?4A?vzHP
St\ ^t *\.i-
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
7/
Accessions
. Class No.
PRACTICAL
BLACKSMITHING.
A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED AT DIFFERENT TIMES BY
SKILLED WORKMEN TO THE COLUMN'S OF "THE BLACKSMITH
AND WHEELWRIGHT" AND COVERING NEARLY THE
WHOLE RANGE OF BLACKSMITHING FROM
THE SIMPLEST JOB OF WORK TO
SOME OF THE MOST COM-
PLEX FORMINGS.
Compiled and Edited by
M. T. RICHARDSON,
/ /
Editor of "THK BLA^SJUUXU^AXD WHEELWRIGHT."
VOLUME I.
NEW YORK
M. T. RICHARDSON, PUBLISHER.
1889.
4>
COPYRIGHT, 1889,
BY M. T. RICHARDSON.
THE BEN-rRANKLIN PRESS,
45 TO 51 ROSE ST.,
NEW YORK.
PREFACE.
Although there are numerous legendary accounts
of the important position occupied by the black-
smith, and the honors accorded him even at a period
as remote in the world's history as the time of King
Solomon, strange to relate there is no single work in
the language devoted solely to the practice of the
blacksmith's art. Occasional chapters on the subject
may be found, however, in mechanical books, as well
as brief essays in encyclopedias. While fragmentary
allusions to this important trade have from time to
time appeared in newspapers and magazines, no
one has ever attempted anything like an exhaustive
work on the subject ; perhaps none is possible. This
paucity of literature concerning a branch of the
mechanic arts, without which other trades would
cease to exist from lack of proper tools, cannot be
attributed to a want of intelligence on the part of
the disciples of Vulcan. It is perfectly safe to
assert, that in this respect blacksmiths can hold their
own with mechanics in any other branch of industry.
From their ranks have sprung many distinguished
men. Among the number may be mentioned Elihu
IV PREFACE.
Burritt, known far and wide as the " learned black-
smith." The Rev. Robt. Colyer, pastor of the
leading Unitarian Church in New York City, started
in life as a blacksmith, and while laboring at the
forge, began the studies which have since made him
famous.
Exactly why no attempt has ever been made to
write a book on blacksmithing, it would be difficult
to explain. It is not contended that in the follow-
ing pages anything like a complete consideration of
the subject will be undertaken. For the most part
the matter has been taken from the columns of The
Blacksmith and Wheelwright, to which it was con-
tributed by practical men from all parts of the
American continent. The Blacksmith and Wheel-
wright y it may be observed, is at present the only
journal in the world which makes the art of black-
smithing an essential feature.
In the nature of things, the most that can be done
by the editor and compiler of these fragmentary
articles, is to group the different subjects together
and present them with as much system as possible.
The editor does not hold himself responsible for
the subject matter, or the treatment which each
topic receives at the hands of its author. There
may be, sometimes, a better way of doing a job
of work than the one described herein, but it is
believed that the average blacksmith may obtain
much information from these pages, even if oc-
PREFACE. V
casionally some of the methods given are inferior
to those with whidh he is familiar. The editor has
endeavored, so far as possible, to preserve the exact
language of each contributor.
While a skillful blacksmith of extended experience,
with a turn for literature, might be able to write a
book arranged more systematically, and possibly
treating of more subjects, certain it is that no one up
to the present time has ever made the attempt, and
it is doubtful if such a work would contain the
same variety of practical information that will be
found in these pages, formed of contributions from
hundreds of able workmen scattered over a wide
area.
THE EDITOR.
INTRODUCTION.
Some time since, Mr. G. H. Birch read a paper
before the British Architectural Association entitled:
"The Art of the Blacksmith." The essential por-
tions of this admirable essay are reproduced here
as a fitting introduction to this volume:
" It is not the intention of the present paper to
endeavor to trace the actual working of iron from
primeval times, from those remote ages when the
ever-busy and inventive mind of man first conceived
the idea of separating the metal from the ore, and
impressing upon the shapeless mass those forms of
offense or defense, or of domestic use, which oc-
casion required or fancy dictated.
" Legends, both sacred and profane, point retro-
spectively, the former to a Tubal Cain, and the
latter to four successive ages of gold and silver,
brass and iron. Inquiry stops on the very edge of
that vague and dim horizon of countless ages, nor
would it be profitable to unravel myths or legends,
or to indulge in speculation upon a subject so un-
fathomable. Abundant evidence is forthcoming not
only of its use in the weapons, utensils and tools of
Vlll INTRODUCTION.
remote times, but also of its use in decorative art ;
unfortunately, unlike bronze, which can resist the
destructive influence of climate and moisture, iron
whether in the more tempered form of steel or in
its own original state readily oxidizes, and leaves
little trace of its actual substance behind, so that
relics of very great antiquity are but few and far
between. It remains for our age to call in science,
and protect by" a lately discovered process the works
of art in this metal, and to transmit them uninjured
to future ages. In the
*w
RETROSPECTIVE HISTORY OF THE BLACKSMITH'S ART
no period was richer in inventive fancy than that
period of the so-called Middle Ages. England,
France, Italy, and more especially Germany, vied
with each other in producing wonders of art. The
anvil and the hammer were ever at work, and the glow
of the forge with its stream of upward sparks seemed
to impart, Prometheus-like, life and energy to the
inert mass of metal submitted to its fierce heat.
Nowhere at any period were the technicalities of iron
so thoroughly understood, and under the stalwart
arm of the smith brought to such perfection, both of
form and workmanship, as in Europe during this
period of the Middle Ages.
The common articles of domestic use shared the
influence of art alike with the more costly work
destined for the service of religion ; the homely
INTRODUCTION. IX
gridiron and pot-hook could compare with the
elaborate hinge of the church door or the grille
which screened the tomb or chapel. The very nail
head was a thing of beauty.
Of articles for domestic use of a very early period
handed down to our times we have but few speci-
mens, and this can easily be accounted for. The
ordinary wear and tear and frequent change of
proprietorship and fashion, in addition to the in-
trinsic value of the metal, contributed to their dis-
appearance. " New lamps for old ones," is a cease-
less, unchanging cry from age to age. In ecclesi-
astical metal-work, of course, the specimens are more
numerous and more perfectly preserved ; their con-
nection with the sacred edifices which they adorned
and strengthened proved their salvation.
IRON TO PROTECT THE HUMAN FORM.
Without going very minutely into the subject of
arms and armor, it is absolutely necessary to refer
briefly to the use of iron in that most important
element, in the protection of the human form, before
the introduction of more deadly weapons in the art of
slaying rendered such protection useless. In the
Homeric age such coverings seem to have been of
the most elaborate and highly wrought character,
for, although Achilles may be purely a hypothet-
ical personage, Homer, in describing his armor,
probably only described such as was actually in use
X INTRODUCTION.
in his own day, and may have slightly enriched it
with his own poetic fancy. From the paintings on
vases we know that sometimes rings of metal were
used, sewn on to a tunic of leather. They may have
been bronze, but there is also every reason to
believe that they were sometimes made of iron.
Polybius asserts that the Roman soldiers wore chain-
mail, which is sometimes described as " molli lorica
catena" and we find innumerable instances on
sculptured slabs of this use, and in London, among
some Roman remains discovered in Eastcheap and
Moor Lane, actual specimens of this ringed armor
occurred, in which the rings did not interlace as in
later specimens, but were welded together at the
edge* From this time there is authentic evidence of
its constant use. The Anglo-Saxons wore it, as it is
frequently described in manuscripts of this period.
Later on, the Bayeux tapestry represents it beyond
the shadow of a doubt, both in the manner as before
described and also in-scales overlapping one another ;
while the helmet of a conical shape, with a straight
bar in front to protect the nose, is also very ac-
curately figured. What we call
CHAIN-MAIL
proper did not appear before Stephen's reign, and
its introduction followed closely after the first
Crusade, and was doubtless derived from the East,
where the art of working in metals had long been
INTRODUCTION. XI
known and practised. The very term " mail "
means hammered, and from Stephen's time until that
of Edward III. it was universally used; but long
before the last mentioned period many improve-
ments, suggested by a practical experience, had
modified the complete coat of chain-mail. Little by
little small plates of iron fastened by straps and
buckles to the chain-mail, to give additional safety to
exposed portions of the person, gradually changed
the appearance, and developed at last into complete
plate armor, such as is familiar to us by the many
monumental brasses and effigies still extant ; the
chain-mail being only used as a sort of fringe to the
helmet, covering the neck, and as an apron, until
even this disappeared, although it was near the
end of the sixteenth century so far as Europe is
concerned before the chain-mail finally vanished.
After this date armor became more elaborately
decorated by other processes besides those of the
armorer's or smith's inventive genius. Damascen-
ing, gilding and painting were extensively employed,
and more especially engraving or chasing; and the
collections at the Tower and more particularly the
rich collection formed by her Imperial Majesty, the
ex-Empress of the French, at Pierrefonds, now at
the Hotel des Invalides show us to what a wonderful
extent this ornamentation of armor could be carried.
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries still
gave employment to the smith, until the utter in-
Xll INTRODUCTION.
ability of such a protection against the deadly
bullet, rendered its further use ridiculous, and in
these days it only appears in England in the modi-
fied form of a cuirass in the showy but splendid
uniform of the Horse and Life Guards or occasion-
ally in the Lord Mayor's show, when the knights
of old are represented by circus supernumeraries, as
unlike these ancient prototypes as the tin armor in
which they are uncomfortably encased resembles the
ancient.
With the armor the weapons used by its wearers
have been handed down to our time, and magnificent
specimens they are of an art which, although it may
not be entirely dead among us in these days, is cer-
tainly dormant so far as this branch of it is con-
cerned. The massive sword of the early mediaeval
period, which depended on its own intrinsic weight
and admirably tempered edge rather than on its or-
namentation ; the maces, battle-axes, halberds and
partisans, show a gradual increase of beauty and
finish in their workmanship. The sword and dagger
hilts became more and more elaborate, especially in
Germany, where the blade of the sword is often of
most eccentric form and pattern, as if it was in-
tended more to strike terror by its appearance than
by its actual application.
Many of the ancient sword-hilts preserved in
England, at the Musee d'Artillerie in Paris, and at
Madrid, Vienna, Dresden and Turin, are of the
INTRODUCTION. Xlll
most marvelous beauty and workmanship that it is
possible to conceive, more particularly those of the
sixteenth century. Italy and France vied with each
other in producing these art treasures of the craft of
the smith; Milan, Turin and Toledo were the prin-
cipal seats of industry, and in Augsburg, in Ger-
many, there lived and died generations of men who
were perfect masters in this art of the smith.
The decadence with regard to the weapon was as
marked as that of the armor ; the handle of the
sword became more and more enriched with the
productions of the goldsmith's and lapidary's art until
the swords became rather fitted to dangle as gilded
appendages against the embroidered cloaks or the
silken stockings of the courtier, than to clang with
martial sound against the steel-encased limbs of the
warrior.
It would be beyond the limits of the present paper
to enumerate the many examples of ancient work in
WEAPONS AND ARMOR
contained in the public museums of Europe, and
also in private collections. Armor is only mentioned
here to give an idea of the extent to which the art
of working in iron was carried, of the perfection it
attained, and how thoroughly the capabilities of
metal were understood, noting well that the casting
of the metal into molds was scarcely ever practised,
that it was entirely the work of the hammer and
XIV INTRODUCTION.
the anvil, that the different pieces were welded and
riveted by manual labor of the smith, and then sub-
sequently finished in the same manner by the various
processes of engraving, chasing and punching.
The next division of the subject is the use of
IRON IN ECCLESIASTICAL ART,
and this comprises hinges of doors, locks and fasten-
ings, screens, railings and vases. We have already
seen to what perfection it could be brought in defend-
ing man against his fellow man.; its nobler employ-
ment in the service of his Maker remains to be con-
sidered. The church door first engages our atten-
tion, the framing of the door requiring additional
strength beyond the ordinary mortising, dovetailing
and tenoning of the wood, and this additional
strength was imparted by the use of iron, and so
completely was this attained that we have only to
turn to numerous examples, still existing, to prove
the manner in which it was done and the form it
took. The hinge was usually constructed in the
following manner : a strong hook was buift into the
wall with forked ends well built into the masonry ;
on this hook was hung the hinge, which, for the con-
venience of the illustration, we will consider as simply
a plain strap or flat bar of wrought-iron, its orna-
mentation being a matter of after consideration ;
this strap had at one end a hollow tube or ring of
metal which fitted on to the hook, allowing the
INTRODUCTION. XV
hinge to turn ; the strap on the outside of the door
was longer than the one on the inside, with sufficient
space between the two to allow for the framing of
the door and its outside planking, and the back and
front straps were united by bolts, nails or rivets,
which passed through the thickness of the wood,
and firmly secured all, the form of the opening in
the masonry preventing, when once the door was
firmly fastened by a lock or bolt, its being forced up
from the hooks on which it hung. Allusion has been
made to the planking, which invariably covered the
framing ; beside the security of the strap this plank-
ing was also fastened to the frame by nail heads and
scrolls of metal, sometimes covering the whole of
the outside of the door with very beaut ful designs ; in
most cases the scrolls started from the plain strap,
but sometimes they were separate. This was the
usual construction, irrespective of century, which
prevailed in England. On the Continent, especially
in Italy, at Verona and Rome, and at other places,
the exteriors of doors were entirely covered with
plaques of bronze. A survival of the ancient classic
times,. that of Saint Zeno, Verona, is one of the most
remarkable, and is probably of Eastern work.
Although of bronze, and beyond the limits of the
present paper, allusion is made to it in consequence
of the ornamentation and nail heads, reminding one
of some of the earliest specimens of Norman or
twelfth-century metal in England and France.
XVI INTRODUCTION.
It would be difficult to decide which is really the
earliest
SPECIMEN OF AN IRON HINGE
in this country. Barfreston Church, in Kent, has
some early iron work on the doors, and the Cathedrals
of Durham and Ripon and St. Albans. It would
be hazardous to say that this last-mentioned specimen
is absolutely Norman ; although generally accounted
such, it is more probably twelfth-century. It occurs
on the door leading from the south transept into the
" Slype," the said door having two elaborate scroll
hinges, more quaint than beautiful, the scrolls being
closely set, and the foliage very stiff, the edge of
the leaves being cut into a continuous chevron with
a stiff curl at the termination ; the main part of the
band or strap, before it branches out into the scrolls
and foliage, being indented with a deep line in the
center. From this the section slopes on each side,
on which are engraved deeply a zigzag pattern
whose pointmeet forms a sort of lozenge, the sec-
tions of the scrolls and foliage being flat and
engraved with a single chevron. The whole of the
hinge is studded with small quartrefoil-headed nails
at regular distances. On the band from which the
foliage springs there is a peculiarly-formed raised
projection like an animal's head, slightly resembling
a grille at Westminster Abbey, to which reference
will be made : the hinge is either a rude copy of a
INTRODUCTION. XV11
thirteenth-century one, or it may be a prototype of
the later and richer work of the next era. On the
door of Durham Cathedral nave there is a very fine
specimen of a
KNOCKER,
called the "sanctuary" knocker, of a lion or cat
looking with erect ears, and surrounded by a stiff con-
ventional mane, from which the head projects con-
siderably ; and from the mouth, which is well gar-
nished with sharp teeth, depends a ring, the upper
part of which is flattened, and at the junction of the
circular and flat part on each side is the head of an
animal, from whose open mouth the flat part pro-
ceeds. It is a wonderfully spirited composition with
an immense deal of character about it, the deep
lines proceeding from the nose to the two corners of
the mouth reminding one of some of the Assyrian
work. The eyes project and are pierced ; it is
supposed that they were filled at the back with some
vitreous paste, but of this there is no proof. This
grim knocker played a very important part in early
times, for Durham Cathedral possessed the privilege
of " sanctuary " and many a poor hunted fugitive
must have frantically seized the knocker and woke
the echoes of Durham's holy shade, and brought by
its startling summons the two Benedictine monks
who kept watch and ward by day and night in the
chambers above the porch, and at once admitted him
XV111 INTRODUCTION.
into the sacred precinct, and, taking down the hur-
ried tale in the presence of witnesses, passed him to
the chambers kept ready prepared in the western
towers, where for the space of thirty-nine days he was
safe from pursuit, and was bound to be helped beyond
seas, out of the reach of danger. The peculiarity
attached to this Durham knocker must be the
excuse for this digression.
Examples of this sort of knockers, although not
necessarily " sanctuary " ones, are by no means un-
common. Beautiful examples exist at the collegiate
church of St. Elizabeth, Marburg, at the cathedral
of Erfurt, in Germany, and at the church of St.
Julian, Brionde, in Auvergne, France. The Erfurt
example is just as grim a monster as the Durham
one ; the mane in each case is very similar, but it
has the additional attraction of the figure of a man
between its formidable teeth, the head and fore part
of the body, with uplifted arms, projecting from the
mouth ; but the ring is plain, and it has an additional
twisted cable rim encircling the mane.
Farringdon Church, Berks, possesses a very beauti-
ful specimen of early metal-work in the hinges on
one of its doors, very much richer in detail than the
St. Albans example, a photograph of which is shown.
Roughly speaking, there are two hinges of not quite
similar design, with floriated scrolls and a very rich
band or strap between them, floriated at each end,
and at the apex a curious perpendicular bar terminat-
INTRODUCTION. XIX
ing at the lower end in the head of an animal, and at
the upper with scrolls fitting to the shape of the arch ;
the whole of the hinges, bands and scrolls are thickly
studded with nails and grotesque heads and beaten
ornaments. The church has been restored ; the stone
carving, which is of thirteenth-century character, is
entirely modern, and therefore misleading, and must
not be taken as the date of the door with its metal
work.
At Staplehurst Church, Kent, there was formerly
on one of the doors a very characteristic Norman
hinge, of a very early type ; but this church has also
undergone restoration, and a friend, to whom we are
indebted for the photograph of the Farringdon ex-
ample, states that this hinge was not there at his
last visit ; but in general form it resembles one at
Edstaston Church, Shropshire, which retains its orig-
inal hinges on the north and south doors of the nave.
There are many other examples scattered about Eng-
land, but all these Norman or twelfth-century hinges
follow more or less the same idea a broad strap ter-
minating in scrolls, and whose end next the stone-
work is intersected by another broad strap forming
nearly two-thirds of a circle, with scrolls at the ends ;
and between the two hinges by which the door is
actually hung, there is one or more flat bands, also
floriated, the iron-work protecting the whole surface
of the woodwork^J^S^ffSrfe^ompletelv as in the
next era.
XX INTRODUCTION.
In France the work was, like the architecture, a
little more advanced. Foliage was more extensively
used, the scrolls generally finished with a well-
molded leaf or rosette ; but the form of the scrolls is
still stiff and lacks the graceful flow of the thirteenth
century. Some of the best specimens are preserved
at the cathedrals of Angers, Le Puy, Noyeau, Paris,
and many others, especially at the Abbey of St. Denis.
DOOR WORK.
In addition to the metal-work on the doors, in
many of the large churches in France of the twelfth
century, the large wheel windows are filled with
ornamental iron grilles. Noyeau has a noted ex-
ample. These grilles were more particularly used
when" there was no tracery, the ramifications of. the
iron-work almost supplying the want of it. Viollet
le Due in his Dictionnaire Raissonne gives a very
beautiful example of this. The grilles referred to
are not the iron frames in which the twelfth and
thirteenth century stained glass is contained, as at
Canterbury, Bourges and Chartres, and in innumer-
able other instances, 'but 'were designed especially to
fill these large circular openings, and the effect is
very beautiful.
The next era -during which the smith's art seems to
have arrived at a culminating point is the thirteenth
century. We have an immense number of examples,
nor have we to go far to find them ; they are as well
INTRODUCTION. XXI
represented in England as on the Continent. The
idea is much the same as in the preceding century,
only the scrolls are easier in their curves, the folia-
tions more general, and the wood-work almost en-
tirely covered. In the cloisters of St. George's
Chapel, Windsor, is a nearly perfect example ; the
door occurs in Henry III.'s work, some very beauti-
ful wall arcading still remaining in juxtaposition.
The door itself is of more recent date, probably Ed-
ward IV. 's time, but the iron-work has belonged to
an earlier door. It can scarcely be called a hinge;
it is more correctly a covering of metal-work, and al-
though mutilated in parts, the design is exceedingly
beautiful. Each leaf of the door has three pointed
ovals, known technically as t the "vesica" shape;
these are intersected in the center perpendicularly by
a bar of iron, and from this and the vesicse spring vefy
beautiful curves, filling up the whole interstices.
The sides and arched top have an outer continuing
line of iron, from which spring little buds of foliage
at intervals ; the lower vesicae are now imperfect,
having one-third cut off, and the top continuing line
on the left is wanting. Between the first and second
panels are two circular discs with rings for handles,
seemingly of later date; the intersecting bar is not
continuous, but terminates close to the point of each
oval, with an embossed rosette, thickly studded with
small nails to attach it to the wood-work, and with
heads, bosses and leaves at intervals.
XX11 INTRODUCTION.
At York Minster there are splendid specimens of
metal work on two cope chests ; these chests are of
the shape of a quadrant of a circle, so as to obviate
folding the cope, often stiff with gold embroidery.
The lids open in the center more than once, and the
hinges with their scrolls cover the whole surface ;
the design and execution of the work being similar
to the previous example.
At Chester Cathedral there is an upright vestment
press in the sacristy, opening in three divisions of
one subdivision ; but in this case, as at Windsor, the
iron-work is more as a protection than as a hinge, for
the hinges are separate, being only small straps of
metal and not connected with the scrolls. The de-
sign is irregular, the center division having a per-
pendicular line from which spring five scrolls on each
side, with floriated ends ; the left-hand division has
one bold scroll in three curves, and the right-hand
division opens in two subdivisions, each having a
horizontal bar in the center, with scrolls springing
from each side, but reversed, the lower being the
boldest ; the center and right have continuing lines
on each side, but none at the top or bottom. This
example at Chester Cathedral is a very beautiful one,
and not so much known as it should be, or deserves.
At Ripon Cathedral there is also another vestment
press, but the hinges are plain strap hinges with a
stiff conventional series of curves on each side, more
curious, perhaps, than beautiful, The handle is a
INTRODUCTION. XX111
simple circular disc, with punched holes round the
outer circumference, and a drop ring handle. Ripon
Cathedral possesses also some very good hinges on
the south door of the choir, which may be twelfth
century, but if not, are certainly thirteenth century,
and they have no back straps.
Eaton Bray Church presents, on the south door, a
very fine specimen of early metal-work. Here the
door is again covered with the scrolls diverging from
three strap hinges reaching quite across the door,
the apex of the arched head being also filled with
scroll work ; portions of the bands are also orna-
mented with engraved work ; the leaves and rosettes
are punched. The ring and plate are perfect. This
specimen is in a very good state of preservation, only
some of the scrolls at the bottom being imperfect.
In the same church is another hinge of more simple
character, but of a very quaint design, and possessing
the peculiarity of being alike on both the inner and
outer sides of the door. In the Cathedral Close at
Norwich there are the remains of a beautiful specimen
of iron work covering one of the doors, but it is in a
sadly mutilated condition, the upper hinge being the
only one perfect; this has an outer iron band following
the outline of the door, though only one portion re-
mains, and between the two hinges is a horizontal bar
starting from a central raised boss from which hangs
the handle, the ends of the bar being floriated.
The examples enumerated here are only a few
XXIV INTRODUCTION. '
among many, a detailed description becoming monoto-
nous, for they all more or less follow one general ar-
rangement. The French examples differ slightly in
treatment, but there the strap is rather broader and
does not branch out into scrolls until it reaches
more than half across the door; the scrolls are shorter
and the foliage richer than in the English examples,
and the scrolls do not bear the same proportion to
the strap. A very good hinge is still to be seen on
the north door of Rouen Cathedral, Fortes de Cal-
endriers, and at Noyon Cathedral, on the door of the
staircase leading to the treasury. But hinges were
not the only things upon which the smith of the Mid-
dle Ages exerted his skill and ingenuity. The grilles
which protected the tombs in the interior of churches
and the opening in screens demanded alike the exer-
cise of both, and at Westminster Abbey there is still
preserved and replaced in situ, after having been for
many years thrown by on one side among useless
lumber, a specimen which any age or any clime might
justly be proud of. Around the shrine of Edward
the Confessor repose many of his successors, and this
chapel and shrine was exceedingly rich in costly gifts,
silver, gold and jewels being there in great abun
dance. Originally the only entrance to the chapel
was through the doors in the screen forming the
reredos of the high altar, and though considerably
elevated above the level of the pavement of the
surrounding aisle, it was not sufficiently secure to
INTRODUCTION. XXV
protect its precious contents, and there must have
been some screen or railing. At the close of the
thirteenth century the only royal tomb besides that
of the royal founder, Henry III., was that of his
daughter-in-law, Eleanor of Castile. Henry's tomb
was of a good height, but Eleanor's was not so lofty,
and there was the dread of the robbers making free
with the offerings to the shrine, as they had done
only a short time previously with the treasure which
the king had amassed for his Scotch wars, and which
was stolen from the treasury in the cloisters hard by.
A grille of beautiful workmanship was accordingly
placed on the north side of the tomb toward the aisle,
the top of the grille being finished with a formidable
row of spikes, or "chevaux de frise," as we now term
them, completely guarding the chapel on that side.
The framework of forged bars projects from the
tomb in a curve, and on the front of these bars is
riveted some exquisite scrollwork. It is difficult to
describe in detail this art treasure a photograph
only could do it justice; the wonderful energy and
beauty and minute variety thrown into the little
heads of animals, which hold the transverse bars in
their mouths,and the beauty of the leaves and rosettes,
scarcely two of which are alike, ate things which
must be seen to be appreciated. On the score
of anything very beautiful attributed to foreigners,
this iron work, like the beautiful effigy of the queen
whose tomb it guards, has been attributed to French
XXVI INTRODUCTION.
or Italian influence ; and the English Torell, who
molded and cast the bronze effigy, has been Italian-
ized into Torelli, a name which he never bore in his
lifetime. With regard to its being French, France
has now nothing existing resembling it in the slight-
est degree ; while the work in the cloister at St.
George's Chapel, Windsor, before referred to, does
resemble it slightly in some points. A very beauti-
ful grille exists at Canterbury Cathedral, screening
St. Anselm's Chapel from the south aisle and the
tomb -of Archbishop Meopham. This grille does re-
mind one of Italian or foreign work, but there is
every reason to believe it to be English ; its great
characteristic is its extreme lightness, for it is formed
of a series of double scrolls, only y 2 inch wide by y%
inch in thickness, 7^ in. high and 3^ in. broad,
placed back to back and fastened together and to
the continuous scrolls by small fillets or ribands of
iron wound round ; these being fixed into iron frames,
6 ft. 6 in. high by about 2 ft. 10 in. broad. This ex-
treme lightness makes it resemble the foreign ex-
amples. ^
THE EFFECT OF THE GREAT LONDON FIRE ON THE ART.
There is one 'particular phase of the smith's art in
England which deserves more than a passing notice.
The great impetus given to the industrial arts by the
universal re-building after the great fire of London
exercised a considerable influence on the art of the
INTRODUCTION. XXV11
smith, and there is the peculiarity attaching to the
revival that the productions are essentially English
and are unlike the contemporary work on the Conti-
nent, preserving an individuality perfectly marked
and distinct. One might almost call it a "school"
and it lasted for nearly a hundred years.
St. Paul's Cathedral, which was commenced in
1675 and the choir so far completed that it was
opened for service in 1697, possesses some of the
finest specimens of this date in the grilles and gates
inclosing the choir, and although one is bound to
confess that it was to a foreign and not to a native
artist that these are due, yet in many particulars they
resemble genuine English work. One has but to
compare these gates with others of the same date in
France to directly see the immense difference be-
tween them, as in the inclosures of the choir of the
Abbey church of St. Ouen, at Rouen, and at the
cathedral at Amiens The artist's name was Tijau
or Tijou, for the orthography is doubtful. In addi-
tion to these large gates, the original positions of
which have been altered since the rearrangement of
the cathedral, there are several smaller grilles in
some of the openings and escutcheons to some of
the internal gates with the arms of the Dean and
Chapter very beautifully worked into the design.
The whole of the ironwork at St. Paul's deserves a
close inspection. The outer railings, which are part-
XXV111 INTRODUCTION.
ly cast, are of Sussex iron and were made at Lam-
berhurst.
Most of the city churches have very good iron-
work, especially in the sword rests and communion
rails, some of the finest of the former being at All-
hallows Barking, St. Andrew Undershaft, and St.
Mary at Hill, and the latter at St. Mary, Woolmoth.
The altars of some of these city churches are
marble slabs supported on a frame of wrought iron-
work. In the church of St. Michael, Queenhythe,
now destroyed, there was a very curious iron bracket,
with pulley and chain for the font cover, and some
wrought-iron hat rails. Though the hinges and locks
of these churches are not remarkable, many of the
vanes are curious. St. Lawrence Jewry has a grid-
iron in allusion to the martyrdom of the saint. St.
Mildred, Poultry, and St. Michael, Queenhythe, both
destroyed, bore ships in full sail ; St. Peter's, Corn-
hill, the cross keys ; St. Mary-le-Bone has a flying
dragon ; and St. Antholin, Budge Row, had a very
fine vane surmounted by a crown. The destruction
of this church and spire, one of the most beautiful in
the city, will ever be a lasting disgrace to those who
brought it about. In the church of St. Dionis Back-
church, at the west end, supporting the organ gallery,
stood square columns of open work of wrought iron,
and with very nicely wrought caps, but the church
has also been destroyed, and the pillars probably sold
for old iron. Some of the brass chandeliers, where
INTRODUCTION. XXIX
they had not been made away with, to be replaced
by gas standards or brackets, are suspended by iron-
work more or less ornamented and gilded, a good
specimen having existed at the church of St. Cathe-
rine Cree, and there is still one remaining at St. Sa-
viour's, Southwark. At St. Alban's, Wood street, a
curious hour-glass is preserved in a wrought-iron
frame, a relic of Puritan times ; and though hour-
glasses and their stands are not uncommon, it is a
comparative rarity when found in a church of the
date of St. Alban's, Wood street.
The smith also found plenty of occupation in mak-
ing railings and gates for public bodies and for pri-
vate houses, and wrought-iron handrails to staircases.
One of the most beautiful specimens of the art of the
seventeenth century is to be seen in a pair of gates
at the end of a passage or hall in the building occu-
pied by the managers and trustees of the Bridewell
Hospital, Bridge street, Blackfriars ; the wrought
leaves and scrolls are very rich, being designed for
internal work, and date from very soon after the fire
of London.
The honorable and learned societies of Gray's Inn,
and the Inner Temple have fine scroll entrance-gates
to their respective gardens, and scattered about in
the suburbs at Clapham, Chelsea, Fulham, Stoke
Newington, Stratford-by-Bow and Hampstead are
fine entrance gates, whose designs are doubtless very
familiar, since there is scarcely an old brick mansion
XXX INTRODUCTION.
with red-tiled roof and dormer windows and walled
garden that does not possess them. There is con-
siderable beauty about these gates ; notably in the
way in which the upright standards are a ! ternated
with panels of scroll-work, and the upper part en-
riched with scrolls and leaves and the initials of the
owner or his arms worked in, some of this work in-
deed being very delicate and refined, especially with
regard to the foliage. But the chief glory of the
English school of this date is the wonderful work upon
the gates, now preserved at Kensington Museum,
formerly adorning the gardens at Hampton Court
Palace, and the work of Huntingdon Shaw. These
are far superior to the gates in St. Paul's Cathedral,
for the latter are a little too architectural in their
treatment, Corinthian pilasters being freely intro-
duced, while these Hampton Court ones are free
from any approach to architectural forms in iron and
rely for effect solely upon the bold curves and sweeps
of the scrolls, the richness of the acanthus-like foli-
age and the delicacy of the center medallions. The
wreaths, which are suspended from the top, are won-
derfully modeled, some of the flowers introduced
being almost as delicate as the natural ones they
represent, or rather reproduce in iron ; one
medallion in particular, being truly exquisite. At
the top of each of the gates are some fine masks, in
some cases surrounded by foliage, and each gate
is different -in design, although they resemble one
INTRODUCTION. XXXI
another in general form. South Kensington Mu-
seum possesses six of these gates one with a rose,
another with the rose of England surrounded by
small buds and leaves, a thistle ; this last one is su-
perbly modeled, the peculiarity and bend of the leaf
being accurately rendered. Another has the harp
of Ireland, but with strings rent and broken, emblem-
atic of the present state of that unhappy country ;
and three have the initials of William of Orange and
Mary Stuart. If William's name in these days may
not be quite so popular as it once was, and if he did
but little for the country over which he was called
to govern by a dominant party, at least he was the
means of calling into existence these exquisite works
of art, which hold their own against any foreign pro-
duction, and place the smith, Huntingdon Shaw,
foremost among those who, working with stalwart
arm, with anvil and hammer, were able to throw life
and energy into the dull mass of metal before them.
In the staircase of a house in Lincoln's Inn Fields,
at No. 35, there is a wonderful specimen of awrought-
iron staircase. At present this wrought work termi-
nates at the first floor, but there is evidence of it hav-
ing been continued to the second floor, a panel hav
ing been once sold at Christy's for ^40 which pur-
ported to have come from No. 35 Lincoln's Inn
Fields, and had been removed in consequence of ex-
tensive alterations in the interior. Thrj^il in nm
posed of separate standards, with
XXX11 INTRODUCTION.
until it reaches the landing, which sweeps round a
circular well-hole ; round this the standards cease,
and are replaced by an extraordinarily fine panel, in
which one can recognize the same hand as in Hamp-
ton Court gates. There is the same wonderfully
modeled mask with foliage proceeding from it, the
same sort of wreath depending in advance of the
other work, the rich acanthus foliage partly masking
the boldly designed scrolls beneath, betraying the
hand of Huntingdon Shaw or his school. The date
would also fit, for this house and the next are tradi-
tionally supposed to have been designed by Christo-
pher Wren for the Solicitor and Attorney-Generals
about 1695-96, the date of the Hampton Court work.
The center oval medallion of this panel has unfortu-
nately gone, and is replaced by some initials in cast
iron ; but it probably contained some of those beauti-
fully modeled bunches of flowers which appear on
the Hampton Court gates.
T
PRACTICAL BLACKSMITHING.
CHAPTER I.
ANCIENT AND MODERN HAMMERS.
A trite proverb and one quite frequently quoted
in modern mechanical literature is, " By the
hammer and hand all the arts do stand." These
few words sum up a great deal of informa-
ELKVATION. SECTION.
FIG. 1 A TAPPING HAMMER OF STONE.
tion concerning elementary mechanics. If we
examine some of the more elaborate arts of modern
times, or give attention to pursuits in which com-
plicated mechanism is employed, we may at first .be
impressed that however correct this expression may
BLACKSMITHING.
have been in the past, it is not applicable to the
present day. But if we pursue our investigations
far enough, and trace the progress of the industry
under* consideration, whatever may be its nature
END ELEVATION.
SIDE ELEVATION.
SECTION.
FIG. 2 PERFORATED HAMMER HEAD OF STONE.
back to its origin, we find sooner or later that both
hammer and hand have had everything to do with
establishing and maintaining it. If we investigate
textile fabrics, for instance, we find they are the
BLACKSMITHING. 3
products of looms. In the construction of the
looms the hammer was used to a certain extent,
but back of them there were other machines of
varying degrees of excellence, in which the hammer
played a still more important part, until finally we
reach a point where the hammer and hand laid the
very foundation of the industry. It would be
necessary to go back to this point in order to start
anew in case by some unaccountable means our
present equipment of machinery should be blotted
out of existence. The wonderful mechanism of
modern shoe factories, for another example, has
superseded the cobbler's hammer, but on the other
hand the hammer and hand by slow degrees through
various stages produced the machinery upon which
we at present depend for our footwear. And so
it is in whatever direction we turn. The v hammer
in the hands of man is discovered to be at the
bottom of all the arts and trades, if we but go back
far enough in our investigation. From an inquiry of
this kind the dignity and importance of the smith's
art is at once apparent. While others besides him
use hammers, it is to the smith that they all must
go for their hammers. The smith, among all
mechanics, enjoys the distinction of producing his
own tools. A consideration of hammers, therefore,
both ancient and modern, becomes a matter of
special interest to blacksmiths of the present day
well as' to artisans generally.
.
4 BLACKSMTTHING.
The prototype of the hammer is found in the
clinched fist, a tool or weapon, as determined by
circumstances and conditions, that man early,
learned to use, and which through all the genera-
tions he has found extremely useful. The fist, con-
sidered as a hammer, is one of the three tools for
external use with which man is provided by
nature, the other two being a compound vise, and a
scratching or scraping tool, both of which are also
in the hand. From using the hand 4 as a hammer
our early inventors must have aerived the idea of
artificial hammers, tools which should be serviceable
where the fist was insufficient. From noting the
action of the muscles of the hand the first idea of a
vise must have been obtained, while by similar
reasoning all our scraping and scratching tools, our
planes and files, our rasps, and, perhaps, also some of
our edged tools, were first suggested by the finger
nails. Upon a substance softer than itself the fist
can deal an appreciable blow, but upon a substance
harder than itself the reaction transfers the blow to
the flesh and the blood of nature's hammer, much
to the discomfort of the one using it. After a few
experiments of this kind, it is reasonable to suppose
that the primitive man conceived the idea of rein-
forcing the hand by some hard substance. At the
outset he probably grasped a rounded stone, and
this made quite a serviceable tool for the limited
purposes of the time. His arm became the handle,
BLACKSMITHING. 5
while his fingers were the means of attaching the
hammer to the handle. Among the relics of the
past, coming from ages of which there is no written
history, and in time long preceding the known use
of metals, are certain rounded stones, shaped, it is
supposed, by the action of the water, and of such a
form as to fit the hand. These stones are known
to antiquarians by the name of " mauls," and were,
undoubtedly, the hammers of our prehistoric ances-
tors. Certain variations in this form of hammer
are also found. For that tapping action which in
our minor wants is often more requisite than blows,
a stone specially prepared for this somewhat deli-
cate operation was employed, an illustration of
which is shown in Fig. i. A stone of this kind
would, of course, be much lighter than the " maul "
already described. The tapping hammer, a name
appropriate to the device, was held between the
finger and the thumb, the cavities at the sides being
for the convenience of holding it. The original
from which the engraving was made bears evidence
of use, and shows traces of having been employed
against a sharp surface.
The " maul " could not have been a very satisfac-
tory tool even for the work it was specially calcu-
lated to perform, and the desire for something
better must have been early felt. To hold a stone
in the hollow of the hand and to strike an object
with it so that the reaction of the blow should be
O BLACKSMITHING.
mainly met by the muscular reaction of the back of
the hand and the thinnest section of the wrist is
not only fatiguing, but is liable to injure the delicate
network of muscles found in these parts. It may have
been from considerations of this sort that the
double-ended mauls also found in the stone age
were devised. These were held by the hand grasp-
ing the middle of the tool, and were undoubtedly a
great improvement over the round mauls. Experi-
ence, however, soon suggested that in even this
form there was much wanting. It still lacked
energy to overcome reactions, the office which th*e
wooden handle so successfully performs. Experi-
ments were, therefore, early made in the direction of
a more suitable handle than the unassisted arm and
of a proper connection between the hammer and
the handle. The first attempts were doubtless in
the use of withes, by which handles were attached
to such of the double-ended mauls as may have
seemed suitable for the purpose. This means of
fastening the handle is seen to the present day
among half-civilized nations, and in some cases is
even practised by blacksmiths to whom are avail-
able other and more modern means. Evidences of
a still further advance are, however, found at almost
the same period, for in the geological records of
the stone age are met double mauls with holes
through their centers for the insertion of a handle
In some instances these holes are found coned, and
BLACKSMITHING. 7
are almost as well adapted for the reception of
hammer handles as the best tools of modern times.
An illustration of one of these primitive tools is
presented in Fig. 2.
From this it will be seen that the advance toward
a perfect hammer in the earliest periods was impor-
tant as well as rapid. All the preliminary experi-
menting to the development of a perfect tool was
done by men who lived and worked before history
commenced to be written. What remained to be
done by the fraternity was entirely in the direction
of more suitable material, and in the adaptation of
form to meet special requirements. While princi-
ples were thus clearly established at an early day,
very slow progress seems to have been made in
applying them and in perfecting the hammer of the
modern artisan. Between the " maul " of the sav-
age of the stone age and a " Maydole " hammer,
what a gulf! From the "tapping hammer" of
stone, illustrated in Fig. i, to a jeweler's hammer of
the present day, what a change ! Between the
double-faced perforated stone hammer, shown in
Fig. 2, and the power forging hammers of modern
practice, what a series of experiments, what a record
of progress, what a host of inventors ! In whatever
direction we turn and from whatever standpoint we
view the hammer there are clustered around it facts
and legends, historical notes and mechanical princi-
ples, to the consideration of some of which a portion
of our space may be well devoted.
8 BLACKSMITHING.
To trace the origin of the hammer, commencing
with its prototype, the human fist, and advancing
step by step through the stone age, where fragments
of rocks were made to do roughly the work that better
tools afterwards performed, and so down the ages until
the finished hammer of the present day is reached,
would read like a romance. Like a pleasing story
it would, perhaps, be of very little practical value,
however entertaining the narrative might be, and,
therefore, we shall not follow the development of
the hammer too minutely. We desire to interest
our readers, but we also hope to do more than
simply amuse them.
The hammer has been justly called the king
of tools. It has been sung by poets, and made
the central figure of graphic scenes by some
of the world's most noted writers. Sir Walter Scott
has turned it to good account in some of his stories.
The poet of modern history, however, is yet to
come ; but when his day appears there will be much
of suggestive incident from which he can fashion his
song. Some of the most beautiful and delicate
works that has ever been produced by the hand of man
has been wrought by the hammer, and the skillful
hammerman is well worthy of admiration. The
fabled hammer of Thor is scarcely an exaggeration of
the giant tools in actual use to-day in scores of iron
works, and it would appear that the mythology makers
of ancient times really saw visions of the coming ages,
BLACKSMITHING. 9
when they wove the wonderful stories that were a
part of the religion of our ancestors.
We are very apt to look upon the hammer as a
rude instrument. We overlook the scientific princi-
ples involved in its construction and use, and pay too
little attention to the materials of which it is fash-
ioned and the forms in which it is made. We fre-
quently look upon it merely as an adjunct to other
tools, and forget that it is entitled to consideration
as a sole independent and final tool. In some
handicrafts, and these, too, involving a high class of
finished work the hammer is the only tool em-
ployed. That great artistic skill in the use of the
hammer as a finishing tool can be acquired is mani-
fest from the many beautiful specimens of rdpousst
work to be seen in silversmiths' shops. The details
of the ornamentation are not only minute, but they
so harmonize as to give elegance and expression to
the whole, exclusive of the form of the articles them-
selves. A glance into the art stores in any of the
cities will reveal specimens of hammered work of
this sort, or of duplications of them, made by electro-
plating or by stamping with dies. The excellence,
and, consequently, the value of these copies depends
upon the closeness of imitation to the original ; and
as they are for the most part very clever specimens
in this particular, they serve as illustrations in point
almost as well as the originals. Those of our readers
who are interested in the capabilities and possibili-
10 BLACKSMITHING.
ties of the hammer will be interested in an examina-
nation of some of these pieces of work. They are
mostly of brass and copper, and in both originals
and copies the tool marks are faithfully preserved.
The esteem in which they are held may be judged
from the statement that a piece of work of this kind
about half the size of one of these pages sometimes
fetches as much as $25, while shields of a larger
size frequently sell for three and four times this
sum. Choice originals are cherished in museums
and are beyond the reach of money to buy. Other
examples of hammer work might be mentioned, for
example, the ancient wrought-iron gates, hinges and
panels, representations of which are frequently met
in art books. The suits of mail, and choice armor,
most of which the ancient warriors were wont to
clothe themselves in, are also examples in point.
As marvelous as these examples of ancient work
may seem, we think there are modern applications
of the hammer that are quite a wonderful.
THE HAMMER.*
# # # , The hammer is generally known as a
rude instrument, but as a matter of fact it is in some
of its uses a very refined one, requiring great care
and skill in its use. * * *
Time forbids that I should refer to more than a
few prominent forms of hammers. The carpenter's
*[From a lecture delivered before the Franklin Institute, by Joshua Rose, M. E., Phila-
delphia.]
BLACKSMITHING.
I I
mallet has a large rectangular head, because, as his
tools are held in wooden handles, he must not use a
hard substance to drive them with, or he will split
the handles. Wood being light, he must have a
large head to the mallet in order to give it weight
enough.
THE STONE-MASON'S MALLET.
The stone-mason uses a wooden mallet, because
FIG. 3-AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PROCESS OF STRETCHING WITH
THE HAMMER.
it delivers just the kind of dull blow that is required.
His mallet head is made circular, because his tools
are steel, and have no wooden handles, and he is
able to use the whole circumference, and thus
vent the tools from wearing holes in the
Kt
^-
12 BLACKSMITHING.
mallet face. The handles of both these mallets are
short, because they will strike a sufficiently powerful
blow without being used at a great leverage. On
the other hand, the stone-breaker's hammers have
long handles, to avoid the necessity of stooping.
The pattern-maker's hammer is long and slender ;
long, that it may reach down into recesses and cavi-
ties in the work, and slender, because, being long, it has
weight enough without being stout. Now, take the
blacksmith's sledge, and we find the handle nearer to
the pene, or narrow end, than it is to the broad-faced
end, while the pavior's sledge has the handle in the
middle of its length. If we seek the reason for
these differences, it will readily occur to us that the
blacksmith's helper or striker delivers most of his
blows in a vertical direction, and uses mainly the
face and not the pene of the hammer, and by hav-
ing the eye, and therefore the handle, nearest to
the pene end, the face end naturally hangs down-
ward, because, as held by the handle, the face end is
the heaviest, and, as a result, he needs to make but
little, if any effort, to keep the face downward. The
pavior's work, however, lies near the ground, and he
uses both faces, his hammer not requiring a pene.
Hence the handle is placed central, balancing both
faces equally.
THE MACHINIST'S HAMMER.
The machinist's hammer is also made heavier on the
face than on the pene end-, so that the face which he
BLACKSMITHING. 13
uses the most will hang downward without any
special effort to keep it so. His chipping hammer,
which he also uses for general purposes, weighs in
the heaviest kinds i^ pounds, and the handle should
be 15 inches long. He wields it for heavy chipping,
with all. the force he can command, obeying the law
that it is velocity rather than weight that gives pene-
tration. '1 hus, supposing a hammer weighing 100
pounds is traveling at a velocity of ten feet per
second, and the power stored up in it is 1,000 foot-
pounds. Another hammer, weighing one pound and
traveling 1,000 feet per second, would also have
stored up in it 1,000 foot-pounds. Hence the power
is equal in the two, but the effects of their blows
would be quite different. If they both struck a block
of iron we should find that the effects of the
quick moving hammer would sink deeper, but would
spread out less sidewise, giving it a penetrating
quality ; while the slow-moving one would affect the
iron over a wider area and sink less deeply. To cite
an important operation in which this principle must
be recognized : Suppose we have a wheel upon a
shaft, and that the key is firmly locked between the
two. In driving it out we know that, if we take a
heavy hammer and strike slow, moving blows we
shall spread the end of the key riveting it up and
making it more difficult to drive out ; so we take
a hammer having less weight and move it qificker.
H BLACKSMITHING.
I
USES OF THE HAMMER.
In whatever form we find the hammer, it is used
for three purposes only, namely, to crush, to drive
and to stretch. And the most interesting of these
operations are stretching and driving. The gold-
beater, the blacksmith, the sawmaker, the plate
straightener and the machinist, as well as many
others, employ the hammer to stretch ; while the
carpenter, the machinist, and others too numerous
to mention, use the hammer to drive. Among the
stretching operations there are many quite interest-
ing ones. Here in Fig. 3, for example, is a piece of
iron, two inches wide, and an inch thick, bent to the
shape of the letter u. This piece of wire is, you
observe, too short to fit between the jaws, and I will
now bend the piece and close the jaws by simply
hammering the outside of the curved end with a
tack hammer. The proof that the blows have bent
the piece is evident, because the piece of wire now
fits tightly instead of being loose, as before the
hammering. The principle involved in this opera-
tion is that the blows have stretched the outer sur-
face, or outside curve, making it longer and forcing
the jaws together. If we perform a similar operation
upon a straight piece* of metal, the side receiving
the blows will actually rise up, becoming convex
and making the other side concave, giving us the
seeming anomaly of the metal moving in the oppo-
site direction to that in which the blows tend to
BLACKSMITHING, 15
force it. This process is termed pening, because,
usually, the pene of the hammer is used to perform
it. It is sometimes resorted to in order to straighten
the frame-work of machines, and even to refit work
that has worn loose.
STRAIGHTENING PLATES AND SAWS.
Straightening thin metal plates and saws form
very interesting examples of the stretching process,
and are considered very skillful operations. Some
few years ago I was called upon to explain the prin-
ciples involved in this kind of straightening, and
having no knowledge of the subject, I visited a large
saw factory to inquire about it. I was introduced
to one of the most skillful workmen, and the object
of my visit was made known to him. He informed
me that it was purely a matter of skill, and that it
was impossible to explain it.
" I will show you how it is done," said he, and
taking up a hand-saw blade, he began bending it
back and forth with his hands, placing them about
eight inches apart' upon the blade.
" What do you do that for?" I asked.
" To find out where it is bent," he replied.
* # * * *
I spent two hours watching this man and question-
ing him, but I left him about as much in the dark as
ever.
Then I visited a large safe-making factory, know-
16 BLACKSMITHING.
ing that the plates for safes required to be very nicely
straightened. The foreman seemed very willing to
help me, and took me to the best straightener in the
shop, who duly brought a plate for a safe door and
straightened it for me. Then he brought another,
and as soon as he stood it on edge and began to
sight it with his eye, I asked him why he did that.
" Because the shadows on the plate disclose the
high and the low patches."
" In what way?" I asked.
" Well, the low patches throw shadows,'* he re-
plied, and the conversation continued about as fol-
lows :
" When you have thus found a low place, what do
you do ? "
" I hammer it out."
I sighted the plate and made a chalk mark inclos-
ing the low spot, and he laid the plate upon the
anvil and struck it several blows.
" Why did you strike the plate in that particular
spot ? " I asked.
" Because that is where I must hit it to straighten
it."
" Who told you that this particular spot was the
one to be hammered ? "
" Oh ! I learned some years ago."
" But there must be some reason in selecting that
spot, and that is what I wanted to find out."
" Yes, I suppose there is a reason for it, but if it
BLACKSMITHING. 17
had been a different kind of hollow place I wouldn't
have hit it there at all."
"Why not?"
" Because I should have had to hit it somewhere
else."
And so it went on, until finally I got some pieces of
twisted p[ate, one with a bulge on one edge, another
with a bulge in the middle, and he straightened
them while I kept up my questions. But still the
mystery remained, nor did I seem any nearer to a
solution ; so I abandoned the attempt.
About six months after this I met by chance, an
Eastern plate straightener, and on relating this
experience to him he offered to go into the shop
and explain the matter.
We went, and taking up a plate one-eighth inch
thick, two feet wide and four long, he laid one end
on an anvil and held up the other wjth his left hand,
while with his right hand he bent or rather sprung
the plate up and down, remarking as he did so :
" Now you just watch the middle of this plate, and
you will see as I swing it the middle moves most,
and the part that moves most is a loose place. The
metal round about it is too short and is under too
much tension. Now, if I hammer this loose place,
I shall stretch it and make it wide, so I hammer the
places round about it that move the least, stretching
them so that they will pull the loose place out
Now, with a very little practice you could take out
l8 BLACKSMITHING.
a loose place as well as I can, but when it comes to
a thick plate the case is more difficult, because you
cannot bend the plate to find the tight and loose
places, so you stand it on edge, and between you and
the window, the light and shades show the high and
low patches just as a landscape shows hills and
valleys."
I selected several examples of twisted and crooked
FIG. 4 THE LONG CROSS-FACE HAMMER.
plates and he straightened them for me, explaining
the reasons for each step in the process, and as this
forms one of the most interesting operations per-
formed by the hammer, I may as well speak some-
what in detail of hammers, the way they are used,
and the considerations governing their application to
the work.
Fig. 4 represents what is called the long cross-
BLACKSMITHING. IQ
face hammer, used for the first part of the process,
which is called the smithing. The face that is
parallel to the handle is the long one, and the other
is the cross-face. These faces are at a right angle
one to the other, so that without changing his posi-
tion the operator may strike blows that will be
lengthways in one direction, as at A, in Fig. 5, and
by turning the other face toward the work he may
strike a second series standing as at B. Now, sup-
pose we had a straight plate and delivered these
two "series of blows upon it, and it is bent to the
m M|
KMS Cf ==
ii m
Ml'tltiti i^=
FIG. 5 SHOWING HOW THE CROSS-FACE HAMMER OPERATES IN
TWO DIRECTIONS.
shape shown in Fig. 6, there being a straight wave
at A, and a seam all across the pla.te at,/?, but
rounded in its length, so that the plate will be high-
est in the middle, or at C. If we turn the plate
over and repeat the blows against the same places,
it will become flat again.
FORM OF HAMMER FOR STRAIGHTENING SAWS.
To go a little deeper into the requirements of the
shape of this hammer, for straightening saws^^^
2O BLACKSMITHING.
say that -both faces are made alike, being rounded
across the width and slightly rounded in the length,
the amount of this rounding in either direction being
important, because if the hammer leaves indenta-
tions, or what are technically called "chops," they will
appear after the saw has been ground up, even
though the marks themselves are ground out, be-
cause in the grinding the hard skin of the plate is
removed, and it goes back to a certain and minute
extent toward its original shape. This it will do
more in the spaces between the hammer blows than
it will where the blows actually fell, giving the sur-
face a slightly waved appearance.
PIG. 6 ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION OF THE STRAIGHTENING
PROCESS.
The amount of roundness across the face regu-
lates the widths, and the amount of roundness in
the face length regulates the length of the hammer
marks under any given force of blow. As the
thicker the plate the more forcible the blow, there-
fore the larger dimensions of the hammer mark. .*
* * This long cross-face is used again after the
saws have been ground up, but the faces are made
BLACKSMITHING. 21
more neaily flat, so that the marks will not sink
so deeply, it being borne in mind, however, that
in no case must they form distinct indentations or
" chops."
In Fig. 7 we have the twist hammer, used for pre-
cisely the same straightening purposes as the en ss-
face, but on long and heavy plates and for the fol-
lowing reasons :
When the operator is straightening a short saw
FIG. 7- THE TWIST HAMMER.
he can stand close to the spot he is hammering, and
the arm using the hammer may be well bent at the
elbow, which enables him to see the work plainly,
and does not interfere with the use of the hammer,
while the shape of the smithing hammer enables
him to bend his elbow and still deliver the blows
lengthways, in the required direction. But when a
long and heavy plate is to be straightened, the
22 BLACKSMITHING.
end not on the anvil must be supported with the
left hand, and it stands so far away from the anvil
that he could not bend his elbow and still reach the
anvil. With the twist hammer, however, he can
reach his arm out straight forward to the anvil,
to reach the work there, while still holding up the
other end, which he could not do if his elbow was
bent. By turning the twist hammer over he can
FIG. 8 THE DOG-HEAD HAMMER.
vary the direction of the blow, the same as with the
long cross-face. * * *
Both of these hammers are used only to straighten
the plates, and not to regulate their tension, for you
must understand that a plate may be flat and still
have in it unequal strains ; that is to say, there may
exist in different locations internal strains that are not
strong enough to bend the plate out of truth, as it is,
BLACKSMITHING.
but which will tend to do so if the slightest influence
is exerted in their favor, as will be the case when
the saw is put to work. When a plate is* in this
condition it is said to have unequal tension, and it
is essential to its proper use that this be remedied.
The existence of unequal tension is discovered by
bending the plate with the hands, as has been
already mentioned, and it is remedied by the use of
the dog-head hammer, shown in Fig. 8, whose face
#
FIG. 9 SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE IN THE EFFECTS OF TWIST
AND DOG-HEAD HAMMER BLOWS.
is rounded so that the effects of its blow will extend
equally all around the spot struck. It will readily be
understood that the effects of the blow delivered
by the smithing, or by the twist hammer, will be
distributed as in Fig. 7, at A B, while those of the
dog-head will be distributed as in Fig. 9, at C, gradu-
ally diminishing as they pass outward from the
spot struck ; hence the dog-head exerts the more
equalizing effect.
USE OF THE DOG-HEAD HAMMER.
Now, while the dog-head is used entirely for
24 BLACKSMITHING.
regulating the tension, it may also be used for the
same purposes as either the long cross-face, or the
twist hammer, because the smith operates to equalize
the tension at the same time that he is taking down
the lumps ; hence he changes from one hammer to
the other in an instant, and if after regulating the
tension with the dog-head he should happen to re-
quire to do some smithing, before regulating the ten-
sion in another, he would go right on with the dog-
head and do the intermediate smithing without
changing to the smithing hammer. Or, in some
cases, 'he may use the long cross-face to produce a
similar effect to that of the dog-head, by letting the
blows cross each other, thus distributing the ham-
mer's effects more equally than if the blows all lay in
one direction.
BLACKSMITIIING. 25
CHAPTER II.
ANCIENT TOOLS.
A paper that was recently read before a scientific
association in England, gives interesting particulars
about tools used by the artisans who worked on the
ancient buildings of Egypt, and other moribund
civilizations. The subject proved specially valuable
in showing how skilled artisans performed their
work 4,000 years ago. The great structures whose
ruins are scattered all over North Africa and Asia
Minor, demonstrate that great artisan and engineer-
ing skill must have been exercised in their construc-
tion, but when parties interested in mechanical
manipulations tried to find out something about the
ancient methods of doing work, they were always
answered by vague platitudes about lost arts and
stupendous mechanical powers which had passed into
oblivion. A veil of mystery has always been found a
convenient covering for a subject that was not under-
stood. The average literary traveler who helped
to make us the tons of books that have been written
about Oriental ruins, had not the penetration or the
trained skill to reason from the character and marks
26 BLACKSMITHING.
on work what kind of a tool was employed in fashion-
ing it.
A trained mechanic, Flanders Petrie, happened
round Egypt lately, and his common-sense observa-
tions and deductions have elucidated many of the
mysteries that hung round the tools and methods of
ancient workmen. From a careful collection of half
finished articles with the tool marks fresh upon them
and in that dry climate there seems to be no decay
in a period of four thousand years he proves very
conclusively that the hard diorite, basalt and granite,
were cut with jewel-pointed tools used in the form of
straight and circular saws, solid and tubular drills
and graving tools, while the softer stones were
picked and brought to true planes by face-plates.
That circular saws were used the proof is quite
conclusive, for the recurring cut circular marks are
as distinctly seen on these imperishable stones as
are the saw marks from a newly cut pine plank.
This proof of the existence of ancient circular saws is
curious, for that form of saw is popularly believed to
be of quite modern invention. That another device,
supposed to be of recent origin, was in common use
among Pharaoh's workmen is proved by the same
authority. We have met several mechanics who
asserted that they made the first face-plate that was
ever used in a machine shop, and we have read of
several other persons who made the same claims, all
within this century. Now this practical antiquary
BLACKSMITHING. 27
has gone to Egypt and reported that he found the
ochre marks on stones made by face-plates that were
used by these old-time workmen to bring the sur-
faces true.
As steel was not in use in those days the cutting
points for tools must have been made of diamond or
other hard amorphous stone set in a metallic base.
The varied forms of specimens of work done, show
that the principal cutting tools used were long
straight saws, circular disc saws, solid drills, tubular
drills, hand grainers and lathe cutters, all of these
being made on the principle of jewel points, while
metallic picks, hammers and chisels were applied
where suitable. Many of the tools must have
possessed intense rigidity and durability, for frag-
ments of work were shown where the cutting was
done very rapidly, one tool sinking into hard granite
one-tenth inch at each revolution. A curiosity in the
manner of constructing tubular drills might be worthy
of the attention of modern makers of mining machin-
ery.
The Egyptians not only set cutting jewels round
the edge of the drill tube, as in modern crown drills,
but they set them in the sides of the tube, both inside
and outside. By this means the hole was continually
reamed larger by the tool, and the cone turned down
smaller as the cutting proceeded, giving the means
of withdrawing the tool more readily.
As indications on the work prove that great pres-
28
BLACKSMITHING.
sure must have been required to keep the tools cut-
ting the deep grooves they made at every sweep, the
inference is that tools which could stand the hard
service they were subjected to, must have been mar-
velously well made.
AN AFRICAN FORGE.
In describing his African journey up the Cam
FIG. io AN AFRICA'N FORGE.
eroons River from Bell Town to Budiman, Mr. H.
H. Johnston refers to a small smithy, visited at the
latter town, in which he came across a curious-look-
ing forge. Many varieties of African forges had
BLACKSMITHING. 2Q
been noted by him, but this differed markedly from
any he had seen. Ordinarily, he says, the bellows
are made of leather usually a goat's skin, but in
this case they are ingeniously manufactured from
the broad, pliable leaves of the banana. A man sits
astride on the sloping, wooden block behind the bel-
lows, and works up and down their upright handles,
FIG. II A PRIMITIVE LATHE.
thus driving a current of air through the hollow
cone of wood and the double barreled iron pipes
(fitted with a stone muzzle) into the furnace, which
is a glowing mass of charcoal, between two huge
slabs of stone. Fig. 10 is an illustration of this re-
markable specimen of the African smith's ingenuity.
BLACKSMITHING
ANCIENT AND MODERN WORK AND WORK-
MEN.
Forging is a subject of interest to all smiths.
Excellent work was made in the olden days, when
stamps, dies and trip hammers were unknown.
FIG. 12 A LATHE NOW IN ACTUAL USE IX ASIA.
I saw some examples of ancient forging in the ex-
hibition of 1851, made in 1700, that were simply
beautiful, both in design and execution. They were
a pair of gates in the scroll and running vein class of
design. The leaves were beautifully marked and
not a weld was to be seen. Now I am not one of
BLACKSMITH1NG. 3!
those who think we cannot produce such work now-
adays, for I feel sure we can if we could spare the
time and stand the cost, but undoubtedly black-
smithing 1 as an art has not advanced in modern
times, and in this respect the blacksmiths are in
good company, as was shown in the ancient Japanese
bronze vases (in the Centennial Exhibition at Phila-
delphia), which brought such marvelous prices.
Some of the turned works of the last century were
simply elegj&nt, and in this connection I send you
two sketches of ancient lathes. Figure 1 1 is that
from which the lathe took its name. A simple wood
frame, ^ and S, carried a tail stock, B, and center
screw, C, carrying the work, W. The motion was
obtained from a lathe L (from which the word
lathe comes), R is a cord attached to L, wound once
around the work and attached to the treadle, T.
Depressing /"caused the lathe L to descend to L
whil e the work rotated forward. On releasing the
pressure on T the lathe rotates the work backward
so that cutting occurs on the downward motion of
T only.
A very ancient device you may think. But what
do you think of Fig. 12, a lathe actually in use to-day
in Asia, and work from which was exhibited at the
Vienna exhibition. Of this lathe, London Engi-
neering said :
" Among the exhibits were wood glasses,
vases, etc., made by the Hercules, the rem/fiy&s*
32 BLACKSMITHING.
an old Asiatic nation which had settled at the time
of the general migration of nations in the remotest
parts of Galicia, in the dense forests of the Carpa-
thian Mountains. Their lathe (Fig. 12) has been
employed by them from time immemorial."
We must certainly give them credit for producing
any work at all on such a lathe ; but are they not a
little thick-headed to use such a lathe when they
can get, down East, lathes for almost nothing ; and
if they know enough of the outside barbarian world
to exhibit at an exhibition, they surely must have
heard of the Yankee lathe, By F. F.
CHAPTER III.
CHIMNEYS, FORGES, FIRES, SHOP PLANS,
WORK BENCHES, ETC.
A PLAN OF A BLACKSMITH SHOP.
The plan on page 34 shows the arrangement
of my shop. I keep all my tools and stock
around the sides of the shop so as to have more
room in the center. I do all my work, repairing, iron
or wood work on the one floor, shown in Fig. 13.
My forge is two feet four inches high, and four feet
square ; it is made of brick and stone. My chimney
has a 12-inch flue, which gives me plenty of draught.
My tuyere-iron is set four inches below the surface of
the forge ; this arrangement gives me a good bed o
coal to work on. My vise bench is two feet wide and
seven feet long ; it has a drawer in it for taps and eyes.
My wood-work bench is two and a half feet wide and
eight feet long. The blower takes up a space of four
feet ten inches ; I can work it with a lever or
crank. The drill occupies two by two feet. The
tool-rack is built around the forge, so that it does not
occupy much room and is handy to get at. The
34
BLACKSMITHING.
forge is hollow underneath, which allows me to
dump the fire and get the ashes out of a hole left for
the purpose. I use a blower in preference to the
-3:
M
FIG. 13 PLAN OF A BLACKSMITH SHOP.
old-fashioned bellows, and consider it far superior
in every way.
In the illustration, A denotes the anvil; B, is a
BLACKSMITHING. 35
vise bench for iron work ; RR, are tool racks for
taps, dies and other small tools ; C, is a large front
door ; D, is an upright drill ; E, is a tire bender; G y
is a grindstone ; //, is a back door, and my tire stone
is directly opposite, so I can step to it easily with a
light tire from the forge; 7, is my blower; F, is a
vise for iron work ; T, is a tire upsetter ; M, is an iron
rack ; S, a pair of stairs ; W, is my wood-working
bench ; R, is a rack for bits and chisels ; S, is a wheel
horse for repairing wheels ; F, is the forge ; and near it
is a rack for tongues and swedges. The round spot
at the corner of the forge is a tub. I have a small
back attached to my anvil block for holding the tools
I use while at work on any particular job. By J. J. B.
AN IMPROVED FORGE.
My hood for smoky chimneys, shown in a previous
communication, is a good one, generally speaking,
but there are some kinds of work that will not go
between this hood and the bottom of the hearth, and
to get over this difficulty I have devised the arrange-
ment shown ;n the accompanying illustration, Fig. 14.
J derived the leading idea from a forge in Dundee,
but in making mine I deviated from this pattern to
suit myself. The great secret in having a good fire
is to have a good draft, and to have a good draft it
must be built after scientific principles. First, a
vacuum must be made so large that when your fire is
BLACKSMITHING.
built, the blaze immediately burns the air, thereby
forming a draft which acts after the balloon principle,
having an upward tendency. The chimney should be
at least sixteen feet in height. Now, for the forge :
FIG. 14 AN IMPROVED FORGE.
I tore the old one away clear down to the floor, and
built a new one with brick, making it on the side four
feet and two inches (that is, from the back part of the
chimney), -three feet and six inches in width and two
BLACKSMITHING. 37
feet and eight inches in height. I placed my tuyere
four inches lower than the surface of the hearth,
leaving a fire-box nearly semi-circular in shape, about
fourteen inches across the longest way and ten inches
the other way. I then finished the hearth, making it
as level as I could conveniently. I then put a
straight-edge on the face of the chimney four inches
from each corner, marked it, and cut all of the front
away for the distance of four feet and six inches,
leaving the heavy sides undisturbed. I then com-
menced laying brick on the surface, beginning at the
edge of the chimney ; the front part of the extension
chimney was allowed to come within three inches of
the hole in the tuyere. I laid three courses of brick
and left directly over the tuyere an opening four inches
by eight inches this is large enough for a draft open-
ing. I then completed the chimney up as high as I had
the old chimney, drawing in at the top, and the job
was complete, and a better drawing forge cannot be
found. The noise it makes in drawing, reminds one
of the distant rumbling of a cyclone.
Now I would like to say just a little in reference
to the tuyere I am using. It is manufactured
by J. W. Cogswell, and I think it is the finest
working tuyere I ever had the pleasure of using.
It is made on the rotary principle, the top turning
one quarter around. It suits almost any kind of
work. By opening the draft a large fire can be
obtained and by closing it you have a light one.
3o BLACKSMITHING.
You can have a long blast lengthwise, crosswise, or
at any angle, and for welding light or heavy work,
I can say the Cogswell tuyere is hard to beat.
In the illustration (Fig. 14), A, shows the position
of the tuyere three inches from the face of the
chimney. F, is the face of the chimney. G, is, the
upper section of the hearth. B, is the draft rod. C,
is the rod that lengthens or shortens the blast. E,
F, D, constitute the new part of the chimney. /, is
the old chimney. //, is the draft, which is four inches
FIG. 15 THE FORGE-STAND.
by eight inches in the clear, and is six inches above
the hearth. J, is the cinder box. By L. S. R.
A SIMPLE FORGE.
The illustration herewith shows a simple forge
at which may be performed some of the most diffi-
cult forgings.
BLACKSMITHING.
39
The forge-stand, as shown in the illustration, is
square in shape, but may be made round or any
other shape to suit. A, Fig. 15, is the tuyere.
The size of the forge must be made to suit the work.
One that would answer for average purposes should
be about twenty-four inches square, and about
twenty or twenty-two inches high, and detached
FIG. l6 THE SMOKE-STACK AND BONNET.
from the walls so as to allow of getting all
around it. Fig. 16 shows the smoke-stack and bonnet.
A, is the bonnet ; B, the smoke-stack; C, is a dotted
line showing the next joint of pipe as telescoped.
D D, are chains running over the pulleys, E E, which
are secured to the wall or ceiling. F F, are counter-
4O BLACKSMITHING.
weights, which balance the bonnet when raised or
lowered to accommodate the work in hand. By I. D.
CURING A SMOKY CHIMNEY.
I had a chimney in which the draught was bad, and
it may be of interest to many to learn how I reme-
died the trouble. I did so by making a hood of
boiler iron.
I first cut the hood to the shape shown in Fig. 1 7
FIG. I/ THE HOOD.
of the accompanying engraving. The distance from
A to C is two feet, and from A to B the distance is
four feet, eight inches. From C to D it is two feet,
five inches. I then cut away all projecting parts of
the chimney, and next bent the hood to fit the chim-
ney as closely as possible. I then put the hood up
BLACKSMITHING. 41
where I wanted it to be, that was about fifteen
inches above the tuyere iron, and marked out the
outline of the chimney, I then removed all the bricks
inside the mark and riveted two straps, each eight
inches long, on the hood at the points A and B. I
also punched a hole at the top at C. I next drove a
twenty-penny spike through the hole C to the mid-
dle of the chimney, being careful to set the nail in
the mortar between the bricks. I then nailed the
straps to the chimney and taking a strong wire drew
B'
FIG. l8 THE CINDER CATCH.
the slack at A and B so that it fitted snugly. 1
next plastered it around the edge and gave it two
coats of whitewash. The job was then finished and
it is the best arrangement for a smoky chimney I
have ever seen.
I have a very good cinder catch, also made of
boiler iron, in the form shown in Fig, 18 of the illus-
trations. It was made by taking a piece eight inches
wide and long enough to reach across on the inside
of the chimney, and bending the piece as shown in
the sketch. The catch should fit in tightly.
BLACKSMITH I NO.
Fig. 19 represents the chimney with the hood at-
tached.^ L. S. R.
A BLACKSMITH S CHIMNEY.
The illustration, Fig. 20, shows my method of
making a blacksmitu's chimney so that it will draw
FIG. 19 SHOWING THE HOOD ATTACHED TO THE CHIMNEY.
well. I know what it is to have a smoky chimney.
I had my chimney torn down and built up again four
times in two years. The last time it was built I think
BLACKSMITHING.
43
I struck on the right plan. The forge is built of
stone. I use a bottom blast tuyere. The space B,
in the illustration, is left open to receive the handle
of the valve, and to allow the escape of the ashes.
The front of the chimney, F, is built straight or per-
pendicular from the hearth, H. C denotes the open-
FIG. 20 A BLACKSMITH'S CHIMNEY THAT WILL NOT SMOKE.
ing for the smoke. The distance from //to C is
about four inches, or the thickness of two bricks.
Let me say here that the mouths of most all flues are
too high up from the fire, and this allows the smoke
to spread before it reaches the draught. The fire
should be built as close to the flue as possible, and
44
BLACKSMITHING.
the top of the chimney should be a little larger than
the throat.
I think this is the handiest flue that can be built
for general blacksmithing. By J. M. B.
ANOTHER CHIMNEY.
As there are a great many who do not know how
FIG. 21 A BLACKSMITH'S CHIMNEY THAT WILL DRAW.
to build a chimney that will draw well, I send you a
sketch, Fig. 21, of a chimney that I have been
BLACKSMITHING.
45
using for fifteen years and that has given me perfect
satisfaction.
It is made of brick or stone and is joined to the
ROOF
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
[ .
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
I
1
Q_
1
1
o
1 ,
1 ,
\~ 1
I
1
CO
1
L
, 1,
.
1
1 1
u.
o
Q
co
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
I 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
FIG. 22 ANOTHER BLACKSMITH'S CHIMNEY THAT WILL DRAW.
hearth, the latter being six bricks below the jamb.
The round hole in the bottom side is the bellows
hole, and the square hole in the end of the jamb is
4 6
BLACKSMITHING.
very convenient for small tools, etc. The hearth
and jamb can be built in size and height to suit the
builder. j5> ]. K.
STILL ANOTHER CHIMNEY.
The illustration on page 45, Fig. 22, represents
L _L
i 1 ! 1 i 1
m
r=H
nffl
i i
FIG. 23 STILL ANOTHER CHIMNEY THAT WILL NOT SMOKE.
my method of building a blacksmith's chimney so
that it will draw well and will not smoke. The
BLACKSMITHING. 47
original chimney from which this sketch is taken has
been in use in my shop for four years, and is as free
from soot and cinders as it was the first day it was
used. Its peculiar construction is due to the fact
that the mason who built it made a mistake of eight
inches in locating the forge, and, therefore, he had
to give the chimney a jog of eight inches to get it
out at the place intended for it. In making one it
is best to run it out three feet, and if on the side run
two feet above the comb. By J. S. H.
ANOTHER FORM OF CHIMNEY.
My way of building a blacksmith's chimney, and
one that will take up the smoke and soot, is shown
in the accompanying engraving, Fig. 23.
It will be seen that there are five bricks across the
base up to a height of five bricks, then a gradual
taper to four bricks, and then two bricks and a half
by one and a half. The flue or smoke hole is ten
inches in diameter. This chimney will draw. By
G. C. C.
AN ARKANSAS FORGE.
The accompanying sketch, Fig. 24, with brief
description, will give a good idea of the forge I use.
The shell of the forge is a section of iron smoke-
stack, four feet in diameter, filled in with sand and
brick. I use a water tuyere, and find it the best I
ever tried. I use a blower in place of a bellows, and
48 BLACKSMITHING.
could not be hired to return to the bellows. My forge
is at least six feet from any wall. The water keg rests
on a bracket fastened to the wall, and, as shown in the
illustration, the pipes extend downward and along the
ground to the forge, and then beyond it. The pipes
have caps on the ends. I use an angle valve, as shown,
FIG. 24 AN ARKANSAS FORGE.
for shutting off water from the pipes. A rack for tongs
is fastened to the back of the forge. A stationary
pipe extends from a few feet above the forge
BLACKSMITHING.
49
through the roof. A smaller pipe with a hood on
the lower end extends up into the large pipe, and
this is suspended by weights so as to be raised or
lowered at will. By E. C.
SETTING A TUYERE.
Dropping into a small smithy on the west side
of New York City, a short time ago, I found the
1 1
lilt
1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1
1 1 1 1 '
1 1
1 1
i
i i i
1 1
i i
1 1
i i i
1 1
C| 1
1 1 1
1 1
1 1
i
1 1 1
~r r
1 1
FIG. 25 SHOWING THE FORGE AND BACK WALL.
proprietor much perplexed. He was trying to raise
a welding heat on the center bar of a phaeton dash
which had dog-ears or projections on each side. A
dozen attempts were made while I looked on, and all
5O BLACKSMITH1NG.
were failures. " I'll have to send this job out to my
neighbor," said the smith. Then I suggested that
there was no necessity of doing so. The trouble was
owing to the fact that the tuyere was about eight
inches out from the back wall of the forge and the
dog-ears on the dash projected about fourteen inches.
With the old-fashioned back blast, the smith could
have banked out a blow-hole with wet coal the whole
length of his forge, and thus have accomplished his
weld in short order, but there would have been more
or less waste of coal. His tuyere was a bottom-blast
one, and to him there was apparently no way out of
the difficulty.
I asked the privilege of trying my hand at the job
and was given permission. My first trick was to
locate the objectionable brick and remove it. Then
one of the dog-ears of the dash could enter. I raised
the heat, made the weld, and suggested to my friend
that a handful of cement would repair the breach.
Since then it has occurred to me that a short chapter
on setting tuyeres would not be amiss, and I now
present my ideas in type and illustrated.
In Fig. 25, A represents a section of the back
wall of a brick forge ; B is the working side ; C,
the face ; D, the top ; /% the center of the
tuyere ; O, the rod hole of the tuyere ; and E,
the ash pit. Measuring from A and B, the center
of the tuyere is as shown by the line drawn, a
and H ; the distance should not be less than eighteen
BLACKSMITHING. 51
inches or more. The distance will be sufficient for
most of the work that is done by the average wagon
or carriage smith. Set the tuyere top from four
inches to six inches below the level of the forge.
The heavier the irons to be manipulated the deeper
must the top of the tuyere be set.
In building a new forge it is a wise precaution to
build a recess in the back of the forge or forge wall
as deep as the construction of the chimney will allow.
If the wall be sixteen inches thick let the recess be
FIG. 26. SHOWING HOW THE RECESS IS MADE.
not less than eight inches deep and twenty-four
inches high and at least twenty-four inches or more
wide; then, with the tuyeres set eighteen or more
inches out, the most intricate forging can be handled
with care. The sparks and ashes which ascend part
of the way and then return, settle in the recess and
thus keep the fire clean and clear. Fig. 26 shows
the manner of constructing the recess, A A bejj
the back wall, and B the recess. By I. D,
52 BLACKSMITHING.
A MODERN VILLAGE CARRIAGE-SHOP.
Prize Essay written for The Carriage-Builders' 1 National Association by WM. W.
WETHERHOLD, of Reading, Pa.
In building a carriage shop, room, light and ven-
tilation are the three great points to attain, and the
builder who does attain these points and at the same
time has everything convenient will have a perfect
shop. In selecting a site I have taken a corner lot
and have arranged my plans to run back to the ten-
foot alley, using my full length of plot and getting
light from three sides. Size of lot, 110x65 ft.
(Height of stories : first, 12 ft.; second and third,
10 ft. For size and arrangement of room, see floor
plan.) The office is fronting the main street, ad-
joining the wareroom, and is fitted with desks for
clerks and a fire and burglar-proof safe, a table at
side window at which to take the time of the hands
in going to and from work, a letter-press, a station-
ary wash stand, shelves, speaking tubes to the differ-
ent departments, and a private desk for the use of
the proprietor. There is a door leading to the ware-
room, one to the stock room, and is convenient to
the elevator and stairway leading upstairs. The
walls are plastered and kalsomined. The wareroom
adjoins the office, facing the main street. The ele-
vator opens into it, and there are sliding doors con-
necting it with the wood shop. The walls and ceil-
ings are covered with cypress wainscoting, two
inches wide, plowed and grooved, and finished in
oil, and the windows have inside shutters,
BLACKSMITHING.
53
10 FT. ALLEY
VISE BENCH
rooLS
tH ANVIL
-H
8E BENCH
WATER
A
VISE FOR HOT IRON 9 SLIDING
LACK TUB
BLACK-SMITH
DANVIL
SHOP K
Q ANVIL. a
SLACK TUB BENDER
2*'x 45'
FIG. 27. PLAN OF THE FIRST FLOOR.
54 BLACKSMITHING.
The stock room is next to the office, and is fitted
with shelves and racks for proper storing and ac-
counting of stock. There is a door to the elevator
and a stairway leading upstairs ; also a door to the
yard for the unloading of goods without interfering
with the workmen. The upper half of the partitions
are ash with glass to admit light. The elevator is
next to the stock room and is so arranged that the
work of the smith shop can be put on and hoisted
without going outside in unpleasant weather.
The wood shop is at the rear of the main building,
adjoining the smith shop, and is fitted with five bench-
es. It is next to the elevator and has a stairway
leading to the second floor. The second floor is
used entirely for the paint department. Going from
the wood shop we get into the paint room, which
has a paint bench with mill and stone to mix colors,
etc. Shelves are arranged for the proper keeping of
cups and brushes. There is also a vise bench in
this room, with tools, bolts, screws, oil, washers, etc.,
for the taking apart and putting together of work.
There are two spaces with cement floor, one for
gears and the other for bodies. The elevator and
stairway are in this room. The front of the second
floor is partitioned off for varnish rooms. I have
used the front so as to be removed from the smith
and wood departments as far as possible. The win-
dows are double and the ceilings and walls finished
with cypress the same as the wareroom. These
rooms have inside shutters also.
BLACKSMITHING. 55
The trimmer room is on the third floor back, and
is fitted with benches for three men. The floor
plans will show position of shelves, closets and sew-
ing machine. I have a small room connected with
the trimming room to be used entirely for the stuff-
ing of cushions, etc. It is of great help in keeping
the trimming room and all the work clean. The
third floor, front, is intended for the storage of
bodies in stock, ironed and in the rough, and for a
wareroom for second-hand work after it is rebuilt.
Here, also, I have shelves for all cushions, carpets,
curtains, etc., belonging to any job which is being
rebuilt and repainted.
In case of my painters being crowded with work,
I can have all new bodies brought upstairs and taken
ahead in paint, thus giving them more room on the
second floor. The smith shop I have placed in an
annex, so as to remove all dirt and- dust as much as
possible from the main building. It is made to run
four fires. The windows on the side are placed high
to prevent looking into the next yard, but the large
front and back windows allow plenty of light. The
second floor of this annex will be used for storage
of lumber, wheels, wheel stock, shafts, etc., for the
wood-workers ; the door in the yard can be used to
unload lumber, and I have also one of the rear win-
dows arranged with a roller by which to take in lum-
ber. The trap door in the floor can be used to slide
lumber down into the wood shop, as it is on a line
56 BLACKSMITHING.
with the sliding doors connecting the wood and
smith departments.
I have arranged a heater in the cellar of the smith
shop, and will heat the whole shop with steam gen-
erated by it.
It will work automatically, and will require at-
tention only twice daily except in extremely cold
weather, when more attention will be needed.
To stock a shop of this kind completely at once
would be a very difficult matter. I should proceed as
follows : I would order 5,000 feet of lumber, assorted
into 500 feet T V and 1-inch poplar surfaced on both
sides ; 2,000 feet ^-inch poplar, surfaced on both sides ;
500 feet ash, f-inch ; 1,000 feet ash, ij- to 2 inch;
i, ooo feet hickory, ij to 2 inch. I would order wheel
stock for 25 sets of wheels, as follows: 5 sets for
1-inch tire, 10 sets for if-inch tire, 5 sets for f-inch
tire, and 5 sets for ft-inch tire ; 2 dozen pair shafts, 2
dozen pair drop perches, wood screws, nails, glue, etc.;
25 sets of axles to suit wheel stock ; 25 sets of springs,
bolts and clips in assorted sizes, and paints and varn-
ishes. Bows and trimming goods I would not order
at once, as I would now open up shop, and try to book
a few orders, and see what quality of work was
wanted to suit my new customers.
I believe that in ordering a little sparingly at first
I could do better in the end by watching the run of
my trade, as I could then change my stock, if neces-
sary, without any loss.
BLACKSMITHING.
57
FIG. 28. PLAN OF THE SECOND FLOOR.
58 BLACKSMITHING.
The floor plans of the shops are shown in the
accompanying illustrations, in which Fig. 27 repre-
sents the first floor, Fig. 28 the second floor, and
Fig. 29 the third floor. The drawings are on the
scale of 24 feet to the inch.
BEST ROOF FOR A BLACKSMITH SHOP.
In answer to your correspondents, G. H. & Son,
who inquire about the best roof for a blacksmith
shop, let me say that I prefer a corrugated sheet-iron
roof, made of the best galvanized Number 20 iron,
fastened down with copper wires wrapped around the
rafters. Nails will work out with the changes in the
weather.^/ J. B. H.
HOLLOW FIRE VS. OPEN FIRE.
For welding steel to iron I always use an open
fire, or I should say for the last ten years have done
so. Formerly I used a hollow fire, but as I became
more experienced in welding dies I became con-*
vinced that a hollow fire was not the best or cheapest
for that purpose.
I have seen a great deal of work welded in a hollow
fire, and have seen much of it burnt and rendered
entirely worthless. In welding a steel plate to an
iron one, I want my iron much hotter than I can
get it in a hollow fire without burning the steel.
As a hollow fire heats almost as fast at the top as it
does at the bottom, it will be seen that in order to
BLACKSMITHING.
59
J L
ROOF
YARD
WORKBENCH rrTl WORK BENCH WORK BENCH
SEWING MACHINE
TRIMMER ROOM
2lYx4<>'
r SHELVES
WARE ROOM AND
STOCK ROOIV
FIG. 29. PLAN OF THE THIRD FLOOR.
r
60 BLACKSMITHING.
get a welding heat on the iron you are pretty sure
to get the steel too hot, and if you do not get a weld-
ing heat on the iron of course the steel will not weld.
It may seem to be welded a great many times when
it is only stuck in one or two places, and if it is not
thoroughly welded it is sure to start off when it is
being hardened or used.
I have not used a hollow fire for several years for
welding steel to iron, for many reasons, among which
I may mention the following : First, because it takes
more time, and, of course, is more expensive ; and
second, because I cannot do the work as well. My
way of building a fire is this : I put on plenty of coal
to make a fire of sufficient size for the work I have
to do, and with respect to this part of the operation
each man must be his own judge. I build up the
sides of my fire pretty well, and let the middle burn
out ; then I fill the middle with good hard coke, and
my fire is ready. Then I put in my work and cover
it with small pieces of coke, and give the fire a slow
blast, increasing it as the heat comes up. In this
way I can bring my heat up from the bottom, getting
a good welding heat on my iron when the top of the
steel is at an ordinary working heat. In this kind of a
fire you can see your heat better than you can in^a
hollow fire and tell when your steel is at the right
heat. It is claimed that there are several ways to
tell when the heat is right other than by looking at
your iron, but I am satisfied to trust to my eyes to
BLACKSMITHING. 6 1
inform me when the proper result has been reached.
-By G. B. J.
A POINT ABOUT BLACKSMITHS* FIRES.
A common trouble in country blacksmith shops
is the going-out of the fire while the smith is doing
work away from it. This annoyance can be pre-
vented by keeping at hand a box containing saw-
dust. When the fire seems to be out, throw a hand-
ful of sawdust on the coals and a good blaze will
quickly follow. This may seem a small matter, but
there are many who will find my suggestion a use-
ful one. By D. P.
TO KEEP A BLACKSMITH'S FIRE IN A SMALL COMPASS.
If clay or mortar soon burn out, mix them with
strong salt brine and the trouble will be avoided
when an intense heat is required use fine coal wet
with brine. Use a thin coating on top and around
the fire. Salt and sand mixed and thrown on top of
the fire also serves a good purpose.
BLACKSMITH'S FIRE FORGE.
With reference to the manner of managing a
blacksmith's fire so as to accomplish the best results,
I will describe the forge I am using. It is 2 feet 6
inches high ; the bed is 3 feet 10 inches long and 3
feet wide, and in construction is a box. The legs
are made of 4x4 stuff. The tuyere is placed 5 inches
below the surface. I use a common bellows, size 32
62 BLACKSMITHING.
inches. With this forge I have no difficulty in
welding a 2^-inch axle or facing a lo-pound sledge-
hammer. The chimney is an inverted funnel, and
is made of sheet-iron. At the bottom it is 2 feet 5
inches in diameter. It joins a 7-inch pipe at the
top. By H. B.
CEMENTING A FIRE-PLACE.
To cement a fire-place so that the cinders will not
stick, I use old axes instead of bricks. I put the
polls of the axes out at the front of the breast of the
forge. I use from 12 to 15 axes in one forge, putting
two axes below the pipe and two on each side, and as
many above as are needed. I use what is called yel-
low clay for mortar, putting a handful of salt in the
clay, and then beating it thoroughly so that there will
be no lumps in the mortar. I put the axes and mor-
tar in as I would bricks and mortar. The fire-place
is left deep enough to have a bed of dust in the bot-
tom. A fire-place fixed in this way will last for
twelve months. The cinders are lifted while hot.
By F. M. G.
CEMENTING A SMITH'S FIRE.
My way of cementing a blacksmith's fire so that
the cinders will not stick is as follows : I use Power's
patent fire-pot. I have used this fire-pot nine years,
and it is as good now as it was the day I put it in my
shop. There is no sticking of cinders, and no ce-
BLACKSMITHING. 63
menting or fitting up of the fire is necessary, and the
saving in my coal-bill for one month amounts to more
than the cost of the fire-pot. By J. McL.
BLACKSMITH COAL.
Though little is said regarding the coal used in
a blacksmith shop the subject is one well worthy the
attention of all interested in the working of iron. The
three coals in use are charcoal, anthracite and bi-
tuminous. For all purposes charcoal is the best*
but its drawbacks are such as to curtail its use.
These are the cost and the time needed to secure the
proper combustion. Except in extreme cases, it is
not likely to come in use again, and the blacksmith
must therefore depend upon the mineral coals.
Bituminous coal possesses more of the essentials
requisite than the anthracite, but the quality is an
important matter. Some is more gaseous than
others ; then, too, there is the oily coal, and that
charged with an excess of sulphur ; in others there is
a great deal of earthy matter. All these faults exist,
and they do much toward retarding the work of the
blacksmith if they are not guarded against. It is not
many years ago when all blacksmith coal was import-
ed, but the Cumberland coal of this country is with-
out doubt the best that can be procured. It is re-
markably free from earthy matter, ignites quickly
and gives a powerful heat. Anthracite " dust," as
the fine sif tings are designated, works well if the blast
6 4
BLACKSMITHING.
is all right, but, no matter how fine it is, it does not
run together and make the close fire of the Cumber-
land. It also contains greater quantities of sulphur,
which operates to the injury of the iron. Coke has
FIG. 30. PLAN OF SHOP CONTRIBUTED BY "D. F. H."
been used to a good advantage where the fire-bed
is large and the blast strong, but it does not lie close,
and unless the blast is kept up it smoulders and fouls.
BLACKSMITHING. 65
PLAN OF A SHOP.
I inclose you a sketch, Fig. 30, of my shop, which
I think a very good one for a country place. The
forge is a home-made article of tank iron, 3^ feet in
diameter, the bed being filled with brick and sand.
The bellows are hung overhead, and are connected
with the forge by a tin tube. A place is made in
front for coal. I have a fire alarm that I am intend-
ing to connect with the house, about 30 fee"t away.
-By D. F. H.
PLAN OF SMITH SHOP IN A NEW YORK CITY CARRIAGE
FACTORY.
Fig. 31 makes the arrangement of forges, anvils,
benches, etc., quite plain.
The style of forge used in this shop is shown in Fig.
32. It consists essentially of an oblong iron pan,
a hole in the bottom of which communicates with the
tuyere, contained in the box-like appendage clearly
shown in the engraving. The entire structure is
supported on four legs made in the shape of angle
iron. A long, narrow compartment at the end of
the forge contains fuel, while a second compartment
of about the same shape and size contains water,
thus putting it in a much more desirable position and
in more convenient shape for use than the old tub
so common in country shops. Attached to the out-
side of the water-trough is a small, square bench, to
66
BLACKSMITHING.
FORGE
TOOL BENCH
CH
BLOWEH
TOOL BENCH
TORGl
FIG, 31. SMITH SHOP IN A NEW YORK CARRIAGE FACTORY.
BLACKSMITHING. 67
which is fastened an ordinary machinist's vise, as
may be seen by the engraving.
This forge possesses important advantages over
the common brick forge. It occupies considerably
less space, without lessening the capacity for work.
FIG. 32. IMPROVED STYLE OF FORGE.
Its construction admits of the shop being kept clean
around it, which alone is a feature of sufficient im-
portance to warrant its introduction. Its probable
cost is about the same as that of a brick forge. The
fact that it is portable, however, gives it a claim for
preference in this particular. It is
68 BLACKSMITHING.
those who have used this forge, and who have also
worked at the common brick forge, that it will save
its own cost in a single year, in convenience over the
latter. The position of the water-trough is an im-
portant feature. It is true that a water-trough of
similar construction and arrangement might be at-
tached to a brick forge, but not with the same facility.
The character of the material, brick, would necessi-
tate a thick surrounding wall, which would render the
arrangement at once somewhat awkward in appear-
ance, and in comparison with the iron forge quite
inconvenient.
A rack for supporting the ends of bars of iron in
the process of heating is so arranged as to swing
clear, under the forge, and yet to be ready whenever
required. The brace or leg shown in the engraving
is long enough to support this rack in any position
that may be required.
The tool bench employed in this shop consists of
a heavy wooden frame, proportioned somewhat to
the load it is to carry and the use that is to be made
of it. See Fig. 33. A shelf in the lower part, lo-
cated but a few inches above the floor, is used as a
receptacle for odd tools,, bits of iron, and the general
accumulation to be met with around any blacksmith's
fire. The sides on the upper part are carried several
inches above the top and are surmounted by an iron
guard, which extends outward and is continued three-
quarters of the way around the bench, thus .forming
BLACKSMITHING.
6 9
an opening through which the handles of the various
tools may be dropped. By referring to Fig. 32 all
these particulars will be made clear.
The top of the bench is also perforated by two
slots and by sundry odd holes, into which tools are
FIG. 33. IMPKOVED TOOL BENCH.
dropped. A small gu^rd extends across the front of
the bench, on a level with the top, answering a simi-
lar purpose.
To aid those who may wish to construct a similar
bench a top view is shown in Fig. 34, and another
one of the side or end as shown in Fig. 35, upon each
BLACKSMITHING.
of which dimensions are given in such a way as to
'enable any one to work from them if desired.
v^L
anna
J
FIG. 34. TOP VIEW OF WORK BENCH.
r
FIG. 35. END VIEW OF WORK BENCH,
BLACKSMITHING.
Fig. 36 shows a style of smoothing-plate or smooth-
ing bench in use in this shop, which, it is claimed,
answers a very satisfactory purpose, and would con-
stitute a most useful adjunct for any blacksmith's shop.
A heavy wooden frame supports a cast-iron plate, a
FIG. 36. SMOOTHING BENCH.
section of which is shown in Fig. 37, and which is
something like an inch and a half or two inches thick.
This plate is made quite smooth on its upper surface.
For straightening up various light irons used in
FIG. 37. SECTIONAL VIEW OF SMOOTHING PLATE.
wagon and carriage work, it serves a useful pur-
pose.
Fig. 38 shows an adjustable trestle used for sup-
porting the ends of vehicles. A screw in the center
72 BLACKSMITHING.
raises the upper bar to any desired height, while the
guides at the side, by means of holes in them, and
pins to fit, give it stability at whatever height it is
placed. The upper bar is padded to prevent scratch-
ing. The entire construction is light yet strong.
A PLAN OF A BLACKSMITH SHOP.
I find the arrangements of the shop I am about to
FIG. 38. ADJUSTABLE TRESTLE.
describe very convenient, and, with the aid of the il-
lustration, Fig. 39, they can be very easily understood.
A denotes the shoeing floor. B is the floor for plow
work. C is the machine and wagon floor. D is the
front door, which opens outwardly. E is a side
BLACKSMITHING.
73
J
V V
II
V V
o
o
oO
M
\
FIG. 39. PLAN OF "J. E. M/S" BLACKSMITH SHOP.
74 BLACKSMITHING.
door that slides. F is another sliding door. G is a
double forge. HH are No. i Root blowers. / is a
vise post. J is a bolt cutter. A" is a drill. L are
iron shears that will cut i-inch square iron. M is
the vise bevel. NN are tool benches. OO are
anvils. P is a mandrel. <2 is the swedge block.
RR are windows. S is an erecting bench. TT are
vises. / is the chimney. WWV are pins for
iron. X is the tire sprinkler.
In the west gable there are two windows, and in
the east gable one. The platform in front of the
shop is 12 x 24 feet. That on the south side is
12x12 feet. Both are of 2-inch plank. The
sides of the shop are 9 feet high. The roof is one-
third pitch. The shop is 24 feet wide and 44 feet
long.
The forges are open underneath, and the blowers
that set under them are connected with the tuyere by
gas-pipe passing through the base of the chimney.
A good hand will earn for me a dollar a day more
with these blowers than with the best 36-inch bellows
I ever owned. By J. E. M.
CARE OF THE SHOP.
To do good work one must have good tools, as it
is impossible for a smith to forge his work smooth
unless his tools are in good order. It is likewise
necessary for him to have good coal ; but with a
BLACKSMITHING. 75
shop conveniently arranged, and with perfect tools
and the best of coal, there is much which depends
upon the way in which they are used that determines
the character of work and the relative economy with
which work is performed. There is no other branch
of carriage making that requires so much skill as that
of the smith. This is because he has no patterns,
like the wood-workman, and is under the necessity of
shaping all irons by his eye. A smith has more to
endure than any other mechanic, for if there is any-
thing wrong about a job the smith is sure to get the
blame, whether it be his fault or not. The strength
and durability of a buggy, for example, depends
principally upon the blacksmith. If smiths would
go to work and wash their windows, clean out behind
their bellows, pick up their scrap that lies promiscu-
ously about the shop, gather up the bolts, etc., they
would be surprised at the change that it would make,
not only in the general appearance of their shop, but
also in the ease and convenience of doing work. One
great disadvantage under which most smiths labor is
the lack of light. Frequently blacksmith shops are
stuck down in a basement or in some remote corner of
a building. It is a fact, whether it be disregarded or
not, that it is easier to do good work in a clean, well-
lighted shop than in one which is dirty and dark.
A word about economy in work, for the benefit of
the younger men in the trade especially. Don't throw
away a bolt or clip because a nut strips, but go to
7 6
BLACKSMITHING.
work and tap out a new one and fit a new nut. Old
bolts that are sound and that are often thrown in the
scrap are just as good for repairs as new. Careful
attention to these points will make a material differ-
FIG. 40. A HANDY WORK BENCH.
ence in the expenses of the shop in the course of
time. By B. P.
A HANDY WORK BENCH.
The plan of a work bench shown in Fig. 40 shows
a very handy arrangement for tools.
The legs and top are of hard-wood. Birch is very
good. The ends, back and open space in the bottom
are boarded up on the inside. The height of the legs
is 2 feet 10 inches, length of body 4 feet 4 inches,
BLACKSMITH1NG. 77
width of end i foot / inches. The tops can project
at the ends to suit your taste. Three drawers, 5 3-4
x 1 1 inches, are on the left side. On the right there
are three 5 3-4 x 1 1 inches and two 2 1-4 x 1 1 inches.
The middle drawer is 2 1-4x7 1-2 inches. I hinged
a strip up and down the ends, so two padlocks would
lock all the drawers except the middle one. Bolt the
vise in the center of the bench, and it will be found
FIG. 41. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF TOOL BENCH.
very convenient. Such a bench ought not to cost
over ten dollars. By H. A. S.
BLACKSMITH S TOOL BENCH.
Inclosed I send drawings of a tool bench, such as
is used by me, which I think handy in all respects.
BLACKSMITHING.
The bench was made originally from an old box that
had been lying around our shop for sometime. Fig.
42 shows how the box has been adapted to the purpose.
The size of the box was 2 feet 8 inches square, and
FIG. 42. SIDE VIE.W OF BENCH, SHOWING DIMENSIONS.
2'S" *
FIG. 43. PROFILE VIEW OF BRACKET. FIG. 44. TOP VIEW OF BENCH.
19 inches high. Four posts or legs were attached, as
indicated in Fig. 41. One board was taken off from the
end of the box, and out of it was made the shelf
BLACKSMITHING.
79
shown in perspective, in Fig. 41. This left the opening
into the box below the shelf. In the box I keep
my punches, heading tools, etc.; on the shelf I keep
cold chisels, gouges, punches and pins. Below the
box on the right-hand side I have placed a drawer in
which I keep papers, slate pencils, chalk and new
files. This is provided with a lock not shown in the
sketch. Fig. 42 of the accompany ing Sketches repre-
sents a side view of the bench, and also shows the
i
FIG. 45. IRONS BY WHICH THE
FRAME IS FASTENED TO
THE BENCH.
FIG. 46. THE IRON FRAME
EXTENDING AROUND
TOP OF BENCH.
shelf A in profile. The different dimensions are in-
dicated in figures upon this sketch. Fig. 43 shows
a profile of the iron which forms the brackets that
support the shelf. Fig. 44 is a top view of the bench.
A A represent the front where the bottom swedges
are placed. BBB shows the position of the handle
swedges. Fig. 45 presents the shape of the twojj
which hold the frame shown in Fig. 46 to tl
8o
BLACKSMITHING.
a general view of which is also afforded by Fig. 41.
Fig. 46 represents an iron frame which goes entirely
around the bench, and serves as a rack for tools. It
is made of 5-8 inch oval iron. The two irons shown
in Fig. 45 are made of 7-16 x 3-16 steel tire. In fas-
tening these two irons to the frame, the hooks come
on the underside, so as to bring the frame level with
the bench. By Now AND THEN.
A CONVENIENT WORK-BENCH.
The dimensions of the work bench shown in
sketch, Fig. 47, are, length 16 feet, width 32 inches,
FIG. 47. A WORK-BENCH DESIGNED BY " L.*S^ T."
height about the usual. It contains sixteen to
twenty drawers and twelve to sixteen boxes that
extend through its length and are six inches
square or larger. These boxes are for iron bars
such as 1-4, 5-16, 3-8, 7-16, 1-2, 9-16, 5-8, 7-8, round,
BLACKSMITHING.
81
and other light irons. The drawers may be used for
horseshoes, nuts, washers, etc., etc. By L. S. T.
HOME-MADE PORTABLE FORGE.
I made a small portable forge a short time since, as
FIG. 48. HOME-MADE PORTABLE FORGE.
shown in sketch, Fig. 48. In size it is two feet square
and three feet high ; it is made entirely of wood ; the
bellows are round and are sixteen and a half inches
in size, I covered them with the best sheepskin I
82 BLACKSMITHING.
could get. The bed of the forge consists of a box
six inches deep. It is supported by corner posts, all
as shown in the sketch. Through the center of the
bottom is a hole six inches in diameter for the
tuyere ; this is three inches in outside diameter and
is six inches high. The bed is lined with brick
and clay. I find by use that it does not heat through.
The bellows are blown up two half circles with straps
from a board running across the bottom, all of which
will be better understood by reference to the sketch.
In addition to protecting the bed by brick and
clay, the tuyere is set through a piece of sheet iron
doubled and properly secured in place. The hood
which surmounts the forge was made out of old sheet
iron, and has been found sufficient for the purpose.
The connection between the tuyere and the bellows
is a tin pipe. By S. S.
IMPROVED BLACKSMITH'S TUYERE.
Perhaps it would no't come amiss if I gave you a
sketch of a tuyere I am using and have had in use for
twenty-five years. It works entirely satisfactory up
to a certain size of work. For example, it will an-
swer for the lightest work, and weld up to about a four-
inch bar, and is made complete, or,the castings only
are furnished by the Pratt & Whitney Company, of
Hartford, Conn., who are using it in their own shops.
It consists, as will be seen from the accompanying
sketch, Fig. 49, of a wind-box A, supported on brick-
BLACKSMITHING. 83
work which forms an ash-pit G beneath it. To this
box is bolted the wind-pipe B, and at its bottom is
the slide E. In an orifice at the top of A is a tri-
angular and oval breaker D, connected to a rod oper-
ated by the handle C. This rod is protected from the
filling, which is placed between the brick-work and
the shell F of the forge, by being encased in an iron
FIG. 49. SHOWS POSITION "J. T. B/S" TUYERE ON THE FORGE.
pipe /. The blast passes up around the triangular
oval piece D. The operation is as follows : When
D is rotated, it breaks up the slag gathered about
the wind passage or ball in taking a heat, and it falls
into the box below. At any time after a heat the
slide E may be pulled out, letting the slag and dirt
fall into the ash-pit beneath. A sectional view is
seen in Fig. 50. It is a great advantage to be able to
clear the fire while a heat is on without disturbing
8 4
BLACKSMITHING.
the heat. You will see that there is nothing to get
out of order, and as a matter of fact the tuyere will
last fifteen years or more. The top of the wind-box
is two inches thick and the sides y 2 inch thick ; it
weighs altogether about sixty pounds. By J. T. B.
THE SHOP OF HILL & DILL.
Prize Essay written for the Carriage Builder's National Association.
The carriage shop that produces one hundred new
vehicles annually, without steam or power machin-
FIG. 50 IS A SECTIONAL VIEW THROUGH SLAG BREAKER D.
ery, has joined the " Society of the Obsolete," but
the shop of about that capacity without power, which
makes repairing its chief dependence, and builds
enough new vehicles to keep the shop open and the
help at work through seasons when repairing is dull
seems to have or ought to have a place in the indus-
trial economy of mankind. To such an establish-
ment Messrs, Hill & Dill have pinned their indus-
BLACKSMITHING. 85
trial faith and their sign-board. They cater to the
wants of those who desire special vehicles out of the
usual line of sale work. They build extra wide car-
riages for fat people, give extra head and leg-room
to tall people, and welcome the butcher, the baker,
and the coal money-maker, when they come to order
business vehicles with special features. Even the
cranky doctor, minister or school superintendent,
who thinks he has invented a vehicle which will
revolutionize the business, is not frowned upon.
He will probably want a good sensible Goddard
to ride in after he gets through fooling with inven-
tions.
To thoroughly know the establishment, we must
know the firm. Mr. Hill, the capitalist of the firm,
was formerly in the livery-stable business. He is a
solid-built, shrewd, tidy-looking, affable business
man. He has a large knowledge of carriages as a
buyer and user, and paid repair bills for many years.
He knows a good horse, a good carriage and a good
customer at sight, and knows how to use them so as
to get the most out of them.
Mr. Dill is some ten years younger than his part-
ner, tall and bony, hair rather long and trousers
rather short. The corners of his mouth point up-
ward, and he looks as though he was on the point of
laughing out loud, but no one ever caught him in
the act. He talks but little, and is endowed with
excellent judgment and numerous offspring. He
86
BLACKSMITHINC.
was formerly a body-maker, but degenerated or de-
veloped into a foreman of a repair shop. He takes
co&l
up.
coal.
0*
blacksmith shop
04
cm
m
j -
FIG . 51. PLAN OF THE BASEMENT OF HILL & DILL'S SHOP.
AAA, Closets. BBB, Benches. CCC, Forges. DD, Bolts. E, Bender,
F, Bolt-cutter. G, Sink. H, Water-closet.
BLACKSMITHING. 87
the world at its best and makes the best of his mis-
haps ; if he falls down he manages to fall forward,
and rise just a little ahead of where he fell. Both
he and his partner are liberally endowed with the in-
stinct that leads to accumulation, as evidenced by
Mr. Hill's snug bank account and numerous blocks
of real estate which he owns ; and a visit to Mr.
Dill's attic and cellar would convince the most scep-
tical that he also " lays up " everything for which he
has no present use.
The first floor of the shop is level with the side-
walk and the grade is such that at 60 feet from the
corner there is a full-size window (24 lights, 8 x 10
in.,) the bottom of which is 3 ft. above the basement
floor, which is 1 1 ft. 8 in. below the first floor. The
lot is 64 ft. on Main st. and 130 ft. on Glen st.
The shop is 54 x 100 ft. It is built of brick, three
stories high above the basement, and has a flat grav-
eled roof. The upper story is 10 ft. high between
the joists, the other stories and basement are 10 ft.
6 in. between joists. The floor joists are all 12 in.
apart to centers, 2 x 12 in. timber for the upper floor
and 2 x 14 in. for the other floors except the base-
ment, which will be explained further on. The out-
er walls are 16 in. thick up to the upper floor and 12
in. above that. There are two brick partitions, as
shown in the plans, 12 in. thick, one running across
the shop, the other from the front to the cross parti-
tion. These run to the upper floor but not above it.
88
BLACKSMITHING.
The top story is all one room, except the elevator.
It is unfinished and has the necessary posts to sup-
1
office
fire hose
* grehades
sink'
water-
t-loset
closet door
trtmmiing-rooni.
E
wood-shoo
I
FIG. 52.-- -PLAN OF THE FIRST FLOOR.
AA, Closets. BBB, Benches. C, Rack.
BLACKSMITHING. 89
i
port the roof. It is used entirely for storage. The
three lower floors have gas fixtures in such positions
as convenience has indicated. Having described the
building in a general way, we will now consider the
different departments, beginning with the basement.
The blacksmith shop in the east end of the base-
ment is 40 x 41 ft., entirely above ground, and light-
ed on three sides by thirteen full-size windows and
glass in the upper panels of the outside door. Four
forges are located as shown in Fig. 51 of the accom-
panying cuts. The bellows are hung overhead, and
the chimneys are set out from the wall enough to
admit of the wind pipe going through the back of
the chimney. This brings the front of the forges 6
ft. from the wall. The flues are 8 x 20 in., and the
chimneys are curved back and into the wall near the
top of the room. The tool benches are of the usual
sort, except that at the side farthest from the anvil
there is a double slot for swages, so that the top and
bottom tools can be kept in pairs together. The an-
vils are wrought-iron.
There is a smith's and a finisher's vise for each fire,
attached to the benches in convenient places. The
tire-upsetter is bolted to the southeast post. A hori-
zontal drilling machine for tires, and an upright one
for other purposes, bolt cutter, tire bender, two bolt
clippers, two axle seats, and numerous wrenches are
among the tools of the smith shop. There is a
good-sized drawer under each bench for taps and
9$ BLACKSM1THING.
dies and other small tools, two cases of drawers for
bolts and clips (located as shown on plan) and also
part of the " furniture." Another convenience, and
one not usually found in a smith shop, is a set of
differential pulley-blocks. They are very handy on
repair work. If a heavy vehicle comes in with a
spring or axle broken it can be run under one of the
several rings overhead and easily raised and the bro-
ken part removed. With them one man can raise
i,ooolbs., and they cost $13.00. Coat closets are pro-
vided here, as in all the other workrooms except the
varnish rooms. A clock, broom and grindstone are
also found here. The floor is 2-inch chestnut plank
laid on joists bedded in concrete. (It is the same in
the wheel jobber's room.) The remainder of the
basement has a concrete floor. The northwest part
of the basement is- used as a blacksmith store-room,
and occasionally an old wagon findsuts way in there.
The coal-bin, rack for bar iron and tire steel, box
for old scraps, place for old tire, etc., all find accom-
modations here.
The wheel-jobber's room on this floor is fitted up
with special reference to his work. He is required
to do all the wheel work, examine and draft all
wheels, old and new, before they are ironed, set the
boxes, fix spring bars and axle heads, etc. He is
provided with wheel horses, hub boring machines, a
press for setting boxes, two adjustable spoke augers,
cutting from | to ii inches. One of these he is ex-
BLACKSMITHING. 9!
pected to use exclusively on new spokes, the other
for old work. He is supplied with bits of all sizes
from I to ii inch to be kept and used exclusively
for boring rims. He has also a dozen wood hand-
screws and a dozen iron screw clamps. By having
a jobber near the smith shop it saves a good deal of
travel to the wood shop and back. The shop is
heated by steam, and as no steam is used for power
a low-pressure i8-horse power heating boiler does
the business. It is located in the basement, as
shown on the plan. It is 6 ft. 2 in. high, 3 ft. 9 in.
wide and 8 ft. 4 in. long outside of bricks, and cost
about $500 ready for piping. It is supplied with
water, from the elevator tank on the upper floor, and,
as the steam returns to the boiler after passing
through the building, but little water is used.* The
radiating surface consists simply of coils of pipe
placed against the walls in convenient places in the
rooms it is desired to heat. On the north side of
the boiler, 4 in. from the floor, is our steam box for
use in bending. It is a galvanized sheet-iron cylind-
rical affair, 8 ft. long x i ft. diameter, with the open
end toward the wheel jobber. The other end is 4
inches lower and has a drip outlet. It is supplied
with steam from the boiler. It is a simple, inexpen-
sive contrivance, but as most of the bent stock is
bought ready for use, it answers the purpose very
well. Besides the boiler and coal bin, this part of
the basement has a bin for shavings and waste wood,
92 BLACKSMITHING.
and the remainder is used for general storage pur-
poses.
FIG. 53. PLAN OF THE SECOND FLOOR.
A, Sink. B, Water-closet. C, Wardrobe. D, Paint-bench.
BLACKSMITHING. 93
The elevator occupies the position (as shown on
plan) near the center of the building at the intersec-
tion of the two brick partition walls, which make
two sides of the elevator shaft strong and fire-proof.
The other two sides are brick, 12 in, thick from the
foundation in the basement to the upper floor, and
8 in. thick above that. The elevator walls are con-
tinued 2 ft. 6 in. above the roof, and provided with
openings on all four sides for ventilation. The shaft
is covered with a metal frame skylight. The eleva-
tor and shaft (or, rather room), serve several pur-
poses : First, in its legitimate and more important
work of raising and lowering carriages and stock
from floor to floor ; second, as a ventilating shaft ;
and, third, as a wash room. It is a hydraulic tele-
scope elevator, run by water from the street main
which passes the premises to supply the neighboring
city with water. We are fortunate in being located
on a street which has what is known as the high ser-
vice main, with a pressure of 125 Ibs. to the inch.
75 Ibs. will run it satisfactorily with 2,000 Ibs. load,
but not so fast. There is a tank on the upper floor
to hold the exhaust water, which is forced up by the
descent of the elevator. It is then carried in pipes
for use in different parts of the building. By using
the exhaust water for other purposes, the cost of
running the elevator is quite small. The doorways
are arched ; the doors are made of light lumber
tinned on the inside, hung on hinges (opening out-
94 BLACKSMJTHING.
ward, of course). They close by a spring and fasten
by a catch which cannot be released from the out-
side except by pressing a short lever, which, for pur-
poses of safety, is placed in an unusual place near
the floor. At each floor above the basement, there
is a light hatch covered with tin sanding on its edge,
so hung with hinges that by releasing it (which can
be done from the outside) it will fall and cover the
hatchway, thus cutting off draft in case of fire. The
car or platform of the elevator is made of spruce
lumber, and the floor is 2-inch plank, laid crosswise
with i-inch spaces between the planks. The floor of
the shaft in the basement is concrete, concave, with
an outlet near the center (the plunger is in the cen-
ter) connected with the sewer and provided with a
stench trap. With the elevator thus arranged, we
have a wash room on every floor, and, on the first
and second floors, doors opening on opposite sides
give plenty of light. The elevator shaft also serves
a good purpose as a ventilator, ventilation being as-
sisted by the elevator passing up and down. The
shaft is 1 5 x 9 ft.
The show-room is in the north front corner (see
Fig. 52). It is 56 x 24 ft., and has two plate-glass
windows at the northwest corner. It is sheathed
with good pine sheathing and painted like the var-
nish rooms, a very light drab. This room, like the
office and varnish rooms, has drab window curtains/of
the same shade as the paint. The furniture of this
BLACKSMITH1NG. 95
department consists chiefly of a display horse. A
few harnesses are kept for sale, and a team is kept
hitched up continually.
The office is in the south front corner ; it is 8 x 17
ft., has two windows, and lights in the door. It is
finished the same as the show room, but is varnished
instead of painted. It is warmed by steam from the
boiler and has an ornamental radiator. It has awash
bowl connected with the water pipes and the sew-
er. It is finished with a desk, safe, four chairs (no
lounge none of that business done in this shop),
an umbrella stand and a couple of spittoons. There
are two closets in this room, one (the smaller) for
coats, etc. The other has three drawers, and the
remainder in shelves. This closet is for back num-
bers of the'trade journals, drawings of vehicles it is
desired to preserve, etc.
The wood shop is in the northeast corner of the
first floor. It is 40 x 25 ft., and has four benches,
as shown on the plan. There is also a smaller bench
at the northeast corner of the room on which there
is a saw-filing clamp and saw set. The only stove
on the premises is in this room. It is a sheet-iron
drum stove with a lid on top, but no door except the
ash door at the bottom. Its principal business is
warping panels. It has a strong, smooth piece of
horizontal pipe with a parallel rod, in. iron, under
which one edge of the panel may be placed,
passing it around the pipe. The other furniture of
. m
96 BLACKSMITHING.
this room consists in part of a clock and a broom,
grindstone, two body-makers' trestles, four horses,
four dozen wood hand-screws, one dozen each 4, 5
and 6 in. iron screw clamps, and four long clamps to
reach from side to side of bodies.
The trimming room occupies the southeast corner
of the first floor. It is 23 x 25 ft., and has a bench
running the whole length of the east side. It is large
enough to accommodate three trimmers and a man
to do general work, such as oiling straps, polishing
plated work, helping hang up work, fitting axle
washers, shaft rubbers, etc. His bench is on the
north side and has a vise on it. The sewing machine
is on the opposite side. There is a closet for cloth
and other stock under the stairs leading to the sec-
ond floor. The small room (stock room on plan) is
fitted, up with shelving, and part is used for trim-
ming stock, the rest for other materials, such as var-
nish and color cans, sandpaper, files, etc.
The paint shop occupies the entire second floor
(see Fig. 53), and in case of necessity the room back
of the office on the first floor can be used for such
heavy jobs as are to be done without unhanging.
The room at the northeast corner is the general
work-room, and contains paint bench, where paints
are mixed, paint mill, press for squeezing colors out
of the cans, water boxes for paint brushes, coat clos-
ets, etc., but there is no corner or place in this room
nor on the floor suitable for a collection of paint
BLACKSMITHING. 97
rags, worn sandpaper and discarded tins. A sheet-
metal can holding about a bushel is provided for
this debris, and it is expected that it will be emptied
each day. The room is sheathed overhead with J-in.
matched sheathing, as are also the partition walls.
The outer brick walls are bare. The two rooms
at the west end (front) are varnish rooms. Both are
finished alike, sheathed with J-in. matched pine on
all sides and overhead, and painted two coats very
light drab with enough varnish in the second coat to
give it an egg-shell gloss. Each room has a ventilat-
ing flue in the wall. The furniture of these rooms
consists simply of the necessary trestle, etc., on which
to place the work while varnishing, cup stands and
brush keepers. There is also a thermometer in
each of these rooms. On the north side between
the varnish room and the work room is a room into
which work can be put when it is necessary to empty
the varnish rooms before the work is dry enough to
hang up. When not needed for this purpose it can
be used for varnishing running parts or for storage;
this room is also sheathed and painted. The small
room at the east end is for sandpapering and all very
dirty work. The workroom is 40 x 23 ft., the var-
nish rooms 25 x 24 ft. and 25 x 26 ft. respectively.
The lumber shed is 20 x 40 ft. It stands at the
northeast corner of the lot. The posts are 18 ft.
high. The roof is graveled and has just slope
enough to carry the water off. It has four compart-
98 BLACKSMITHING.
ments on the ground, 9 ft. high, for heavy plank, and
has lofts above for lighter lumber. It is boarded
with matched boards, and has ample openings for air
at the top and bottom of each story. The west side
of the lower portion is entirely open, and the doors
to the loft above may be left open when desirable.
South of this shed is a place for a fire and a stone
on which to set heavy tires. The water for cooling
this is brought from the smith shop by means of a
rubber hose. By WARREN HOWARD.
BLACKSMITHING. 99
CHAPTER IV.
ANVILS AND ANVIL TOOLS.
HOW ANVILS ARE MADE.*
"So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth
with the hammer him that smote the anvil."
This is the first and only mention of the anvil
found in the Bible. But it is of more remote origin
even than the prophet Isaiah, as we read of Vul-
can forging the thunderbolts of Jupiter, and he must,
of course, have had an anvil of some sort for that
style of blacksmithing ; probably, however, nothing
better than a convenient boulder.
The anvil and the anchor are two of the oldest
implements known, and for thousands of years about
the only ones that have not changed in general form.
The modern " vulcan " now has a hardened steel
face provided with the necessary holes for his
swedges, which with the round projection at the
other end terminating in a point, called the "horn,"
is sufficient for every kind of work.
* This article on the history, description, and manufacture of anvils
will undoubtedly be found of interest to our readers. We have taken
some pains to inform ourselves on this subject in consequence of some
unfavorable comments which were made on an article on the same topic
which appeared in the columns of The Blacksmith and Wheelwright
a few years ago. EDITOR,
IOO BLACKSMITHING.
Except those made in the United States, every
manufacturer of anvils has a body of wrought iron
under the steel face. The horn also is simply of
wrought iron. With slight modification, the method
of making these has not changed for hundreds of
years.
The body is roughly shaped out under tilt ham-
mers. In the better grades this is in one piece, and
called "patent," while in the German and most Eng-
lish works the four corners and the horn are " jump-
ed" on in separate pieces. Though called "wrought"
this is of the lowest grade of iron, adopted both on
account of cheapness, and because the subsequent
process of welding the steel face to it is easier than
with the more refined of these materials.
For the same reason only the lower grades of steel
viz., "shear" steel, or even "blister" steel, are
used for the face, cast steel never being used on
account of the greater uncertainty of a perfect weld
under the hammer to a large mass of wrought iron.
The common grade of English anvils and all those
of German make weld the steel on in two or three
pieces according to the size of the anvil ; the best
English brand, however, of late years, has the face
in a single piece of shear steel.
For this the wrought iron mass is brought to a
welding heat, as also the steel plate, the welding of
which begins at one end.
Four strikers swinging heavy sledge hammers to-
BLACKSMITHING. IOI
gether, do this welding in portions of about five
inches of its length at a time, and this process is con-
tinued by successive heatings until the whole length
of the face is finished.
The cutter hole and the small round hole in the
tail are then punched out, the iron horn rounded off,
and the whole dressed up into its finished shape at a
subsequent heating. By long years of experience at
this work a symmetrical, good-looking job is made.
Any inequalities or imperfections in the face are
taken out by grinding crosswise on a large stone, and
the anvil is then ready for the final process of hard-
ening.
This is done by reheating the upper portion to a
red heat, and a stream of water is let down upon it
under a ten-foot head. The temper will be more or
less uniform according to the quality of the steel
which has been used, and the greater or less care in
the heating at the previous stages. The soft spots
so much complained of by blacksmiths are due to
these inequalities of the material and workmanship.
The thickness of the steel used varies from three-
eighths to three-quarters of an inch, according to the
size of the anvil.
The whole process is almost entirely one of man-
ual labor and judgment. Extreme care must be used
not to burn some portions of the steel during the
welding operation, resulting in cracked faces and
crumbling edges, which the blacksmith frequently
IO2 BLACKSMITHING.
finds to his sorrow developed in his anvil, apparent-
ly of the best when new.
A perfectly welded, wrought iron anvil has a clear
" ring "when struck; otherwise it is a pretty good
sign that there is somewhere an imperfection.
From the nature of the operation as above describ-
ed, it is evident that the size of such an anvil must be
limited. They vary in weight from one hundred to
five hundred pounds; the largest ever made being one
exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial, which
weighed 960 pounds.
There are no wrought iron anvils made in the
United States. As it is almost entirely a question of
skilled manual labor, and as there has never been
any but a nominal duty imposed (it is the same as
on spikes, nuts, and washers), all the wrought anvils
used in this country are imported from Europe.
In 1847, tne l ate Mr. Mark Fisher, believing in the
possibility of welding cast steel to a high grade of
cast iron, which had up to that time been unknown,
discovered a perfect and successful process by which
the two metals could be welded together in any desir-
ed dimensions. [The largest anvil in the world was
made by the Fisher Eagle Anvil Works for the Cen-
tennial Exposition in 1876. Its weight was i,6oolbs.]
The value of this process for anvils was apparent,
as there could thus be obtained a perfect working
surface of the best quality of cast steel, capable of
hard and uniform temper on a body which from its
BLACKSMITHING. IO3
crystalline and inflexible structure would never settle
or get out of shape in use one of the defects liable
to occur by continued hammering in anvils with a
fibrous wrought iron body under the steel.
It also enabled a steel working surface to be ap-
plied to the horn, which previously had been only
of plain iron.
The first manufacture of these anvils in this coun-
try began under his patent in 1847, an d though re-
quiring many years to perfect and establish this new
and essentially American anvil, it is now recognized
as a better article than the old-fashioned imported
kind, over one-half of the anvils used in this country,
it is said, being made by this process, and so certain
and successful is it that they are the only ones in the
market fully warranted against breakage, settling of
the face, or failure in any respect.
It is needless to say that ordinary cast iron would
not answer for a tool subject to such severe usage
as an anvil.
The metal employed must have a strength equal
to that in gun castings, a certain elasticity to
stand the strain of high heating and sudden cooling
of the tempering process, and perfectly sound in
all parts. Though many so-called " cast " anvils
have from time to time come upon the market, only
one concern in the country, and that the original
operating under the Fisher patents, has
produce anvils with all the qualities
104 BLACKSMITHING.
necessary in these tools. The mode of manufacture
is naturally quite different from that of wrought iron
anvils.
The steel used is one piece for the face, of best
tool cast steel.
The anvil is cast bottom side up, having this steel,
as also the steel horn, placed in the " drag " or lower
part of the mold.
Before' filling it with the metal, which is not only
to form the body of the anvil, but also to effect in
its passage the perfect welding required, the steel
face and horn are heated to*$i bright color, and every
part of their exposed surface is covered by the molt-
en metal. After the necessary annealing this rough
anvil is removed, trimmed, planed true, and put
into its finished shape, the cutter-holes made exact,
and it is then ready for the hardening and tempering
process. This last is the crucial test, for both iron
and steel must be heated to a high point and then
suddenly plunged into the cold hardening liquid.
Should there be any spot between the two metals
not perfectly welded, the steel will separate, or the
whole anvil will crack and fly into pieces; so that if it
passes this stage successfully it is reasonably sure to
be perfect, and therefore the -makers can safely give
a full warranty to the purchaser.
Recent improvements have added much to the
value of this make of anvil. By extending the steel
part of the horn down into the body, all danger of
BLACKSMITHING. IO5
breakage of the horn where it joins the main part is
prevented. Also both edges of the steel face are
made of double thickness, which prevents crumbling
or splitting off of those places most exposed to
severe usage, so common with the old-fashioned
anvils.
Two peculiarities distinguish the American from
the foreign anvil. They are more solid from the
crystalline structure of the body, and therefore do
not bounce back the hammer or sledge, thus retain-
ing all the effect of the blows in the piece worked
on, and the steel face always retains its original true
surface for the same reason. Also there is very little
" ring " in them, and this peculiarity is sometimes
urged as an objection by those accustomed to the
wrought iron anvils.
Nearly <every metal trade has its special form of
anvil, and differing from that of the blacksmith such
as saw, axe, razor, silversmith, coppersmith, shovel,
Hoe, plough, and many others, which are simple
blocks of iron with steel faces, made by one or the
other of the two above-described distinct and oppo-
site methods and materials.
The annual importations of anvils from England
and Germany into the United States exceeds one
and a half million pounds.
The price of all anvils is now less than one-half
that of former times, when we were compelled to ob-
tain our entire supply from foreign manufacturers
IO6 BLACKSMITHING.
and importers, and before the discovery of the pro-
cess above referred to made American competition
possible. By " EXPERT."
DRESSING ANVILS.
The expression, " I wish my anvil was dressed,"
can be heard every few weeks in very many black-
smith shops. The work which the smith has to do
oftentimes requires some little thought in the make-
up of the anvil in which it is deficient, hence a
considerable hammering of the iron is required to
obtain the shape wanted. I have noticed that nearly
all the new anvils I have seen are wrong in the de-
sign of the face. The corners of both sides toward
the horn, half way the length of the face, should be
rounded to the radius of about one-quarter of an
inch. This prevents the cutting of small fillets which
are often required in iron work for strength, and en-
ables the smith to get his work near the anvil with-
out danger of cutting the fillet. This is a source of
comfort in many cases. It is also more agreeable to
scarf iron on a round corner, because it does not
cut the scarf and cause it to break it, as a shaip
corner does.
To dress an old anvil requires some knowledge.
It is necessary to know how to go about it. In the
first place, if the shop is provided with a crane it
will be found useful in the work to be done. The
tools required to handle an anvil are two bars of i^
BLACKSMITHING. 1C>7
inch iron, one of them six or eight feet long and the
other five feet long, according to the size and weight.
The length of the bars can be chosen for the work
according to the smith's judgment. The carrying
bars are pointed to fit the holes in the anvil under
the heel and horn and also the bottom. These holes
afford the most convenient way of holding an anvil
either in forging it or dressing it. The construction
of the fire is a most important feature of the work in
hand. Throw away the fine burnt coal that is around
the fire, and build the fire large enough with good,
fine soft coal. Do not be afraid of using too much
coal, because in rebuilding the fire there will be
plenty of coke, which will be found useful. When
the fire has obtained a good bottom, place the anvil
face nearest the horn on the fire, thus heating parts
of the face at a time. Next put some fine cut pine
wood alongside the anvil, about 3 inches high and
8 or 10 inches long, and cover it all over with soft
coal. When the wood burns out there will be a
hollow space around the part that is being heated,
which will allow free circulation of heat and flame.
By this plan it will also be possible to see into the
work through the openings ihade in front through
the crust of the coke or fire cover. Through these
openings on either side the operator can feed the
fire with broken coke as it burns away. If the top
burns through, recover the burnt parts with fine
soft coal in time so that it will not fall. Do not let
IO8 BLACKSMITHING.
the coke touch the face underneath, because it
hinders the proper heating.
When the anvil is hot enough, place it on the floor
or block, as may be deemed best, and then let two
men work up the sides together at the part heated
with their hammers. This brings up the metal to
build out the corners with, and also to level the
roundness of the face. Smooth every part heated
with the flatter or hammers as much as possible, be-
cause this lessens the work of grinding the face.
Use a square in order to see that the work is level.
Heat again along the face and finish. When it
comes to the heel, have a square pin to drift the hole
out, so that it will not be necessary to alter the
tongs of the bottom tools employed in it. Round
off the corners for about eight inches on each side of
the horn. Further out let the corners be sharp. If
a piece is broken off the corners, make a wedge of
tough toe-calk steel, amply large enough to fill the
space. Have a clean fire and plenty of coke to bank
up with. Heat the broken part and raise up the
edges with a fuller, rounded to about the size of a
silver dollar, 3/% of an inch thick ; then, when hot
enough to work, sink the chisel in far enough for the
purpose and drive the steel wedge in the opening
thus formed. Then heat until soft enough to work
and fill up the space. Sprinkle the iron with cherry
heat welding compound in such a manner that it will
get between the iron and steel. Heat slowly with
BLACKSMITHING.
plenty of clean coke and flux with compound. If
the heat is good there will be no difficulty in work-
ing with hand hammers. Cut off the waste on the
side with a sharp chisel. If the horn wants setting
up a little, it may be next taken in hand, as there
will be sufficient coke to cover it. Do not let the
point of the horn set above the level of the face, be-
cause it interferes with straightening along the iron.
To heat the anvil for hardening, place supports
under the carrying bars when they are in the anvil.
This prevents the anvil settling in the fire. Keep
the coal from the face. Build with fine kindling wood
all along the sides and heel. Cover with soft coal,
not too wet, then blow up. When the wood is burn-
ed up, open a hole through the back and front of the
fire for circulation. When the anvil is red hot on
the face it is ready to harden. Lower it in a box of
water until there is about three inches over the face.
A piece of chain with hooks to it, passing around
the horn and underneath the heel, the point dropped
through the hole to prevent the chain slipping, a long
bar passed through the chain loop, will be sufficient
to keep the operators far enough from the steam to
prevent danger from scalding. A stream of water
from hose on the upturned face of the anvil will
quickly cool it, or pails of water speedily used from
an extra supply barrel will answer. Anvils are usu-
ally hardened, not tempered. The grinding can be
done with a travel emery wheel, or the anvil may be
no
BLACKSMITHING.
hung with a rope or chain in front of the breast of a
stone driven by machinery. Taken thus, it may be
passed to and fro across the stone, and twisted and
turned without the least inconvenience from its
weight. By C. S.
SHARP OR ROUND EDGES FOR ANVILS.
" Would an anvil of any make be more convenient
if both edges of its face were to be rounded for one-
third or one-half its length ?"
t
FIG. 54. SHOWING THE EDGES.
It is not my desire at this time to discuss the rel-
ative merits of different makes of anvils. What I
would like to know is whether, in any anvil, there
is any reason for having the edges that are rep-
resented by the lines a b and c d, in Fig. 54 of the
accompanying illustration, sharp instead of rounded
to a curve of a quarter of an inch or more radius ?
I believe that it is impossible to forge an interior
angle sharp and have the forging round. It does
not matter how small the work, nor how insignificant
BLACK SMITH ING.
Ill
the shoulder that is formed by the re-entering angle,
if sharp in the corner, the structure of the iron at
that point is destroyed and the forging weakened.
The weakness may not at first be apparent, the
forging may look well enough, for it is only in ex-
aggerated cases that the crack or " cut" is actually
found. Now, if it be a fact that sharp inside corners
in the work cannot be made safely, what possible use
can there be for sharp outside edges on the anvil ?
True, I have seen blacksmiths cut off excess of stock
FIG. 55. PARTIAL SECTIONAL VIEW OF ANVIL SHOWING ROUNDED
EDGES.
over the edge of the anvil when their hardy was
duller than the anvil ; but who will defend them in
such an operation ?
For my own part, I am satisfied not only that the
sharp edges are useless, but that they are also de-
structive of good work. I cannot account for their
existence except as a relic of a time when the princi-
ples of forging were but little understood. I want
both edges of my anvil rounded, not simply foj
part of thqir length, but for their whole lengl
112 BLACKSMITHING.
my mind the ideal anvil of 1 30 pounds is one having its
edges from a to b and from c to d, Fig. 54, rounded
to a curve of three-eighths of an inch radius (as at^?,
Fig- 55> which is a partial section enlarged on the
line a, b, Fig. 54), and its edges from b to c and from
d to /"rounded to a curve of three-sixteenths or one-
quarter of an inch radius. The edge from e to /"can
be sharp to satisfy the unconverted. By X.
DEVICE FOR FACILITATING THE FORGING OF CLIPS FOR
FIFTH WHEELS.
About fourteen years ago I was engaged in the
manufacture of fifth wheels on a small scale, and
having to devise appliances and often to extem-
porize means to more effectually facilitate matters,
among other " kinks" I introduced the following,
which has given me a good return for the trifling
change it makes in the usual method of using the
" ass " of the anvil. It is well known that in the or-
dinary style of working this part of the anvil soon
becomes imperfect or depressed, as shown at D in
the accompanying illustration, Fig. 56. My plan is to
drill immediately below the steel face, and about two
inches from the front end of the anvil face, three ^-
inch holes, thus forming a round angled triangular
hole, C, through the anvil. On removing the core
left, I have a conveniently shaped hole that will ac-
commodate almost any size clip, and enable me to
swage it very true, quick and perfect, with less effort
BLACKSMITHING. 113
to retain it square, than is required by the old plan.
I have not seen this idea put into practice anywhere
else, although, having been otherwise engaged for
the last twelve years, it may have been \ised by others
without my knowledge. The hole does not weaken
the anvil enough to injure it, and I was surprised at
FIG. 56. DEVICE FOR FACILITATING THE FORGING OF CLIPS FOR
FIFTH WHEELS.
the durability of this portion of the face after two
years' constant use on four or five anvils. They were
as good anvils as we could get. By W. D.
PUTTING A HORN ON AN ANVIL.
I have put three horns on broken anvils, and I
have worked on one of these anvils for fourteen
years. My method of doing the job is as follows :
I first .cut the mortise, cutting in straight about
three-quarters of an inch, then cut out the corners ; of
course it has to be done cold. Commence well down
114 BLACK-SMITHING.
below the steel, then lay out the tenon on the horn,
heat it and cut with a thin chisel, fit tight, and drive
together with a sledge. If there are any open places
between the anvil and horn, drive in thin wedges as
hard as possible. Cut off very close, and take the
fuller and head the iron over them, and then put in
the die and head that in. If it gets a little loose
after a while, take the fuller and head it again. It
has always taken me about a day to do this job. I n the
FIG. 54. PUTTING A HORN ON AN ANVIL BY THE METHOD OF " C. H."
accompanying illustration, Fig. 57, is shown my way
of doing it. A represents the dove-tail mortise, B is
the horn, and C is the die used to fill up the mortise
after the horn is driven to its place. By C. H.
FASTENING AN ANVIL TO THE BLOCK.
A simple and effective way to fasten an anvil to a
block is to make a square iron plug to fit tightly
the hole in the bottom of anvil, and a similar hole in
BLACKSMITHING. 115
center of block. Then you can have the block just
the size of the anvil and no fixings in the way, or
even in sight. By WILL TOD.
FASTENING ANVILS.
Concerning the proper method of fastening anvils
in position, I would say that it only requires to flatten
each corner of the anvil. Drill a half-inch hole and
pass a half-inch square-headed bolt, ten inches long,
down through the hole into the block, with the nut so
arranged as to receive the end of the bolt. By fas-
tening the anvil in this way there will be no obstruc-
tions whatever. I am notable to send a drawing of
this means of fastening an anvil, but think every
practical smith will readily understand it from the
description. By J. W. F.
HOLDING AN ANVIL TO THE BLOCK.
To fasten an anvil to the block, I use a chain
of the proper length with an eye bolt. It is passed
over the anvil, and the eye is then screwed into the
block on the front and back.
The eye bolt is then passed through the eye in
the block and screwed down until it is tight. When
fixed in this manner an anvil cannot move. The de-
vice is so simple that it is not much work to make it,
By H. N. P,
IIO BLACKSMITHING.
SHARPENING CALKS A DEVICE FOR HOLDING
AND OTHER WORK ON THE ANVIL.
SHOE
In all places where. the roads are icy, it pays those
who use horses to have steel calks in the heels as
FIG. 58. DEVICE FOR HOLDING WORK ON THE ANVIL.
well as in the toes of their shoes. In different places
where I have worked various methods have been em-
ployed to obtain a self-sharpening and durable calk.
The best plan I have ever tried is to split the heel-
calks with a thin chisel, and insert a piece of steel
(old sickle sections are good) previously cut to the
BLACKSMITHING. 117
proper size ; then weld solid, draw sharp, and temper
hard. It used to require a helper to hold the shoe
with tongs on the anvil, or it would jump off in split-
ting the heels ; but I have studied out a contrivance
that I think may be of use to all brother smiths who
think my way worth adopting. I will try to explain it,
with the aid of the accompanying illustration, Fig. 58,
in which C is a foot lever hung in the center by two
staples on a right-angle iron, D, which is sharpened
at each end, one end being driven into the anvil-
block, B, and the other into the floor. To this foot-
treadle is bolted or riveted a strap with an eye
connected to the rod , which latter has eyes
on both ends, and is connected with F F, which is in
one piece of 5-8 round iron, flattened where it comes
on the anvil face. Before being bent, F is passed
through two eyes which are fastened to .the front of
the anvil-block with screw-bolts. When a man has
no helper, this device is often useful in holding other
kinds of work on the anvil for punching, etc., and
saves one man's time. When there is no such work
to be done, it can be taken off and laid aside. By
C. H. W.
MENDING AN ANVIL.
I will try to describe a job that was done lately in
the shop I am working in.
The base of a wrought-iron anvil had been broken
off as shown in Fig. 59. Not wishing to throw the
1 1 8 BLA.CKSMITHING.
anvil away, the boss told us to try to repair it, and we
did it in the following manner :
We first looped a piece of i^-inch iron around the
end of the anvil, with a flat spot just above the loop
on which to catch a hook so as to enable us to handle
it better. We next put what I call a binder of 5-8
FIG. 59. THE ANVIL AND THE PIECE USED IN MENDING IT.
round iron around the beak iron to prevent the por-
ter bar from slipping off. Next we got out a piece
of iron something the shape of the piece A, in Fig.
59, with a bar welded on the side for handling. This
piece was about as wide as the body of the anvil.
We then put the anvil in the fire to prepare it for
welding, which was done by cutting away the uneven
BLACKSMITHING.
119
places and scoring it with a chisel. We then put
the anvil in the fire for a weld, building the fire up
especially for it. The piece to be welded on was
FIG. 60. SHOWING HOW THE PIECE WAS WELDED ON AND SHAPED.
brought to a heat in a separate fire. When all was
ready the anvil was carried out of the fire by the aid
of a bar of iron run through the loop, and turned
FIG. 6l. THE ANVIL AS MENDED.
into position by the use of the hook and the flat spot
on the bar. The piece was then welded on and put
into shape with a big fuller, which left the job as
seen in Fig. 60. The side was then scored and the
1 2O BLACKSMITHING.
anvil put back into the fire for a side heat while the
piece B was made. It was brought to a heat by the
time the anvil was hot, and then they were brought
out and welded and put into shape like the end piece.
The other side was then put through the same pro-
cess, and the whole touched up with fuller and
FIG. 62. METHOD OF HOLDING AN ANVIL IN POSITION.
flatter, which left the job in good shape as shown in
Fig. 61, and as good as new. By APPRENTICE.
FASTENING AN ANVIL IN POSITION.
I enclose you a drawing which shows a method for
fastening an anvil down to the block that may be
of interest to some of your readers. The fastening
irons consist of two 3-8-inch round rods or clips that
are bent around the anvil and block, as shown by A
A in Fig. 62. At X there is a piece of /-8-inch
BLACKSMITHING. 121
square iron run through the block. Four holes are
drilled in this piece, the square iron through which
the clips A A pass and into which they are fastened
with nuts. The threads on the rods should be one
inch longer on each end than they are needed, so
that in case the anvil ever becomes loose it will be
possible to draw it down by means of the nuts.
Fig. 63 of the sketches shows the details of the
parts. I think this fastening is one of the best that
I have ever seen, and it is easy to make. It keeps
FIG. 63. DETAILS OF DEVICE SHOWN IN FIG. 62.
the block from being split and driven full of spikes.
I have never seen a better plan for holding an
anvil than this. By H. R. H.
FASTENING AN ANVIL IN POSITION.
I enclose some rough sketches setting forth my
ideas of the fastenings for an anvil. In the first
place I do not have my anvil block any larger than
the anvil base. I use braces as shown in the engrav-
122
BLACKSMITHING.
ing, Fig. 64. The strap is made of i ^ by ^-inch iron
bent and flatways. Each end has a piece of 24 -inch
round iron welded on to it. Referring to the letters
in the engraving, A represents the strap going
around the foot of the anvil to receive B. On each
FIG. 64.";. T. B.'S" METHOD OF FASTENING AN ANVIL.
side of the block on which the anvil rests a notch is
cut to receive B. Referring to " H. R. H.'s" plan
(see page 120), I would say that to me it appears
that his fastenings would not amount to much unless
their size was greatly increased. With this I think
BLACKSMITHING.
123
there is at least four times as much work to cut a
square hole quite through the block as there is to
have notches cut one on each side as indicated in my
sketch. By].Ti. B.
FASTENING ANVILS IN POSITION.
I enclose a sketch, Fig.65, representing my own plan
for holding an anvil in position. It serves the pur-
FIG 65. " M. R. R.'S" METHOD OF FASTENING AN ANVIL.
pose well and is easily applied. The drawing so
clearly shows the idea that very little explanation is
necessary. By means of mortises in the sides of the
block, nuts are inserted, into which bolts are screwed,
as shown in the sketch. The short pieces, against
which the heads of the bolts rest, are shaped_
1* ^
1 24 BLACKSMITHING.
a manner as to be driven by their outer ends into the
block, thus holding them securely in place, and act-
ing as a leverage in connection with the bolt for
holding the anvil more securely. The depth at
which the mortises in the sides of the blocks is made
should be far enough from the top to give sufficient
strength for clamping the anvil solidly in position.
The braces at the side of the foot of the anvil need
FIG. 66. SELF-ACTING SWEDGE DESIGNED BY " E. M. B."
not project more than 1-2 or 3-4 of an inch from the
anvil. Bolts 1-2 inch in diameter, or larger, should
be used, according to the weight of the anvil to be
held.
A SELF-ACTING SWEDGE..
I send herewith a representation, Fig. 66, of a self-
acting swedge for rounding up small work on the an-
vil without a striker or help. It sets into the anvil
like an ordinary swedge, and the blacksmith strikes
BLACKSMITHING. 125
with his hand-hammer on top. It is made of iron,
with a steel spring, which should be i to i 1-2 inches
wide by 1-4 inch thick. By E. M. B.
MAKING A PUNCH.
I send a sketch, Fig. 67, of a punch which I made
for my own use and find a very convenient tool. It
can be constructed so as to punch to the center of any
sheet. The part D, shown in the illustration, is dove-
FIG. 67. PUNCH MADE BY "H. S."
tailed, so that any size of die can be used. The punch
is made of 3-4 or 7-8 inch square steel, with the point
forged to the required size and with a small center
to catch the center mark of the work. The machine
is made to lie on the anvil, and part A is welded on
to fit the square hole in the anvil. In using it, the
punch is placed in the center mark of the work by
hand, and the work is held firmly while the helper
gives a good solid blow with the sledge. I have
126 BLACKSMITHING.
used one for four years. It will punch 7-i6-inch
round and square holes through 1-4 and 5-i6-inch
plow steel. By H. S.
MAKING AN ANVIL PUNCH.
I will try to describe an anvil punch that I made in my
shop at an expense of two dollars only. I have a set of
six, the sizes being 1-4, 3-8, 1-2, 5-8, 3-4 and i in., and
I think every blacksmith should have a set of them.
With the 1-4 in. and 3-8 in. size 1 can punch cold iron
up to 5-16 in. thickness. With the 1-2, 5-8, 3-4, and i in.
sizes I can punch 3-8 in. iron cold. I can punch steel
saw blades as easily as band irons, and as the punch
is used in the square hole in the anvil like any other
anvil tool it does not take lo.ig to change from one
size of punch to another. The tool is made as fol-
lows : I take a piece of Swedish iron i^ in. x ^ in.
and 10 inches long, upset it a little on one end, then
take a piece of good steel and cut off a square piece
i y 2 in. x i y 2 in. and weld it firmly on the large end of
the iron. Then I take a hand punch and punch a hole
in the center of the steel, making the hole a little
larger than that which the punch is to cut when fin-
ished. The punch should be driven from the iron
side to make the hole largest on the bottom, s.o that
the punchings will drop out. I then heat the other
end, cut it half off \y 2 in. from the end, bend it over
and weld it well, then take a square punch and punch
and work out a 3-4 in. hole which must be perfectly
BLACKSMITHING.
127
true. The punch will then look as in Fig. 68. Then I
take an iron the same size as the square hole in my
FIG. 68. SHOWING THE PIECE AFTER WELDING, SHAPING AND
PUNCHING.
anvil, and weld it on the bottom side of the punch
2*^ in. from the round hole in the punch, which is now
FIG. 69. -SHOWING THE PIECE READY FOR FILING, DRESSING AND
BENDING.
like Fig. 69, and is ready to be filed off and dressed.
Then I take a piece of 3-4 in. square cast steel, cut off
FIG. 70. THE TOP DIE OF THE PUNCH.
6 inches, draw it down and file one end so as to fit the
round hole in the die of the punch. .1 make the top
128
BLACKSMITHING.
die of the 1-4 in. punch 5-16 in. long on the round part.
For larger punches the dies should be larger. Fig. 70
represents the top die when finished. I then heat the
punch, bend it so that the two holes will be in a line,
fit in the top die and make sure that it goes perfectly
true into the hole. Let it cool slowly, and when it is
FIG. 71. THE ANVIL PUNCH COMPLETED.
cool see that the face of the bottom die is all right,
and that the die works straight and easily. Temper
as you would for any tool intended to cut iron. Fig.
71 represents the punch when finished. By N. C. M.
FORGING A STEEL ANVIL.
I would like to say a few words about forging cast
steel anvils. Fig. 72 of the engraving annexed shows
BLACKSMITHING.
I2 9
the steel split and ready for the fullering. In Fig. 73
it is seen fullered and forming the outline of an an-
no. 72. SHOWING THE PIECE SPLIT AND READY FOR FULLERING.
vil. The ends, when fullered to the proper shape,
will form the face and bottom. In doing this it must
F jG. 73. SHOWING THE STEEL FULLERED AND FORMED INTO THE
OUTLINE OF AN ANVIL.
be fullered on four sides and at the bottom, and
drawn to the thickness proper for a face. After it is
130 BLACKSMITHING.
fullered it is brought back intoplace and trimmed to
the right length, as indicated in the dotted lines of
Fig. 73. Fig. 74 shows the job completed. The steel
should be chosen to correspond with the size of the
FIG. 74. SHOWING THE FINISHED ANVIL.
anvil desired. I don't think this method I have de-
scribed would answer for a hundred-pound anvil, but
it is convenient in making one from five to twenty
pounds. By C. E.
BLACKSMITHING.
CHAPTER V.
BLACKSMITHS' TOOLS.
In this connection, tongs, hammers (not mentioned
elsewhere) and various other tools commonly used
by blacksmiths, will be illustrated and described.
THE PROPER SHAPE OF EYES FOR TOOL-HANDLES.
To properly fasten a handle in a tool is not so
A
FIGS. 75 AND 76. CORRECT SHAPE OF EYE FOR TOOL-HANDLE.
simple as it appears, and that is the reason that we
so often see them improperly handled, as is evidenced
by their so easily coming loose. I have a chipping-
hammer that I once used for two consecutive years
when working at the vise. It has been in intermit-
132
BLACKSMITHING.
tent use for some ten years since, and its handle
shows no signs of coming loose, for the simple rea-
son that it was properly put in in the first place.
The correct shape for an eye to receive a tool-
handle is shown in Figs. 75 and 76, which are sec-
tional views. A is the top and B the bottom of the
tool. Two sides of the hole, it will be observed in
Fig. 75> are rounded out from the center towards
each end. The other two sides are parallel from the
top to the center, as shown in Fig. 76, while the bot-
tom half of the hole is rounded out as before. The
FIG. 77. TOP VIEW.
FIG. 78. BOTTOM VIEW.
shape thus obtained may be clearly understood from
Fig. 77, which is a view of the top, or face A, and
Fig. 78, which is a view of the bottom, or face B.
The handle is fitted a driving fit to the eye, and is
shaped as shown in Figs. 79 and 80, which are side
and edge views. From C to D, the handle fills the
eye, but from D to E it fills the eye lengthways only
of the oval. A saw-slot, to receive a wedge, is cut in
the handle, as shown in Fig. 80. The wedge is best
made of soft wood, which will compress and conform
itself to the shape of the slot. To drive the handle
BLACKSMITHING. 133
into the eye, preparatory to wedging it permanently,
it should be placed in the eye, held vertically, with
the tool head hanging downward, and the upper end
struck with a mallet or hammer, which is better than
resting the tool-head on a block. The wedge should
be made longer than will fill the slot, so that its upper
end may project well, and the protruding part, which
FIG. 79. SHAPE OF HANDLE. FIG. 8o. SHAPE OF HANDLE.
ANOTHER VIEW.
may split or bulge in the driving, may be cut off
after the wedge is driven home.
o
The wedge should be driven first with a mallet and
finally with a hammer. After a very few blows on the
wedge, the tool should be suspended by the handle
and the end of the latter struck to keep the handle
firmly home in the eye. This is necessary, because
134
BLACKSMITHING.
driving the wedge in is apt to drive the handle
partly out of the eye.
The width of the wedge should equal the full length
of the oval at the top of the eye, so that one wedge
will spread the handle out to completely fill the eye,
as shown in Fig. 81. Metal wedges are not so good
as wooden ones, because they have less elasticity and
do not so readily conform to the shape of the saw-
slot, for which reason they are more apt to come
loose. The taper on the wedge should be regulated
FIG. 8l. SHAPE OF WEDGE.
to suit the amount of taper in the eye, while the thick-
ness of the wedge should be sufficiently in excess of
the width of the saw-cut, added to the taper in the eye,
to avoid all danger of the end of the wedge meeting
the bottom of the saw-slot.
By this method the tool handle is locked to the
tool eye by being spread at each end of the same. If
the top end of the tool eye were rounded out both
ways of the oval, two wedges would be required to
spread the handle end to fit the eye, one wedge stand-
BLACKSMITHING.
135
ing at a right angle to the other. In this case one
wedge must be of wood and one of metal, the one
standing across the width of the oval usually being
the metal one. The thin edge of the metal wedge is
by some twisted, as shown by Fig. 82, which causes
FIG. 82. SHAPE OF METAL WEDGE.
the wedge to become somewhat locked when driven
in.
In fitting the handle, care must be taken that its
oval is made to stand true with the oval on the tool
eye. Especially is this necessary in the case of a
hammer. Suppose, for example, that in Fig.
FIG. 83. FITTING THE HANDLE.
83 the length of the oval of the handle lies in the
plane A B, while that of the eye lies in the plane C
D ; then the face of the hammer will meet the work
on one side, and the hammer will wear on one side, as
shown in the figure at E. If, however, the eye is
136
BLACKSMITHING.
not true in the hammer, the handle must be fitted
true to the body of the hammer ; that is to say, to
the line C D. The reason for this is that the hand
naturally grasps the handle in such a manner that
the length of the oval of the handle lies in the plane
of the line of motion when striking a blo.w, and it is
obvious that to strike a fair blow the length of the
hammer should also stand in the plane of motion.
The handle should also stand at a right angle to
FIG. 84. HANDLE AT RIGHT ANGLE TO PLANE OF LENGTH OF HAM-
MER HEAD.
the plane of the length of the hammer head, viewed
from the side elevation, as shown in Fig. 84, in
which the dotted line is the plane of the hammer's
length, while B represents a line at a right angle to
A, and should, therefore, represent the axial line of
the hammer handle. But suppose the handle stood
as denoted by the dotted line C, then the face of the
hammer would wear to one side, as shown in the fig-
ure at D. By JOSHUA ROSE, M.E.
BLACKSMITHING. 137
BLACKSMITHS' TONGS AND TOOLS.
[Prize Competition Essay, ,]
My knowledge of tools is confined to the class
known as the machine blacksmith's tools. But these
may be of interest to the horseshoer and carriage
ironer, and their tools may interest the machine
blacksmith.
The list of tools would not be complete unless
the smith's hand hammer was mentioned, and as a
rule the smith takes great pride in it. These ham-
FIG. 85. THE BALL PANE HAMMER.
mers are of the class known as the ball pane, as
shown in Fig. 85 of the accompanying illustrations.
The weight of the hammer is according to the taste
of the man who uses it, but the average weight is
about 2 Ibs. 4 ozs. Fig. 86 represents a pair of
double calipers, one side of which is used for taking
the width and the other side for the thickness when
working a piece of iron. Fig. 87 is a pair of single
calipers for general use and needs no explanation.
Fig. 88 is a pair of common dividers which a
~f 4
138 BLACKSMITHING.
for describing the circles on pieces that need to be
cut round, and they can be used as a gauge in weld-
ing up pieces to a given length. Fig. 89 is a T--
square, which is as useful a tool as ever got into a
shop for squaring up work with. The short leg can
be dropped into a hole while squaring the face with
the T, or it can be used for a handle while using the
FIG. 86. THE DOUBLE CALIPERS.
back to square up flat pieces. These tools should
belong to every smith and be his private property.
The ordinary 2-ft. square which every smith ought
to be provided with is usually supplied by the owner
of the shop. A good 2-ft. brass rule is something
that every smith ought to have.
Opinions differ as regards the fire and anvil of rhe
machine smith. But a neat outfit is a portable forge
BLACKSMITHING. 139
made for general work, and a 3OO-lb. Eagle anvil
with all the sharp corners ground off, and made a
little more rounding next to the beak iron than on
the other end. The sledges usually found to be most
convenient are the straight pane pattern, Fig. 90,
of 8lbs., 12 Ibs., and 16 Ibs. weight, the i 2-lb. sledge
being for general use, and the others for light or
heavy work as occasion demands.
In addition to these, each fire usually has what is
FIG. 8/. THE SINGLE CALIPERS.
called a backing hammer, which is of the same style
as the smith's hammer, but weighing only 3^ Ibs.
This is used to assist the smith in backing up a
piece of iron when scarfing for welding, and for fin-
ishing up work where the sledges are too heavy.
Tongs rank among one of the most important
things in a blacksmith's outfit. Fig. 91 represents
the pick-up tongs, which are especially the helper's
I4O BLACKSMITHING.
tongs and are used to pick up tools and small pieces
generally.
Fig. 92 represents a pair of ordinary flat tongs for
holding flat iron, and they need little explanation.
Fig. 93 represents a pair of box tongs for holding
square or flat iron, the lip on each side preventing
the iron from slipping around. Figs. 94 and 95
FIG. 88. THE DIVIDERS.
show a pair of tongs, one pair of which can be made
to fit several sizes by making the box piece to fit the
size of iron to be used. Fig. 94 shows the pieces
apart, and Fig. 95 shows how they are used. Fig.
96 represents a pair of round bit tongs for holding
round iron. Fig. 97 shows a pair of hollow bits for
BLACKSMITHING.
141
holding round iron, and for pieces having a larger
end than the body, such as bolts, etc. Fig. 98 rep-
resents a pair of square, hollow bits that answer the
same purpose as the bits shown in Fig. 97, except
that the square bits will hold square or round iron.
FIG. 89. THE T-SQUARE.
Fig. 99 represents a pair of flat tongs for holding
large pieces, the diamond-shaped crease in the bits
making them handy for holding large pieces of
square or round iron. Fig. 100 shows a pair of pin-
no. 90. THE STRAIGHT PANE SLEDGE.
cer tongs, useful for many purposes. Holding work
that has a round piece raised off the main body, they
142
BLACKSMITHING.
can be made still more useful by cutting out the
tops of the bits, as shown in the figure. Fig. 101
shows tongs for holding work where the iron is bent
flatwise. The tongs shown in Fig. 102 are useful,
for they can be made to suit any size. Those shown
FIG. 91. THE PICK-UP TONGS.
FIG. 92. THE FLAT TONGS.
FIG. 93. THE BOX TONGS.
FIG. 94. TONGS WITH BOX PIECE.
FIG. 95. SHOWING HOW THE TONGS AND BOX PIECES ARE USED.
in Fig. 103 are for work that cannot be held in an
ordinary pair of flat tongs on account of the bits not
being long enough. The bits are bent at right an-
gles, so that the work will pass by the joints. Fig.
BLACKSMITHING.
143
104 shows a pair of the same style of tongs with the
bits bent to hold round iron.
FIG. 96. ROUND-BIT TONGS.
Another style of crooked-bit tongs is shown in
Fig. 105, in which the bits are bent down instead of
FIG. 97. HOLLOW-BIT TONGS.
sidewise as in Fig. 103. They are useful for handling
rings of flat iron and for holding flat iron while
FIG. 98. TONGS WITH SQUARE, HOLLOW BITS.
bending flatways. For holding work while the iron
is being bent on edge, the tongs shown in Fig. 106
FIG. 99 FLAT TONGS FOR HOLDING LARGE PIECES.
are good, the lip bent on one of the bits preventing
the iron from pulling out of the tongs. Fig. 107
represents a pair of tongs for holding chisels
J
'V
144 BLACKSMITH ING.
sharpening them, or for holding any such tools while
they are being repaired. For making bolts out of
round iron the tongs as shown in Fig. 108 will beat
FIG. ICO. PINCER TONGS.
FIG. IOI. TONGS FOR BENDING IRON FLATWISE.
FIG. 102. TONGS FOR HOLDING PIECES OF DIFFERENT SIZES.
FIG. 103. TONGS WITH BENT BITS.
FIG. 104. TONGS WITH BENT BITS FOR HOLDING ROUND IRON.
any I ever saw. They have the ordinary hollow bit,
with a piece cut out of each bit crosswise to hold the
round iron in upsetting. The swell in the bits allows
the head to be taken in while straightening the other
BLACKSMITHING.
end. All of the foregoing named tongs can be made
of any size, large or small; and the smith shop that
has all of these different shapes is pretty well equip-
ped.
Next in importance are the chisels, punches and
tools for the anvil. Fig. 109 represents the ordinary
hot chisel, or hot-set, as it is known in some localities.
The ordinary cold chisel is shown in Fig. no. The
FIG. 105. CROOKED-BIT TONGS.
hardy for the anvil is so well known as to need no il-
lustration. The gouge chisel, as shown in Fig. in,
is for cutting off round corners at one operation. It
can be ground inside or out, thus making an inside
or outside tool. The round punch shown in Fig. 112
FIG. I06. TONGS USED IN BENDING IRON ON THE EDGE.
needs no explanation of its uses, but it can be used
for a gouge, where a good stiff one is required, by
grinding it off bevel. In some work a square chisel
comes very handy; one made as shown in Fig. 113 is
very good. The square punch shown in Fig. 114
can also be ground bevel and used for a square or
corner chisel. The long or eye punch is shown in
Fig. 115. For countersinking holes and such work
146
BLACKSMITHING.
the bob punch or countersink, as shown in Fig. 116,
is about what is needed, while for cupping or round-
FIG. 107. TONGS USED IN SHARPENING CHISELS.
ing off the heads of bolts and nuts, and for similar
work, the cupping tool as shown in Fig. 1 1 7 is used.
FIG. Io8. TONGS USED IN MAKING BOLTS OF ROUND IRON.
A tool of this kind comes handy many a time if
made to fit the hardy hole.
For setting down work and getting into small
FIG. lOp. THE HOT CHISEL.
places in which the latter cannot be used we have
the set hammer shown in Fig. 118. It is made with
square edges, and when made with the edges
BLACKSMITHING.
147
rounded off.it is called a round-edge set hammer.
These hammers are also made with the face cut off
at an angle, in order to get down into corners and
FIG. HO. THE COLD CHISEL.
to settle work down very square. Fig. 119 repre-
sents the ordinary top swage for rounding up work,
and Fig. 120 shows the bottom swage. Every
FIG. I if. THE GOUGE CHISEL.
smith knows the value of a. go^d set of swages.
They can be made long, that is, the full width of the
anvil, or they can be made very short: the short ones
148
BLACKSMITHING.
take the name of necking swages. Fig. 121 repre-
sents a side swage, the eye being punched in oppo-
site from the ordinary swage. These are used for
FIG. 1 12.- -THE ROUND PUNCH.
rounding off the ends of flat pieces, being handier
than the ordinary swage. Fig. 122 shows an anvil
FIG. 113. THE SQUARE CHISEL.
side swage or bottom swage, a swage be<ng made on
the end to overhang the edge of the anvil, so that
bent pieces that need to be swaged can be dropped
over the edge of the anvil and swaged up without
much trouble,
BLACllSMITHING.
149
FIG. 1 14.--! HE SQUARE PUNCH.
FIG. 115. THE LONG OR EYE PUNCH.
FIG. Il6. THE BOB PUNCH OR COUNTERSINK.
BLACKSMITHING.
FIG. 117. THE CUPPING TOOL.
FIG. 1 1 8. THE SET HAMMER.
FIG. 119. THE TOP SWAGE.
BLACKSMITHING.
The top and bottom fullers shown in Figs. 123 and
124 are familiar to every smith. The horn on the
bottom fuller is to prevent the piece to be fullered
FIG. 120. THE BOTTOM SWAGE.
FIG. 121. THE SIDE SWAGE.
FIG. 122. THE ANVIL SIDE OR BOTTOM SWAGE.
from being knocked off the tool at every blow of the
striker's sledge. For smoothing up work the smith
has the flatter, Fig. 125, which takes out the lumps
BLACKSMITHING.
and uneven places and gives the work a finished
appearance.
Sometimes a piece is so bent that a flatter cannot
FIG. 123. THE TOP FULLER.
be used, and the smith then falls back on his foot
tool, shown in Fig. 126. The foot goes in on the
work, and the head outside. A glance at the sketch
FIG. 124. THE BOTTOM FULLER.
will show how useful it can be in almost any smith's
shop.
It sometimes happens that it is necessary to leave
round corners on apiece of work, and in finishing it
up the ordinary flatter would mark it and spoil its
BLACKSMITHING.
153
appearance. The smith then makes use of the round-
edge flatter shown in Fig. 127. This tool is also
useful in bending flat iron, the round edge prevent-
ing galling.
FIG. 125. THE FLATTER.
The smith sometimes has a lot of small rings to
make, or to work out holes which are too small for the
beak iron. For such work a small cone to fit the
FIG. 126. THE FOOT TOOL.
anvil, as shown in Fig. 128, is very useful. Or he
may have some collars to weld on round iron, and
after making one or two he wishes he had a quicker
'54
BLACKSMITHING.
way and one that would make them all look alike.
He bethinks himself of the collar swages he heard
that " Tramp Blacksmith " talk about, so he makes
FIG. 127. THE ROUND-EDGE FLATTER.
a pair of collar swages as shown in Fig. 129. Only
the bottom swage is shown, as the impression in the
top is like the bottom. After making three or four
pieces he " gets the hang " of the tools, and the work
goes merrily on, each piece looking like the other.
FIG. 128. THE ANVIL CONE.
He sometimes has to make bends in his work, and
then the fork shown in Fig. 130 comes in very
handy. I have seen this tool used for making
BLACKSMITHING. 155
hooks on the end of long rods, one fork being used
to press against and the other to bend the hook
around. Fig. 131 represents a tool for bending
flat pieces at right angles and making T-pieces.
FIG. 129. THE COLLAR SWAGE.
The smith drops the iron in the slot, and he can
bend or twist it any way he likes.
Sometimes work needs fullering, but is so offset
FIG. 130. A FORK USED IN BENDING.
that one end rests on the anvil and the other towers
away above the fuller. The smith then uses the
fuller shown in Fig. 132, the outside edge of
the fuller being brought flush with the side of the
anvil, thus enabling the smith to drop his work down
1 56 BLACKSMITHING.
the side of the anvil and proceed as with an ordi-
nary fuller.
In most machine blacksmith shops they have more
or less bolts and nuts to make. Fig. 133 represents
FIG. 131. A TOOL FOR BENDING FLAT PIECES AND MAKING
T PIECES.
the ordinary nut swage used for swaging nuts or fin-
ishing up the heads of hexagon bolts. Fig. 134
shows a better tool for making bolts. Only one-half
FIG. 132. A FULLER FOR OFFSET WORK.
is sunk hexagon, the other half being the ordinary
bottom round swage, so, that in making a bolt as
it is turned around in the swage the shank of the
bolt is brought central with the head. Smiths who
BLACKSMITHING.
157
have trouble in getting the head of the bolt central
with the shank, will, by using this tool, be able to
make a good bolt. The tool shown in Fig. 135 has
grooves cut in until they meet at the bottom, so
that many different-sized heads or nuts can be made
FIG. 133. A NUT SWAGE.
in it, the small ones going far down and the larger
ones filling it up. In Fig. 136 is shown the ordinary
heading tool. Fig. 137 represents a nut mandrel in
FIG. 134. A TOOL FOR MAKING BOLTS.
which the shank is made smaller than the body part,
in order to drive it through the nut.
Fig. 138 shows a bridge or saddle used for drawing
out forked pieces, making open-end wrenches and
similar work.
I have not attempted to describe the hand
158
BLACKSMITHING,
but, as is known, hand punches, round, flat and hex-
agonal, are very useful in the smith's shop. Pins for
FIG. 135. A TOOL FOR MAKING HEADS OR NUTS OF VARIOUS SIZES
driving through holes to expand them are so well
known to all smiths that I do not deem it necessary to
FIG. 136. THE HEADING TOOL.
take up space in describing them. The tools that I
have attempted to describe are in every-day use, and
FIG. 137. A NUT MANDREL.
I think they form altogether a good outfit for a
machine blacksmith shop By WARDLEY LANE.
PROPER SHAPE FOR BLACKSMITHS' TONGS.
The proper shape for blacksmiths' tongs depends
upon whether they are to be used upon work of a
BLACKSMITHING.
159
uniform size and shape or upon general work. In
the first case the tongs may be formed to exactly
FIG. 138. SADDLE USED FOR DRAWING OUT FORKED PIECES.
suit the special work. In the second case they must
be formed to suit as wide a range of work as conve-
nient.
Suppose, for example, the tongs are for use on a
FIG. 139. PROPER SHAPE OF TONGS FOR SPECIAL WORK.
special size and shape of metal only. Then they
should be formed as in Fig. 139, the jaws gripping
the work evenly all along, and being straight along
FIG. 140. IMPROPER SHAPE.
the gripping surface. The ends A B are curved so
that the ring C shall not slide back and come off. It
will readily be perceived, however, that if these tongs
i6o
BLACKSMITHING.
were put upon a piece of work of greater thickness,
they would grip it at the inner end only, as in Fig. 140,
and it would be impossible to hold the work steady.
The end of the work, W, would act as a pivot, and
the part on the anvil would move about. It is better,
FIG, 141. PROPER SHAPE OF JAWS FOR GENERAL USE.
therefore, for general work, to form the jaws as shown
in Fig. 141, putting the work sufficiently within the
jaws to meet them at the curve in the jaw, when the
end B also grips the work. By putting the work
more or less within the tongs, according to its thick-
ness, contact at the end of the work as at A, and at
FIG. 142. SHAPE OF TONG JAWS FIG. 143. SHAPE OF SQUARE
FOR ROUND WORK. TONG JAWS FOR ROUND WORK.
the point of the tongs as at B, may be secured in one
pair of tongs over a wider range of thickness of work
than would otherwise be the case. This applies to
tongs for round or other work equally as well as to
flat or square work,
BLACKSMITHING.
161
For round work, the curve in the tong jaws should
always be less than that of the work, as shown in the
end view, Fig. 142, in which ^represents the work
or if round work be held in square tongs, it should
FIG. 144. PROPER BOW OF JAWS.
touch the sides of the square as shown in Fig. 143,
and in all cases there should be a little spring to the
jaws of the tongs, to cause them to conform some-
FIG. 145. PROPER SHAPE FOR BOLTS.
what to the shape of the iron. This not only causes
the tongs to hold the work firmer, but it also in-
creases the range of the capacity of the tongs. Thus
FIG. 146. SHAPE FOR IRREGULAR SHAPED WORK.
in the shape of tongs shown in Fig, 144, the bow of
the jaws would give them a certain amount of spring,
that would enable them to conform to the shape of
the work more readily than those shown in Fig. 139,
162
BLACKSMITHING.
while at the same time it affords room for a protec-
tion head or lug. For short and headed work, such
as bolts, the form shown in Fig. 145 is the best, the
thickness at the points always being reduced to give
some elasticity, and in this case to envelope less of
the length of the bolt also.
FIG. 147. HOOP TONGS.
For holding awkward shaped work containing an
eye, the form shown in Fig. 146 is best, the taper in
this case running both ways, as shown, to give in-
creased elasticity. The same rule also applies to the
hoop tongs shown in Fig. 147.
Perhaps the best example of the advantage of hav-
FIG. 148. -PICK-UP TONGS.
ing a certain amount of spring, or give, in the jaws of
tongs is shown in the/zV/ -up tongs in Fig. 148, the
curves giving the jaws so much elasticity that the
points at A will first grip the work, and as the tongs
are tightened the curves at B will, from the spring of
the jaws, also come in contact, thus gripping the work
BLACKSMITHING. 163
in two places, and prevent it from moving on a single
point of contact on each jaw as a pivot.
It follows from this that all tongs should first meet
the work at the point as in Fig. 149, and spring down
FIG. 149. PROPER SHAPE.
to meet it at the back end as the tongs tighten upon
the work, and it follows also that the thickness of
the jaws should always be well tapered, and not paral-
lel, as many unthinking men are apt to make them.
-By }. R.
BLACKSMITHS' TOOLS.
{Prize Essay.}
In the accompanying illustrations of blacksmiths'
tools, No. i, in Fig. 150, represents a stay that goes
from the axle to the perch in buggy gear. The
pieces A and B are made from 7-1 6-inch round
iron and C is 1-2 inch. No. 2, in Fig. 150, is the
bottom tool used in forming the offset, and No. 3,
Fig, 150, is the top tool.
To make the stay, cut off two pieces of 7-1 6-inch
round Lowmoor iron of the length required for A
and B y No. i, Fig. 150, cutting B about 3 inches
164
BLACKSMITHING.
longer than it is to be when finished. Then cut a
piece of i-2-inch iron for C, Fig. 150. Next heat the
ends of A and C, upset and weld, leaving it a little
larger than 1-2 inch at the weld. Next heat B at the
end and double it back about 2 1-2 inches, weld and
upset a little to make up for loss in welding. Now
FIG. 150.
draw out as shown in A , Fig. 151, bend as in Fig. 152,
and insert the fuller at A. Then heat the end A,
Fig. 152, and with a thin splitting chisel split and
scarf. Then place it on the bar marked A and C,
Fig. 153, put it in the fire, take a nice welding heat,
BLACKSMITHING.
and with a light hammer weld it lightly working in
the corners of the scarf. Then return it immediately
to the fire, get a good soft heat, and place it in the
tool No. 2, Fig. 150, with the tool No. 3, Fig. 150, on
FIG. 151. SHOWING HOW THE PIECE IS DRAWN OUT.
top. Let the helper give it three or four sharp blows
and the job is finished. If there should be any sur-
plus stock it will be squeezed out between the tools
FIG. 152. SHOWING HOW THE PIECE IS BENT.
and can be easily removed with a sharp chisel.
The reader will notice that there is a box in the
tool No. 2, Fig. 150, which serves to bring No. 3 in
FIG. 153. SHOWING HOW THE PIECES ARE JOINED AND WELDED IN
MAKING AN OFFSET.
the right place every time. If the tools are made
properly the job will look like a drop-forging without
any sign of a weld. Two offsets for gears can be
l66 BLACKSMITH ING.
made in this way in fifteen minutes by any good
mechanic.
No. 4, Fig. 150, is a bending crotch. The prongs
A and B are made oval, and B is adjustable to any
size needed. This tool is made of cast steel through-
out. To make it take a piece of cast steel i 1-2
inches square, fuller and draw down theend to fit the
square hole of the anvil, then flatten the top and split;
next bend C at right angle to A, and finish to 7-8
inch square. Then draw out A to about an inch oval
FIG. 154. THE CLIP USED ON THE TIRE-SETTER MARKED NO. 5, IN
FIG. 150.
on the angle, fuller and draw out the end B, cut
off and punch the square hole, and work up the
socket to 7-8 inch square, and it is ready for use.
Then make a top wrench as shown at No. 57, Fig.
182. I like to have two top wrenches, one for light
and one for heavy work.
No. 5, Fig. 150, is a home-made tire upsetter, but
I do not claim that it is equal to some others now on
the market. Still it will be found convenient in
many shops where they do not have any.
BLACKSMITHING. 1 67
To make it, take a piece of iron i x 2 inches and
ii inches long, take a heat in the center, weld on a
square piece to fit the square hole in the anvil, and
bend to suit large sized tire. Next make two clips,
one for each end, and shape it as in Fig. 154. These
clips are made from i 3-4 x 3-4 inches iron. Drill two
holes in each, one below to fasten the clip to the
main plate, and one on the top end for the pinching
or set screw, making the top holes 9-16 inch, and the
bottom one, 5-8 inch, as a screw thread must be cut in
the top for a 5-8-inch set screw. Now make four set
FIG. 155. SHOWINGJHE METHOD OF USING THE TIRE- SETTER, NO. 5,
FIG. 150.
screws, 5-8 inch full. The upper two should be made
of steel or have steel points and be sharpened like a
center punch. Now place the two clips on the ends
of the main piece marked for holes. Drill two 9-16
inch holes and make a screw thread for 5-8 inch
screws, put the screws in and cut the ends off the
bottom screws level with the main plate and it is
ready for use.
To use it, set the screws to fit the tire, heat to a
soft heat and bend as shown in Fig. 155. Then
1 68
BLACKSMITHING.
place it in the upset, and let your helper tighten one
of the set screws while you tighten the other, and
then hammer down with two hammers. In this way
a tire can be easily upset 3-8 inch at a heat.
No. 6, Fig. 150, is a very useful implement for
cleaning off plow shares or for reducing surplus
stock which cannot be removed conveniently other-
wise. The cutting face is made of blister steel and
. FIG. 156.
the back is of iron welded together. The length is
three feet, exclusive of the handle, and the width is
i 1-2 x 3-4 inches. The teeth are cut hot and like a
mill saw's teeth. To cut them take a sharp wide
chisel, commence at the front, cut one tooth, then
place your chisel back of the tooth and slide it for-
ward until it comes against the first tooth. This
will make your gauge for the second tooth, and you
BLACKSMITHING. 1 69
go on in this way until the teeth are all cut. To
temper the tool, heat it for its full length to a blood
heat, cool, then cover with oil and pass it backward
and forward through the fire until the oil burns off.
It can then be straightened if it has sprung. The
front handle that stands up at right angles to the
other part of the tool is screwed in. When the tool
becomes dull, it can be softened and sharpened by a
half-round file.
No. 7, Fig. 156, is a home-made rasp, made of solid
cast steel i 1-2 x 3-4 inches and 2 feet long (with-
out tang). It has three cutting faces, two sides, and
FIG. 157. SHOWING HOW THE TOOL MARKED NO. 8, IN FIG. 156, IS
DRAWN AND FULLERED.
one edge; the cutting edge is swaged round, which
makes it very convenient for rasping around collars
or similar places; the square edge is left smooth,
which makes a good safety edge. It is double cut,
similar to the ordinary blacksmith file. It has to be
cut hot, and in cutting the second side it will be nec-
essary to place it on the end of a wooden block. It
will be found very useful for hot rasping large step-
pads, or reducing stock on difficult work.
No. 8, Fig. 156, is made of i 3-8 inches square ma-
chinery steel. To make it, draw it down as at A,
I/O BLACKSMITHING.
Fig. 157, to fit the square hole in the anvil, then
fuller in, work out the corner at C, draw out and
leave the corner at D, and form the foot as at E.
Then bend at C and fuller out the corner
as at A, Fij. 157, bsnd D, Fig. 157, as shown
at B, Fig. 158, and it will be ready for use. It
will be found very handy in making wrenches and
different kind of clips, staffing, dash irons, etc. In
many cases it will be preferred to the little anvil at
No. 22, Fig. 156, being much firmer on account of
FIG. 158. SHOWING HOW THE PIECE SHOWN IN FIG. 157 IS BENT
AND FULLERED.
the extra leg. At C, Fig. 158, it is i 3-8 inches wide,
and 7-8 inch deep, and at B, i 1-4 x 3-8 inch.
The length of the face is 7 inches.
No. 9, Fig. 150, is a collection of fullers ranging
from i 1-2 inches to 3-16 inch. The top ones are
made of cast steel. Some of the bottom ones are
made of iron, and faced with steel, but lately I have
made them altogether of machinery steel, which is
less trouble to make and answers the purpose very
well. I do not think any further description of them
BLACKSMITHING.
171
is necessary, as any blacksmith can see how they are
made by a glance at the illustrations.
No. 10, Fig. 150, is a tool for cutting off round iron.
In using it place the bottom swage in the anvil with
the long end of the face toward the helper so as to
be flush with the front of the anvil. Then place the
iron that is to be cut off in the bottom swage, and
FIG. 159. SHOWING THE METHOD OF USING THE TOOL MARKED AT
NO. 10, IN FIG. 150.
put the top tool on; let the helper give it a sharp blow
and off it goes. Iron from 5-16 inch to 5-8 inch can
be cut off thus with one blow. This tool should be
made of cast steel. The recess should be made to
fit 3-4-inch iron and so deep th'it the points will
rest against the front of the swage and to
the tool and the swage. from cutting each
172
BLACKSMITHING.
In Fig. 159 a tool of this kind is shown with the iron
in position ready to cut. A is the top tool, B is the
bottom swage, and C is the round iron to be cut off.
In No. 12, Fig. 150, are shown two hardies for
FIG. l6o. SHOWING THE BOTTOM OF THE SWAGE NO. 15, FIG. 1 56.
cutting iron. The reader will notice that there is
a hole in one of them. I use this hole in bending
rings from 7-16 inch round to 1-4 inch. The iron is
FIG. l6l. A FRENCH -CLIP.
cut off to the desired length, one end is placed in the
hole of the hardy, and on the other end I put a
suitable heading tool. I then describe a circle around
the hardy and the ring is made without heating it.
BLACKSMITHING. 173
No. 13, Fig. 150, is a diamond-shaped fuller. It is
made the same as those shown at No. 9, with the ex-
ception that the face is diamond shape. It is very
useful in heavy work in working out corners and will
often save considerable filing. Its shape tends to raise
the corners, or make it full.
No. 14, Fig. 156, is a number of fine chisels. The
first is a hollow or gouge chisel and is very conve-
nient where you want to cut anything circular or hol-
low. The second is the ordinary hot chisel for cut-
FIG. l62. SHOWING A TOOL USED IN MAKING A FRENCH CLIP.
ting off hot iron. The third is a thin splitting chisel
and should be rounded on the side toward you, which
gives a rounding finish to the cut which is a great
deal better where you wish to bend the branches.
The fourth is a paring chisel, and is very useful often
in trimming where the swell on both sides would be
inconvenient. The fifth is an ordinary chisel for
cutting cold iron, and should have a stronger edge
than any of the others.
174 BLACKSMITIIING.
No. 15, Fig. 156, is a top and bottom collar swage.
The top tool is about the same as any ordinary
collar swage, but the bottom tool differs from any
other I have ever seen. In the first place it will be
noticed that there is a band around it, projecting
above it fully one inch and cut out at each end.
This band insures that the top tool will come in the
right place every time. In the ordinary collar swage,
I have always found more or less trouble in keeping
the bottom tool perfectly clean from scales so as to
FIG. 163. A TOOL USED IN MAKING FRENCH CLIPS.
make a sharp collar. To avoid this difficulty I have
a hole from the bottom of the collar down through
the shank so that the scales work out as fast as made,
and now I find the collar comes out clean and sharp
every time. To make this tool, forge the swage as
usual, with a steel face, then commence at the bot-
tom of the shank and drill a 3-8 inch hole to within
1-2 inch of the face. Drill the rest of the way with
a drill about 1-8 inch. The place where the drill
comes through is just where the large part of the
BLACKSMITHING. 1/5
collar should be. Then prepare it for the collar,
then place the top tool exactly over it, mark around
and cut so as to have both alike ; then put on your
band and finish up, and you will have a tool that will
give satisfaction.
FIG. 164. SHOWING A METHOD OF USING AN OLD ANVIL IN MAKING
FRENCH CLIPS.
In Fig. 1 60, the bottom block is shown before the
band is put on. A is the face of the tool, B, the part
used to form the collar, C is the shank, and the dots,
D D, indicate the hole for the escape of the dirt or
scales.
FIG. 165. SHOWING HOW THE IRON IS FULLERED IN MAKING A
FRENCH CLIP.
No. 1 6, Fig. 156, represents a V-chisel which is
convenient for trimming out corners, and is especially
useful in making French clips; it saves filing and time
as well.
176 BLACKSMITHING.
Fig. 161 represents a French clip, and Figs. 162,
163, and 164, and Nos. 17 and 18 in Fig. 156, are tools
for making such a clip. No. 17 has no shank, but is
intended to be used in a cast iron block being held in
position by a key so as to be perfectly solid. An
FIG. l66. SHOWING FRENCH CLIP READY TO FULLER DOWN WITH
TOOL 28, FIG. 156.
old anvil can be made to answer the same purpose by
cutting out a recess as shown in A y Fig. 164. To
make the clip shown in Fig. 161 proceed as follows:
Take iron of the proper size and extra quality,
place it in the large oval bottom tool and with the
FIG. 167. SHOWING EYE MADE WITH TOOL NO. 26, FIG. l6o.
recess fuller shown in Fig. 162. Then place the iron
in the bottom tool, as shown at No. 36, Fig. 175, and
flatten out as shown by the dotted lines Fig. 165.
The iron will then look as in Fig. 166. Then place
it in the tool, No. 17, Fig. 156, fuller down and trim
up, finally using the tool No. 18, Fig. 156, and the
BLACKSMITHING.
177
tool shown in Fig. 163, to finish on, and the clip
will then be in the shape shown in Fig. 161.
No. 19, Fig. 150, represents one-half of a tool used
FIG. 1 68. SHOWING METHOD OF USING TOOL NO. 26, FIG. 156.
in welding drop steps on body loops. It is used in
the vise. It is recessed out to fit shank of step, and
FIG. 169. SHOWING A TOOL FOR MAKING HARROW TEETH.
the top is rounded so as to leave it strong where it
is welded to the loop.
178
BLACKSMITHING.
No. 20, Fig. 150, is one-half of a vise tool intended
to be used in forming collars for seat wings, etc.
No. 21, Fig. 156, is a tool for making clips, Nos. 23,
24 and 25 are the ordinary clip tools. Nos. 24 and 25
FIG. 170. SHOWING HOW THE HARROW TOOTH IS BENT.
are set back so as to be convenient for draw-jacks
or work of that description.
No. 22, Fig. 156, is a small anvil intended to be
FIG. 171. SPECIMEN OF THE WORK DONE BY THE TOOL NO. 32,
FIG. 175.
used on a larger one. It will be found very useful
in light work, such as welding small bends or socket
and working up small eyes.
Nos. 26 and 27, Fig. 156, are used in making eyes
BLACKSMITHING.
179
like those in the ends of top joints, as shown in Fig.
167, and for working up clevis ends. It is very con-
venient for the latter purpose, because it enables the
smith to make a good square corner without straining
the iron, and so prevents splitting. Fig. 168 shows
FIG. 172. SPECIMEN OF THE WORK DONE WITH THE TOOL NO. 33,
FIG. 175-
method of using tools No. 26 and 27. A is the
bridge of the tool, B the eye and C the pin, while
D is the part which is held in the hand. The
slot E allows the part D to be raised or lowered
FIG. 173. SPECIMEN OF THE WORK DONE WITH THE TOOL NO. 34,
FIG. 175.
while hammering on B. In making this tool I use
machinery steel. I draw down for the shank, split,
fuller out and then dress up.
No. 28, Fig. 1 56, is a tool for forming heads for body
i8o
BLACKSMITHING.
loops. It is recessed to the shape of the top of the
body loop. It will be found very convenient, and in-
sures getting all the heads of the same shape. I place
the head in the tool in punching, which forces the tool
full in every part. To provide for the shank the
front of the tool is a little higher around the head
than at the oval part.
FIG. 174. SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE TOOL NO. 35, FIG. 175.
No. 29, Fig. 156, represents a tool for making har-
row teeth similar to the duck's foot that is thought
a good deal of in some parts of the country. Fig.
169 will perhaps give a better idea of the tool, and
Fig. 1 70 will show how the tooth is bent.
, FIG. 175.
No. 30, Fig. 175, represents a crooked fuller for
use in difficult places, such as gridiron steps, for
which it is almost indispensable.
No. 31, Fig. 175, shows an anvil tool used in weld-
ing up oval gridiron steps.
BLACKSMITHING. l8l
No. 32, Fig. 175, is the bottom tool of a cross
swage. The same tool is also shown in No. 27,
Fig. 156. Fig. 171 represents some of the work done
with this tool.
FIG. 176. THE BOTTOM TOOL SHOWN IN NO. 38, FIG. 178.
No. 33, Fig. 175, is the bottom tool of a T-swage.
The same tool is shown in No. 28, Fig. 156. It is
used a good deal for ironing iron dickey seats, as is
FIG. 177. SHOWING A SLEDGE FOR HEAVY WORK.
also No. 32, Fig. 175, when a double rail is used.
Fig. 172 is a specimen of the work done by this tool.
No. 34, Fig. 175, is a tool for making corner irons
182
BLACKSMITHING.
for seats which have rounded surfaces on the inside
and flat on the outside. One of the grooves is
swedged on both sides of the point or'apex of the
tool. The other groove is flat on the other side from
the one shown in the cut. I use this groove when I
wish to make an iron with a foot for only one screw.
No. 35, Fig. 175, is a tool for making horseshoes
similar to the Juniata pattern, excepting that the
crease is set back so that the center of the shoe pro-
jects above the nail heads, thus insuring a good grip
FIG. 178.
of the ground. Fig. 1 74 is a sectional view of the tool.
It is made deeper at one end than at the other so
that different weights of shoes can be made with it.
No. 36 is another punch clip tool.
No. 37 is a group of top and bottom oval swages.
They range from 1-2 inch to i 1-4 inches, there being
1-8 inch difference between each tool. I think they
should range up to 2 inches, but at present I am out of
top tools. The latter are of cast steel which I find to
give the best satisfaction. For the bottom tools I
BLACKSMITHING.
3
use iron faced with steel. To make them, I take a
piece of square Lowmoor iron, a trifle larger than the
square hole in the anvil, reduce it to proper size, cut
off about three-fourths of an in(h above the part re-
duced and form it to a head with thin edges. I then
FIG. 179.
take a piece of common iron of suitable size for the top
and jump-weld a shank on it, then take a piece of blis-
ter steel of suitable size, take separate heats and weld
on, then cut off level with the back of the anvil, fuller
184
BLACKSMITHING.
in the recess and finish up. In finishing up I am
careful to have the center a little fuller than the ends,
as if it is left perfectly straight it will cut the iron at
the ends and in working there is always a tendency
for the center to lower.
.$'.
No. 38, Fig. 178, represents a group of swages for
round iron sizes, being 5-16, 3-8, 7-16, 1-2, 9-16, 5-8,
3-4, 7-8, i, i 1-8, i 1-4, i 1-2, i 3-4, and 2 inches. The
bottom tool at the extreme right has four recesses,
FIG. l8l. SHOWING A FAULTY METHOD OF SPLITTING OUT
CROTCHES.
5-16, 3-8, 7-16, and 1-2 inch, and is made as shown in
Fig. 1 76. The reader will notice that the back edge pro-
jects over the anvil and slants, which makes it very
convenient for swaging different kinds of clips and by
having the swage short it is rendered very conveni-
BLACKSMITHING.
ent also for cutting off surplus ends as shown at No.
10, Fig. 150, but fordoing this work the top swage
only is used. The swage next to the one on the
extreme right at No. 38, Fig. i 78. has three recesses,
3-16, 1-4, 5-i6-inch. I do not have top tools for the
3-16 or i-4-inch size but I find them useful in mak-
FIG. 182.
ing small half round iron. They are made in the same
way as the oval tools. I mark the sizes of the top
and the bottom tools.
No. 39, Fig, 179, is a small riveting hammer wjj
round pein or pane of about 3-8-inch diai
1 86
BLAGKSMITH1NG.
think this kind of hammer is best for riveting purposes,
as it spreads the rivet every way alike.
No. 40, Fig. 179, is another riveting hammer. It
is a cross pane which for some purposes is better
than the round pane.
No. 41, Fig. 179, is a light hand hammer, com-
monly called a bench-hammer, with a globular pane.
FIG. 183.
It is very useful for chipping with a cold chisel, and
for light work at the anvil, such as welding dashes, etc.
It weighs one pound.
No, 42, Fig. 1 79, is the ordinary hand hammer. It
weighs i 3-4 pounds.
No. 43, Fig. 179, v is a horseshoe hammer, very
BLACKSMITHING. 1 87
short and compact, being two-faced, one end being
slightly globular to answer for concaving. Its weight
is i 3-4 pounds.
No. 44, Fig. 179, is a heavy hand hammer similar
to Nos. 41 and 42. It weighs about 2 1-2 pounds.
No. 45, Fig. 179, is a large cross pane hammer
made very plainly. It is useful in straightening heavy,
irons, and also for the helper as a backing hammer
on light fullers.
No. 49, Fig. 179, is an ordinary sledge hammer in
which the eye is near the center.
FIG. 184. SHOWING A RIGHT HAND JAW FOR TONGS.
No. 50, Fig. 1 79, is a horseshoe sledge, but it should
be rather shorter and more compact than it appears
in the illustration.
Fig. 177 represents another sledge. Tt will be
noticed that the eye is nearer the top of the sledge,
and I think this is an improvement for heavy work
where the smith wants to swing overhead.
No 51, Fig. 180, is a group of punches. The first
two on the left hand side are oval or eye punches.
The oval stand on the corner of the square so as to
have the handle in the most convenient position, and
1 88 BLACKSMITHING.
are used for punching eyes, or where the smith wishes
to swell out in order to strengthen by punching an
oval hole first and then driving a round pin in after-
wards. They can be used to good advantage in
splitting out crotches, as there is less danger of cold
sheets than when the smith cuts right up with the
chisel as shown in Fig. 181.
The next two in the illustration are square punches,
and the next four are round punches of different sizes.
No. 52, Fig. 1 80, is a bob punch. It has a face
similar to a countersink only more rounding. It is
FIG. 185. SHOWING HOW THE JAWS OF THE TONGS NO. 46, FIG. 179,
ARE MADE TO FIT ROUND IRON.
useful to press a cavity in a flat piece of iron where
a jump-weld is to be made, as in welding shanks to
bottom swages, also for T welds.
No. 53, Fig. 180, is a side-set hammer which is
very handy for working up an inside corner or any
place where you have to weld two irons in the shape
of angle iron, or on the landside of a plowshare.
No. 54, Fig. 1 80, represents two set hammers, one
being i inch and the other i 1-2 inches square. They
BLACKSMITHING. 189
are very useful in making many kinds of clips, and
numerous other jobs.
No. 55, Fig. 1 80, also represents two set hammers
similar in make but with the eyes punched from dif-
ferent sides. They are useful in plow work and are
often used as flat hammer, where there is not room
enough for the ordinary flat hammer.
No. 56, Fig. 1 80, represents two flat hammers, the
smaller having a face 2 1-4 inches square, while the
larger is 2 1-2 inches. This tool is to the blacksmith
what the plane is to the woodworker. It is what
we generally calculate to finish all flat surfaces
with.
FIG. l86. SHOWING TONG JAWS MADE FOR HOLDING LONG SQUARE
IRON.
We now come to the tongs, and just the same as
with everything else, there is a right and a wrong
way to make them as tongs are right and left-handed.
The accompanying illustration, Fig. 184, represents a
right hand jaw. It is not often that a pair of left
hand tongs are made, and, as a rule, if a smith does
such a thing by mistake in a shop where there are
many working, it produces so much merriment that
BLACKSMITHING.
he scarcely ever forgets it, yet I have seen a man of
several years' experience do such a thing.
No. 70, Fig. 183, is a pair of pickups. They
should be kept in a staple in front of anvil block, or
else hung convenient on the side of tool bench.
They are used by the helper to pick up pins or any-
FIG. 187. TOOL USED IN MAKING KEEPERS FOR DEMAREST WAGON
SEATS.
thing else. They will easily catch anything from 2
inches downward.
No. 69, Fig. 183, is a pair of side tongs. No. 67,
Fig. 182, is another pair of the same kind, but larger,
which are very useful for holding flat iron. There
FIG. l88. KEEPER MADE WITH THE TOOL SHOWN IN FIG. 187.
is a sort of calk turned on one jaw to prevent the
iron slipping sideways.
No. 62, Fig. 182, is a pair of snipe bills, which are
very handy for small bands, sockets or eyes. One
of the jaws is round and the other is square, and a
fuller mark is made up the center, which I think is
BLACKSMITIIING.
better than making both round, as it fits both the out-
side and inside of band. They are drawn quite
small at the point. The back ends answer for a pair
of clip tongs to draw on clip bars with.
No. 48, Fig. i 79, is a pair of hollow jaw tongs which
are very useful for holding round iron. Every black-
smith should be provided with- three or four pair
ranging from 3-4 inch upward. I always fuller up
the center of my ordinary tongs so that they will
FIG. 189. TOOL USED IN MAKING CLIPS.
hold small round iron well. They will hold flat iron
all the better for it.
No. 60, Fig. 182, is a cupping tool. It is hollowed
out with a countersunk drill and is very useful for
finishing off nuts or the top of square-headed bolts.,
Four sizes of these make a very good set, but the
largest one should have a handle.
No. 58, Fig. 1 82, is a horseshoe stamp which is to
common to require any description.
No. 59, Fig. 182, is a creasen I like it to be hoi-
192
BLACKSMITHING.
lowed slightly on the inside face, as I think it follows
the round of the shoe better.
No. 64, Fig. 182, represents a pair of horseshoe
tongs. The jaws are short and round so as not to
project far inside of the shoe and be in the way of
the horn of anvil, and at the same time to allow the
smith to shift the position of the tongs without los-
ing their grip.
No. 68, Fig. 182, is a pair of clip tongs which are
indispensable in welding up whiffletree clips. The
FIG. 190. CLIP MADE BY THE TOOL SHOWN IN FIG. 189.
outside jaw is rounding, while the inside or short jaw
is concaved to fit outside of the clip.
No. 71, Fig. 183, is a pair of coulter tongs. One
of the jaws turns down on each side of the coulter
shank which makes the tool very convenient for hold-
ing. No. 65, Fig. 182, are similar tongs which are
very useful for holding square iron.
No. 46, Fig. 179, is a pair of tongs for holding
large round iron. They are very convenient
for holding large bolts as the smith can let the
BLACKSMITHING.
'93
head project back of the jaws. They are similar to
to the tongs shown in No. 69, Fig. 183, excepting that
both jaws are hollowed to fit the round iron as shown
in Fig. 185. Fig. 186 represents a pair of tongs for
holding long square iron.
Fig. 187 represents a very simple and handy tool
for making keepers for Demarest wagon seats. I
usually make them of 7-8-inch band iron. To make
them I place a piece of i-2-inch round iron on the
anvil, lay the band iron across it, then place the top
FIG. 191. SHOWING HOW THE CLIP IS BENT BY THE MANDRIL.
tool, Fig. 187, strike two or three blows, and the job
is done as shown in Fig. 188.
Fig. 189 shows a tool for making clips of round iron
as illustrated in Fig. 190. This tool will save a great
deal of time and do good work. The clips are used
largely in some shops for clipping on springs, etc.
The tool is intended to be used in the vise and has
a projecting part, as shown at A, to rest on the vise.
It is intended for three different sizes of clips, i 1-4,
194 BLACKSMITHING.
i 1-2 and i 3-4 inches. To make it take a piece of
i-inch square iron, fuller along the center with a
3-8 inch fuller the length of jaw. Then use the set
hammer on the lower side and reduce to 3-4 inch
thick; then use the side set hammer to true up;
plunge and form the joint as at J3, taper down for
handles and weld on a piece of 5-8-inch round iron
so as to make a handle one foot long. The jaw ir> 9
inches long, measuring from the bolt hole. After
both jaws are made put in the bolt C, clamp firmly
together and drill six holes the size and width of
your clips. Be careful not to drill any larger as the
clips require to be held firmly. If a little small they
FIG. 192. SECTIONAL VIEW OF A SIDE OF THE TOOL SHOWN IN
FIG. 189.
can easily be opened a little on the sides with a round
file. Then with a rounding chisel cut the corners as
shown at D, D, D, and smooth out with the end of the
file and it is ready for use. To make the clip, cut off
the desired length of iron and screw ends, bend on a
clip mandril as shown at Fig. 191, then place in the
tool, grip firmly in the hand, give a few sharp blows
on the top with a suitable swage and you have a clip
similar to that shown in Fig. 190. Fig. 192 is a sec-
tional view of the tool. By AMATEUR.
BLACKSMITHING. 1 95
ABOUT HAMMERS.
Nearly every one has noticed the name of David
Maydole stamped upon hammers. David Maydole
made hammers the study of his lifetime, and after
many years of thoughtful and laborious experiment
he had actually produced an article to which, with
all his knowledge and experience, he could suggest
no improvements.
Let me tell you how he came to think of making
hammers. Forty years ago he lived in a small vil-
lage of the State of New York; no railroad yet, and
even the Erie Canal many miles distant. He was
the village blacksmith, his establishment consisting
of himself and a boy to blow the bellows. He was
a good deal troubled with his hammers. Sometimes
the heads would fly off. If the metal was too soft
the hammer would spread out and wear away; if it
was too hard it would split. At that time black-
smiths made their own hammers, and he knew very
little about mixing ores so as to produce the tough-
est iron. But he was particularly troubled with the
hammer getting off the handle a mishap which
could be ^dangerous as well as inconvenient. One
hammer had an iron rod running down through the
handle with a nut screwed on at the end. Another
was wholly composed of iron, the head and handle
being all one piece. There were various other
devices, some of which were exceedingly clumsy and
awkward. At last he hit upon an improvement
196 BLACKSMITHING.
which led to his being able to put a hammer upon a
handle in such a way that it would stay there. He
made what is called an adze-handled hammer, the
head being attached to the handle after the manner
of an adze.
The improvement consists in merely making a
larger hole for. the handle to go into, by which device
it has a much firmer hold of the head, and can easily
be made extremely tight. Each hammer is ham-
mered out of a piece of iron, and is tempered over a
slow charcoal fire, under the inspection of an experi-
enced man. He looks as though he were cooking
his hammers on' a charcoal furnace, and he watches
them, until the process is complete, as a cook
watches mutton chops.
The neighborhood in which David Maydole lived
would scarcely have required a half-dozen new ham-
mers in a year, but one day six carpenters came to
work on a new church, and one of these men left his
hammer at home and came to David Maydole's
blacksmith shop to get one made. The carpenter
was delighted with it, and when the other five car-
penters saw it, they came to the shop the next day
and ordered five more hammers made. They did
not understand all the blacksmith's notions about
tempering and mixing the metals, but they saw at a
glance that the head and handle were so united that
there never was likely to be any divorce between
them. To a carpenter building a wooden house, the
BLACKSMITHING. 1 97
removal of that one defect was a great boon. A
dealer in tools in New Yorlc City saw one of these
hammers, and then David Maydole's fortune was
made, for he immediately ordered all the hammers
the blacksmith could make. In a few years he made
so many hammers that he employed a hundred and
fifty men. From " Captains of Industry'' by JAMES
PARTON.
DRESSING UP OR FACING HAMMERS, REPAIRING BITS OR
DRILLS.
Good tools are among the most essential things
about a blacksmith shop. You need a good fire, a
good anvil, and also a good' hammer. You may
have fire, anvil, and all your other tools in good
shape, but if your hammer is rough and broken you
cannot do good work, nor do so much in a day. I
think that every man who calls himself a good black-
smith should be capable of dressing his hammer.
But for the benefit of those who are just beginning
the trade I will give my way of doing this job.
In the first place I open the middle of my fire and
fill it up with charcoal, using the mineral coal only
as a backer. Heat only the face you wish to dress
as by so doing you will not change the shape or dis-
turb the eye. Upset on the face and draw down
on the sides. If the face is broken very badly it
maybe necessary to trim off a little, but by upsetting
and drawing down several times you can get quite a
198 BLACKSMITHING.
large break out without much trimming. After you
have completed the forging it is a good plan to put
the hammer in the -dust of the forge and let it anneal;
and then it can be leveled with a file and ground off
smooth.
To temper it, heat only the part you wish to hard-
en, to a good red, dip and hold under water until
cold. Then have a thick ring (an old ax collar will
do) that the face of the hammer will go through
while the sides will cpme in contact with the ring,
heat the ring hot and place it over the hammer, turn
the ring slowly so as to keep the heat even on all sides
at once, draw until it shows a little color, then try v/ith
a fine sharp file, and when you can make the file take
hold it has drawn enough. There are so many grades
of steel and different temperatues of heat and water
that you cannot always rely on the colors. The
middle of the face should be left as hard as you can
keep it, for if you let the heat from the eye part run
down and draw the face, it will be too soft and set-
tle, leaving the outside circle the highest. If the
tool is double-faced do all your forging and finishing
before you temper. Then after you have tempered
the largest face, wind a wet cloth around it and keep
it cold while you are heating the other face.
T think that round sides with the outside edge
rounded in a little, stand better than the square or
octagon. Get a good handle and put it in so that it
will stay.
BLACKSMITHING. I 99
Every one who does repairing breaks a good
many bits, especially small ones. They usually
break at the end of the twist, leaving the shank long
enough to make another bit by flattening about an
inch of the end and twist once around. Then hammer
down the edge, file a diamond point leaving the cut-
ting part a little larger than the seat of the bit, tem-
per and you have a drill as good as new. Drills can
be made in the same way. By F. P. HARRIMAN.
HAMMERS AND HANDLES/
Almost every blacksmith has a different style of
hammer or handle, and every one thinks that his
way of making them is right. One wants a heavy
hammer and another a light hammer, for the same
kind of work.
One wants a long hammer and another wants a
short one. One wants his hammer to stand out and
another likes his to stand in. One wants a long
handle and another prefers a short handle. One
wants his handle to spring and another does not. And
so it goes on in that way all through the country.
Everyone will tell you that his way is the best,
and will explain why it is the best. Now, my opin-
ion in regard to the above is that they are all in
almost every case right. I make all my hammers
and handles, and think they are the right kind,
simply because they suit me and I can do the work
required with them satisfactorily.
2OO BLTACKSMITHING.
I do not claim that there is any right way to make
a blacksmith's hammer, But, of course, there is a
certain line that you cannot pass without going to
extremes.
For instance, if you should make a hammer a foot
long, with a handle ten inches long, that would be
out of all proportion, and would not be convenient
to work with, and it coul'd not be said by anyone
that it was right. But supposing one man makes an
ordinary hammer with a long pane, another makes
one with a short pane; each one will claim that his
hammer is right and that he could not do his work
as well with another.
Now, how shall we determine which hammer is
the nearest right? I should say both are right, for
as long as they can do the. work required, and they
are satisfied with their hammers, that is all that is
necessary. By G. B. J.
A HAMMER THAT DOES NOT MARK IRON.
I was in a country blacksmith's shop the other
day, and while talking with the boss I noticed a
workman who was trying to get the kink out of an
axle spindle with a hammer and swage. Every
"lick" made it worse and filled it with hammer
marks. I offered to show him how to make a ham-
mer that would do the job properly. The offer was
accepted, and this is the way the hammer was made.
I first called for about four or five pounds of old
BLACKSMITHING. 2OI
lead. This was furnished, and I then took a piece of
three-quarter-inch round iron about fifteen inches
long and upset the end, as shown in A, Fig. 194 of
the accompanying illustrations, to about i i-8-inch
and tapered it to B, a length of 2 inches. This left
the handle portion C about 12 inches long. I next
FIG. 193. SHOWING THE HAMMER-HEAD.
got a box full of yellow mould, formed a circle in it
of about two inches in diameter and placed the
handle at the center. With a piece of sheet-iron
I made a ladle, melted the lead and poured it into
the impromptu mould. After a wait of twenty
minutes I lifted my hammer out of the sand,
FIG. 194. SHOWING THE HANDLE.
dressed it up with a hand-hammer and then the
job was finished.
In Fig. 193 D is the hammer, and E is the place
occupied by the handle. Fig. 195 illustrates a sim-
pler method of making the tool. A hole is
the sand as at D, and the handle is stucl
202 BLACKSMITHlNG.
then the lead is heated and poured in. These ham-
mers will not mark the iron. By IRON DOCTOR.
AN IMPROVED TUYERE.
When I first began to work at the forge, nearly
fifiy years ago, the old bull's-eye tuyere was the
best in use, but soft coke (or " breese " as it was
called, being the refuse of the rolling mill furnaces),
coming into use disposed of the bull's-eye, so the
water tuyere was invented as a necessity. For more
than thirty years I heard its gurgling waters, always
looking upon it as an evil to be tolerated because it
could not be avoided. Fancy all your fires started
on Monday morning in the winter, temperature
below zero, water just getting warm and then find-
FIG. 195. SHOWING A SIMPLER METHOD OF MAKING THE TOOL.
ing pipes all bursted, new ones to be fitted, corners
to be bent in one of the forges at the risk of spoil-
ing a tuyere for want of water in it, customers wait-
ing, foreman swearing, men freezing and shop liter-
ally upside down.
Next came the tank and tuyere in one, a good
improvement ; also the c al back made of wet
" slack," but owincr to its extravagant use of fuel not
o &
to be tolerated. Then came the bottom blast. I
BLACKSMITHING.
do not know when or where its first originated (in-
vent or a " crank," no doubt).
As I was determined to do without a water tuyere,
if possible, I tried most of the fancy "turn 'ems and
twist 'ems " in the market, patented and otherwise,
and all of them spread the fire too much for
economy, in fact, some of them made a series of fires
all over the hearth the tuyere getting hot and
clinging to the " clinker " with a matrimonial tie
Top of Forge.
+ FIG. 196. IMPROVED TUYERE, AS MADE BY " IRON JACK."
never to be divorced until one or both of them was
deadly cold making me hot, too, both in body and
temper. I then got the tuyere craze and schemed
all sorts of " jimcracks," if possible, worse than the
others, until at last I concluded that moving blast
orifices in tuyeres at the bottom of a forge fire were
out of place, worse than useless, the poker being fcll
sufficient; and to keep the tuyere sufficiently cool to
prevent the clinker from clinging, it only wanted a
2O4 BLACKSMITHING.
lump of iron big enough where the fire could not
touch it to keep the part cool where it did touch.
Coming across an old cannon-ball, which, I suppose,
had been used to knock down the walls of Peters-
burg during the war, and big enough it was, for the
matter of that, to knock down the walls of well, I
won't say where it being about nine inches in
diameter and weighing upward of one hundred
pounds, I said to myself, " Here is my tuyere." So
I bored a hole in one side and screwed a piece of
3-inch wrought iron pipe into it, then giving it a quar-
ter turn on the face plate I bored a 2 1-2 inch hole at
right angles and into the other. I then drilled three
3-4 inch holes in the other side and chiseled them
into a mouth for the blast 2 1-2 inches by 3-4 inch,
which is a good size for the fan blast for regular
work. I prefer a flat hole to a round one for the
bottom blast, as it does not allow so large a cinder
to fnll through when the blast is off. After putting
a trap door at the bottom to empty the tuyere I
fixed it on the hearth 6 inches below the level of
the top of the hearth, making a fine brick basin, as
shown in section in the accompanying engraving.
The success of this tuyere is complete, the blast
coming straight out of the mouth like shot from a
gim, making the fire^ very intense at the proper
place (not spreading all over the hearth), which
economizes the fuel as far as possible consistent with
the work to be done, and the mass of metal always
BLACKSMITHING. 2O5
keeps the tuyere cool and cakes the clinker so as to
make it easy to lift out of the fire with the poker, no
matter how long or how heavily it is worked. Should
anyone feel disposed to try it he will be more than
pleased. The forge and anvil should be both on a
level to permit the crane to operate easily without
trouble. By IRON JACK.
HOME-MADE BLOWER.
I commenced business without tools and without
any other resources than my own strong right arm.
After getting an anvil I experienced the need of a
blower. Those which were for sale were high priced,
and nothing but the cash in hand would buy one. In
order to do the best possible under the circumstances,
I took a good look at one in a store, by which I ob-
tained the principle on which it was operated, and then
went home and commenced work upon one upon my
own account. I made it of wood, and succeeded so
well as to make something by which a sort of a fire
could be started. When it was in motion, however,
my neighbors thought I was running a threshing
machine. It could be heard of a still morning near-
ly a mile away. After using this for a short time, I
concluded I would try to make a better one, and
now I will tell you how I set about it.
I took three pieces of white pine plank, 12 by 14
inches and i 1-2 inches thick. I dressed and glued them
together crosswise, in order to obtain the greatest
2O6
BLACKSMITHING.
possible strength. I took the piece to a jig-saw,
and had a circle, perfectly true, taken out of the
center, 8 inches in diameter. I then closed this hole
by placing a half-inch poplar board on each side, the
same size as the large block. These thin pieces I
screwed down tight with eight screws on each board.
Removing one of them I got the center of the edge
of the hole on the inside of the one that remained,
and by reversing the operation, got the center upon
the opposite one. From this measurement I cut a
hole 4 inches in diameter through each of these thin
pieces, which was to serve to let the air into the
\
\
FIG. 197. GENERAL SHAPE OF THE PADDLES OR FANS IN "NO
NAME'S " BLOWER.
blower. By placing the boards back in their original
position the holes would be in the center of the hole
cut in the large block.
I next took two pieces of iron 1-2 by i 1-4 inches
and drilled a 5-1 6-inch hole through them in the
middle. I took a piece of 3-8-inch steelrod and
made two thumbscrews of it; cut threads upon
them to work tightly in the holes in the irons. I
made them very pointed and chilled them very
hard. Next I took a piece of 3-8-inch steel rod and
BLACKSMITHING.
cut it the right length to fit between the points of
the two thumb-screws, and with the center punch I
made a small puncture in the center of the ends of
this rod to receive the pointed ends of the thumb-
screws, above described. Next I drilled two holes
FIG. 198. SHAPE OF SIDE IRONS HOLDING THE AXLE OF FAN
IN " NO NAME'S" BLOWER.
in this shaft, one about i 1-2 inches from one end,
and the other about 2 inches from the pulley
end. On the long end I placed a small cotton
spindle pulley, and i 1-4 inches .in diameter and
A SMin.
B 4M in.' B
FIG. 199. PATTERN OF FANS, TO BE MADE OF GALVANIZED IRON.
1-4 of an inch thick, having a groove in its surface for
a small round bolt, such as is frequently used on
sewing machines. I next took a piece of sheet iron,
heavy gauge, and cut some paddles or fans 4 by 8
208 BLACKSMITHING.
inches, in shape as indicated by Fig. 197, accompany-
ing sketch. I riveted these fans to shaft and bent
them up, thus forming four paddles, located at
equal distances apart. The fan was now done, ex-
cept putting together. I screwed fast the straight
FIG. 200. CENTER-PIECE TO WHICH FANS ARE ATTACHED.
pieces of iron that held the thumb-screws and took
care that the screw came exactly in the center of the
hole, in order that the fan should turn freely. I
turned the box over and placed the fan in the hole,
BLACKSMITHING. 209
with two pivots together, and then fastened in position
the other piece of iron, which was made in the
shape shown in Fig. 198 of the sketches. I exercised
great care that it also should come exactly in the
center and at the same time be in such a position as
not to come in contact with the bolt. I took
care also that the face hung perfectly true in the
center and then screwed down the second board. I
FIG. 201. SIDE PLATES, BETWEEN WHICH FANS ARE FASTENED.
next made a hole in the end of the box 3 inches in
diameter, making it to intersect with the hole in the
box at the upper part. I took care that it should be
smooth and clean. I made a frame of 2 by 3 hard
wood in such a way as to mount the blower in a con-
venient position near my forge. A driving-wheel
grooved on the fan to accommodate a bolt of the
2IO
BLACKSMITHING.
kind above described, and operated with a crank, is
fastened to two standards at the front of the frame,
thus affording motive power. My fan, constructed
in this manner, has now been in use over two years,
and is in perfect condition at the present time. It
gives all the blast that I require, and runs noiselessly.
By No NAME.
FIG. 202. CROSS SECTION THROUGH COMPLETED FAN.
HOME-MADE FAN FOR A BLACKSMITH'S FORGE.
I think anyone with ordinary mechanical skill, by
following the directions which I shall attempt to pre-
sent, will have no difficulty in building a fan which
will^perform satisfactorily.
First cut twelve piece of galvanized iron to the
shape and dimensions shown in Fig. 199. These
BLACKSMITHING.
21 I
should be about 1-16 of an inch thick. Four square
studs about three-quarters of an inch long, are left
on the edges of each plate. The distance from A
to A is 3 1-2 inches, from B to B, 4 1-2 inches, and
from C to C, 4 1-2 inches. Punch two full quarter-
inch holes in each piece. Make a middle piece of
FIG. 203. SIDE ELEVATION OF COMPLETED FAN.
metal like Fig. 200, which should be about five
inches in diameter, and seven-eighths or an inch
thick. This can be made of brass, zinc, or iron.
Drill two holes in each arm to match the holes in
plates shown in Fig. 199. Then put two of these
plates on each arm, with quarter-inch bolts as is
212
BLACASMITHING.
shown at A in Fig, 200. Then cut two circular
plates after the pattern shown in Fig. 201. These
are to be dished as shown in Fig. 202, in order to
fit the middle of the fan nicely. Have them quite as
large as the middle of the fan. In the center of
these plates are draught holes, B, through which the
FIG. 204. LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH COMPLETED FAN.
air will enter the fan. These are to be four inches
in diameter. Each plate has twelve long narrow
holes punched in it as shown in Fig. 201, and a
strong zinc washer is soldered upon it. This plate is
now forced on to the side of the fan. The studs will
BLACK SMITHING. 213
of course project through this plate rather more
than half an inch. By taking a chisel or screw
driver, and putting it between the studs or lugs, one
part can be turned one way and the other the other,
as in Fig. 201, and the plates will be fast. A good
bit of solder should then be run over the whole, as
shown by the dotted lines at F'm Fig. 201. The
next thing is to take two of pieces i 1-4 inch plank,
and cut them to the shape shown in Fig. 203. They
should be grooved as shown by the dotted line
about one and one fourth inches from the edge.
This portion is to form the box for the fan. Fig.
18 in.
FIG. 205. SPINDLE AND PULLEY FOR DRIVING THE FAN.
204 shows the fan put together, but with one side
and one plate removed. Now a sheet of iron 3-32
of an inch thick, and say five inches wide, must be
bent to the shape of the groove shown by the dot-
ted line in Fig. 203. Put this into the grooves
between the two wooden sides, and bolt all together
with quarter-inch bolts and nuts.. The bolts should
be put in four inches apart all around. Zinc bear-
ings four inches wide should be used, and the whole
made to fit firmly to a one-inch board about twelve
inches wide. Turn a wooden pulley, about three
214 BLACKSMITHING.
inches in diameter, with a convex face, something
like that shown in Fig. 205^ The spindle of this
pulley should be three-fourths of an inch in diameter,
and eighteen inches long. The outlet at the mouth of
the fan is four inches square. The nozzle in the fire
can be made two inches, or any desired size. By K.
MINERS' TOOLS AND SMITH WORK.
When I was on Ballarat Diggings from 1852 to '59
there were sledge hammers in use for various pur-
poses; thus in my shop I had sledge hammers for
the ordinary strikers, which weighed say, I4lbs. each,
and as a sort of corps de reserve, one of 28 Ibs.; and
as a good striker was not always to the fore, I usually
wielded a hand hammer myself of 4 Ibs. for sharpening
the miners' picks, for which I received when a "rush"
was on, is. per point, never less than i^. 6d. per point,
2s. 6d. for steeling, and $s. for laying and steeling ;
also I got los. for making an ordinary Cornish
hammer-headed driving pick. I think that the
weight I stated would be about the average for strik-
ing the heads of jumpers for quartz reef, and what
we termed cement, which might be likened to masses
of stone, imbedded in a slaggy sort of glass; but as
those engaged in the search for the precious metal
were representatives of, say, every country, calling
and want of calling upon this sublunary sphere, so
were the tools and the " shooting irons" which came
to me for repair.
BLACKSMITHING. 2 I 5
I was renowned for tempering the miners' gear. I
think that about i in 500 smiths is fitto be trusted to
manfacture any tool from cast steel without over-
heating same. I have not been brought up a black-
smith, being more in the line of a fitter of the knotstick
species, and I have not yet met with a blacksmith
that I would trust to forge me any kind of tools for
lathe, etc. Now, please to bear in mind that this
does not apply to men who make a specialty of tool-
making but only to the ordinary general men of the
shops. A dull red in a dusty place is not enough
for the welfare of cast steel, but this entails a lot of
additional hammering, which tells upon a man's wrist
in an unpleasant manner. At same heat I dip drills or
jumpers steadily into ordinary water not containing
any sort of quack medicines therein.
A proper smith's hand hammer always has a com-
paratively small rounded pane, the pane for drawing-
out purposes being upon the sledge harrmer, but I
employed out on the Diggings for all-round jobs a
German, who probably could make anything com-
plete with hammers alone, from an elbow for stove-
pipes to figures and foliage, and he spoke of having
alongside the anvil in Germany, say some fifty dif-
ferent sorts and weights of hammers.
To stop the ring of an anvil. Let the spike,
which 'ought to be in the block to keep the anvil in
situ, fit the hole in it tight, and let the adjacent iron
of the anvil's bottom bed upon said block, and its
2l6 BLACKSMITHING.
vibration will be stopped once for all. The reason
why we don't have more articles upon smithwork is
undoubtedly because, in the bulk, English smiths are
uneducated, and like all such, grudge to afford any
information upon that or any other subject, and
they abound in quasi nostrums for accomplishing
many things.
With regard to making a weld, one of your cor-
respondents says : " Dip each piece in sand," etc.
Now, there are many varieties of sand, such as that
about here, which is deficient in the matter of silica,
which I opine is the material which, by melting at
the necessary heat just previous to the melting of the
iron, forms a coating of glass over the iron, and so
prevents its oxidation during its heating and transit
to the anvil; therefore, I find it better to collect the
bottoms out of a grindstone trough, taking care that
no debris of zinc, copper, lead, tin oranything abound-
ing in sulphur, be used upon said stone; and he has
omitted to mention that an important factor in a
sound weld is that, at the instant of taking the two
pieces to the anvil, the operator, or operators, should
strike each piece gently, behind the heated part,
upon the anvil, in order to knock off all impedimenta;
with lightning rapidity, place one upon the other, tap
gently upon the " center " of the weld, and quickly
close up the two thin ends, but bearing in mind to
work from the center to the outside
An amateur will find that a serious difficulty will
BLACKSMITHING. 21 7
be encountered when he tries to hold anything, more
especially cast steel, in a tongs. When learning how
to turn the work upon its side, be sure to turn so
that the "back" of the hand is uppermost, or a bad
striker will.be likely by lowering his back hand to
plant a lot of the hot slag into the palm of your hand,
or you may accomplish this by bad striking upon
your own account. When hitting a job upon the
anvil, do not strike in various places, as a rule, un-
less when necessary to place the work over a parti-
cular part, as the edge or on the beak. Keep your
hammer going up and down, as if it were in guides,
drawing the work back or forward as required.
There is an art in making and keeping up the
fire. It depends very much upon the fuel used. If
a heavy welding heat be required, we must take two
or more shovels of wet slack (after, of course, light-
ing up) and tamp this down gently with^the shovel,
so that it forms an arched oven, as if were, and poke
a hole or holes to run in the bar or plural. If we
observe a blue or greenish tinge in the flames, we
will probably consider as to the advisability of
shoveling off "all" the fire and beginning again, as
sulphur is in the ascendant.
Sulphur would cause the white-hot iron to run
away in drops. Mine is a portable forge, and by
drawing out the plug at the back in the air-pipe when
knocking off for a spell, this not only allows the en-
trance of air to keep fire alight,b^^^^e lia-
rn*
2l8 BLACKSMITHING.
bility there is to blowing up a bellows, if fresh coal
is put on, and immediately after, more especially if
it be wet slack, the blowing be stopped, as in this
event the large quantity of gas generated finds its
way into the said elbows, and when the culprit next
draws down the handle, he mixes it with the air, and
a violent explosion is the result, as well as probably
the splitting of the inside middle board. This is
the reason why the nozzle of an ordinary bellows
ought not to be jammed into the tuyere; but there
should be, say, i 4 inch clear space around its end.
A steady continuous blast is far more efficacious
than short jerky forcing.
The putting of salt or anything else in the water
for tempering is bosh.
When a smith applies to me for a job, I always set
him if in want of one to make his hammer and a
pair of tongs. When an amateur can make a tongs
that does not open when it ought to shut he will
know a thing or two anent forging, and when a smith
can make a good cast-steel hammer, it is tolerably
certain that he is up to the hammer, and if he doesn't
want to wet it too often, deserves taking on.
As to the silent language, it would never do if one
had to say to a striker, "Will you be kind enough to
hit so and so?" therefore if we want the striker, we
ring on the hand hammer; he is all attention. We
whip out the bar and gently tickle it together whilst
in a melting mood; next, we tap it in an inviting
BLACKSMITHING.
219
manner upon the spot where he ought to strike it,
which, as before stated, should, as a rule, be in the cen-
ter of the anvil. At first both strike alternately,
but as the reducing effect of the sledge becomes evi-
dent, we, the smith, judiciously intersperse our blows
upon the jobs by taps upon the anvil, always shifting
our irons; but unless we touch a certain spot with
our hammer he is to keep on striking in the middle,
and when we require him to knock off we bring down
our hammer in such a way that it in a sense rings
upon the anvil. English Mechanic and World of
Science.
THE HACK SAW.
Probably no tool devised for the use of iron work-
ers in recent years can be employed to greater
FIG. 206. SHOWING THE HACK SAW.
advantage by a blacksmith than a hack saw. In
many shops it has almost supplanted the cold chisel,
as it can be used in nearly all cases where the latter
tool comes in play, and does its work more ex-
22O BLACKSMITHING.
peditiously. It will cut iron almost as rapidly as an
ordinary saw cuts wood. Its cheapness brings it
within the range of every mechanic having iron to
cut. The engraving, Fig. 206, gives a correct idea
of its appearance.
ADJUSTABLE TONGS.
I lately came across about as handy a blacksmith's
tool as one could wish to find. It was an adjust-
able pair of tongs that will hold tight enough for any
light work. The jaw, J, Fig. 207, is provided with
a slot, S, and the rivet is carried at that end in a
FIG. 207. ADJUSTABLE TONGS, AS DESCRIBED BY " NEW YORKER.
tongue, A, that passes through a lug, B, and is fast-
ened by a key, K, so that it can be set with the hand
hammer and without any wrench. I have found it
an excellent tool, and am sure that anybody that
makes one will be pleased with it. By NEW YORKER.
TONGS FOR MAKING SPRING CLIPS, SLEIGH JACKS, ETC.
I send you a sketch, Fig. 208, of a pair of tongs for
making sleigh jacks, spring clips, staples, etc. A is
a clip to be bent as at B, Fig. 209. The pair of
BLACKSMITHING.
221
tongs has in jaw, C, Fig. 210, a hole for the stem, the
width of the jaw, D, being that required between the
jaws of the clip. If both jaws have holes through
FIG. 209.
FIG. 210.
FIG. 208.
them and are of different widths two sizes of clips
can be bent on one pair of tongs. By R. R. M.
END OF VOLUME I.
INDEX.
ANVIL for French clips 175
Anvils, how made 99
Anvil, putting a horn on 113
Anvils, sharp or round edges. . . no
Anvils, to dress 106
Anvil, to fasten to a block.. 114, 115,
120, 121, 123
Anvil, to forge 128
Anvil, to mend 117
Armor ix
Art of the blacksmith vii
BENCH for smoothing 71
Bench, handy 76
Bench (tool), improved. . . .69, 77, 80
Blacksmiths' art, history of. . . viii
Blacksmiths' coal 63
Blacksmith shop, plan of. .33, 65, 72
Blacksmiths' tools 131, 163-194
Blower, home-made 205
CALIPERS, double 138
Calipers, single. 139
Calks, tools for sharpening. ... 116
Carriage shop, a modern village 52
Carriage shop, plan of 84
Chain mail x
Chimney, blacksmith... 42, 44, 46, 47
Chimney (smoky), to cure 40
Chisel, the cold 147
Chisel, the hot 146
Chisel, the gouge 147
Chisel, the square 148
Clips for fifth wheels, to forge. 112
Clips, tool for making 191
Coal for blacksmiths 63
Cone, the anvil 154
DIVIDERS 140
EYES for tool handles 131
FIRE, hollow vs. open 58
Fire-place, to cement 62
Fire, points about 61
Fire, to keep in small compass. 61
Flatter 153
Flatter, round edge 154
Forge, a simple. ... 38
Forge, African 28
Forge, an Arkansas 47
Forge, blacksmiths' 61
Forge, improved 35, 67
Forge (portable), home-made . . 81
Forging fifth wheel 112
Fork for bending 155
French clips 175
Fuller for offset work 156
Fuller, the bottom 152
Fuller, the top 152
HACK saw 219
Hammers... 183, 195, 197, 199, 200
Hammers, ancient and modern i
Hammer, ball pane 137
Hammer, dog head 22
Hammer for straightening saws 19
Hammer head of stone 2
Hammer, machinist's 12
Hammer, the , 10
Hammer, the cross-face 18
Hammer, the set 150
Hammer, the twist 21
Hammer, uses of 14
Harrow teeth tool 177
Harrow tooth, to bend 178
IRON work, artistic xx
LATHE, primitive 29
Lathe used in Asia 30
MALLET, the stone mason's. ... n
Mandrel for nuts 158
PLAN of blacksmith's shop.. 33, 65
Punches 184
Punch, eye 149
Punch for anvils, to make 126
Punch, round 148
INDEX.
Punch, the bob 149
Punch, the square 149
Punch, to make 125
ROOF for blacksmith's shop. . . 58
SADDLE, for forked pieces. ... 159
Saw (hack) 219
Saws, to straighten 15
Shop, care of 74
Sledge, straight pane 141
Square, T 141
Swages i8o-i8 2
Swage, bottom or anvil is 1
Swage, nut 15?
Swage, the bottom is 1
Swage, the collar 155
Swage, the side 15*
Swage, the top 15
S wedge, self-acting 124
TONGS 183, 185, 186, 187, i89
Tongs, adjustable 22
Tongs and tools, 137
Tongs (bent bit), for round iron 144
Tongs, box 142
Tongs flat 142
Tongs for bending iron on the
edge 145
Tongs for bolts I4 6
Tongs for bolt work 161
Tongs,for different sizes 144
Tongs flat 143
Tongs for flatwise bending .... 144
Tongs for hoofs 162
Tongs for round work i6O
Tongs for sharpening chisels. .. 146
Tongs, hollow bit 143
Tongs improper shape 159
Tongs for irregular work 161
Tongs, pick up 142, 162
Tongs, pincer 144
Tongs, proper bow of jaws. . . . 161
Tongs, proper shape 163
Tongs, proper shape of jaws. . . 160
Tongs, proper shape of, for
special work 159
Tongs, round bit 143
Tongs with bent bit 144
Tongs with box piece 142
Tongs with crooked bits 145
Tools, ancient 25
Tool bench, improved 68
Tool for bending flat pieces 1 56
Tools for blacksmiths 131
Tool for cupping 150
Tool for harrow teeth 177
Tool for heading 158
Tool for making bolts.. 157
Tool for making clips 191
Tools for miners 214
Tool for nut heads 158
Tool handles, eyes for 131
Tool, the foot 153
Tuyere 202
Tuyere, improved 82
Tuyere, to set 49
WEAPONS and armor xiii
Work bench, convenient 80
Work and workmen, ancient and
modern 30
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