factsheet - The Work of the Blacksmith (Compiled by Brian Hoban for Clogher Heritage)

he Blacksmith creates objects rial is not removed by it; rather the toms of the indentations. This forces from wrought iron or steel by iron is hammered into shape. the metal to grow in length much forging the metal, using tools There are seven basic operations or faster than just hammering with the to hammer, bend, and cut). techniques employed in forging: draw- flat face of the hammer. TBlacksmiths produce objects such as ing down, shrinking (a type of upset- Shrinking tools, agricultural implements, cooking ting), bending, upsetting, swageing, Shrinking, while similar to upsetting, utensils, and weapons. The person punching and forge welding. is essentially opposite the process of who shoes horses is a farrier (though These operations generally employ drawing. As the edge of a flat piece a blacksmith may make the shoes). hammer and anvil at a minimum, but is curved—as in the making of a bowl smiths will also make use of other Origin of the term shape—the edge will become wavy as tools and techniques to accommodate The term “blacksmith” comes from the the material bunches up in a shorter odd-sized or repetitive jobs. activity of “forging” iron or the “black” radius. At this point the wavy portion metal - so named due to the colour of Drawing is heated and the waves are gently the metal after being heated (a key Drawing lengthens the metal by reduc- hammered flat to conform to the de- part of the blacksmithing process). ing one or both of the other two dimen- sired shape. If you were to compare The term “forging” means to shape sions. As the depth is reduced, the the edge of the new shape to the origi- metal by heating and hammering. width narrowed, or the piece is both nal piece, you would discover that the lengthened and “drawn out.” material is now thicker. This change in The process As an example of drawing, a smith thickness is due to the excess material Blacksmiths work primarily with making a chisel might flatten a square that formed the waves being pushed wrought iron and steel. The “black” bar of steel, lengthening the metal, re- into a uniform edge having a smaller in “blacksmith” refers to the black fire radius than before. ducing its depth but keeping its width scale, a layer of oxides that forms on consistent. the surface of the metal during heat- Bending Drawing does not have to be uni- ing. The word “smith” derives from an Heating iron to a “forging heat” al- form. A taper can result as in making old word, “smite” (to hit). Blacksmiths lows bending as if it were soft, ductile a wedge or a woodworking chisel work by heating pieces of wrought iron metal, like copper or silver .Bending blade. If tapered in two dimensions, a or steel, until the metal becomes soft can be done with the hammer over point results. enough to be shaped with hand tools, the horn or edge of the anvil or by Drawing can be accomplished with such as a hammer, anvil and chisel. inserting a bending fork into the a variety of tools and methods. Two Heating is accomplished by the use Hardy Hole (the square hole in the typical methods using only hammer of a forge fuelled by coal, charcoal or top of the anvil), placing the work and anvil would be hammering on turf. piece between the tines of the fork, the anvil horn, and hammering on the and bending the material to the de- Colour is important for indicating anvil face using the cross peen of a sired angle. Bends can be dressed the temperature and workability of the hammer. and tightened, or widened, by ham- metal: As iron is heated to increasing Another method for drawing is to use mering them over the appropriately temperatures, it first glows red, then a tool called a fuller, or the peen of shaped part of the anvil. orange, yellow, and finally white. The the hammer, to hasten the drawing ideal heat for most forging is the bright out of a thick piece of metal. Fullering Upsetting yellow-orange colour appropriately consists of hammering a series of in- Upsetting is the process of making known as a “forging heat”. Because dentations with corresponding ridges, metal thicker in one dimension through they must be able to see the glowing perpendicular to the long section of shortening in the other. One form is to colour of the metal, some blacksmiths the piece being drawn. The resulting heat the end of a rod and then hammer work in dim, low-light conditions. effect will look somewhat like waves on it as one would drive a nail: the rod Forging along the top of the piece. Then the gets shorter, and the hot part widens. Forging is the process in which metal hammer is turned over to use the flat An alternative to hammering on the hot is shaped by hammering. Forging is face and the tops of the ridges are different from machining in that mate- hammered down level with the bot- . . . . continued: end is to place the hot end on the anvil to accomplish this. The basic types end of the wire sticks on to the metal, and hammer on the cold end. of welding commonly employed in a it is at the right temperature (a small Punching modern workshop include traditional weld has formed where the wire touch- forge welding as well as modern meth- es the mating face so it sticks on to the Punching may be done to create a ods, including oxyacetylene and arc metal). The smith will commonly place decorative pattern, or to make a hole. welding. the metal in the fire so as it can be For example, in preparation for mak- In forge welding the pieces to be seen without letting the surrounding ing a hammerhead, a smith would air come into contact with the surface. punch a hole in a heavy bar or rod for joined are heated to what is generally the hammer handle. Punching is not referred to as “welding heat”. For mild Now the smith moves with rapid pur- limited to depressions and holes. It steel most smiths judge this tempera- pose. The metal is taken from the fire also includes cutting, slitting, and drift- ture by colour: the metal will glow an and quickly brought to the anvil—the ing—all done with a chisel. intense yellow or white. At this temper- mating faces are brought together, the ature the steel is near molten. hammer lightly applying a few taps to Combining processes Any foreign material in the weld, bring the mating faces into complete The five basic forging processes are such as the oxides or “scale” that contact and squeeze out the flux - and often combined to produce and re- typically form in the fire, can weaken finally returned to the fire again. fine the shapes necessary for finished it and potentially cause it to fail. Thus The weld was begun with the taps, products. For example, to fashion a the mating surfaces to be joined must but often the joint is weak and incom- cross-peen hammer head, a smith be kept clean. To this end a smith plete, so the smith will again heat would start with a bar roughly the di- will make sure the fire is a reducing the joint to welding temperature and ameter of the hammer face: the han- fire: a fire where at the heart there work the weld with light blows to “set” dle hole would be punched and drifted is a great deal of heat and very lit- the weld and finally to dress it to the (widened by inserting or passing a tle oxygen. The smith will also care- shape. larger tool through it), the head would fully shape the mating faces so that be cut (punched, but with a wedge), Finishing as they are brought together foreign the peen would be drawn to a wedge, Depending on the intended use of the material is squeezed out as the metal and the face would be dressed by up- piece a blacksmith may finish it in a is joined. To clean the faces, protect setting. number of ways: them from oxidation, and provide a As with making a chisel, since it is medium to carry foreign material out A simple jig (a tool) that the smith lengthened by drawing it would also of the weld, the smith will sometimes might only use a few times in the tend to spread in width. A smith would use flux—typically powdered borax, shop may get the minimum of fin- therefore frequently turn the chisel- silica sand, or both. ishing: a rap on the anvil to break to-be on its side and hammer it back He will first clean the parts to be off scale and a brushing with a wire down—upsetting it—to check the joined with a wire brush, then put them brush. spread and keep the metal at the cor- in the fire to heat. With a mix of drawing Files can be employed to bring a rect width. and upsetting the faces will be shaped piece to final shape, remove burrs Or, if a smith needed to put a 90-de- so that when finally brought together and sharp edges, and smooth the gree bend in a bar and wanted a sharp the center of the weld will connect first surface. corner on the outside of the bend, he and the connection will spread out- Heat treatment and case-hardening would begin by hammering an unsup- ward under the hammer blows, push- to achieve the desired hardness. ported end to make the curved bend. ing the flux Then, to “fatten up” the outside radius The wire brush either as a hand tool The dressed metal goes back in the of the bend, one or both arms of the or power tool can further smooth, fire, is brought near to welding heat, bend would need to be pushed back to brighten and polish surface. removed from the fire, and brushed. fill the outer radius of the curve. So he Grinding stones, abrasive paper, and Flux is sometimes applied, which pre- would hammer the ends of the stock emery wheels can further shape, vents oxygen from reaching and burn- down into the bend, ‘upsetting’ it at the smooth and polish the surface. ing the metal during forging, and it is point of the bend. He would then dress returned to the fire. The smith now the bend by drawing the sides of the watches carefully to avoid overheating There are a range of treatments and bend to keep the correct thickness. the metal. There is some challenge to finishes to inhibit oxidation of the metal The hammering would continue— this, because in order to see the color and enhance or change the appear- upsetting and then drawing—until the of the metal it must be removed from ance of the piece. An experienced curve had been properly shaped. the fire, and this exposes the metal to smith selects the finish based on the Welding air, which can cause it to oxidize rap- metal and intended use of the item. Welding is the joining of the same or idly. So the smith might probe into the Finishes include but are not limited to: similar kind of metal.A modern black- fire with a bit of steel wire, prodding paint, varnish, bluing, browning, oil, smith has a range of options and tools lightly at the mating faces. When the and wax.

published by Clogher Heritage, Clogher Heritage Cottage, Newtown, Clogher, Claremorris www.clogherheritage.com