Chapter XXIX: Candlesticks, Hinges, Iron Brackets

CANDLESTICK

This wrought iron candlestick is made up of three pieces welded together.

_Stock:_ Three pieces of 3/8-in. round iron 4 ins. long.

_Directions:_ The detail drawings show the steps in the making of this piece of work. Notice that the rod used to make the leg and foot also forms part of the holder or socket. Take one of the 3/8 × 4 in. rods. Mark off 3/4 in. from one end. Draw this out as shown by the sketch. Mark off 1/2 in. from that point. From this 1/2-in. mark draw the material out 4-1/2 ins. long. This should be made square and tapered slightly toward the foot. You will then have 3/4 in. for the foot.

_Foot:_ The drawing shows a conventional flower shaped foot. Spread the 3/4 in. wide enough to shape a foot as shown in the sketch. Shape it by cutting it out with a chisel and then filing. The embossing is done in the same way, as has been explained. (See Embossing.)

_Socket:_ The socket is tulip or cup shaped. Flatten out the opposite end of the 4-in. bar and shape up as shown in sketch. Make the other two legs to match this one. Weld the three pieces together at A in the following way: Put the three parts together and bind in place with a piece of binding wire. Place it in the fire and heat it to a welding heat. Weld the three pieces close to the socket and for about 1 in. below. Shape a round neck (see sketch) and at the same time reduce it to 3/8 in. in diameter. The small iron collar is put on and welded about 1 in. below the socket. This addition is for ornamental purposes entirely.

_Shape socket for the candle:_ Heat the top at a low heat and with a pair of round-nosed pincers shape up as shown.

The legs are now twisted. This can be done the last thing and while the metal is cold.

_Wrought iron candlestick:_ Take a piece of soft steel or wrought iron 1/4 × 4 × 4 ins. Heat the bar. Emboss the centre by driving it in a hole in a swage block. The centre should be about 1-1/2 ins. above the surface of the feet. Cut out the four pieces as shown in the sketch. File up and finish the base.

_Post:_ Select a piece of 5/8-in. square iron. Taper the ends to 3/8 in. square by 7-1/2 ins. long. The small end swells out 1/2 in. as shown in the sketch. Forge a small pin, 1/4 × 1/4 in., on the end of this post. Now swell the base of the post so that it will measure 7/8 in. square. The length from end to end minus the length of the pin should measure 8 ins. Forge a 3/8-in. pin 1/2 in. long at the base end. Heat the centre of the post; place it in the vise and give it a complete twist to the right. Drill in the centre of the base a hole to fit the pin on the end of the post. Heat the pin red hot and rivet the base to the post.

_Candle socket:_ This socket is made in a conventional design. Take a piece of No. 20 soft sheet steel or iron and cut a disc 2-1/2 ins. in diameter. Divide this piece equally into six parts and cut out as shown on the drawing. Bend these leaves up to form a socket. Now cut a piece of sheet metal 2-1/2 ins. square, and cut out as shown for the little ornament fastened on the top. Bend the four wings down as shown here. Drill a small hole through the centre of each to fit to the piece on the end of the post. Place these pieces in position and rivet in place. This work is to be done cold. A candlestick of this design is easily made and very attractive when finished.

DECORATIVE IRON WORK

Next to the scroll, the twist is perhaps the most characteristic detail of decorative treatment in iron. Twists relieve the plain effect of the straight lines made by the hard edges of the metal, by introducing short curves into the design. The twists are easily made and lend themselves largely for decoration on such things as fire escapes, brackets, grills, gates, fences, and smaller articles, such as umbrella stands, door knockers, fire tools, etc.

The twisting is done best while the iron is cold. If done while the iron is hot great care must be taken to check up when the lines begin to run too close together. Take a bar of square iron, fasten one end in the vise, and with a monkey wrench on the other end give the metal a twist. Only square bars show a change in the shape after twisting. Round stock when placed in the vise and twisted shows no change in shape. However, two pieces of round stock twisted give a very pleasing effect. A braided strand is made (1) by welding the ends of two pieces of round iron together side by side and twisting them, (2) welding ends of two more pieces of the same size and length together and twisting them, (3) by welding these two twisted bars together on both ends and twisting them in the opposite direction. This gives a braided effect which is most decorative. However, the square stock gives the most satisfactory result in all of this twisted work.

Handles can be made by reducing square stock, leaving the centre larger and drawing the ends out to a taper and twisting this tapered part. Begin the twist in the middle and let it rise gradually toward each end. Great care must be taken with this work, as the smallest sizes are also the weakest and naturally bend first. To do this work successfully the metal must be heated and driven a little each time until the whole taper is twisted. _Spirals:_ Spirals are made by drawing a long taper on the end of a round or square bar of small iron. Turn the end of the bar up 1/2 in. at right angles. Grasp the turned up end in the vise; coil the end up as you would a coil of rope. Slip one end under the other when they come together. When the first coil reaches the centre of the piece repeat on the other end until the two coils meet in the middle. Heat it all evenly. Grasp both ends in the tongs and pull the spiral out. Stop when the openings equal the size of the iron of which the coil is made.

_Ornamental bulbs:_ Bulbs are used in the same way as spirals and twists, for decorative purposes, on andirons, grills, fences, etc.

The form shown here in the sketch is a very simple one. The principle, however, is the same as that applied to the forging of more complex bulbs. Select a rod of iron for a core. Reduce the thickness to about 1/2 in. for about 6 ins. long, leaving the required thickness at the ends; 1/2 in. from the shoulder nick the bar around, cutting it almost through. Leave about 1/16 in. to hold it to the body of the piece. Cut the core off 1 in. from the 3-in. cut. The picture shows the method of making the core in order to work out the problem. Select a number of pieces of 3/16-in. round soft steel the length of the reduced piece and place these around the core, each one fitting close to the next one. If the space is too small or too large when the last piece is put in make the core larger or smaller. These rods should just touch when they lie around the core. Now with a pair of tongs bind all the rods tightly around the core and with the same tongs put one end in the fire and heat red hot. Cover with borax. Take on a welding heat and weld it in a swage, confining the length of the welding to as short a space as possible.

The core prevents the rods from sinking while welding and it also keeps them in place. Reverse the piece. Put the other end in the fire and weld as before. Weld the neck as short as possible. Heat the body of the piece uniformly. Grasp one end of the bar in the vise and with a pair of tongs twist the other end toward the right slowly. While doing so tap lightly on the end with a hammer. This tends to loosen up the rods and help the twisting. Be careful not to twist so much that the rods will break away from the welds. Heat all again. Place it again in the vise and twist in the opposite direction, at the same time driving on the ends. This forces the centre out and gives it a bulb shape. The core should bend up where the cutting is done. Now the core should be driven out. A punch driven in against the core should break it easily where the cut marks are made. These short ends are forced out through the openings between the rods, and any uneven buckles or bends in the rods should be bent or straightened as the case requires. The bulb can be trued up while cold. A punch driven through from the opposite side will help straighten any of the rods bent from the outside in.

The rods can be plied apart with a pair of pliers or a pair of tongs. The surplus metal on the top end is now cut off and trued up.

SPIRAL CANDLESTICK

This old Dutch candlestick is made of 3/16-in. round wire in spiral form. The spiral stem is made so that, as the candle burns down, an inner socket is moved around the spiral. This travels up and down and keeps the point of the candle above the holder.

Finishing of an Ornamental Window Grill, and Levelling Up of an Old Dutch Candlestick.]

_Stock:_ Base, 5-in. disc of sheet steel or iron. Legs, 1/8 × 1 × 5 ins. (makes the 3). Spiral, 3/16-in. round wire, 40 ins.

_Directions (base or pan):_ Divide the disc into sixteen equal parts. Flute these parts by cutting out a little hollow in a hard wood block and driving the flutes in by the use of a round cross peen hammer. Fluting reduces the diameter of the disc and forms it into a pan shape.

_Legs:_ The three legs are in one piece. The 1/8 × 1 × 5 in. piece is split down half way; 1 in. from where the split ends the piece is fullered down. (See sketch.) Draw out this end 3/8 in. wide. Draw out the split ends to this width, and all pieces to 1/8 in. thickness. This forms a tripod, the three legs at an equal distance apart. The ends of the feet are made very thin by flattening down. Turn these up as shown by the sketch and shape the three feet.

_Spiral stem:_ This candle stem is 3/4 in. in diameter. If you wind up a piece of 3/16-in. wire on a 3/4-in. iron rod while the metal is cold you will have a spiral stem like the one shown here. To do this make a mandrel out of a 3/4-in. bar not less than 20 ins. in length. Drill a 1/4-in. hole in the end. Into this hole drive a 1/4-in. iron plug. Place this mandrel in the vise. Bend a small loop on the end of this wire to fit the 1/4-in. pin. Bend the wire and begin to wind around the bar. Make as many turns as are shown in the drawing. Take the wire off. The small loop end will stick out below the spiral and prevent it standing on a base level. This end must be driven back. To do this place it upon the other end of the rod, strike it with the hammer, and flatten it out so that the base will stand flat. Insert a sharp-pointed chisel between the coils; open them out so that the distance between them will be 1/4 in. Do this while the metal is cold. The handle may be made any design. It can be bent over, extended at right angles to the top, etc. Rivet the legs to the base with a 1/4-in. bolt. With a nut on the end rivet tightly to prevent the nut loosening up.

_Socket to fit the spiral stem, for raising and lowering the candle:_ _Stock:_ One piece of 1/8 × 1 × 3 in. One piece of 1 × 2-1/2 in. flat iron or soft steel, No. 20.

_Directions:_ The No. 20 piece is bent around a 3/4-in. mandrel to give it a cylindrical shape. The two edges just come together. The handle of this socket is made by fullering down 1/8 × 1 × 3 ins., 1 in. back from the end, and drawing this out 3/16 in. round, 2 ins. long. The end is turned over as shown in the sketch; the other end is filed round to fit the inside of the socket cylinder. The two pieces are now brazed together. File the parts that come into contact with each other perfectly clean, and cover with borax. Heat it red hot and touch the parts to be brazed with the end of a piece of brass wire. At a certain temperature the brass wire will melt and fill up the spaces between the bottom and the cylinder. (See Brazing.) This makes a tight joint: it is like soldering wrought iron together. This method of joining is used where welding would be impossible, as it would be in this case. File the base off smooth. The candle can now be slipped between the coils of wire. It should travel in its socket up and down the spiral. (See drawing.)

IRON AND STEEL HINGES

Ornamental hinges are used on doors, wall cabinets, chests, gates, etc., or wherever suitable. There are three methods of making hinges: (1) Solid eye, (2) welded, (3) turned or bent eye. (See article on Plain Hinges.)

_Solid eye:_ The first drawing shows the solid eye split ornamental hinge.

_Stock:_ One piece of soft steel or wrought iron, 7/8 × 7/8 × 6 ins. long. Take a bar of iron 18 ins. long with the above dimensions as to width and thickness; 5 ins. from the end of the bar fuller down to 3/8 in. thick. These 5 ins. are flattened down to 1/4 in. thick and 2 ins. wide, any length. Split the flattened part to within 2-1/2 ins. of the shoulder. The two ends are now thrown out, tapered, and bent into shape. Cut the piece from the bar 1 in. back of the fullered part. Round the piece up, thus forming the eye. The body of the piece between the split and the eye is now widened out to 2-1/2 ins. To do this use the peen of the hammer on the under side of the metal, thus thinning out the metal in the centre in order to increase the width. Shape it up and curve it about 1/4 in. This, in turn, gives a nice rounded finished surface similar to the drawer pull. The chased design on the hinge is made in the same manner and with the same tools as are used in work in chasing. (See chapter on Chasing.)

The butt for the hinge is made of 1 × 1/2 in. flat wrought iron. Fuller down the end of the piece, round it up to fit the diameter of the eye of the hinge. A hole is punched in the middle of the piece. A 2-1/2 × 1/2 in. piece of iron is drawn and is pushed into the hole, riveted down on the short end, and welded. The other end is drawn out to a square tapered point. Nick the four edges at intervals with a sharp chisel, thus throwing up little projections to prevent it from slipping out of the wood when driven in to hold the hinge. This kind of hinge is used mostly for doors. The upper part of the pin that sticks through the eye of the hinge is ornamented by a fuller mark and a round top.

IRON BRACKET

This bracket is made of three pieces: back piece, hanger, and support:

_Stock:_ Back plate, 3/8 × 1 in. of soft steel or Norway iron. Hanger and support, 1/4 in. square.

_Back plate:_ The drawing shows the back plate as a conventional leaf design and is made as follows: Take the 3/8 × 1 in. of soft steel and shape it according to the drawing. With the peen of the hammer widen out the top enough to cut out the design shown here. When cut out as shown, boss up the centre of the leaves by using the peen hammer on a round hole. This bossing is a matter of taste. The lower part is now flattened out, trimmed, and shaped as shown. The thickness is of no importance. On the end of the top bar forge a pin about 3/16 in. in diameter to fasten into the back by riveting.

_Hook:_ The hook is made in the same way as you made the gate hook. The bar is twisted in the middle.

_Support:_ Select a bar the right length and twist it in the middle. Flatten the ends down and bend the little curves as shown. This is drilled for a 1/8-in. rivet, then placed in position. Holes are marked in the hanger and in the back. Rivet the support in place. Be careful to have the hanger at right angles to the back. If you do not, the effect is spoiled, no matter how good the rest of the workmanship may be.