Manual of blacksmithing

Chapter I. Forges And Appliances

It is but fitting that the first chapter of a handbook on the art of the blacksmith should contain descriptions of the various appliances necessary to the performance of the work. The principal of these are noticed in this chapter, descriptions of the hand tools being given in the next chapter; descriptions of those appliances that require to be specially made for individual jobs are included in the explanations of the processes further on. Brief notices of some of the principal forges will be useful as a guide to the choice of one. Portable bellows forges, both rectangular and circular, are made in a great many sizes. One with a hearth measuring about 25 in. by 18 in. is sufficiently large for a single-handed worker, and in it bar iron up to 1 in. or 1% in. square may be heated. For heavier work, requiring the aid of a hammer-man, the hearth may measure 33 in. by 26 in., and range thence up to 39 in. by 30 in. for the largest work. The common forge built of bricks or stone is suitable for average and occasional heavy work.

Fig. 1 illustrates a medium size forge with half hood; it is adapted for machinists, plumbers, miners, marble workers, millers, repair shops, farmers and locksmiths.

Fig. 2 illustrates the noted Standard Lever Blackf MANUAL OF BLACKSMITHING.

smith Forge. The lever motion used on this forge has been in use for fifteen years, and is now on over 225,000 forges and blowers throughout the world.

Fig. 1.--Illustrates a Medium-Size Forge.

The Joint Brass Oscillating Journal Bearings which is a feature of this forge prevent all twisting and binding of the bearings. The oil chambers, when filled, hold oil for lubricating the bearings automat-

Fig, 2.—Illustrates Standard Lever Blacksmith Forge.

ically six months, or 153 working days, without further attention. The brass bearings are adjustable over the entire length of the bearings, with hardened steel lock nut end-screws, for takin up all wear on the fan. Another special feature is the slope bottom coal box, which is beneath the level of the bottom, thus being entirely out of the way. Wet or damp coal is often very necessary when heavy work is being done, and no forge is complete without a sloped coal box.

A lever blacksmith blower is illustrated by Fig. 8. In this forge the lever motion is perfect in its construction, and cannot get out of order; it is light

LE Fig. 3.—A Lever Blacksmith Blower.

running, with a continuation of momentum between strokes, keeping the blast regular and powerful. It has a 16-in. fan and 25-in. fly-wheel, with a capacity of a 50-in. bellows.

Fig. 4 illustrates a horseshoer’s forge. This has been designed and substantially constructed for horseshoers, blacksmith’s fires. It is easy running and noiseless, and, when thoroughly known, will be appreciated by every blacksmith who makes a specialty of shoeing horses. The blast is powerful enough for all kinds of light and heavy blacksmith’s work, including the heaviest railroad work.

A smith’s bellows is illustrated by Fig. 5, and this can be obtained in sizes varying from 24 in. to 40 in. long.

A fan blower is especially adapted for blowing

Fig. 4.—Illustrates a Horseshoer’s Forge.

forge fires, boiler fires, steam boiler furnaces, puddling and heating furnaces, dry rooms, refrigerators, or for ventilation, and is illustrated by Fig. 6.

Fig. 5.—Illustrates a Smith’s Bellows.

A blower is undoubtedly the best; its equal and continuous blast is superior to the spasmodic, variable, and intermittent current from bellows. There are several kinds of blowers used in portable forges, but there is not very much to choose between them. In workshops a row of forges will be supplied with blast from a single fan or blower, each forge being furnished with a throttle valve in its tuyere pipe.

Fig. 6.—Illustrates a Fan Blower.

The old-fashioned bellows are still found in country shops; but in the modern establishments a fan blast or a blower is used, either being superior in all respects to the bellows. f

In small forges, the tuyere is a simple tube. The thickening-up of the nozzle serves to preserve it from destruction for a very long period, and the casting, when burnt away, is replaced. But in all large forges operated by powerful blast, the tuyere

Fig. 7.—The American Wrought Anvil.

is surrounded with water, which protects the nose from the destructive heat of the fire.

The American wrought anvil (Fig. 7) ranges in weight from about sixty pounds up, and is made of steel-faced wrought iron. A double-piked anvil is shown by Fig. 8 and a farrier’s anvil by Fig. 9. The conical end (A) or “beak” is used for turning bars upon, and the hole (8) is for the reception of the anvil chisel, and various bottom tools. Care should

Fig. 8.—Double Piked Anvil.

be taken that the edges of the anvil are not bruised.

The anvil is supported so that its face is about 22 in. high from the ground by a stand which is often a block of wood. The anvil is prevented from slipping sideways by spikes driven into the wood close alongside the anvil-feet. An iron stand (Fig. 10) is much firmer than one of wood, though its first cost is greater.

Fig. 9.—Farrier’s Anvil.

The anvil wears hollow on the surface in the course of time, and its edges become rounded; the less this occurs the better, as an anvil needs to be true when flatting over large surfaces and square corners. Occasionally, but very seldom, the beak is broken off, either as the result of faulty construction or very rough usage.

The ordinary tail or standing vice is, on the whole, as good as any. Vices with parallel jaws and instantaneous grip arrangements used by fitters are scarcely suitable for the smithy, where the work is mostly of a rough character. The tail-vice may be attached to a regular’ bench put up in the smithy, or a smali bench only two or three feet in length may be attached to the wall near the forge, and the vice fastened to that; or it may be selfcontained, standing on a tripod framework of wrought iron, and so be movable about the shop.

Fig. 10.—Anvil Stand.

In a shop not provided with steam power, the Oliver hammer is a useful tool, and may easily and cheaply be rigged up by smith and carpenter; though not so rapid in its action as a steam-hammer, it is the best substitute for one. If power is available, the drop-hammer is an improvement on the Oliver, and is employed in many large firms. The steam-hammer is, however, the most efficient, but it consumes a large quantity of steam, requires the attendance of a man to operate the valves, is costly, and therefore only suitable to large shops.

Figs. 11 and 12 show a front and a side view of an Oliver hammer, as often fitted up in country shops, where the appliance is often entirely home-made. A, A, are stout wooden posts driven deeply into the ground, between them being pivoted on dead centers a piece of wood, Bb, of either round or square section. Iron centers are driven into the end of np, and these are pivoted upon studbolts, c, c. The pivots and the countersunk holes should be case-hardened, and iron bands, p, p, should be shrunk on to prevent the wood, bs, being split out at the ends. The hammer-shaft, r, is mortised into B, over

| i BN a ot bls Fig. 11.—Front of Oliver Hammer.

ft W/V H which, on each side of the hammer-shaft, bands, Fr, F, are shrunk, to prevent the concussion of the hammer blows splitting the wood. The hammer-head, G, is recessed as shown, to receive top swages, and corresponding bottom swages are let into the anvil, uw, which, in turn, rests upon a massive anvil-block, J.

The Oliver hammer is worked by the smith with his foot upon the treadle-board, k, to which one end of a chain, L, is attached, the other end being fast-

FORGHS AND APPLIANCES. 11 ened to a flexible wooden pole, m. A short lever, n, is fastened to the chain between «k and mM, and this lever being driven into n, of which it forms a part, moves B on its pivots and causes » and «@ to descend with the treadle, ck. On the release of the foot, ¢ is pulled up by the spring bar, m, which is tenoned into a stout beam, o, which is fastened to the wall. There are several forms of drop hammers, a comi vege

Leeee

Fig. 12,—Side of Oliver Hammer.

mon arrangement being to attach the hammer to the lower end of a belt which is fastened to a pulley, the latter being revolved as required by friction cones, operated with a disengaging clutch. When the latter is released the hammer falls; on again throwing it into gear, the hammer is lifted. The clutch is controlled by means of a lever handle, within easy reach of the attendant.

MANUAL OF BLACKSMITHING.

A monkey or swinging pendulum hammer is illustrated by Fig. 18. It is made of cast iron, and is balanced carefully on its center of gravity by the correct setting in position of the eye, B, which is cast into the bar. The battering end is preserved from fracture, and from too rapid wear, by means of the wrought-iron band, c, which fits around, and is shrunk into a shouldered recess of dovetailed section. The handle, or porter, p, is of wrought iron east into the monkey. It is provided with an eye, through which a small chain or rope, E, is passed; by means of this the monkey is pulled backwards after every blow. The monkey is suspended by a chain, A, from any convenient beam overhead. It is

Fig. 13.—Swinging Monkey.

drawn back several feet from the perpendicular, and then let go; being heavy, it strikes the iron with great force.

The smith’s mandrel, Fig. 14, a conical hollow casting, is employed chiefly in making rings, as will be explained, and should be kept in three or four sizes.

An appliance employed for rounding off the heads of bolts is shown in plan and _ elevation by Figs. 15 and 16. a is a_ bracket-like easting, bolted firmly to a heavy cast-iron base let into the ground. Through an _ overhanging boss at the top of a slides the shank of the rounding tool, n. This is plumb over a bolster, c, on the base. The bolt is dropped into the bolster, c,

FORGES AND APPLIANCES. 11) and the tool, zB, struck upon it with a sledge hammer.

The support, p, is merely for the purpose of supporting the rounding tool whil e the bolt is being slipped

WE

TON

SSS

AWS

==

MTT Fig. 14.—Sugar-loaf Casting.

into the bolster. It is pivoted to a strap fastened to the side of a, and is turned to one side when the tool is being struck with the hammer,

A hbolt-forging machine is power-driven, and by its means bolts and their heads are formed between dies having a rapid vertical movement imparted from a long cam shaft. Where bolts are made in even moderate quantities, the bolt-machine soon pays for itself. An almost necessary adjunct to this machine is the power-driven hot and cold iron saws. The first is a comparatively thin saw, run dry at a high rate of speed, that cuts roughly through red-hot

Fig. 15.—Plan of Appliance for Rounding Bolt Heads, rods and bars almost instantly. The second is a thicker saw, that cuts slowly, but smoothly and cleanly, running in water the while.

Two forms of carriers are commonly employed to move and carry about bars which are too long to be manipulated by the tongs. One (Fig. 17) is used underhand, being carried vertically with the hook lowermost, and the work, or one end of it, slung in the hook. The other (Fig. 18) is used for heavy forgings, being carried by two men. When one end of the work is carried thus, the other may be

Fig. 16.—Elevation of Appliance for Rounding Bolt Heads.

slung in the crane, or be merely supported with the tongs, or balanced by other means. Long rods and bars, when being cut off or welded, require some support at the end farthest away from the smith. Support is also wanted when two rods are being welded .by a_ single-handed worker; one rod is held by the smith, but the other has to be supported by some mechanical contrivance, which should be provided with some means of adjusting the height, to suit differences in the bulk or thickness of the work. Contrivances of this kind

Gaia a Fig. 17.—Carrier for Bars.

are shown in Figs. 19 and 20, and both, of course, are portable. In the one shown by Fig. 19, two cheeks, a, of wrought iron, cut to the outline shown in the end view, and maintained at'a definite distance apart with the stay bolts, ns, B, are pierced with numerous holes, c, at different heights. Into any of these holes the bolt, p, can be inserted, carrying the loose roller, £, that supports the work.

In the second contrivance (Fig. 20), two uprights, A, are tenoned into a foot, n. Between the uprights

Fig. 18.—Carrier for Bars.

the forked piece, c, slides, and by the insertion of pins, p, p, in any pair of the series of holes in the uprights the height of the fork, and consequently of the work, is regulated.

Sometimes the support consists simply of a forked end screwed into a socket, and turned up or down with the hand; the adjustment of this appliance is more exact than in the others.

Another method of supporting heavy work is by means of an endless sling chain dependent from a loose pulley, slung from a light jib overhead. This contrivance is often used simply for lifting work of considerable bulk from the fire to the anvil and back again. For heavier work a pair of pulley blocks are often slung from a jib, and then there is mechan-

19.—Adjustable Support for Long Work.

Fig.

ical gain, and facility for raising and lowering the work as well.

Fig. 21 shows a simple and effective rig-up for manipulating heavy work. Use is made of the movable jib, which is an accessory to most forges. It is pivoted against the wall, and upon its cheeks, 4, a, runs the jenny, B, consisting of four wheels and carriage, with a depending hook, c, to which is attached a lever having a long arm, bp, and a short arm, Ek. At the end of the short arm is a square nut, rF, threaded to take a coarse, square-threaded screw, a, which passes up clear by the side of the crane. At the lower end of this screw is a swivel, Hu, through

Fig. 20.—Adjustable Support for Long Work.

which the screw works, being turned by a lever passing through the hole in the boss at the lower end of the screw, a. From the lower end of the swivel depends the chain and clip in which the work is suspended. Adjustment of the height of the work can be made by turning the screw, c, the range of height being equal to the length of the screw, and by pulling at the chain, gs, at the long end of the lever. This latter, being rapid and immediate in action, is used during the manipulation of the work. The exercise of very little force, such as a man can

Fig. 21.—Apparatus for Lifting Heavy Forgings.

apply with one hand, is sufficient to raise and lower the work upon the anvil or the bending block, and to move it to any position required.

Chapter II. Hand Tools

The smith’s miscellaneous small hand tools, though numerous, consist mostly of appliances for molding or shaping metal into diverse forms. Like the tools used in some other trades, many are made as occasion requires, and accumulate quickly.

The smith’s hammers, other than power-driven, are of two kinds—the hand hammer and the sledge. The firstnamed weighs from % lb. to 1 lb., and generally is of the form shown in Fig. 22, with the ball

Fig. 22.—Ball Peen Hammer, Fig. 2¢

Po

—Sledge Hammer, peen. “The cross peen hand hammer is used for fullering and drawing down. The flat face is used for striking heavy blows and for finishing surfaces. The sledges are of one of the two forms shown in Figs. 23 and 24, and weigh from 4 to 14 lbs., one of from 6 to 8 lbs. weight being about the average. Fig. 25 shows the method of wédging on the head to prevent it from flying off. Hammer handles should be kept in a dry place for several weeks previous to use; if they are not well seasoned, they shrink with the heat, and are apt to work loose on their heads.

The necessary firing tools are the poker, Fig. 26,

HAND TOOLS. al the slice, Fig. 27, and the rake, Fig. 28. Their uses are obvious.

Before any forging can be done, tongs are necessary. There are often a dozen tongs to a moderately well appointed forge, but it is not necessary to get them all at once; a few of the simpler and most necessary tongs will now be described. Each of these tools is made in several sizes to suit the various kinds of work.

Fig. 29 shows the hollow-bit tongs; enclosing and gripping the rod for a length of about 2 in., they take a very firm hold of both rods and bars. When there is a collar or other enlargement at one end of the bar, the pincer tongs, Fig. 30, are

Co Fig. 25.—Section through Fig. 24.—Sledge Hammer. Wedged Hammer Head.

sometimes employed to enable a firm grip to be taken; the jaws have V-notches, as shown in the end view. Fig. 31 shows tongs that are more generally useful; the elongation of the V-shaped jaws gives a stronger grip, and the rod or bar is less liable to shift sideways.

When a bar is so long that it*cannot be held with these tongs, a crook-bit tongs (Fig. 32) is used; the jaws being turned aside permits the bar to pass alongside the handles on one side of the rivet. The lip serves to retain the bar in place, otherwise it would be apt to slip out sideways. With these four kinds of tongs work can be commenced on round rods and square bars of iron. For other work there are other forms. The ring encircling the handles or reins of the crook-bit tongs is called a coupler,

Fig. 26.—Poker. Fig. 27.—Slice. Fig. 28.—Rake.

which is slid over the reins, and tightened by a tap or two with the hammer. The work is thus grasped without the need of any further effort on the part of the smith.

For holding flat bars, tongs shaped like those

Fig. 34.—Tongs for Flat Bars, shown at Figs. 33 and 34 are employed. In Fig. 33 the jaws are alike, and come into direct opposition. In Fig. 40 a flat jaw falls within the sides of the other. Thesé are made in various widths and proportions, the range of each pair being rather limited. For holding and manipulating rings, hoop tongs (Fig. 35) and pick-up tongs (Fig. 36) are employed. ,

When work is being reduced to final dimensions, it is necessary to check sizes by tools other than the steel rule. For flat rods the gap gauge is commonly used. It is of the typical form shown in Fig. 37, each gap being of a definite width, and differing from its neighbor by % in. or 1-16 in. Their depth is unimportant, but bears some proportion to width.

Fig. 35.—Hoop Tongs.

Fig. 36.—Pick-up Tongs.

= SSS

Fig. 37.—Gap Gauge.

These gaps, which are really fixed calipers, can be used in an instant to embrace and test the dimensions of a red-hot forging.

For circular work, calipers with long shanks are used. Fig. 38 shows a single caliper, whilst Figs. 39 and 40 are two forms of double calipers.

To cut a cold bar, it is nicked round with a cold set (Fig. 41). The bar is laid across the anvil with the chisel-edge upon it, and the chisel, being struck with a hammer, nicks the bar. The bar is rotated slightly and another blow struck, and so on rapidly until there is a sharp indentation all round the bar. Then it is struck sharply across the edge of the anvil and snapped in two at the nicked section.

A hot-set (Fig. 42) is used if a bar is divided while red-hot, and the smith holds it in place while the hammer-man strikes it. The set is driven in

Fig. 38.—Single Caliper. Fig. 39.—Double Calipers.

deeply, and several blows are given at one spot; and by the time the bar has been turned completely round the set has almost or entirely severed it. In use the set becomes hot, so that it would be liable to lose its temper and become soft; therefore, after every four or five blows on the hot iron, the smith dips it into water to cool it. The hot sets are often provided with handles differing from those of the swages—that is, they are like hammers, but without

Fig. 40.—Double Calipers.

wedges, which would shrink and become loose, because they are subjected to more heat. When the handle becomes loose, striking its butt end upon the anvil jumps the set down to a firm hold, ready for immediate use. Sometimes they are provided with iron handles, or with withy handles as shown in Fig. 41,

Fig. 41.—Cold Set.

Fig. 42.—Hot Set.

A smith working single-handed when nicking bars uses the anvil cutter (Fig. 43). It is essentially a chisel, having its edge uppermost and a shank fitting into the square hole in the anvil; a bar laid upon it and struck with the hammer is nicked on the under side, and rotating and striking it with the hammer will have the effect of nicking it all round.

The knife tool, Fig. 44, and the curved tool, Fig. 45, are used for cutting lengths off iron bars.

Swages of many shapes are used for a variety of purposes which will be duly explained. Top and

Fig. 43.—Anvil Cutter.

bottom swages are illustrated respectively by Figs. 46 and 47.

A bottom swage like Fig. 48 is very useful, both for bolt making and for general work. Using this, a gradual reduction in diameter can be made without the trouble of changing the separate single bottom swages. A swage for finishing collars is illustrated by Fig. 49.

In the spring swages, Figs. 50, 51 and 52, the top swages guide themselves, and the work can be held in position and hammered to shape by one operator. The difference between the three is that, whilst Figs.

Fig. 44.—Chisel for Cutting Fig. 45.—Chisel for Cutting Iron Bars. Circular Enas.

50 and 51 each take one diameter of iron, Fig. 52 will take three different sizes. The top and bottom faces of two, it will be noted, are made flat for use with the hammer, while in Fig. 51 the lower swage has a pin to fit into the anvil, and the upper swage is formed to be struck with the sledge-hammer,

Fig. 46.—Top Swage.

Fig. 47.—Bottom Swage.

The angular swage, Fig. 53, is used in shaping and welding hot metal. The angles support the sides of the metal whilst being hammered, and the work

HAND TOOLS. 3k is performed more quickly—an important matter in f welding. With this tool, a top swage can be used i if desired, or the sledge or steam hammer by itself. i

Fig.

In Figs. 54 and 55, similar swages are shown as forming bolt-heads.

The common swage block, Fig. 56, is an appliance without which no smith’s outfit is fairly complete. Its body is pierced with numerous holes—round, square and oblong—and its edges are provided with grooves of various sizes, in circular and V forms. The block is used lying on its side, as a bolster, co)

Fig. 52.—Spring Swages.

STN

Fig. 53.—Nut Swage on Anvil,

Fig. 54.—Bolt Head Laid Fig. 55.—Bolt Head Shaped in Bottom Tool, in Bottom Tool.

upon which holes are punched and drifted, and as a heading-tool, upon which shouldered work is finished. When laid upon one of its edges, the grooves serve as bottom swages for circular, hexagonal and rectangular work.

The stand upon which the swage block is mounted may consist of upper and lower cast-iron frames,

Fig. 59.—Bottom Fuller.

Fig, 58.—Top Fuller.

with the upper one provided with strips, enclosing the block. The two frames are held together by four shouldered wrought-iron pillars, whose pins pass through holes cast in the frames, and are riveted over at top and bottom. Fig. 57 shows a stand.

An essential tool is the fuller, of which four forms are here illustrated; Fig. 58 shows an ordinary top fuller, Fig. 59 the bottom fuller, Fig. 60 the round-faced fuller, and Fig. 61 the hollow fuller. Another form of hollow tool is shown by Fig. 62 as finishing a ring on a V-block. These tools enter into much of the smith’s work, as will be made apparent as the subject is pursued.

The flatter, Fig. 63, is held by the smith whilst

Fig. 60.—Round-faced Fuller.

Fig. 61.—Hollow Fullering Tool.

the hammermen strike it with sledges. The cup tool, Fig. 64, is used in the same manner as the flatter.

Punches are circular, square, oval, oblong, and wedge-shaped, and have handles of hazel or iron. A punch, Fig. 65, and a bolster, Figs. 66 and 67, are often used together, the punch, by means of hammer blows, being driven through the red- or white-hot metal placed over the bolster.

Drifts are used to finish holes that have been punched smaller than the finished dimensions, when facilities for machining are not available. They are taper, as in Fig. 68, or parallel tools, having circular, square, oblong, elliptical, or polygonal cross sections, corresponding to those of the finished holes. There is scarcely a limit to the forms in which they may be made and used. Drifts are smooth, and, being drivey i

H

Fig. 62.—Finishing Ring on V-block with Hollow Tool.

—ecewweraseoeeres, Oe through the punched holes, enlarge, shape, and smooth them while the metal is red-hot. Two drifts are often employed: one considerably tapering, so as to enlarge the punched hole; a second, the filler, or filling-in piece, or mandrel, very slightly tapering, for imparting the precise finished dimensions. Smooth drifts are rarely parallel; if they were, their withdrawal from a hole would be a matter of difficulty; the sides should taper not less than from two to four degrees.

The cutting drift partakes either of the nature of a sharp punch, or of a file. It does not open out

IAAT ite Fig. 65.—Round Punch on Thin Bar.

the hole by pressure, and does not remove a large quantity of material at once; it merely smooths and finishes a hole already nearly to shape and size. Fig. 69 shows a drift for shallow holes, and Fig. 70 for deep ones; they are shaped with files from suitable blanks, and then tempered to a color ranging

HAND TOOLS. BY from brown to purple. Toothed drifts for fine work have the teeth closer together; for coarse, rough work, they are spaced farther apart. They are beveled to allow clearance for the chips, being the equivalent of backing-off in other cutting tools. For hard metal the angle between the cutting edge and iit a ini Hitt

‘ul

K

Fig. 70.—Drift for Deep Holes.

the face is greater than for softer metals, thus following the usual practice in all cutting tools. Oil should be supplied to the edges of the drift, and of the hole when driving it in, and the work should be bedded firmly on a block of metal; and care must be taken that the drift is driven straight. If the hole is deep, the drift must be withdrawn once or twice for clearance of chips. If the hole to be drifted is much smaller than the finished size, it will be necessary to enlarge it by chipping with a chisel.

Drifts with teeth are used for making round holes into square, oval, hexagonal, etc. It is better in these cases to work one-half the hole at a time. Thus, in drifting a round hole into a square one, one-half the round hole would be filled with a halt-

Fig. 71.—Drift used in Smoothing Holes.

round plug, and a flat drift used to operate against the other half of the hole, little by little, thin backings being interposed one after the other. When one-half of the square is shaped, it is filled up, and the other half treated similarly. An elliptical hole is shaped in a similar way.

The drift is also serviceable for holes that do not pass quite through the material. As an example, for a rectangular hole to be smoothed in one dire¢tion, the drift shown in Fig. 71 could be used. The face, a, would remove a thin shaving. To take a second cut a thin strip of metal would be placed behind the drift; to take a third cut, an additional thin strip; and so on.

For drilling large holes, the ratchet-brace is a good tool. It can be fixed either upon a bench in a permanent position, or where wanted on work in hand. A press-drill thrust down with a lever is also a common appliance in country shops. For a shop where much drilling is done, a double-geared hand or power drill is more efficient.

Dies are used by the smith when the initial cost of making them is likely to be repaid by the increased convenience and time saved. They will be described later.