?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 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 1 
 
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 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q_ 
 
 1 
 
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 o 
 
 
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 1 , 
 
 
 
 
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 I 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 1 
 
 L 
 
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 u. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 co 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 1 1 1 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 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 
 
rTTJTVF.RSTTY O^ CALIFORNIA 
 
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 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
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