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Handbook of Practical Smithing and Forging

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Handbook of Practical Smithing and Forging WAR SERVICE. LIBRARY THIS-BOOK-IS PROVIDED-BY THE-PEOPLE OF*THE feU. UNITED-STATES THROUGH-THE AMERICAN LIBRARY m\ ASSOCIATION FOR THE-USE-OF THE-SOLDIERS AND* SAILORS 'Si '^RA^' sSl" ,; ^H$: 3 v T ~ 7" HANDBOOK OF PRACTICAL SMITHING AND FORGING HANDBOOK OF PRACTICAL SMITHING AND FORGING ENGINEERS, & GENERAL SMITHS' WORK BY THOMAS MOORE FOREMAN AND PRAC11CAL SM11H 401 ILLUSTRATIONS NEW IMPRESSION JLonftm: & F. N. SPON, Ltd., 57 HAYMARKET JfkUi gorfe: SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 123 LlbERTY STREET I9I4 Attention Patron: This volume is too fragile for any future repair. Please handle with great care. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LIBRARY-CONSERVATION & BOOK REPAIR CONTENTS. -o- PAGE PREFACE ....... 7 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY ...... II. FORGES OR HEARTHS ..... 4 III. HAMMERS, FORGING MACHINES AND PRESSES IV. IRON AND STEEL .-..., V. TESTING ....... 53 VI. GENERAL FORGING AND SMITHING: SUMMARY AND EXPLANATION OF TECHNICAL TERMS, EXPRESSIONS, AND PHRASES 6/ TABLES ....... 228 INDEX ....... 245 PREFACE. The absence of a useful and practical treatise on the art ol Smithing and Forging was a source of great disappointment to the Author in his early days, and often since then, he has wondered why no one ventures to devote himself to the subject through the great medium of the press, with a view to helping and interesting their fellow smiths. The Author, after a life experience in the trade as a Smith, Forger, Stamper and Fore- man, seeks in the following pages to submit some sound and practical suggestions on the subject, which he hopes will be interesting and instructive to those in the " trade." The tables at the end have been compiled with a view to usefulness, and no doubt they will often prove a convenience to the reader. This work does not pretend to be a learned and classical treatise, such as would be expected from some great professor, but simply a plain straightforward statement of the experience of a practical smith, and the Author trusts that this will prove a lecommendation, and assist the work in its mission to supply a long felt want ENGINEERS' AND GENERAL SMITHS' WORK. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. One of the first duties usually given to a boy in a smithy is to drive one of the steam hammers, and this is a task which requires great care and attention, not only to avoid accidents, but to become really proficient ; and when a good driver is at hand, much more work can, with safety, be done at the hammer than otherwise. When a boy is employed in this capacity, he should be always on the alert and ready to stop at a word or signal from the smith, and while engaged in this way he should never let his attention be taken from the work in hand. A hammer driver often has a few minutes to spare between the heats, and this is an opportunity for him to do little bits of cleaning and siding away ; a clean and tidy hammer will always reflect creditably on the person in charge. The men occasionally require little services of the boys, and this is an opportunity for them to lend a hand, and they should do so cheerfully and willingly, and they will find that it will bear its own reward ; the men will usually remember any lad who tries to do his best, alike to his master and to them : they will always take an interest in such a boy and help him on whenever they can, but this will not be the case when a boy is surly, sulky and objectionable* and will not do a stroke beyond what he is compelled, B ; 2 ENGINEERS' AND GENERAL SMITHS' WORK. sensible boys will not waste their golden opportunities, and these moments of leisure will prove the most useful and profit- able portions of their lives, if they turn them to proper account, and not dawdle them away. When at work, the Author wr ould advise all boys to let their interest be centred in the task before them : they should put all the energy into it that they can, and when they take a duty in hand they should make up their minds at the start to do it well, and not to be satisfied with any slip- shod business, nor with any work that will merely pass inspec- tion. Pie would say further, do not aim at killing time, but aim at making yourself useful, and at being eventually the best "smith" in the shop. Another matter that a boy must begin to busy himself with as early as possible, is the question of Drawings, Sketches, Patterns, etc., and he should work out in his own mind what form the article shown on the Drawings or Sketches will take when finished. He can suppose that he has the job to do, and ask himself the question, how, in that case, he would set about it, and then, having done this, he can watch how the smith in charge sets about the job, and compare his own ideas with what actually takes place, and he will find this is real good practice; it will enable him to train and educate his inventive faculties, and qualify him for the future it will also serve to impress the right way of doing the work on his mind. The right way is intended to mean the best way with the tools at hand. Another bit of excellent practice for a boy in his spare time is to try to make a round taper pin with true taper, say out of round iron f-inch diameter, 4 inches long, 3 drawn down to T B -inch at the point, with the hand hammer alone. This would, at first sight, appear to be a very simple task; but let any boy try, and he will find it not so simple or easy as it looks. Take a piece of bar iron as above, raise the same to a light welding heat, then draw out a square taper about 3 inches long, on the edge of the anvil, as shown in Fig. t^ then when you think it about the right size, work on the corners until the piece assumes something of the octagonal or eight-sided shape ; now ; INTRODUCTORY. draw back on to the anvil face and round up ; and if you burst or split a few while doing this, as will most probably be the case before you make a good one, do not be discouraged or dismayed, but persevere. A boy should also try to accustom him- self to using the sledge hammers he should not, however, struggle with these tools beyond his strength, or he may injure him- self, by being too anxious and too energetic in this respect, before he has learned to handle them properly. Fig. i. The next task expected of a boy in the smithy, usually, is to strike for another apprentice or learner in advance of himself, who has become accustomed to working at the fire ; or he may be required to do some small work himself, such as bending collars, small brackets, eyebolts, S hooks, repairing light chains, and other small work, which we shall deal with later. ENGINEERS AND GENERAL SMITHS WORK. CHAPTER II. FORGES OR HEARTHS. There are a variety of forges in use, some of which are built chiefly of bricks, while others are built almost entirely of iron, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 to 5. Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, A is an angle frame to hold the bricks together round about the top of the forge ; it is easily made by cutting FORGES OR HEARTHS. 5 out the corners as at O and bending to shape, or if preferred the corners may be welded. C is the tue iron or tuyere ; in this case a wrought iron one is shown, with pipe E to supply or feed it with water from the tank F; another pipe marked D conveys the water, as it gets hot in the tuyere, back to the tank, thus keeping the tuyere cool ; the blast nozzle or elbow marked G fits on the stand pipe, and conducts the blast from the stand pipe to the tuyere ; the valve H is made of sheet iron, and works between two flanges ; the stand pipe K connects the forge to the main ; the hood is built on two very stout girders, secured at ££> Fig. 3 Fig. 3 a. the ends by a tee or angle bar (sec M and N), or with a strong flat bar laid over the two, and a tie rod P. Fig. 3 illustrates a cast iron forge ; these are being adopted, chiefly, because they are easily moved from one part of the shop to another, which is a great consideration in up-to-date shops where they are frequently making room for something new. The blast stand in this case is fitted with plug valve and handle. Fig. 3 a is another design of cast iron forge with sheet iron hood. The chimneyless or down-draught hearth is illustrated in ; 6 engineers' and general smiths' work. Fig. 4 ; this forge is also made in cast iron, and has a fire brick lining with a flue at the back of the hearth as shown to carry the smoke and heat from the hood, down into a main underground leading to a tall chimney elsewhere. These down-draught hearths are now being adopted in many of the modern works, because with them it is much easier to comply with the law relating to smoke nuisance ; another great advantage is the clear overhead space for the adoption of cranes, which would not be possible with chimneys passing from each forge through the roof.
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