Chapter XXI: First Problems in Forging

HOW TO MAKE A STAKE PIN

Stake pins are used for holding ropes in place, such as those on tents, etc.

_Material:_ 1/2 in. round × 18 ins. long of wrought iron.

_Tool:_ Hand hammer.

_Directions:_ This sketch is made full size and it shows a round stake pin with a four-sided tapering end about 3 ins. long. Place one end of the bar of iron into the fire. It should be placed so that the iron will be parallel to the bottom of the hearth.

All the heating done for this kind of work must be done in a reducing fire. There are two kinds of fires, the oxidizing fire and the reducing fire. The oxidizing fire is one where the quantity of air blown in is not all consumed by the fire. There is an excess of air and an oxide is formed on the iron. This prevents it from heating sufficiently. The reducing fire is one where the blast is in proportion to the consuming power of the fire--that is, just enough air is blown in to be used up by the fire.

The greater the temperature the more coal and likewise the more blast required. So that a temperature of 2500° Fahrenheit can be easily gotten on an ordinary forge fire. While the iron is heating it should be drawn out of the forge fire once in a while to be examined. When it has reached a white heat, not sparkling, place it on the anvil, and with a hand hammer begin at the end and drive it into shape according to your sketch. Hammer this until the iron begins to darken. Place it again in the fire and repeat as before until the thing is finished. A piece of iron may be heated a dozen times while working it into shape. All depends upon the skill and experience of the worker.

You will probably learn in this problem that metal will burn in this high temperature the same as a piece of wood and very much quicker. It does not smoulder like wood; it just melts away. It would be well to have the point of the iron stake melt or burn off in this particular case so that you can learn all about the heating, melting, and burning of iron. The fine point on the stake is made by keeping the metal on the extreme outer edge of the anvil, so that the outer half of the hammer face will project over the anvil edge, thus reducing any metal between the two into a very small space. (See position of hand hammer in the article on tools.)

When the work is finished the temperature of the metal should be low. This prevents the metal from scaling and gives an opportunity for a smooth finished surface.

Staples are small U-shaped pieces of iron with pointed ends. They are driven into wood for the purpose of holding some attachment in place. We have staples for barn doors, to catch the gate hook, to fasten chains, etc.

_Material:_ One piece of 1/4-in. round iron 4-1/2 ins. long.

_Directions:_ Heat one end of the iron piece. Draw it to a square point as was done on the staple pin. Flatten this point as shown in the drawing. Cut it off square at the extreme end so that it will be quite sharp when finished. Repeat on the other end. The piece will now be about 6-1/4 ins. long, about 1/4 in. round in the middle, with square, tapering points. The centre is now heated and the piece is bent over the horn of the anvil to the shape shown in the drawing.

In bending this over the horn of the anvil strike with light blows so that the two ends will be the same length. If it is warped or twisted, flatten it out again on the anvil till the flat sides lie in the same plane.

GATE HOOK

This hook is used for fastening doors as well as gates. The drawing shows a gate hook twisted in the middle. _Material:_ One piece of 5/16-in. square iron about 6-1/4 ins. long.

_Directions:_ Mark off with the centre punch 1-1/8 ins. on one end and 1-5/8 ins. on the other. Put the short end into the fire and draw it out until it is 1/4 in. square. Hammer the corners down, thus rounding the end until it measures 1/4 in. in diameter and is about 2-1/8 ins. long.

Repeat on the large end and draw this out until it measures 2-3/4 ins. long. Bend the end as shown by the drawing. When both ends are bent in shape put the piece into the fire and heat it red hot between the eye and the hook. Place it in the jaws of the vise about 1 in. from the eye, and with a pair of tongs and a wrench grasp the piece about 1 in. from the hook and give it one complete turn. This twists the hook in the centre like the drawing. If it has become bent while twisting it may be straightened by hammering it between two blocks of hard wood. This prevents bruising the sharp edges of the twist.

These large hooks are most useful around a stable and are used to hold harness, bags, etc.; in short, they are general utility hooks. They are simply and quickly made.

_Material:_ Stock 3/8 × 6 ins. long round iron.

_Directions:_ Flatten the iron down by heating it red hot. With the hand hammer flatten out one end 4 ins. long, 1/2 in. wide × 1/8 in. thick. One inch from the shoulder made by the flattening begin to draw out the end to a round straight taper, 3-1/4 ins. long. Bend the flat part over the flat end of the anvil, to fit a joint or any wooden beam (as shown by the sketch), and hook it over the horn.

This hook may be made any size according to the purpose for which it is to be used.

TWO-PRONGED FORK

This two-pronged fork is found useful for pitching hay, fishing, etc.

_Stock:_ 3/4 × 1 × 5 ins. long, soft steel.

_Directions:_ Two inches back from the end of the bar punch a small hole in the middle of the iron. (See method of punching). Split the piece with the chisel up to this hole. Open the part split and spread at right angles to the shank. Heat the piece up at the crotch. With a fuller, fuller down to 1/2 in. back of the spread arms. Draw the stem out 1/2 in. round. Now the fork is blocked out ready for finishing. This is done by following the drawings for the dimensions and size. Notice that the two ends of the fork are drawn out to a sharp round taper. The stem is drawn out to a sharp square taper, which is to be driven into a wood handle.

_Fish spear:_ If this two-pronged fork is meant for a fish spear, used so often in rivers where the current is very swift, the extreme ends are flattened down to a spear point as shown in the drawing.

BOLTS

A bolt consists of a stem and a head. Bolt heads are of all shapes--square, hexagonal, round, flat, etc.--while the stem is always round. As a rule, the thickness of the head equals the thickness of the stem, and the diameter of the head is about 1-1/2 times the thickness of the stem. This proportion is generally kept for square and hexagonal bolts.

_Directions:_ Out of the piece of iron used enough of the end is upset to make the head. To do this, heat 2-1/2 ins. from the end of the bar to a bright red heat. Take the piece out of the fire, place the hot end on the anvil, and with the bar in a vertical position hammer upon the cold end. The cold end is driven into the hot end, thus shortening or upsetting the bar. This is repeated. The end is heated again and the hammering is continued until the enlarged end has the right proportion for the head of the bolt. (See drawing.) Heat the enlarged end again and pass the cold end of the stem through the heading tool. Place the heading tool upon the anvil in such a position that the stem passes through the hole in the anvil. The upset end is hammered down against the heading tool until the head is the required thickness. Take it off the heading tool and square it up with the hand hammer. If, after squaring up, the head is found to be too small in diameter and too thick, it is again put into the heading tool and hammered down. This is repeated until the head is finished according to the drawing shown.

All hand-made bolts are made on this principle, whether they are very large or very small.

If a six-sided bolt is desired the same method is used. The head is made six-sided instead of being squared as was done in the first case. The bolt is finally cut to the required length and the end is bevelled off ready for threading. Bolts may be made without going through the process of upsetting the stock. In that case the bars used are of any diameter, depending upon the size of the stem needed. Bend a piece of iron for a collar to give you the amount of stock required for the bolt head. Heat the end of the iron bar. Put this hot end into the collar. Upset it so that it fills the space in the collar. Put it into the fire, then weld and finish as you did in making the head with the end upset.

All bolts that are on the market except special bolts are made by bolt heading machines. Up to 3/8 in. in diameter all bolts are made without the use of heat. Those above that size are all heated red hot and the principle is exactly the same as you used when you made the bolt by hand. The machine upsets the head and at the same time shapes it into any desired shape.

NUTS

Nuts are used in conjunction with bolts for fastening things together or tightening up parts of machines. There are two ways of making nuts; one is to cut a piece of metal off the right length, punch a hole in the middle, and finish it by shaping it on the end of a mandrel or punch. The second way is to weld a collar and shape this on a mandrel. Though the second method involves welding and is the more difficult of the two, it is the better method. However, the grain of the metal in the second method runs around the nut, while in the former case it runs lengthwise. For this reason the nut is apt to split when tightened up too tight on the bolt. The method explained here is the easier one of the two: it is the simple process of making the nut by punching the hole.

_Material:_ Stock 1 × 5/8 in. of wrought iron, any length.

_Tools:_ Hammer, punch, hot chisel, pair of calipers.

_Directions:_ The drawing here shows each step in the process of making the square nut. Measure off 1-1/16 in. on the bar and with the hot chisel nick on each side almost through. Find the centre of the piece and, with the punch, punch a hole through it after heating it red hot. Place it on the anvil. Place the punch in the centre and drive down from one side until the impression of the punch shows through on the other side. Withdraw the punch and turn the piece upside down. Place the punch upon the impression shown through, driving down till the centre piece is loosened. It is now put over the hole of the anvil and this loosened centre piece driven out. This leaves a hole in the hot iron. All holes made in hot iron are punched through in this way whether they be large or small. The size of the hole is determined by the size of the punch.

Re-heat the iron, push the punch into the hole made, and by a bending motion break the piece off where it is nicked. The piece now is sticking on to the end of the punch. Place them on the anvil and square up the nut while the punch is still in the hole. This prevents the hole from changing its shape while the nut is being driven into shape. It is now taken off the punch and flattened down to the desired thickness. Repeat this edging up and flattening down till the nut is finished.

Hexagonal nuts are made in the same way, except for the squaring up. When the piece is ready for shaping it is made round while on the punch and then made six-sided. It is flattened and edged up in the same manner until the desired size is reached.