The 20Th Century Toolsmith and Steel Worker; a Complete, Practical

ILLUSTRATED Class \ifLi__ ' Book._^ j 1 Gopyright^^__ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. \ The 20th Century Toolsmith and Steelworker A COMPI^ETE, PRACTICAI,, AND SCIENTIFIC BOOK, WRITTEN BY A THOROUGH EXPERT MECHANIC AND STEEL- WORKER, ESPECIALI^Y IN THE INTERESTS OF BliACKSMlTHS, TOOI^SMITHS, TOOI.- MAKERS, AND AI.I, MECHANICS CONNECTED DIRECTl^Y OR IN- DIRECTI^Y WITH THE USE, REPAIR, AND MANU- FACTURE OF STEEI, INTO Tooi^S FULLY ILLUSTRATED By H. HOLFORD CHICAGO FREDERICK J. DRAKE & CO., PUBLISHERS 1907 o5 LIBHARY of CONGRESS Two Cooies Received WIAY 25 190r »T-^ Copynehf entry CLASS A KXc, No. COPY B. ' Copyright, 1907 By Frederick J. Drake & Co. Chicago -4 PREFACE This book is written in th.e interests of all mechanics connected with the working and manufacture of steel into tools, and gives all the secrets and obstacles to be •overcome towards making steelwork or toolmaking a success. It will be invaluable to the young mechanic and place him years in advance of his fellow workman, by the reading and a little reflection of its contents. It is not comprise of quack theories or foolish ideas, and is not written, by a college student, who knows nothing except what he has been told or gathered up from papers and periodicals. But is written by a thorough expert mechanic who has spent the best part of his life over the anvil with the hammer and tongs and making tools of every description, from steel of every quality and temper and almost every brand or make, and the contents of this book are the results of hard work, deep study, years of experimenting and wide travel. The information given is of a simple, practical, and scientific nature, which can be easily understood and everything accomplished by a mechanic of average intelligence. It gives full and complete instructions with illustra- 3 4 PREFACE tions, how to forge, weld, anneal, harden and temper, every tool that the toolsmith or toolmaker is called upon to make or repair, and if the directions are fol- lowed closely, this book will be the means of lifting a great many out of a rut of darkness and place them on the road of sunshine to mechanical success, as this information could not be gained in a lifetime in the ordinary blacksmith shop or from the steel manufacturer. —. CONTENTS. Introduction Pages 11 to 14 CHAPTER I. Steel, its use and necessity in all arts, trades and profes- « sions—The composition of east tool steel—The successful treatment of steel—Heating—Forging—Ham- mering—Hardening—The hardening bath—Quench- ing—Tempering — Welding — Annealing — Differ- ent kinds of steel—The cracking of tools when hardening and the cause—How to judge hard from soft steel—How to tell good from poor steel—Testing steel after hardening, with a file—Instructions on toolmaking that have to be given many times Pages 15 to 31 CHAPTER II. The blacksmith's fire—Bellows and blowers—The anvil Tongs—Fullers and swages—Flatters and set hammer—The hammer—Making and dressing a hand hammer—Haraening and tempering a hammer—Suc- cessful points to be remembered in making and tempering a hammer—Punching holes in steel . Pages 32 to 55 CHAPTER III. The cold chisel—The hardy—Heavy hot, cold and railroad chisels—Drills and drilling—Making a flat drill —Hand made twist drills—Making a twist reamer. Pages 56 to 72 5 — CONTENTS CHAPTER IV. How to draw out, harden and temper an axe that will cleave a hemlock knot—Mill picks—Butcher knives How to make gun, revolver, trap and all fine springs —Dirt picks—Laying dirt picks Pages 73 to CHAPTER V. Machinists tools—Air hardening steel for lathe and planer tools—How to anneal air hardening steel—Milling cutters—The use of asbestos and clay when hardening milling cutters and other tools—Hardening hol- low tools—The hardening and tempering of hob taps, stay bolt taps ana similar tools—Heating fur- naces—Heated lead for hardening purposes—Boiler- makers^ tools—The beading tool—Punches and dies —Flue expanders—Drifts, rivet snaps, calking tools and chisels—Hardening shear blades. .Pages 90 to 115 CHAPTER VI. Woodworkers' and carpenters' tools—Laying a carpenter's chisel—The screw driver—How to make a draw knife Pages 116 to 121 CHAPTER VII. Granite cutters' tools—The granite drill—Bull sets and bull chisels—The granite bush hammer—The granite hammer—Granite cutters' mash hammer—The granite tool sharpeners' hammer and anvil stake—Marble cutters' tools Pages 122 to 130 CONTENTS 7 CHAPTER VIII. Limestone cutters' tools—Plain and tooth chisels and points—Pitching tool—Hand and ball drills—The tooth axe—The limestone bush hammer—Sandstone cutters' tools—Stone carvers' tools—Polishing board for stonecutters' tools—How to forge mallet head tools—Punching teeth in stone cutters' tools—Lathe and planer tools for cutting soft stone—Dressing tools with the cutting edge bevelled from one side only Pages 131 to 145 CHAPTER IX. The stonemason's hammer—Miners' tools—Correct and incorrect shapes of miners' hand drills—The cross or machine drill—The oreaking of drills when drilling and the cause—The rock cutting reamer—Well drills Pages 146 to 153 CHAPTER X. Horseshoer's tools—-How to make and dress a pair of pincers—Making a clinch cutter—How to make a horseshoer's knife—How to dress a vise—Sharpen- ing plow shares—How to make square holes in plow shares Page 154 to 162 CHAPTER XL How to make a harnessmaker's knife—How to make a butcher's steel—Hardening tools with five projections —The butcher's cleaver—How to dress a railroad pinch bar—The spike maul—The claw bar Pages 163 to 173 — CONTENTS CHAPTER XII. The bricklayer's set—How to harden and temper wire nippers or pliers—How to make a razor—To make a scraper—Hardening jaw of pipe vise—Hardening and tempering blacksmith's bolt clipper—Tools for punching or gumming cross-cut saws—The scratch- awl—Hardening and tempering circular blades of pipe cutter—Hardening a tool according to its shape —Making, hardening and tempering an alligator pipe wrench—Hardening and tempering pruning shear blades—The center punch—The nail set—Hardening and tempering steel stamps—Making a gouge Hardening and tempering carpenters' augurs that have come through a fire—Case hardening Pages 174 to 187 CHAPTER XIII. The correct meaning of a cherry red heat—Heating to harden according to the size of the tool—Charcoal for heating steel—The sealing of steel after hardening—Quality and quantity—Quick methods of working—Cracks in steel— Slighting tools—The result of being a successful steelworker—Hardening tools that are forged by another mechanic—Sayings and ideas of mechanics in reference to steel—Why some tools are soft when put into use—Reasons why tools break when in use—Necessary tools—^Welding compounds —Hardening comiDounds—How to determine the temper of tools—Overheating tools—Cutting steel when cold—Oil tempering—Drawing the temper over the open or blacksmith's fire—More points on hammer- ing steel—How to improve—The blacksmith's helper —The danger of heating more of a tool when dressing, than what is to be forged or hammered—Harden- ing very small or thin tools—More information about CONTENTS 9 cold chisels—The different degrees of temperature Fahrenheit required to equal the various colors when drawing the temper m hot air or oil—Table of ordinary tools made from cast steel, arranged alphabeti- cally, giving the color of temper and about the per- centage of carbon the steel should contain to give the best results—Table of tools continued, which are partly or wholly hardened but have no temper drawn —Working steel at night—^A few words in reference to burnt steel^Conclusion Pages 188 to 229 Useful Formulas Pages 230 to 240 INTRODUCTION In introducing this book to my readers and brother mechanics, it has long been my aim to bring this volume of information before the steelworkers and toolmakers in general and to present it in a clear simple way that the average mechanic will quite readily understand. Although there are other books written and published on this great subject of steelworking, the information which they contain is not expressed in a clear light that is beneficial to the ordinary reader, for unless the reader is already an expert steelworker the book is not easily understood without a great deal of thought and study, as some authors oppose their own ideas, others again do not take up the entire subject and the information which is most profitable to the young mechanic and also which is most impressive on his mind is left unwritten. But this book which is entitled. The 20th Century Toolsmith and Steelworker, will give fully all the information and knowledge of working steel in a clear light so that the young mechanic or apprentice will readily improve, if he will but read. The methods given and used as regards the working of steel, are of the most modern, simple, practical, and scientific nature, 11 12 INTRODUCTION while the instructions are from the experience of a successful steelworker of good reputation, and who has spent years in hard work, ranging in extent from the humble country blacksmith shop to the largest and best railroad, locomotive and machine shops, also stone yards, quarries and mines of North America, which is the only correct way of gathering together the vast amount of knowledge contained in these pages and which has cost the author thousands of dollars in wide travel and collecting valuable ideas from some of the greatest living mechanics and steelworkers that Amer- ica has produced.

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