWLY DESIGNED PAN.
In Fig. 482 is shown a later designed Vacuum Pan. The construction
and operation of this pan, it will be seen, is quite similar to Fig. 481. Here
the pan and dome have been supplied with a middle section, and some
additional worms, and it can be made very much easier
! I
The work for a coppersmith here consists of thejpan proper A, the
middle section B, Dome C, together with the worms inside, and the other
parts, all of which have been illustrated and clearly explained in previous
chapters, and need not be repeated.
ART OP COPPERSMITH1NQ.
INDEX
PAGE
Air pipe or ship ventilator, pattern 231
Air pipes or ventilators 229
" " " " planishing 2io
Art treasures, brazier's 16
Attemporator for fermenting back 262
Attemporator pipes 262
" round, with coil 262
Ball, pattern, for half 57
" showing first form of half 235-236
Balls, hand swage water- 57
Beer mullers 79
" " forming body 82
"lips 82
Bends, block and stake for working 189-227
" double 223
" horse shoe 261
" how to make shortest 227
" large, how to sling 220-222
Bends, making 188-193
" " new way 191-194
Bends, pattern 193
" placed in position for brazing 224
" planishing 224
" "S" T 224
" seaming 224
" wired and hung for fire 191-194
Benches 20-25
Blanks, fastened together for raising 55
Block, bending and lever 187
Boiler, elevation of still 298
" pattern for still 298
Boss, for outlet pipe and cock of copper 41
-Bossing covers 75~77
Bowls, hand, dimensions 43
" " making 43-48
311
312 INDEX
PAGE
Bowls, hand, working to shape side 45
" " wrinkled for first course 45
Brass covers 247-259
Brass seams, apparatus for brazing 242
Brass valve, chimney bell pattern 247
foot " 252
" " making , 247
" " raizing out bell tops for 242-252
" covers, making 253
" covers, raizing out bell tops for 242-252
Brass works, locomotive 245
Brazier, art treasures of a 16
Brazing barrels to straps for handles 67
Brazing, bends placed in position for 224
" brass seams, apparatus for 242
" coil joints, wheel and axle for 266
" in dome cover 258
" on flanges 225
" pans, making no
" round joints 250-253
" sheet brass 241-242
" slinging bends for 220-222
Brazing valve cover 253
" wiring bands together for 222
Burring bar, enlarging hole with 227
" pin, and how to use it 203
Chain, hook and dogs applied 231
Clamps to hold fire in position .„ 182
Coal hods 126
" " patterns 128
" scoops making 132-135-151
" " plain 126
" " various designs 126-130
Cod and its uses 19°
Coffee pot handle 60
" " joining spout to 9°
" " making 91
" " spout, pattern 9 2
Coil, flat diagram of 265
Coils, laying out 264-266
" of pipe 265-268
" square and round, making 262-268
Collar set 75
Collars, pitching spout 72
it
INDEX 313
PAGE
Coolers, movable 261-262
Copper bottom, crowning brewing 41
" punching holes in 39
brim, pattern for tallow 292
" dome, pattern for quarter of 281-284
" for tea kettles 74-76
" goods, making mounting for 58-68
" historical sketch 11
" its uses 12
" large, open with light course 279
" laying off brim of 36-37
" mines 13
" " American 14
" plugs, countersink and round head 310
" side, pattern for quarter of 273
" sides, formed for working 37
" " holes punched for rivets 37
" " in position for building 277
" " making true 37
" " ready for riveting 277-278
" smelting 14
" stove pipe, how to make 31
" with light course 271
Coppers, brewing 32-70
" dome and pan 286-287
" dyers' 293-296
" " turning brim and planishing 294-296
" making dome 280-285
" " large open brewing 271
" " small brewing 40-41
" " washing 34"39
" spotting 39
" table of dimensions, capacity and weight of 42
" tallow sectional view 289
Coppersmithing ancient light 16
light 16
Coppersmiths' appliances 166
" shop (Maudsley, Sons and Field's) in London, England 218
Cranes or syphons I 53 _I 55
Cross or four way pieces 214
pattern 214
" piece, raising up half of 214'
Cup, for bossing covers 75
Curve of sides, diagram for calculating 274
Cutting cramps 176
n u
314 INDEX
PAGE
Defecators 203-303
Dogs for securing sheet 231
Dome and pan coppers 286
" coppers 280
" covers 253-258-259
" " brass 253
" crown, working out 256
" foot, " -up 258
" pattern for brass cover crown 256
" " " foot 252
Dyers' coppers . 293
" " planishing and turning brim of 294-296
Ears for coal scoop handles 59
Evaporators 204-206-304-306
Expansion joint, bent 208
double 207-208
view of broken 205
with round edge 207
joints 205-209
" " pattern 205
" " shaping 207
Experience, first years 24
Firepot, balloon, in position for use 203
Fire pots 179-222-224
Flanges, brazing on 225
Flat coil, diagram of 265
Fracture or split, how to mend 199
Frying pan, ancient 53
Gauge for marking \ . 37-206
Glue pots 69-75
Grommet rope for bending 187
Hammer, bullet 77
•" creasing 82
" cross peined scrubbing 39
" hollowing 51
" planishing 151
" razing and riveting 45
" spring for planishing 137
" spring-faced planishing 82
Handles, filing and finishing 63-66
" making socket 47-48
INDEX 315
PAGE
Handles, putting flaps on 48
" stock pot 59
" tea kettle 59
Hendry & Co.'s shop in London, England 260
Hook, boiler 113
Joint, expansion, bent 208
" " with round edge 207
" for warming pan cover 118
" view of broken expansion 205
Joints', expansion 205-209
Kettle rings on cover seat 67-68
Kettles, brewing . . . ' 32-70-270
" dimensions and weight of copper 76
" fish 108-109
" spouts, pattern 61-64
" tea, handles 59~6o
" " oval top razed dQwn 77
" " top seamed on 78
" Turbot 108
Lag, round 102
" square 102
Lamp, old-fashioned whale oil 25
Lever and bending block 187
Locomotive brass works 245
Marine and railway work 166
" work 218
Maudsley, Sons & Field's Coppersmith's shop in London, England . . . . 218
Mines, American copper 14
Mullers, beer 79
" covered 85
handles for large and small 84
lipped old style 85
pattern for open 81
old style peaked 85
pitching cover for 84
" putting in bottom 83
Orange, instructive lesson with an 282
Outlets, attaching 204
" making 201
it
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316 INDEX
PAGE
Pan coppers 286
Pan, ladle and dripping 122-123
Pans brazing no
" " section of cover no
" closet, working cover to shape in
" fr ying 54
" " pattern 45
" preserving 121
" sauce, making 94
" stew " 100
" warming 118-119
Patch for pipe splits 199
Pin, burring and how to use it 203
Piece cramped and brazed in 29
" dogged together for planishing 32
" doubled for mending split 27
" making of shell 29
" put in from outside of pan 27
" riveted in 29
" in shell 29
Piecing pipes 177
Pipe and cock, way to fit and work in 40-41
Pipe, bringing together halves of 183-220^222
" filling and bending 186
" how to prepare patches for 199
" how to put on flange bottom of 196
" joints, soft soldering 183
" making heavy copper 175-176
" patching heavy locomotive 198
" pattern 41
" put through from inside of pan 27
" trough and bar for turning long 157-176
Planishing air pipe or ventilator 230
" and smoothing 152
" at the block 33
" bends 190
" blows, how to arrange 33
" hammer, springfaced 82
" hammers 153
" head and shank for coppers 89
" horse for 29 6
" large copper bottom 276
" muller cover 87
" position, seated 7 2
" sheets, spring hammer for 137
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INDEX 317
PAGE
Planishing, trestle and mandrel for 230
Plates, fish 109
Plugs, countersink and round head 310
Pudding pots, making round and oval 95~99
Pumps 158
" barge 160
" jigger single and double 164
Pumps, making lift 158-159
" making oil 162
"oil 163
" tanners 160
Rack, boiler 113
Railway and marine work 166
Raising up back and bridge of scoop 141
" " preserving pans 121
" " warming pan bodies 118
" water-balls . . ' 56-57
Razing down tea-kettle tops 71
down wrinkles 52-53
pudding pot bodies 95-96
Ring, kettle cover in seat of 75
Ring, solid copper tea kettle 68
Rings, for cover-seat making 67-68
Rivet-card, complete 294
Rivets, scrubbing 39
" working and time it consumes 288
Saddle forges 217-250-253
Sal ammoniac wad 29
Sauce pans and pudding pots 94
" " bellied 27
" " covers 95-96
handles 95-96
lipped 96
making 94
Scoop, brazed and wrinkled Nautilus 147
ears for coal scoop handles 59
Florence coal 130
raising up back and bridge of 140
Scoop pattern for back of Tudor 142
" " bottom of boat 150
" " " bridge and body of coal 133
" " " cut and brazer of Nautilus 147
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318 INDEX
PAGE
Scoop pattern for flat bottom 139
Helmar 150
Nautilus bridge 144
raised Nautilus 142
Royal 149
Scoopets, making 128
Shop, eastside of old 21
" interior view, back end of railway 170
" " front end of railway 168
" " " marine 218-219
" " " Still and Brewing work 258
" new locomotive coppersmith's 1 71-174
" north side of old 19
" old-fashioned 17
Shops, coppersmiths 1 , Hendry's & Co.'s, in London, England 260
" " Maudsley, Sons & Field's, in London, England .... 218
Side stake 45
Sides, diagram for calculating curve of 274
Skimming rod 184
Socket made ready for flap 48
Solder, black, never use it 226
" reed for charging seams 159
Soldering, soft soldering large pipe joints 183
Spheres, hollow 54-234-240
" " raising up 57-234-240
Spirit measure, best kind -....* 90
Spoon, charger or sower 72
Spout bending, new and old way 64
" collar, pitched on 66
" filling and bending 62
" making 62
" pattern for coffee pot 93
" tools 62
Spouts, filing and finishing 63-66
Standards for holding up pipe' 176-224
Stew pan repairing 27
" pans and handles 100
Still boiler, elevation of 298
" with head and worm complete 296
Stills, making 297-300
Stockpot handles 59
Stockpots, making " 106
" showing strainer and how put in 107
Sugar house work 301
■ " tieches, making 302
INDEX 319
PAGE
Swagging and smoothing heavy pipe 163
Syphons or cranes 153-155
Tea boilers 115
" " making 112
" " separate parts 113-116
Tea kettles, clamp for tinning 59-60
" " die for making rings 68
" " dimensions and weight of copper for 74-76
" " bandies 59-60
" " spouts 61-66
Tee and britch pieces gusseting 210-212
" end view of large 212
" piece, pattern 211
" pieces, four types of 1 70-1 82-184-203-2 23
Template boards 194-196
" " single and double 164
Templates making 186
Three-way pieces, making 212
" " " pattern 211
Tieches 302
Tinning and repairing kitchen utensils 26-28
" " returning 29-95
" stew pans, rims outside 28
" tow wisp for 72
Tongs, duck bill 48
Tow wisp for tinning 72
Tub hollowing 275
Valve cover foot razing out 253
" covers complete and in parts 253
" " slung at five for brazing 253
Ventilators ship, or air pipe 229
" " " " pattern 231
" " " " planishing 230
Water-balls, hand swage 57
" " making 54-55-57
Wooden former 137
Wrinkles, how raised down 52-53
No Shop is Complete Without
The New
Metal Worker Pattern Book
A TREATISE ON PATTERN CUTTING AS APPLIED
TO ALL BRANCHES OF SHEET METAL WORK
By Geo. W. Kittredge
THIS WORK is as indispensable to the sheet metal worker (master, foreman or man) as the
tools used in the cutting and forming. One is as necessary to the successful and eco-
nomic handling of the work as the other. The book will tell you how to use your tools
and get out the pattern accurately in the shortest possible time, and you know that without the
knowledge the tool would be worthless.
No other work has been written to cover the field in the way it is handled here. Our new
series, while in itself a cyclopedia of pattern problems, in reality supplements this book.
( Every imaginable form of pattern is clearly and practically demonstrated. It is the book to
which the busy man may look with confidence, when in search of a guide in laying out some diffi-
cult problem, or the student may turn to with the assurance that he will find a simple yet thorough
course of instruction which will carry him by easy stages from the elementary work to the most
difficult phases of the subject in which triangulation is used.
No previous knowledge of drawing or mathematics is required in order to use it. These sub-
jects are systematically and simply treated in special chapters, and there is no excuse for anyone
who is able to read English being unable to understand and assimilate the methods.
A carefully edited cross reference index enables the user to find any problem at a glance.
WE RECOMMEND THIS BOOK to the Student or Apprentice for self-instruction and to
the Journeyman, Foreman and Master as a reference work and Time Saver.
PRINCIPAL CONTENTS:
I. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS — 15
Pages. — Explaining the various terms em-
ployed by Draftsmen, Architects and Me-
chanics.
II. DRAWING INSTRUMENTS AND
MATERIALS— 13 Pages. — Describing the
tools and materials used by Draftsmen.
III. LINEAR DRAWING — 6 Pages.—
Explaining the principles of geometrical draw-
ing as applied to the wants of the pattern
cutter.
IV. GEOMETRICAL PROBLEMS— 35
Pages. — Containing 85 problems of most
frequent occurrence and supplementing the
previous chapter.
V. PRINCIPLES OF PATTERN CUT-
TING — 25 Pages. — Explaining the theory of
pattern cutting as applied to all classes of
work.
VI. PATTERN PROBLEMS — {3 Sec-
tions) — 325 Pages. — /. Miter Cutting. 2.
Flaring Work. 3. Triangulation. — A collec-
tion of practical examples of work daily en-
countered by Cornice Workers and Tinners,
and of frequent occurrence with Builders.
438 Pages 10 z 13 inches, 744 Diagrams
Price S5.00 Delivered
DAVID WILLIAMS COMPANY
239 W. 39th Street
NEW YORK
A FEW LIVE UP-TO-DATE BOOKS
^^^^^^^^^— ^— -I I * ■■ ' ■ -^ ^^— — — ^— -■ — .. — — — M ill! ■■■»..» ■ M^ — — ^M^^
THE TINSMITH'S HELPER AND PATTERN BOOK
With Useful Rules^ Diagrams and Tables
By H. K. Vosburgb
This is a useful band-book for tinners, as well as a valuable pocket reference companion for all workers in sheet
metal. It treats the simpler problems in pattern cutting, such as are of daily occurrence in the shop, besides giv-
ing a variety of tables and information constantly needed by the mechanic Section x demonstrates in a simple
way, and by means of illustrations and descriptive text, about 50 examples of sheet metal pattern work, such as
the method of can breasts, flared tinware, scale scoops, oval boiler covers, lips for measures, elbow patterns, etc.
Section a is compiled with regard to the requirements of the tinner, describing how to find the area 01 a circle, the
circumference of a circle, the contents of a sphere, a cylinder, a cone, and other information relating to the work
of a tinsmith. Section 3 gives the weights of sheet metals, including the weight of black sheet iron, sheet lead, and
galvanized iron sheets with their dimensions, the weights of tin plates, sheet copper and sheet zinc, the weight of
lead pipe per foot. Several pages are devoted to tables giving the areas and circumferences of circles, the capacity
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lao Paget, 4 1-216 3-4 todies, 53 Figures, doth, $1.00
THE EVERREADY PIPE AND ELBOW CHART
A Short-cut Method of laying out Patterns, giving quick reference to the circumference
and area of round pipe and the length of throat for elbows of.
different angles and descriptions
Designed by M. W. Pebl
When you are called upon to lay out an elbow or figure the quantity of pipe required for one in a hurry, you
will find Petal's Chart indispensable. It is a guide to accurate and rapid workmanship, and being small enough to
fit into the hip^pocket, is always available. The booklet explains in a concise manner how to employ the Chart,
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Subjects Treated: Circumferences, including laps for all sizes of pipe from 3-inch to 62-inch; areas of all sizes
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go degrees; miter lines for 4. 5. 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20. 24 piece elbows; laying out elbows; weight of galvanized
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Chart and Booklet Complete, 75 Cents
TABLES GIVING THE LENGTH OF BARS FOR SKY-
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Compiled by H. Collier Smith
All of the actual lengths of common, jack and hip bars for skylights of ordinary pitch are given in compact
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84 Pages, Handy Pocket Size, Cloth, so Cents
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