The Blacksmith's Craft
PART I
The Smith also sitting by the anvil,
And considering the iron work,
The vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh,
And he fighteth with the heat of the furnace;
The noise of the hammer and the anvil is ever in his ears,
And his eyes look still upon the pattern of the thing that he maketh;
He setteth his mind to finish his work, And watcheth to polish it perfectly:
Ecciesiasticus
Contents:
PART I: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER1 THE BLACKSMITH'S
EQUIPMENT
The Hearth
The Blast
The Anvil
The Bench
The Vices
Tool Racks
Tong Racks
Floor Mandrel
The Swage Block
CHAPTER 2 THE BLACKSMITH'S
TOOLS
Hammers
Tongs
Cold Chisels
Hot Chisels
Cold Sets
Hot Sets
Hardies
Punches for Hot Work
Drifts
Fullers
Flatters and Set Hammers
Swages
Hand Mandrel
Bolster for Harrow Tines
CHAPTER 3 THE BLACKSMITH'S
FIRE
Fuel
Fire Tools
The Fire
Management of the Fire
CHAPTER 4 THE BLACKSMITH'S
WORK
Taking a Heat
Drawing Down
Bending
Upsetting or Jumping Up
Hot Cutting
Punching and Drifting
Fire Welding
Instructions for Fire Welding
Heat Treatment
CHAPTER 5 THE BLACKSMITH'S
MATERIALS
Wrought Iron
Mild Steel
Medium Carbon Steel
High Carbon Steel
Alloy Steels
PART
II: CUTTING OFF COLD METAL
Lesson:
1 DRAWING DOWN
2 CHAIN STAPLE AND
U-BOLT
3 `S' HOOK
4 UNWELDED EYE
5 HARROW GAUGE OR SCRIBER
6 SQUARE LATCH KEEP
7 BARBED GATE HOOK
8 SPLIT LINK
9 WELDED AND
DRAWN DOWN POINT
10 CHAIN LINKS
11 HOLDFAST
12 PIPE HOOK
PART
III: RINGS
Lesson:
13 SIDE SCARF WELDED
RINGS
14 TOP SCARF WELDED
RING
15 TURNED AND
WELDED EYE-BOLT
16 HARNESS AND
TRACE HOOKS
17 'D'
SHACKLE WITH TURNED EYES
18
'D' AND BOW SHACKLES WITH PUNCHED EYES
19
MUSHROOM-HEADED SHACKLE PIN AND COTTER
20 HEXAGON HEADED BOLT
21 SHOULDERED SHACKLE
PIN
22 WELDED COTTER
23 PUNCHING HARROW BARS
24 HARROW TINES
25 HARROW DRAUGHT HOOK
PART
IV: BENDS TO DIMENSIONS
Lesson:
26 RADIUS CORNER BENDS
27 CART SHAFT STAPLE
28 PLAIN SQUARE
CORNER BENDS
29 FORGED SQUARE
CORNER BENDS
30 STRAIGHT SCARF WELD
31 CLEFT WELD
32 GLUT WELDED
SQUARE CORNER
33 EYE WELDED TO SHANK
34 SCARF
AND CLEFT `T' WELDS
35 'T' SHAPED
POCKET WELD
36
DIAGONAL AND STRAIGHT SCARF CORNER WELDS
37 BLACKSMITH'S TONGS
INTRODUCTION
FORGING is the oldest method of making things from iron and steel. It remains
an essential craft, because farmers still need within easy reach of their
farms workshops where they can be sure of an efficient and prompt repair service.
To give such a service today, the skill of a blacksmith must be combined with
the techniques of gas or arc welding and flame cutting, but the craftsman
who possesses only the techniques of a welder without a knowledge of forging
will be seriously handicapped. His lack of smithing skill will oblige him
to use welding and flame cutting for jobs which could be done cheaper and
better by forging.
An example is the fitting illustrated in Fig. 1. A welder could easily cut
the plate and two gussets with a gas cutter from any scrap available, but
he is unlikely to have a suitable piece of tube. Without a knowledge of smithing,
the only way to make the tube would be to drill and bore a solid piece of
shaft, a slow and expensive job. The blacksmith made the tube in Fig. I by
rolling a piece of plate round a mandrel and then welding the seam, thus saving
time and material.
Metal forged at the correct heat loses none of its strength but if, for instance,
a piece of metal is merely heated by a blow pipe flame and pulled or hammered
over a vice, its structure is weakened and may give under strain. A blacksmith
working hot metal on the anvil comes to understand his material better than
he could in any other way. This is especially true of the smith who turns
to ornamental ironwork in his spare moments, for this, besides being to many
smiths an absorbing creative art and relief from their heavy work, is an excellent
way of discovering the characteristic behaviour of iron. For these reasons,
a blacksmith who also has a knowledge of welding techniques can give the farmer
a much more versatile and useful service than the man who cannot forge his
metal.
The basis of the blacksmith's craft is set out in the pages which follow.
There are four parts. Part I describes the smith's simple equipment and his
tools, his fuel and his fire, the processes he uses in his work and his raw
materials. Parts II, III and IV open with a description of a particular technique
which is essential to the lessons which are set out step by step in each part.
Each of the photographs by which a technique is illustrated shows some detail
of particular technical significance such as the position of the body, the
correct grip of the tool in the hand, the angle at which the work is held.
At the head of each lesson is a line drawing of the piece to be made, so that
the progressive stages of the exercise will be more readily understood, and
the relation of drawings to solid objects will become familiar.
A smith who has mastered these thirty-seven lessons will know the essentials
of his craft.
