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Title: The Library of Work and Play: Working in Metals
Author: Charles Conrad Sleffel
Release Date: February 24, 2014 [EBook #45004]
Language: English
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THE LIBRARY OF WORK AND PLAY
CARPENTRY AND WOODWORK
By Edwin W. Foster
ELECTRICITY AND ITS EVERYDAY USES
By John F. Woodhull, Ph.D.
GARDENING AND FARMING
By Ellen Eddy Shaw
HOME DECORATION
By Charles Franklin Warner, Sc.D.
HOUSEKEEPING
By Elizabeth Hale Gilman
MECHANICS, INDOORS AND OUT
By Fred T. Hodgson
NEEDLECRAFT
By Effie Archer Archer
OUTDOOR SPORTS, AND GAMES
By Claude H. Miller, Ph.B.
OUTDOOR WORK
By Mary Rogers Miller
WORKING IN METALS
By Charles Conrad Sleffel.
[Illustration: Copyright 1911, by Underwood & Underwood
Even a Boy Can Learn How to Make a Horseshoe]
WORKING IN METALS
By CHARLES CONRAD SLEFFEL
_Wide Experience in Practical Shop Work and for 12 years
Instructor in Metal Work at the Horace Mann School,
Teachers' College, New York_
[Illustration]
Garden City New York
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1916
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN
COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The publishers wish to acknowledge their indebtedness to the Teachers
College of Columbia University for their courtesy in permitting certain
of the photographs to be taken for this volume.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Introductory 3
II. Tools 5
WORK IN COPPER
III. How to Make a Copper Bowl 19
IV. Copper Trays 26
V. Paper Cutter and Nut Set 34
VI. Hard and Soft Soldering 41
VII. Candlestick, Sconce, Rose Jar, and Chalice 47
VIII. How to Make a Hat Pin 64
IX. How to Rivet 73
X. Lamp (for Electricity), with Shade 92
XI. Hinges in Copper or Silver 100
XII. Jewel Box and Desk Set 107
BRASS WORK
XIII. Finger Bowl, Crumb Tray, Tea Caddy, Vase, Bell and
Bracket, Drawer Pulls, etc. 133
SILVER WORK
XIV. Finger Rings and Scarf Pins 151
XV. Necklaces, Brooches, Bracelets 166
XVI. Spoons and Picture Frame 178
XVII. Watch Fobs 187
XVIII. Napkin Rings, Silver Comb, Belt Buckles 191
XIX. Enamelling 197
THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP
XX. Blacksmithing and Tools 215
XXI. First Problems in Forging 233
XXII. Welding 247
XXIII. Mild Steel or Soft Steel 264
XXIV. Hardening and Tempering. Tool Making 289
XXV. How to Harden, Soften and Stretch Steel 307
XXVI. Forging Hand Hammers 316
XXVII. Some General Forging Problems 327
ORNAMENTAL IRON WORK
XXVIII. Processes, Andirons, Fire Tools 361
XXIX. Candlesticks, Hinges, Iron Brackets 380
XXX. Lamps, Lanterns, Iron Kettle Stand, Umbrella Stand 396
XXXI. Door Knockers, Plates, Handles, etc. 410
ILLUSTRATIONS
Even a Boy Can Learn How to Make a Horseshoe _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
A Boy's Workshop 14
A Group of Boys at Copper Work 66
Some Problems in Copper and Brass Work Made by Boys 142
Boys from Eleven to Fourteen Years of Age Doing
Metal Work in the Country 194
Splitting and Shaping the Iron in the Making of Andirons 362
Finishing of an Ornamental Window Grill, and
Levelling up of an Old Dutch Candlestick 388
Making an Iron Lamp 396
Ornamental Work and the Straightening and
Finishing of an Umbrella Stand 408
WORKING IN METALS
I
INTRODUCTORY
"What a pretty copper box, John. Where did you get it?"
"I made it."
"You made it?"
"Yes, out of sheet copper in my room last night. That's the way I spend
my evenings. And such fun as it is! I enjoy every minute of the time.
Mother says I'd work all night if she didn't stop me.
"I'd like to do something like that. Do you think I could learn to do
it?"
"I'm sure you could. Do you know the blacksmith around the corner?
He taught me how to do this work, and ever so much more. He got me
the tools, too. He says every boy can learn to work with metals, so I
thought I'd try it. I'll take you around to see him sometime. Come up
to my room and I'll show my workshop and all the tools I use."
"It would be mighty nice to know how to do something else besides
running an elevator all day. I get so tired of that. How long would it
take me to make a box like this one?"
"Not very long if you begin in the right way. I've worked at it only
since I left school. The manual training I got there helped me to know
how to handle the tools. You had that training, too, and I know it will
help you. Here we are, this is my workshop and bedroom. Let's work here
together and I'll teach you all I know: how to use the tools and just
what to do."
So began two boys to do work that one had done--metal work which any
boy can do if he will but take the trouble to get the tools and have
the patience to learn the way step by step.
"You don't need a large room for your workshop, you see," said John.
"The table here is my work bench and all the tools can be put into a
box out of the way when you are not using them.
"Here are my sketches of the tools one needs to make almost anything
out of copper, brass, or silver. The blacksmith made the drawings for
me and taught me how to make some of the tools myself. He says every
boy should learn to make his own tools and I shan't be satisfied until
I can make them all. Then I can make them as I need them and only those
that fit the work best. But I had to buy most of them to start with.
Here they are."
II
TOOLS
These are my shears. They are sometimes called jewellers' snips. I use
them for cutting copper, wire, and my designs. You can buy them at any
hardware store. But be sure to get a good pair, as they are needed for
so many things.
[Illustration]
I do all my measuring with a steel square. You see it takes the place
of a two-foot rule. It's useful for squaring up, too. See, it has the
1/16, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and 1-in. spaces.
My dividers are my compasses. I draw circles, mark pieces, and find
centres with them. The pliers are used to twist the binding wire and
to hold the metal when it is to be heated, or soldered, etc.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
You can get a wooden block like this anywhere. Hard wood is best. This
block is 6 × 4 × 4 ins. You see, I cut out a hollow bowl-shaped place
in the top. When I want to work a flat piece of copper into a rough
bowl shape, I hammer it into the depression. The opposite end of the
block, which is flat, is useful in many ways, too.
[Illustration: Bench vise]
I couldn't get along without my bench vise. Here it is; made of metal.
It can be fastened to a table as well as to a bench. It holds any
tool used for shaping and also the metal when I wish to file it.
[Illustration]
This piece of 3/8-in. hexagonal steel, 5 in. long, tapered at one end
down to 1/16-in., is a punch for making or pressing holes in copper
or silver. The size of the hole depends upon the length you drive the
punch into the metal.
[Illustration]
The centre-punch is made like this one, but the end is ground to a
point.
[Illustration: Raising hammer]
Here are my hammers. I have three and a wooden mallet. The raising
hammer is used for many things which you will learn as you get on. You
see one end is somewhat rounded. You can pound away on the copper with
this hammer and have no fear of driving holes into the metal. It's the
first hammer I use to shape up the metal bowl with.
The shaping or driving hammer is flat at one end and rounded at the
other. Its bent head is shaped so that you can use it in places where a
straight headed hammer won't go. It's the only hammer to use when you
work on the outside of boxes or bowls to shape them up.
[Illustration: Shaping hammer]
Sometimes lumps are left on the surface of the copper after the raising
hammer has been used. These are smoothed away with the planishing
hammer. Its broad end flattens these rough places and makes the surface
perfectly level before going on with the work.
[Illustration: Planishing hammer]
[Illustration: Wooden mallet]
A wooden mallet is often used in place of the heavier hammer. If a
light stroke is needed it can be used without danger of marring the
metal, as wood is so much softer than the metal itself.
You'll need some files to reduce the metal to certain sizes. I have
four: a bastard, 12-in.; a mill cut, 8-in.; a half round mill cut, and
one round 1/2-in. mill cut. Then I have one half dozen jewellers' files
of different sizes. Supply houses will always tell you the best kind to
buy.
[Illustration: Cold chisel]
The cold chisel is used in many places for cutting off material,
especially for metals that are too heavy for the shears.
[Illustration: Gouge]
A carpenter's gouge chisel will be found useful for cutting impressions
in wooden blocks.
[Illustration: Drill press]
The drill press is used to bore holes into the copper or silver when
you wish to rivet or saw. You will need a half dozen drills for your
work. The 1/16-in. drills are the size I like best.
With a jewellers' saw frame like this you can cut any design out of
copper or silver. The fine saws are very cheap and one will last you a
long time if you take care of it.
[Illustration: Jewellers' saw frame]
[Illustration: Round stake]
[Illustration: Round stake anvil]
Here are the tools I use to finish shaping my bowls on. This round top
stake is put into my bench vise, where it is held tight. Then I put my
bowl on it after I have shaped it as much as I can on the hard wood
block. I can then go on shaping it as I choose, but if the bowl is very
deep you must use the anvil stake instead of the round top stake.
[Illustration: Combination stake]
Here is a tool which is a combination of anvil stake and riveting
tool. I use it for drawing out pieces of copper into different shapes;
flattening round pieces, rounding up flat ones, and for riveting pieces
of metal together, as you must do when you make a piece of work like my
box.
[Illustration]
Here is a little fire screen I made myself. You need one, you know, to
put your metal in, at times, for annealing and soldering. It's a safe
way to prevent the blaze burning the table or setting fire to anything.
I take two pieces of board, each 6 × 12 × 7/8 ins. (any kind of lumber
will do). Nail the two 12-in. edges of the boards together, at right
angles to each other. Nail this to a base and line the whole inside
with asbestos. You can place any piece of metal you wish to heat in
this corner and direct a flame upon it with perfect safety.
All the heat I need comes from a gas burner. Here I have a bunsen
burner, and for such work as I do on rings, scarf pins, hat pins, etc.,
or for any work that doesn't need lots of heating in the process, the
bunsen burner will do. But for annealing, which you have to do when you
make bowls, or for soldering, when you make boxes, you must have a
stronger flame. Then I use the gas range in the kitchen or the bellows
blower and blow pipe. If you happen to be where you can't get a gas
flame, an alcohol lamp with a mouth blow pipe can be used.
[Illustration: Bunsen burner]
[Illustration: Bellows]
[Illustration: Blow pipe]
Fill the alcohol lamp with denatured alcohol (bought at any drug
store). Light it. With the large end of the blow pipe in your mouth
and the small end about 1/4 in. above and a little to the right of the
flame, blow gently. This little blue flame will give you heat enough to
solder small pieces. Even a small wood fire would give you heat enough
to anneal any size pieces you wish. "Must I learn to make all these
tools before beginning?"
"Oh, no, you'd better buy your tools; they don't cost very much. Then
we can start to make something right away. The first thing you must do
is to design the piece of work you are going to make. I made a bowl
first."
"But I can't design."
"Neither could I when I began. You won't find it hard after you have
once made a start."
"Let's begin now, John, I want to make something."
[Illustration]
"I know you do," said John. "That's the way I felt. Now, I'm the
teacher and you must do as I tell you until you can plan for yourself.
Here are pictures of a lot of things we can choose from: bowls, boxes,
trays, etc. If a boy can make all these models he can go on and make
nearly anything in copper, or even silver, he would like to make.
Here are the bowl designs I have drawn. Of course there are bowls of
different shapes, and some have covers to them. But we will try to get
the shape that's most pleasing. Let's take this wrapping paper and draw
a number of shapes on it, keeping the diameter and depth of each bowl
the same. This model is 4 ins. in diameter and 1-1/2 ins. deep. Let's
make all our drawings of bowls that size."
[Illustration: Bowls]
"Which do you like best?"
"I like the first one."
"Now that we've decided on the size and shape of the bowl, I must tell
you something about the copper to be used. All sheet copper is sold by
number, the higher the number the thinner the metal. Number 20 is a
good size to use for most bowls and boxes. I use size 20 for mine. If
you want a bowl to be lighter, use size 22 or 24. You can buy the
sheet copper at any hardware store."
[Illustration: This Boy Has a Well Equipped Shop--He is Just Finishing
a Copper Bowl. You See His Vise, Shears, Mallet, Hammers.]
"Now you know how to make your design and you know something, too,
about the tools and copper in general. We are ready now to begin the
bowl."
WORK IN COPPER
III
HOW TO MAKE A COPPER BOWL
Here are the tools and the material that we need to make our first
piece of work:
_Material:_ 1 Sheet of copper, 20 gauge. Powdered pumice stone.
_Tools:_ Hard wood block, dividers, shears, round headed hammer,
planishing hammer, round top stake, mallet, files.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Take the sheet of copper, and with the dividers mark on
the copper a circle having a diameter a little longer than the contour
of your bowl design. Cut this circle out with your shears.
With the round headed hammer, using the rounded end, beat the metal
disc into the hollow of the wooden block until it takes on a fairly
even bowl shape. Keep turning the metal with the left hand while you
hammer it with the right.
[Illustration: Wood block]
You soon have a rough shaped bowl full of bumps and wrinkles around the
outer edge.
[Illustration: The long even buckles are easily hammered out; the
short, sharp ones are the kind that cause the cracks]
[Illustration]
These wrinkles must come because the circumference of the metal disc
decreases as it takes on the bowl shape. So long as these wrinkles are
long regular curves, they will work out all right. If they should take
short, sharp shapes there is danger of the metal splitting. In order to
avoid this be sure to keep the wrinkles hammered out flat as you work
along.
[Illustration: Smoothing surface of bowl with the planishing hammer]
If you went on hammering too long after your bowl is shaped, the bowl
would crack or perhaps break, for hammering leaves copper hard and
springy. So you must soften it before you can safely hammer any more.
To do this I hold the bowl over a gas range until it is red all over,
then I plunge it into cold water. This heating to soften up the copper
is called annealing. Repeat the hammering until the bowl takes on the
shape of the design.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: In this way one can get the shape desired]
Now take your round top stake and put it into the vise. Place the
bowl over the round top stake, and with the planishing hammer, beat
the surface until it is perfectly smooth, driving the metal just hard
enough to flatten the bumps made by the hammering in the wooden block.
If carefully done the surface will be true and bright and covered over
with brilliant facets. A skillful hammer-man can really drive the metal
in any direction he may wish. In this way you make a bowl out of one
piece of copper. The top of the bowl will be ragged. Cut this rough
edge with a pair of shears. File the top with a smooth file until it
is perfectly true. A good test to make sure of this is to lay the bowl
down on a plate of glass, or hold it up against the window pane. If
there are still any tiny openings left in the edge the light will be
easily seen through them. More filing must be done until no light comes
through from the smallest space. This done, take a piece of emery cloth
and rub the edge of the bowl until the file marks disappear. If you lap
the cloth over the edge your rubbing will leave a rounded edge, which
is just the finish it should have.
[Illustration: Trimming off the top of the bowl]
[Illustration: Marking the edge of the bowl]
_To flatten the bottom of a bowl:_ Turn the bowl upside down on a
bench. With a pair of dividers find the centre of the bottom of the
bowl. This is done by placing one leg of the dividers against the side
of the bowl and with the other making a light scratch as near the
centre as you can. Change the position of the dividers to the opposite
side and do the same, but be careful that the scratch is light. Repeat
this until you have done it on the four sides.
Where these lines cross is the centre. With one leg of the dividers on
the centre draw a circle having a diameter of about two inches. Take a
wooden mallet and strike down on the centre of the circle. This will
flatten the bottom. Work from both sides of the circle and keep the
rounding edge just touching the circle made by the dividers. If the
strokes are too heavy the bottom will bend in like the dotted lines in
the sketch.
[Illustration: Flatten the bottom]
In that case, turn the bowl up and hammer from the inside. The bowl is
now ready for polishing. Mix some powdered pumice stone with water.
With a woollen cloth that has been wet and then dipped into the
mixture, rub the bowl. This both cleans and polishes and at the same
time gives a beautiful lustre to the surface of the metal.
IV
COPPER TRAYS
How to make copper trays (used for pins, hair pins, cards, etc.).
(1) Round. (2) Square or oblong.
[Illustration: ROUND TRAY]
_Material:_ Piece of copper about 7 ins. square, No. 20 gauge. A hard
wood block, 10 × 10 × 2 ins. thick. _Tools:_ Carpenters' gouge chisel,
dividers, steel punch, shears, round peg of wood, 6 ins. long and 1 in.
in diameter.
[Illustration]
_Design:_ Take a large sheet of plain paper. Draw on it a 3-in. circle.
Using the same centre, draw a 5-in. circle. This gives you the plan
or top view of the tray. Below this view on the same sheet, draw the
elevation, or edge view of the tray. You can make the tray as deep in
the centre as you wish. Let's make this one 1/2 in. deep, that's a good
proportion.
[Illustration: Hard wood peg]
This is what we call a working drawing. If you are pleased with the
design, you can go right on with the work, if not, you can change it
to suit. You can see by the design that the tray is made by driving
the centre of this square plate of copper down into a depression. In
order to do this we must make a mould the exact size and shape of the
tray centre. This is what the square hard wood block is used for.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Take your hard wood block. Draw diagonal lines across one face. Where
these lines intersect is the centre. With your dividers, using this
centre, draw a 3-in. circle. Place the carpenters' chisel anywhere on
the circle and strike with a hammer, driving the chisel down into the
wood about 3/8 in. Do this all around the circle. Gouge out the loose
wood until you have cleaned out the whole depression, being careful
not to go below 1/2 in. in depth (the depth of your design). Smooth
this up nicely with sand-paper. The mould is now ready for the metal
plate. With the steel punch, make holes in each corner of the copper
plate about 1/2 in. from the edge and just large enough to fit the wire
nails. Place this plate over the mould so that the centre of the plate
comes right over the centre of the mould. Fasten the four corners down
with the wire nails. To drive the metal into the depression we must use
something softer than a steel hammer. A hard wood peg has been found
to do this best. Cut a piece about 6 in. long from the end of a broom
handle. Round one end up, using a file or a carpenters' chisel to do so.
[Illustration]
Place the rounded end of the peg on the circle of the copper plate
and, with a hammer, drive the copper into the depression below it. As
constant hammering hardens copper so that it ceases to respond to the
blows, it is necessary to soften up the metal by annealing as the work
goes on. Take the sheet off the block. To do this, place the point of
the chisel under the copper sheet close to the nail head and pry the
nails out, lifting both copper and nail up at the same time.
After annealing, nail the copper plate in the same place as before.
With the wooden peg continue driving until you fill the depression, at
the same time flattening all parts of the metal that may push up. Be
careful not to mar the copper at any time. When everything is perfectly
flat and smooth take it off as before.
We are now ready to draw the 5-in. circle on the copper. The centre for
this circle is the centre of the depression; and that is found with
the dividers in the same way as you found the centre for the bottom
of the bowl. Make the circle on the copper. With the shears cut along
a little on the outside of this line. Smooth up and round the edges
of the tray with a mill file. Rub out file marks with a little piece
of emery cloth. If the hammering has been uneven some parts of the
copper will have stretched more than other parts and the tray will not
lie flat when placed on a table. To level this up, place the tray top
side down upon a bench or table and strike gently with a mallet on the
surface. Holding the mallet near the head one can control the blows
and be able to strike gently. But if it is held toward the end of the
handle the blows will not be uniform. This applies to all hammers,
whether of wood or steel. You will notice as you do your hammering the
high spots will settle down and gradually flatten. The tray is now
ready for cleaning and polishing. This is done in the same way as you
treated the bowl.
_Decoration:_ Round trays may be decorated in many simple ways by
drilling holes in the rim, and then sawing out designs to suit one's
fancy, or they may be notched at intervals. Nothing is more decorative
though, than the embossed or repoussé design, made by beating from
the back and raising the metal on the face above the level. One of
the designs given here shows the embossed, and the other shows a
combination of the embossed and sawed out work.
_The value of the mould:_ It may seem to you like a lot of work to make
a mould just for this round tray, but it can be used many times for
making this kind of tray and also for trays of similar shape, like bowl
covers, etc. Most of the jewellery nowadays is made in moulds, wood,
steel, or lead. Copper, silver, and gold medals, pins, rings, tea and
dinner sets are all made by the mould or die method. This mould you
have just made is only a simple one; however, complex ones are made in
the same way. The skill all lies in making a very good design first and
then in making a very smooth mould to fit the design. After one or two
trials it comes easy enough. The chapter at the end of the book will
explain die and mould making in modern copper, silver, and goldsmith
shops.
SQUARE TRAY
_Material:_ Copper, 6-1/2 × 4-1/2 ins. No. 20 gauge.
_Tools:_ Shears, square, bench vise, round hard wood peg; dividers,
copper vise jaws.
_Design:_ Determine first whether the tray is to be oblong or square.
This material makes a tray 6-1/2 × 4-1/2 in. Draw this size oblong on
a sheet of paper. The rim of the tray should be 3/8 in. wide. Draw an
inner line all around, 3/8 in. from the outside. Below this draw your
elevation, or edge view, showing the depth of the tray. In this design
it is 1/4 in. deep.
[Illustration]
First see that your 6-1/4 × 4-1/2-in. piece of copper is squared. Now
draw your inner rectangle on the metal. To do this, set the dividers
3/8 in., and with one leg against the edge of the copper, draw all
around the four sides, marking the lines on the metal. You now have a
flat sheet marked ready for bending. Place the sheet of copper between
the vise jaws, the inner line even and on a line with the vise.
[Illustration]
The hard wood peg should be cut to a flat tapered end. This flat end
of the peg is held at an angle of about 45° against the copper plate,
just above the vise jaw and against the line of the rectangle. With
the mallet drive gently. By doing this the body of the tray is pushed
in, but the rim is kept straight in the vise. Repeat this all around.
You'll have a tray like the sketch. If the body of the tray is not deep
enough put it into the vise again and keep driving it until you get the
depth you want. The inner corners will be found to be rounded, as they
should be. Round off the outside corners to match. File the edges round
and finish with an emery cloth, clean and polish as explained before.
V
PAPER CUTTER AND NUT SET
Let's make a paper cutter like this sketch. We can draw the design on
paper first and then cut it out. Here is what we need to make it.
[Illustration]
PAPER CUTTER
_Material:_ Heavy copper, No. 8 gauge, 10 inches long by 1-1/4 inches
wide.
_Tools:_ Drill press and drills, jewellers' saw frame, cold chisel,
files, vise, emery cloth, few wire nails (1/2 in.) two blocks of hard
wood, one, 10 × 1-1/4 × 1-1/4 ins., and the other, 6 × 2 × 1/2 ins.
[Illustration]
Cut out the design and paste it on the copper plate. If our shears
could cut copper as heavy as this we would have little trouble to cut
our design out. But the shears can't do this work, so we have to put
the copper into the vise and cut the design out with a cold chisel and
hammer. Place the copper into the vise with the line of design to be
cut flush with the top of the vise. With hammer and chisel, cut along
this line. The back part of the vise will act as a shear and help in
the cutting and will prevent the copper breaking away and leaving the
edge rough. When this is done, place the paper knife in the vise and
file all the edges smooth. Now that it's cut out and smoothed up we
are ready to saw out the design in the handle. To do this drill holes
in the design as a starting point for the sawing. Take the drill press
and put a 1/16-in. drill into the chuck. Drill a hole in any part of
the design. Take the jewellers' saw frame and fasten one end of the
small saw into one of the legs of the frame; push the loose end through
the hole made by the drill. Fasten the loose end to the other leg of
the saw frame so the saw is fairly tight. In order to saw properly,
we must have something to support the piece while we are working on
it. This is best done by taking a block of wood 6 × 2 × 1/2 ins. and
cutting out a V-shaped notch in one end. Place this in the vise, or
nail one end of it to a bench so that the V-shaped end will extend over
the bench or vise to be free to work upon. Put the handle to be sawed
out on this block so that it will be supported on both sides of the
parts to be sawed out (see sketch of work in vise). The saw will play
freely up and down in the notch. All sawed work is done in the same way.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Block for sawing metal]
_To file the edges sharp:_ Take your hard wood block, 10 × 1-1/4 ×
1-1/2 ins.; fasten the cutter down tight by driving two short wire
nails half their length into the wood at each end of the cutter. Place
the cutter between these nails, bend the ends over, and fasten down
(see sketch). Place all into the vise jaw and tighten it up. With a
rough flat file, file the edges down, working from the centre line both
ways. When one side is filed about half the thickness of the copper,
bend the nails, take off the cutter. Reverse it, put it back, and file
as before. Do this until the edges become sharp.
[Illustration: File the edges sharp]
To finish this piece of work as it should be done, we must do some draw
filing. The draw filing is done in this way: Take hold of both ends
of the flat file, the handle in one hand and the end of the file in
the other. Stand lengthwise of the piece. Place the file flat down on
the blade with the teeth of the file pointing in the same direction as
the blade. Push it from you and pull it toward you, at the same time
pressing down on the blade. This is draw filing and it is the only way
to make a piece of metal true, and free from the marks of the cross
filing which was done in the beginning. Repeat this on the other side
until the whole paper cutter including the handle is smooth. Wrap
a piece of emery cloth around a block and rub all over the surface.
Polish and finish as before described.
NUT SET: BOWL, PLATES, AND SPOON
[Illustration]
A very beautiful nut set consisting of a bowl, four plates, and a nut
spoon or a shovel, can be made out of copper. One uses the same tools
to make this set as were used for the copper bowl, and the work of
making it is done in much the same way.
_Material:_ 9-in. disc of No. 20 copper (bowl). Four 5-in. discs (for
plates). Piece of copper 2 × 3 ins. (No. 8).
[Illustration: Flat-iron]
Take the 9-in. disc and hammer it into the desired bowl shape, on the
hard wood block. The plate should be hammered up in the same way,
keeping the depression in the centre of the plates about 1/2 in. deep.
A very beautiful finish can be made on these bowls and plates by the
use of the round end of the raising hammer and a flat-iron. Place the
handle of the iron between your knees, face up. Put the bowl or plate,
face up on the flat-iron and go over every part with the rounded end of
the hammer. This produces a surface covered with oval facets, giving a
mottled effect. The edges of the bowl and plates may be left straight
or they may be rounded, according to the design.
NUT SPOON
[Illustration]
Draw the design on paper. Cut the design out and paste it on the
copper. This piece of No. 8 copper is too heavy to be cut with the
shears, so it must be placed in the vise. See that the outline is even
with the top of the vise jaws. With the cold chisel and hammer cut
along the top of the vise as you did when making the paper knife. Now
you have a shovel-shaped metal of the same thickness all over. Where
the handle joins the bowl the metal should be left thicker than in
any other place, otherwise the spoon will bend in the using. To thin
out the metal of the bowl, hammer it. Begin where the handle joins the
bowl and thin out to the edge. The handle is shaped by working from
the bowl out toward the handle end, constantly widening and flattening
it. Cut off the surplus metal, keeping to the original design. The
handle may be left plain or some simple sawed out design may be put on.
File up, rounding the edges off so that the spoon feels smooth and is
comfortable to handle. Place the whole on a hard wood block and beat
the bowl and handle into shape. Many nut spoons have designs sawed out
in the bowl to lighten the weight.
[Illustration]
VI
HARD AND SOFT SOLDERING
Soldering is a process of joining two metals together. It is not hard
to learn to do. If you are careful when you do the work to have the
materials to be used perfectly clean, you may be sure of success, for,
after all, it's one of the easiest and simplest of all the operations
done with metals.
HARD SOLDERING
_Material:_ 1. Borax: bought in lumps, wrapped in tin foil, or
pulverized.
[Illustration]
2. Borax slate: a square piece of slate with a small depression in one
side. Any piece of clean slate will do. This is used to grind the lump
borax, or to mix the pulverized borax to a pasty condition on.
3. Solder: silver solder, sometimes called hard solder. It can be
bought by the sheet in large or small quantities. Bunsen burner, or
either one of the following: blowpipe and foot bellows with gas flame,
a blacksmiths' fire with coke or charcoal.
_Directions:_ The parts of the metals to be joined should, first of
all, be scraped or filed bright. This prepares them best for the
solder. Take a lump of borax, grind it up and mix with a little
water, on the slate, until it is like a paste. Take a sheet of silver
solder, cut a number of slits lengthwise down the sheet and then
cut them crosswise. You will have a number of pieces about 1/16 in.
square. These bits are dropped into the borax solution until they are
completely covered with the paste. With a camels' hair brush, wash the
edges of the metal to be joined, with the solution of the borax. Tie
the pieces together with an iron binding wire, taking care to have the
edges to be joined close together and in the proper position. If you
don't, the solder will not fill up all the openings and cracks, and
parts will be left unsoldered. Now, wash all around the joint with the
borax solution. Place bits of solder at intervals along the joint,
fairly close. Warm the work gently in the flame. This drives off the
water in the borax solution. When the borax is quite dry in the joint
direct a stronger flame over the whole work. Heat it gradually, but
be careful that no part of the metal, except that around the joint,
becomes red-hot, and that both sides of the joint get red-hot at the
same time. If you don't guard this, the solder will climb to the hotter
side and leave the other, and the edges will not unite. Cool it off in
water and file the joint perfectly smooth.
SOFT SOLDERING
For mending teakettles, tin cans, tin cups, or anything made of tin,
galvanized iron, or lead.
_Material:_ Lead solder, comes in small bars. Flux (1.) Resin and sweet
oil. (2.) Muriatic acid. (3.) Tallow candle.
_Tool:_ Soldering iron (can be made out of a piece of half-inch round
copper.)
_How to solder:_ Soft solder is a mixture of tin and lead in even
proportions. This solder melts at a very low temperature. That is why
we can do the work with the soldering iron. I find I can solder many
things at home with the soft solder, and I'm going to tell you how I
mended a leak in the teakettle the other day. First, I took a pocket
knife and cleaned all around the hole or leak, scraping the dirt off
both inside and out. Then I mashed a little resin up fine and mixed a
little sweet oil with it. Then I washed inside and outside of this
leak with the mixture. After heating my soldering iron in a stove (any
kind of fire will do) I took a bar of solder, held it over the leak,
and melted off a bit with the hot iron. You can make the solder flow
over the leak by pressing the iron right on the hole. You see, the heat
of the iron melts the solder and at the same time it heats the tin
hot enough to make the solder cling to it. Before the part got cold I
rubbed off the oil and resin with a woollen cloth. This left the work
nicely cleaned. You can mend any leak in anything made of tin, in this
way.
Galvanized iron utensils are soldered in exactly the same way, but you
must use muriatic acid in place of the resin and sweet oil. But if
you wish to solder anything made of lead or pewter a tallow candle is
rubbed over the place to be mended, instead of resin and sweet oil or
muriatic acid. In every other way the work is just the same. But lead,
you know, melts at a very low temperature, so you must be careful when
working on it that your soldering iron is just hot enough to melt the
solder and not hot enough to melt the lead. And now I am going to tell
you how you can make your own soldering iron out of copper.
HOW TO MAKE A SMALL SOLDERING IRON
_Material:_ A piece of 1/2-in. round copper, 3 ins. long, a piece of
No. 8 wire, 18 ins. long, or a piece of light telephone or telegraph
wire will do. Some soft solder. Resin and sweet oil. Small piece of
clean tin. Manufactured fluid for soldering (used sometimes in place of
muriatic acid).
_Tools:_ Punch, vise, file, hammer.
[Illustration: Soldering iron]
Place the end of the copper rod in the fire and heat it red-hot. Take
it out of the fire and punch a hole about 1/2 in. from the end of the
rod, large enough to allow the No. 8 wire to go through. Push the wire
through this hole until half is on one side and half is on the other.
Bend the wire close up to the sides to form the handle. In order to
make this rigid, place the rod into the jaws of the vise and pinch the
wire into the copper rod. This prevents any swinging motion. Take hold
of both ends of the wire with the pincers and twist them close to the
copper rod. This makes a good handle. Heat the copper end of the rod
red-hot, and with a hammer flatten it to a four-sided tapering end
about one inch long and ending in a blunt point. (See picture.) Cool
off in water and file the end of soldering iron smooth.
Now it must be tinned. On your piece of tin place some soft solder,
oil, and resin. Heat the soldering iron hot enough to melt the solder,
rubbing it up and down on the tin, mixing all together. Do this on all
four sides, and in a little while you'll find the solder has covered
the end of the soldering iron. When this is done the iron is ready to
be used.
VII
CANDLESTICK, SCONCE, ROSE JAR, AND CHALICE
There are many forms of candle holders. Perhaps the one we are all
most familiar with is the candlestick. Before the days of lamps and
electricity the candle was everywhere. Many different designs of
candlesticks have come down to us. Some were large, some small, some
plain, while others were highly decorated. But however much the designs
vary, there are many points that all have in common. There is the base,
large or small, and a cylindrical shaft which rises from the centre of
the base. This holds the candle. The drip pan is fastened to this shaft
close to the top. It catches the wax as the candle melts. Handles are
sometimes soldered on, and sometimes the candlestick is made without
one. They are attached to the rim or to the shaft.
CANDLESTICK
_Material:_ Disc of copper, No. 20, 5 ins. in diameter. One piece 3 ×
2-1/2 ins., No. 20, (for stem). Disc, 2 ins. in diameter (drip pan).
One piece, 3/4 × 6 ins. long, No. 16, (for handle).
[Illustration]
_Tools:_ Hard wood block, raising hammer, smooth file, dividers, saw,
round wood peg, 3/4 × 6 ins.
_Directions:_ Beat the copper disc into a saucer shape, for the base.
Take the sheet of copper for the stem, fold it around the wooden peg
till the edges come together. Scrape and solder the joint with silver
solder.
[Illustration]
_Drip pan:_ Take the small disc; with the raising hammer, curve it
slightly to make a drip pan. With the dividers, describe a circle 3/4
in. in diameter in the centre of the drip pan. Cut out this centre
circle and make it fit tightly on the stem. Push it down about one
inch, scrape the stem, and solder the drip pan to it.
[Illustration: Shaping the base]
[Illustration]
_Handle:_ A strip of copper 3/4 × 6 in. long. Cut a tapering slip off
each side so that one end will measure 3/4 in. and the other 1/2 in.
Shape with the fingers over the round peg (place the peg in the vise to
do this) until you have the shape you wish (see design). The wide end
of the handle should fit down on the outside of the rounding part of
the base, and the other end against the stem under the drip pan. Bore
a hole in each end and rivet the handle in place. If a round handle
is desired, take a strip of copper 3/4 in. wide and 1-1/2 ins. long,
shape round with the fingers. Scrape and solder at the joints, and
then solder on the edge of the base. Place and finish up each part as
described. This candle design can be greatly varied. It can be made
taller, shorter, with various kinds of handles, or with no handle at
all.
DESIGNS FOR NIGHT CANDLE HOLDER
[Illustration]
This kind of candle holder, or night light, is made to hold a short,
thick candle about 2 ins. in diameter, which will burn from 6 to 10
hours. A round base supports the candle, and a shade with a handle on
the back is fastened to the base. It can be adjusted so that the candle
burns freely all night, while the shade protects the eyes from the
light. Nothing is more convenient than one of these holders, for summer
homes or for camping.
_Material:_ Brass, No. 24, 3-1/2 × 4 ins. for reflector. 6-1/4 × 7/8
ins. for cylinder. 2-in. disc for base. No. 20, 6 × 1/4 ins. for handle.
_Directions:_ Picture shows a small night candle made of brass. Cut
out a 2-in. disc. Bend the 6-1/4 × 7/8-in. strip to fit it. Solder
the two ends of the ring and make it perfectly round. Be careful when
rounding it up not to stretch it larger than the disc. Push disc into
the ring flush with the bottom. Solder the bottom into the ring. Draw
the outline of the reflector on the 3-1/2 × 4-in. piece and cut away
the corners. Bend it to fit the holder. It should cover about one half
of the circle. Solder the reflector on. Soft solder is strong enough
for this work. Now bend the handle piece according to the sketch. Rivet
or solder it to the back of the reflector. Polish and finish.
NIGHT CANDLE HOLDER
The ordinary tallow or wax candle is used in this night candle holder.
You will notice from the sketch that the general style is much like
that of the small holder. However, in this design, a small cup or stand
to fit the candle is soldered on to the base, a little toward the front.
_Material:_ No. 24 brass--A 4-in. disc. 12 × 1/2 ins., for band to go
around the disc. Reflector, 7 × 7 ins. Cup, 7/8 × 2-3/4 ins., and
handle piece, 6 × 1/4 in.
[Illustration]
The reflectors are sometimes left plain, though the facets made by
a flat placed hammer reflect the light when the candles are lighted
and soften the light by day. The greater the reflecting power of the
surface, the better is the effect. If each part is carefully filed and
finished before they are all put together there will be nothing but the
polishing needed.
SCONCE (WITH ONE CANDLE)
[Illustration]
The sconce is a candle holder made to fasten upon any wall. It is both
useful and decorative. Some are made to hold but one candle; they can
be made, however, for two, three, or four candles. All sconces should
have a reflector, a bowl, shaft, and drip pan. But the designs vary to
suit the individual taste and surroundings. The design given here is a
very simple one and one that works out well in copper or brass.
_Material:_ One piece of No. 20 copper, 10 × 3-1/4 ins., for the
reflector. One piece of No. 20, 2-1/2 × 1 in., for candle socket. One
piece of No. 20 copper, 1-1/2-in. disc. One piece of 1/4-in. round
copper 4 ins. long.
_Directions:_ Make a drawing like sketch shown here. Place this drawing
upon the 10 × 3-1/4-in. sheet of copper and cut the metal to fit the
outline. Mark on this sheet of metal the embossed line shown in the
sketch. Place the sheet of the copper on the hard wood block and with a
chasing tool placed on the line, strike with the planishing hammer on
the end of the chasing tool. This, in turn, will drive the metal into
the wood. Repeat this till the outline stands out above the face of
the reflector about 1/32 in. If this is done carefully the raised part
will be a true smooth line. The same tool will widen the line any width
desired. Cut into a wood block a form like the impression you see back
of the candle. Place the sconce over this impression and with a wooden
peg drive the metal into it. The dotted line on the sketch will show
how deep this should be. Drive out any buckles that may have formed
during the working of the metal. This is done by placing the sconce
face down on the bench and striking down on the raised parts until it
lies flat.
_Candle holder:_ Bend the stock for the holder around a 3/4-in. mandrel
or wood peg till the two ends meet. Clean and solder these ends. Cut a
3/4-in. disc to fit the inside of this and solder in. Place this on the
1-1/2-in. disc and drill a hole through the centre of both.
_Bracket for candle:_ Take the 1/4-in. round stock. Put it in the vise
with one end projecting above, about 1/2 in. Drive down on this end,
at the same time bend it as shown in the drawing. File the end flat.
Cut a piece of No. 20 copper 1/2 in. × 3/8 in. and solder it on the end
just filed. This plate is drilled with two 1/8-in. holes, and filed
around. Bend the shape as shown in the drawing and on the other end
file a shoulder and 1/8-in. pin. This is now placed through the hole of
the disc and the candle holder, and both riveted to the bracket. The
bracket now is placed on the bottom of the sconce (see drawing), and
riveted on. The whole sconce may now be nailed with round head nails
to a flat 1/4-in. board to give weight, or there may be riveted to the
back, angles made of No. 20 metal, 5/8 in. wide and bent 3/8 in. one
way and 1/4 in. the other way. These angle pieces are riveted on the
sides and on the two ends.
Rivets add much to the decoration of the work if they are placed at
intervals and properly spaced. They make a nice finish. A hole can be
drilled at the top of the reflector, to hang it upon the wall.
HOW TO MAKE A VASE, OR ROSE JAR (WITH LID)
[Illustration]
_Material:_ One piece of copper, No. 20, 7 × 7 ins. One piece 4 × 4
ins. (for lid). One piece 3/8 in. wide and long enough to go around the
opening of the vase or jar.
_Tools:_ Round stake, anvil stake, driving and planishing hammers,
dividers, and shears.
_Design:_ Vase, having a base 2-1/2 ins. in diameter, height 3 ins.,
3-1/2-in. opening at the top, and lid to fit. The full height of the
vase is 4-1/2 ins.
[Illustration: First operation]
[Illustration: Second operation]
[Illustration: Third operation]
_Directions:_ Take the 7 × 7-in. piece of copper and draw a 7-in.
circle. With the dividers set 1-1/4 in., using the same centre,
describe a circle. This outlines the 2-1/2-in. circle for the base.
Drive up this disc as you did the one for the copper bowl on the wood
block, making it as deep as possible. In the same way as you flattened
the bottom of the copper bowl, flatten the bottom of this piece of
work. Place the bowl over the round head stake. With your hammer drive
on the outside. This driving with the hammer on the outside decreases
the diameter and increases the length. You will remember that the
copper bowl was driven up almost entirely by the use of the raising
hammer on the _inside_ and finished by work on the outside with the
planishing hammer. This vase or jar calls for the shaping hammer. The
vase is placed over the round stake and driven into shape by work on
the _outside_ with the shaping hammer. When the rough bowl shape is
on the round head stake, drive the sides straight, beginning the
strokes at the line of the base circle. Repeat till the sides begin
to straighten and take the shape of the design. Take it off the round
stake and place it on the anvil stake.
When the sides are symmetrical, mark with lead-pencil a line 3/4 of an
inch from the top. Work the copper above this line, over toward the
centre, until the opening of the vase is about 3-1/2 ins. in diameter.
Smooth the work up with a planishing hammer. If the hammer marks made
by driving the bowl into shape are carefully done they leave a very
beautiful mottled surface of themselves.
[Illustration: Rim]
[Illustration: Binding the flange to rim to solder]
_To make the rim for the lid to rest upon:_ Take the 3/8-in. strip of
metal. Bend it into a circle small enough to fit on the opening left
at the top of the vase. Be careful to have this just to fit, otherwise
much filing will have to be done, and in this position filing is almost
impossible. Cut it the right length, scrape both ends, and solder. Make
it perfectly level so that it lies flat when placed upon the bench.
Test it by placing it upon the top of the vase. File the top flat,
bind the rim in place. Wash, then place bits of solder all around it
and heat it until the solder runs. Cool off in water, file off all
rough edges left by the solder, clean and polish.
[Illustration: Bending flange on the lid]
_Lid:_ Take the 4 × 4-in. piece. Cut a 4-in. circle. Place the bowl
upside down upon this disc, draw with a pencil all around the rim on
this copper plate. This marks the diameter of the rim on the plate,
also the line where the copper should be bent to form the lid to fit
the rim.
With the anvil stake in the vise, place the disc against the sharp end
of the stake, with the line on the edge. Drive with the raising hammer
against the part projecting above the stake. Turn the disc, keeping the
circle line on the sharp edge of the stake. Repeat this till the sides
are at right angles to the top. Place the lid upside down on a wooden
block, drive on the inside, shaping it like the drawing. Make it fit
the rim, trim off the rough edges, file up smooth, and polish.
Do not forget constant annealing, for you know hammering always makes
the metal hard.
CHALICE
[Illustration]
_Material:_ 3 pieces of copper, 6 × 6 ins., No. 20. One piece of round
rod copper, 1 in. long. One piece of copper, 12 × 1/4 ins. (for rim).
Solder.
_Tools:_ Hard wood block, round head and anvil stakes, combination
stake, shears, dividers, planishing hammer, raising hammer, and shaping
hammer, files, emery cloth.
_Parts:_ Bowl, stem, base, lid, ornamental top of the lid.
_Directions:_ Make a working drawing (full size) on drawing paper, plan
and elevation.
_Bowl:_ Take the 6 × 6-in. piece of copper. Cut out a 6-in. disc.
Drive the bowl up as you did the copper bowl. It should be the same
shape as the copper bowl. Do not flatten the bottom. The drawing shows
that the bottom should be rounding, to fit the stem.
[Illustration: Lid]
[Illustration: Bowl]
[Illustration: Stem]
_Stem and base:_ Take another piece of 6 × 6-in. copper. Cut 6-in.
disc. With the dividers make a 1-in. circle in the centre of the disc.
This inner circle must be beaten up until it becomes the stem. To do
this place the disc on the round top stake, with the marked circle
touching the edge of the round top. Strike with the raising hammer just
above the circle line, turning the disc each time. When you have made
one turn of the disc, repeat this twice, hammering just above the part
driven up before. Keep repeating this until you have reached within an
inch and a half of the outer edge of the disc.
[Illustration]
The drawings numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, show the steps in the working up of
the copper disc into the stem.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
You now have a bell-shaped piece. Anneal the metal and repeat the
hammering, beginning at the same place and working up to the same
place as before. Anneal whenever the metal seems springy and keep
working until the stem is tapered about 3/4 in. at the small end,
gradually widening into the vase. Place the bell-like stem on the
table and flatten it so that it lies perfectly smooth, with the stem
perpendicular to the base. Find the centre of the bowl, describe a
3/4-in. circle. Scrape both the circle and the small end of the stem.
Turn the bowl upside down, place the stem end of the base on the bowl,
and solder in the usual way.
_To make the lid:_ Take the 6 × 6-in. piece. Cut a 6-in. disc. Find the
centre. Drive the centre down by using the small end of the planishing
hammer. This makes a cone-shaped centre, with the sides gradually
widening to the edge of the lid. The highest point of the cone is one
inch above the level of the lid. Place the lid on the table and tap
gently on the outside until it lies flat. Take the small 3/8-in. piece
of round rod, file a small shaped ornament (to taste) on one end of the
rod and a shoulder on the other end. Drill a hole in the cone-shaped
part of the lid, push the rod 1/8 in. through this hole and rivet it on
the inside.
[Illustration: Russian coffee pot in copper]
_Rim:_ Strip of copper, 12 × 1/4 ins. Bend it into a circle just to fit
the outside of the lid. Cut off the proper length and solder. Make it
perfectly round and perfectly flat. Place the lid on the chalice bowl
so that it overlaps a little all around, evenly. Draw a pencil line all
around the edge of the bowl on the under side of the lid. This is where
the rim is to go. Before soldering, test, by placing the rim on the
face of the lid. Any openings seen must be closed by pressing the rim
down to the lid. Bind tightly with binding wire, scrape, and solder.
File and finish.
VIII
HOW TO MAKE A HAT PIN
By this time you will have many pieces of scrap copper on hand. These
should be kept in a small box and used whenever suitable.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Material:_ A piece No. 20 gauge, 1-1/2 × 1/2 ins., is enough to make
the head of a hat pin. The pin part must be of steel, copper is too
soft. Buy any cheap hat pin in a dry goods store. (A cent apiece.)
Break the glass top or black top and use the pin for the copper head.
_Tools:_ One chasing tool, half moon; shears, dividers, planishing
hammer.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Designs for hat pin heads]
_Design:_ Hat pin with hexagonal top (6 sides) 1-1/2 ins. across. With
your dividers draw a circle on the piece of copper, having a diameter
of 1-1/2 in. With the radius of the circle, mark off the circumference
into 6 equal parts. Draw lead-pencil lines from one point to another,
just touching the circle at these points. With your shears cut along
these straight lines. Now you have a 6-sided piece of copper 1-1/2 ins.
across. Place this piece of copper on the flat end of the hard wood
block (the grain end of the wood), and make impressions on it with the
half moon tool like your designs. This tool you can make yourself.
Take a piece of steel, 5/16 in. square or round, heat one end to a red
heat and flatten it, like the flat end of a chisel. File the end just
flattened blunt and rounding. This end should be hardened to prevent it
from wearing rough. To do this heat it to a dark red heat and plunge
it into cold water. Place your tool on the upper sides of this plate
and drive it with a hammer into the copper, being careful not to drive
it through into the wood. If you drive the tool through you will spoil
the design and have rough edges. This makes a simple raised or embossed
design and is quite easily done.
[Illustration: Hat pin. Driving the design]
When this pattern has been stamped in, curve the piece of copper any
shape you wish by placing it in the depression in the hard wood block.
Place the embossed side down, and with the round end of the planishing
hammer, drive with light blows so as not to flatten the design. In
this way, you can shape it as you wish. The top could now be soldered
right on to the pin itself, but that would not make a strong hat pin.
It would be weak and too easily broken from the head. In order to have
a strong hat pin we make a little mushroom shaped pin holder which is
fastened on the under part of the head of the hat pin and in which
the pin itself fits.
[Illustration: A GROUP OF BOYS AT COPPER WORK
Their Shop is a Barn, and Tree Stumps Furnish the Hard Wood Blocks.]
HOW TO MAKE THE PIN HOLDER
_Material:_ Copper, No. 24, 3/8 in. square to make the flat disc.
Copper No. 24, 3/8 in. length and about 5/16 in. wide to make the
cylinder.
[Illustration]
With a pair of dividers draw a circle 3/8 in. in diameter. Cut out
the circle. Place this little disc on the flat end of the hard wood
block and with a punch make a hole 1/8 in. in diameter in the middle
of the disc. On the same end of the block, file (using round file) a
groove right across the corner, about 1/8 in. deep. Place the small
piece of copper (3/4 × 5/16 ins.), over the groove. Take the steel wire
belonging to the hat pin and place it on top of the copper and over the
groove. With the hammer, strike so as to drive the pin, and at the same
time the copper, into the depression. The copper sinks into the groove
and the two sides lap up on each side of the pin. Drive the two sides
down until they lap around the wire, the edges meeting. This makes a
copper cylinder which fits exactly around the wire of the pin. Take the
cylinder off, fit it into the holes of the small disc. Wash the two
pieces with a borax solution, place a little solder on, and solder the
disc to the cylinder. After cooling the piece in water, shape the disc
so that it fits the under side of the hat pin top. Polish the end of
the wire pin with an emery cloth, also the top of the pin holder and
the inside of the hat pin top. Push the wire into the little cylinder
so that it comes flush with the disc.
[Illustration: Bending the cylinder]
Now the pin is all ready to solder to the head, but there is great
difficulty in getting it in straight. In order to do this I make a
little device out of copper, which helps me in getting things on
straight. Take a piece of copper 1 in. wide and 5 ins. long. Bend each
end, one 2 ins. and the other 3/4 in., both in the same direction at
right angles. With the shears cut a V-shaped piece in the short end.
This little stand is good for soldering any upright piece to a flat
piece, when they should be at right angles to each other.
Place the top of the pin on the long leg of the stand and, with the pin
in the slot, place in proper position and solder.
HAT PIN HOLDER
[Illustration: Holder]
Here is a good design for a hat pin holder, a welcome addition to any
dresser. The design is very simple and the holder is easily made if one
follows out the directions carefully.
_Material:_ Disc 3-1/2 ins. of No. 20 gauge, for the base. One piece
of 3/4-in. copper tubing, 4 ins. long for the body. Solder.
_Tools:_ Iron rod, 3/8-in. round, 8 ins. long. Hard wood block.
Planishing hammer.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Bore a 3/4-in. hole one inch deep in the wooden block.
Place the 3-1/2-in. disc over this hole and, with the round end of the
planishing hammer, drive the centre of the disc into the hole 1/4 in.
Be careful not to drive a hole through the copper disc. Turn the piece
upside down. Place the iron rod in the vise. Put the bossed end of the
disc on the end of the iron rod and flatten the boss down. Shape the
base by rounding the edge down all around. See that it lies flat on the
table, without rocking.
[Illustration: Shaping base for stem]
_Stem:_ All copper tubing should be annealed before any work is done
on it. After annealing, place the 3/8-in. rod through the hole of the
tube and with the wooden mallet drive down on the tubing, beginning two
inches from the end and using the hard wood block for an anvil. This
constant driving and turning reduces the copper to any size required.
We must make the end of this tubing fit the 3/8-in. rod. The tube must
widen toward the other end, which is beaten out. Place it on the small
end of the anvil stake. Drive with the raising hammer, turning it all
the time. In this way you constantly increase the diameter, making the
cup-shaped top like the design. Now the stem and base are ready for
soldering. File the ends perfectly smooth and level. Bind in places
and solder, as before. The filing, finishing, and polishing must be
done as with other copper pieces.
Hat pin holders are usually filled with some soft material. The hat
pins are pushed down into this, which helps to keep them in place. Some
are covered on the top with a metal disc which has five or six holes
bored through, a little larger than the bar of the hat pin. These holes
are drilled into the disc and then the disc is soldered on to the top
of the holder. The pins cannot fall out with such an arrangement, and
they are not likely to gather on one side and tip the holder over.
IX
HOW TO RIVET
Riveting is one of the processes of joining two pieces of metal
together without the use of solder. To rivet, you must first punch or
bore holes into the metals along the edges to be joined. Place a rivet
through these holes, and either with the hand hammer or rivet set,
flatten down the projecting end of the rivet, forming a head similar to
the head of the rivet itself. Be careful to have the rivet holes just
large enough to let the rivet slip in and leave no extra space. If the
holes are too large the rivet will bend instead of flattening.
[Illustration: Punching metal]
_Use of the rivet set:_ A rivet set is a piece of steel 5 ins. long,
3/4 in. wide and 3/8 in. thick, tapering a little toward the top end.
In the large end of this tool, and to one side, is a 1/8-in. hole
drilled about 3/8 in. deep; on the other side is a counter-sunk hole
about 1/4 in. in diameter and 1/16 in. deep. This hole is used for
drawing the rivet up through and closing the openings between the
parts to be riveted, previous to flattening the end. (See picture of
stove pipe.) The counter-sunk hole is made to shape the head after it
is flattened. Tinners use it often for punching holes in thin metal,
such as tin and galvanized iron, and it's one of the methods used for
punching holes when making or mending stove pipes, and similar shaped
pieces.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Rivet set. Punching holes in a stove pipe and riveting]
_To rivet a stove pipe:_ Place the rivet on the stake and put the iron
pipe over the rivet about where the hole should be. Tip the pipe so
it will rest on the rivet. Tap lightly over the rivet. This will mark
the spot where the rivet is to go. Drive down the rivet set over this
mark and the rivet will be forced through the pipes into the hole of
the rivet set. The hole is made and the rivet placed at the same time.
Flatten the projecting end, put the counter-sunk hole on the top of
this flattened end, and you can shape it up like a round button.
LARGE SERVING TRAY WITH RIVETED HANDLES
A tray as large as this one is most useful in the home for serving tea,
ice cream, etc.
[Illustration]
_Material:_ No. 20 copper, 12 × 18 ins. Four pieces of copper, 3-1/2 ×
2 ins. Silver wire for rivets 4 × 1/8 in. in diameter.
_Directions:_ Perhaps the easiest and simplest way to make this tray
is to get a large block of wood, like the end of a building joist, a
little longer and wider than the 18 × 12-in. copper sheet. Out of it
make a mould the shape of the body of the tray, by cutting the wood
away. This mould is made similar to the one you made when making the
round tray. If the mould is made carefully and according to the pattern
it is a simple matter to nail the sheet of copper over the depression,
and drive it in with a wooden peg and mallet, making it fit every part
of the mould. Before this is done it may be necessary to anneal the
metal two or three times. Do so as often as you need to, it doesn't
matter how often it must be done. When the surface is smooth to the
touch, take the metal off the mould, and turn up the edges like the
design. File off the outer edges perfectly smooth and rub them down
with emery cloth. If your wooden peg has made small dents or flat
places, leave them as a finish unless they seem too high or too low.
The marks made by any wooden tool usually make a beautiful finish.
_Handles:_ The handles are hollow. They are made by taking one piece
of the 3-1/2 × 2-in. and drawing on this the outline of the handle.
Repeat this on the four pieces. This makes four halves. With a pair of
shears cut along the sides. Cut the rest out with a chisel. Snip the
corners. Put four pieces together and place between the jaws of the
vise. File into shape. This makes each piece a duplicate of the others.
Place each piece of copper on a hard wood block and with the round end
of the raising hammer drive into the block, hollowing it out. Make them
in pairs so that when the two parts are put together they make the
handles hollow on the inside and oval on the outside. File the edges of
the handle so that they meet close. Bind, solder, and file and round
them up.
_Fastening handles on the tray:_ Saw the two ends along the soldered
joints about 3/8 in. Open these out so that they fit over the edge of
the tray. Finish the ends off either rounding or square. Now drill a
hole through the handle about 3/16 in. from the end. Place them again
on the tray just where they should be and mark for the hole to be
drilled through the tray.
_Rivets:_ Take a piece of silver wire the size of the hole. Place one
end of it on the vise so it will stick up about 1/8 in. above the
surface. With the planishing hammer, hammer a small rounded head on the
end of the wire. Cut it off 3/8 in. from the head in length. This makes
a rivet. You will need four. Place these rivets with the head toward
the front part of the tray and fasten the handle on. Polish and finish
as you did other pieces of work.
DUTCH BOWL (MADE IN SILVER OR COPPER)
This Dutch bowl looks well made of either silver or copper. It is
worked up in the same way as the other bowls described here, the
little sawed out handle on the side being an addition which gives to
the bowl its Dutch characteristic.
[Illustration: Dutch bowls]
_To make the handles:_ If the bowl is made of copper select a piece of
metal thicker than the copper used for the bowl. This piece is 3 × 4
ins. long. Shape it as shown in the sketch. Mark the design and saw it
out. Now bend it at right angles about 1/2 in. from the end. Before the
corners are squared up, round the handle to fit the shape of the bowl.
This is best done on a round iron stake. File into shape, drill three
holes, and rivet the handles in place. A soldered handle if desired
makes a neater piece of work than one riveted in place. Material used
is a piece of 3 × 3 ins. The design is sawed out and shaped as before.
However, in place of bending the end down we file the circle to fit the
bowl. Clean the parts to be soldered, bind the handle in place, wash
with borax. Place bits of solder about the joint, heat, and finish.
If this soldering makes the bowl very soft stiffen it by hammering it
lightly all over the surface.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: A SMOKERS' SET]
A smokers' set makes a very useful birthday gift or Christmas present
and is not hard to make. All the principles involved in the making
have been worked out in other problems that have been given. The set
consists of five pieces: a large tray, a tobacco jar, match safe, cigar
box, and ash tray.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Tray]
_Large tray (copper or brass) oblong:_ This design shows a large oblong
tray with handles sawed out of the sheet metal, not riveted as the
handles were on the large serving tray. Draw the design for this tray
on a sheet of paper. Mark out the handles like those in the picture.
Place the pattern on the copper or brass sheet, and cut out the outline
according to the drawing. The handles are not sawed out until the tray
has been shaped up and finished. This tray is made out of a piece of
No. 20 copper or brass, and is 10 × 12 ins. With the dividers make a
half-inch line on the four sides of the sheet as shown by the dotted
lines in the sketch. Place this sheet in the vise, the dotted line even
with the jaws of the vise. With the wooden peg, drive the sides up as
you did the small square tray. Drill the holes in the slot and saw out
for the hand-holds. File all around and finish.
MATCH SAFE
This design shows a very simple arrangement of a match safe holding a
match box and a tray to catch the burnt matches.
_Material:_ Copper or brass--No. 20, 5 × 5 ins., for the tray. No. 20,
1-3/4 × 5 ins., for the holder. No. 24, 1/2 × 3 ins., for the centre
piece. No. 20, 1/8 × 5-1/2 ins., for the bar. No. 24, 1-1/2 × 2 ins.,
for the stem.
This little holder is made up of five parts: base, stem, holder, band,
and centre piece for pushing up the matches when the box is pushed down
into it.
The base is made by bending all four sides up 1/4 in.; corners are made
rounding. The stem piece is bent into a cylinder tapered by wrapping it
around a 1/2-in. tapered stick. Solder the edges, when this is done.
[Illustration]
The holder itself is made by taking the 1-3/4 × 5-in. strip and bending
it up like the shape of a letter U, so that it is a little longer
than the match box itself. The band holds the sides in place. All is
soldered together, the stem in the base first, then the holder on the
stem, etc. Hard solder is used. The little centre piece is bent, placed
in position, and soldered with soft solder. Polish and finish.
TOBACCO JAR
This straight-sided jar is made in three pieces. A disc 5 ins. in
diameter is needed for the bottom, a cylinder, 5 ins. deep, to fit the
disc, and a lid made from a 5-in. disc turned over to fit the outside.
[Illustration]
The disc for the bottom is bent up like the base of the tea caddy. Fit
the cylindrical piece around this base and solder where the edges meet.
_The lid:_ Cut a disc out of No. 20 copper, 5 ins. in diameter. Find
the centre. With the small end of the planishing hammer drive a boss
into a hollow wooden block, about 3/4 in. in diameter and 1/2 in. deep.
Out of this boss the knob is made in the following way: Take a piece
of 5/8-in. square iron and draw about 4 ins. of the end tapered to a
3/8-in. round. Bend this up about 1/4 in. as shown in the sketch. This
is the tool that the knob must be shaped upon. Place this tool in the
vise and place the hollow of the lid on this tool. With the thin end
of the driving hammer work the knob in shape from the outside. (See
sketch.) During the working of this metal it should be annealed three
or four times so that it will yield to the extreme tension required to
make the knob.
[Illustration]
The lid is rounded in the same way as the bottom piece was. There
is some shaping to be done on the top of the lid. The picture here
shows that plainly. On the inside of the lid are two wires soldered
crosswise to hold a damp sponge in place. This sponge keeps the tobacco
moist. Finish and polish.
CIGAR BOX
Any wooden cigar box may be decorated very effectively. This picture
shows an ordinary cigar box with copper (or brass) trimmings. Corners
are sawed out and riveted hinges are placed on the top. Boxes decorated
in this way make splendid Christmas gifts. A heavy sheet of brass or
copper can take the place of the wooden lid.
ASH TRAY
[Illustration]
Ash trays are of various shapes and sizes. Some are merely a square
tray, some are round, while others are half-bowl shaped. Sometimes
two or three half-round tube-shaped pieces for holding the cigar are
soldered on to the rim of the tray. All ash trays of this style are
driven up in the same way as you drive up a square tray or a round
one, or a copper bowl. To make the cigar holders, cut a piece of thin
copper or brass 1 × 2 ins. rounding on the ends. Place them on a block
and round them up in a depression cut out of the wood with a gouge
chisel. These are soldered on to the rim of the bowl or tray with soft
solder. Polish and finish.
LOVING CUP WITH TWO OR THREE HANDLES
[Illustration]
_Material:_ For bowl, copper 12-3/4 × 6 ins., No. 20. For base, copper
4-1/2 × 4-1/2 ins., No. 20. For handles, 2 pieces or 3 pieces of copper
8 × 1 in., No. 20. Solder.
_Tools:_ Combination stake, anvil stake, shears, drill press, drills,
rivets, shaping hammer.
_Directions--Bowl:_ Bend the 12-3/4 × 6-in. piece of copper into a
cylinder over the combination stake. The two edges should just meet,
and fit perfectly along the line. Scrape inside and outside the joint.
Wash with borax, bind with binding wire, and solder. Be careful to heat
it all over the fire till the solder runs freely and fills every part
of the joint. Cool off, then round it up again in the stake, filing off
the surplus silver solder inside and outside. Hammer the joint down
till flat and true. If carefully done this will show a thin even line
of silver.
_Base:_ 4-1/2 × 4-1/2 ins. Cut a 4-1/2-in. disc. Place the cylinder
just made on the disc, allowing the surplus to extend out evenly all
around. Draw with a pencil the outline of the cylinder on the disc. The
rim must be turned up at right angles to the circle so that it fits
exactly over the cylinder. To do this, place the edge of the disc on
the sharp edge of the anvil stake, driving the edge over. Anneal and
repeat until the sides are at right angles to the base. File off the
top perfectly even, rounding out the edges. This makes a finish and
border to the base. Push the cylinder into the bottom. Prepare, as
usual, for soldering. Be careful to put bits of solder both around the
edge of the turned up flange, and on the inside bottom edge. Heat and
finish.
_Handles:_ Copper pieces, 8 × 1 in. Cut a tapered slip off each side of
the handle pieces, until the large end is one inch wide and the small
end 3/4 in. With dividers draw 1/8-in. line parallel to those sides.
Bend each side back on this line. Shape the handle (see design) over
the combination stake, using the fingers or mallet to do so. The top
of the handles should fit up close against the top of the cylinder and
should extend down about 2/3 of the depth of the bowl. The ends may be
rounded off nicely with the shears, and filed. A 1/8-in. hole must now
be drilled in each side. Place the handle in the proper position on the
bowl. Mark the holes and drill them where the marks are made. Place
rivets and rivet the handles on. A touch of soft solder will help keep
these handles in place and at the same time will prevent any possible
chance for leakage through rivet holes, for where you have rivets you
are apt to have a leak. Clean, polish, and finish.
COPPER BELT BUCKLE
Buckles may be made of copper, silver, or brass, and the process of
making them is very simple. This design shows a buckle for a man or a
boy.
_Material:_ Copper (or brass or silver) 5/16 in. square × 8 ins. long
for the frame of the belt. One piece 1/8-in. round rod × 1-3/4 in. long
for the cross piece. One piece 3/16-in. square × 2 in. long (pin).
Borax and solder.
[Illustration]
_Tools:_ Mallet, file, pliers, combination stake, and vise.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Take the 5/16 × 8-in. piece of copper. Put it into the
vise and bend it into a rectangular frame like the design. Be careful
to make rounding corners and the sides parallel to each other. Cut off
the surplus metal. Make the joint in one corner. Solder and file the
corner the same shape as the other three.
[Illustration]
_Cross bar:_ Take the piece of copper, 1-3/4 × 1/8 in. Bend the two
ends down 1/8 in. in the same direction. (See picture.)
[Illustration: Cross piece]
Solder this piece to the under side of the frame. The projections throw
the cross bar down low enough below the level of the frame to allow the
leather strap to come flush with the buckle top.
_Pin or tongue:_ Take the metal set aside for making the pin. Flatten
one end of this out to 1/16 of an inch thick and long enough to go
around the cross bar. (See design.)
[Illustration: Tongue]
Flattening the end piece hardens it so that it must be annealed. With
the round pliers, bend this end so it will loop over the cross bar.
Shape over the whole buckle according to the design. File, finish, and
polish. These buckles may be made very attractive by giving them a
smooth finish, or a mottled surface, or by making a sawed out design
around the frame.
X
LAMP (FOR ELECTRICITY) WITH SHADE
[Illustration]
_Material:_ Piece of copper, No. 16, 8 ins. square (base). Piece of
copper, No. 24, 10 × 5 ins. (post). Piece of copper, No. 20, 2-1/4 ×
2-1/4 ins. (cap). 3 pieces of 1/4-in. round copper, 7 ins. long (for
shade holder). Solder. Borax.
_Tools:_ Raising hammer, hard wood block, anvil stake, drill press,
piece of discarded broom handle, dividers.
_Directions:_ Make a 2-1/2-in. circle in the centre of the 8-in. square
plate. Drive this centre up about 1/2 in. above the level, tapering on
the top to about 1-1/2 in. in diameter. To do this, place the centre
over a hole in the wooden block 1-1/2 in. in diameter and drive the
metal into the hole to the required depth. (See design.)
Draw a line with the dividers 1/2 in. all around the edge. Be sure the
line is an equal distance from the centre. Bend the sides down 1/2 in.
all along this line at almost right angles to the surface. This bending
is done in the vise. Measure off 1/2 in. in either direction from each
corner for the feet, file out a section 1/4 in. deep and 7 ins. long,
as was done in making the feet for the square box.
[Illustration: Base of lamp]
[Illustration: Base]
[Illustration]
_Centre post:_ Take the 10 × 5-in. piece and bend it around the piece
of broom handle (or any other piece of round wood the size you wish).
The two edges must meet. Scrape and solder, being careful that the
solder runs into the joint. File it off flush with the top of the
metal and make the column perfectly round. Place the column on the
raised part of the base and mark around the column on the base with
a pencil. Saw out a hole along the marked line. Push the end of the
column in so that it is perpendicular to the base and perfectly true
all around. Tie it in place for soldering, with the binding wire, by
fastening the wire on the extreme top of the column, and carrying it
to the four corners of the base. This centres the column ready for
soldering. Wash the joint well, place pieces of silver around the base
and column, and heat. The base should be crowned from the centre to the
outer edge. To do this, place the centre on any round top wood block.
Strike on the outer edges with the wooden mallet until the desired
crown is formed. See that it stands plumb and does not rock. If it does
rock, tap the base gently on the outer edges with the mallet until it
stands firm. File and polish until the surface is perfectly smooth and
free from marks of all kinds. The beautiful colours that form on the
surface of copper depend much upon the finish. The body of the lamp is
now ready for the cap and arms that hold the shade.
[Illustration]
_Cap:_ Take a 2-1/4-in. disc. Draw a circle in the centre of this disc,
having a diameter equal to the diameter of the top of the column. Place
this disc on the edge of an anvil stake and drive the edges of the
metal over, forming a cap as described in the making of the lid of
the rose jar. Divide this flange equally into three parts, drilling a
1/8-in. hole in each one of the three divisions. Take the three pieces
of 1/4-in. round copper. File the ends of each one, making a shoulder
on the end 1/8 in. and 1/8 in. in diameter to fit the holes in the
flange. Put the end of these rods into the vise with the shoulder close
to the top of the vise. Put the cap on the projecting pin, and rivet.
Repeat this for all three rods. Wash the rivet joints with borax, and
solder. File off any projecting parts so that the inside is flush, as
this cap must fit over the column. Place the cap over the column and
between the projecting arms drill a small hole through both the cap and
the column, and rivet as before.
[Illustration]
_Shade, 4-sided or 6-sided:_ This design is for 6 sides. That gives a
good proportion.
_Dimensions of each side:_ Side (on a slant) 9 ins., top, 2-1/2 ins.
Bottom, 8 ins. (See drawing.) Cut out a pattern for one side. Use
stiff card board. Lay this design on a piece of copper large enough to
cut out the whole lamp shade. Mark around the pattern. Lay the same
pattern against one side of the marked design. Make it fit exactly
along the margin line. Repeat until you have done six sides. You have
now a fan shaped pattern with six divisions. Cut this along the top and
bottom lines.
[Illustration]
If folded up along these division lines it would shape up into a lamp
shade. All lamp shades have glass for light. We provide for the glass
by cutting out a section of each of the six faces. Take your card
board pattern. Mark a line all around from 3/4 in. and parallel to the
sides, 1 in. from the top and 1 in. from the bottom. Cut out the inner
section made by these lines. Place the pattern on the copper and mark
each section. Cut it out with the cold chisel on the wooden block.
File up the rough places left, make the edges square and smooth. Bend
up each section along the centre line in the following way: Get two
pieces of wood, 2 × 1/2 × 20 ins. Place the two pieces in a vise and
slip the copper between the pieces down to the line where it should be
bent. Tighten up on the vise, press the copper over with the hands and
tap gently along the lines with the mallet, keeping the angles about
60°. Do this on each of the six sides. If carefully done the shade will
have a hexagonal shape. The open parts should come together, one side
overlapping about 1/4 in. Hammer down the overlapping part and rivet.
[Illustration]
_Glass:_ Cut a piece of card board 1/4 in. larger all around than the
opening in the sections for the glass. Take this to a glazier. Tell the
dealer just what is wanted and he will make suggestions as to colour,
kinds of glass, etc. Cathedral or opalescent glass is very decorative.
[Illustration]
_To set the glass:_ Place one of the panes of glass on the inside of
the section, over the open space. Mark all around it. Take 4 pieces of
copper (3/4 × 3/8 in.) and bend them in a double angle.
These are to be soldered or riveted on the rim. One is placed on either
side, one at the top and one at the bottom. This glass rests in these
brackets and keeps it in place. Repeat for the six sections. Push the
brackets down against the glass after it is in place. They hold it firm
against the side of the shade.
The design for this shade lends itself to many variations. It may be
square, five-sided, six-sided. The edges can be escalloped both top and
bottom, and a sawed out design may be made to fit over the glass.
XI
HINGES IN COPPER OR SILVER
TUBE DRAWING AND WIRE DRAWING
_Material:_ Copper or Silver.
_Tools:_ Hardwood block, 6 × 3 × 1 in. draw plate, tongs, sharp peen
hammer, saw frame and saw, round file, shears, small piece of soap.
[Illustration: Stamp box, or jewel box with tube hinge]
_Directions:_ To make a good hinge for jewel boxes or jewellery
requires some knowledge of how to make wire and tubes out of sheet
metal. In order to do this you must have a draw plate and that you can
make yourself, in the following way: Take a piece of iron 1/4 × 1-1/2
× 3 ins. or 4 ins. long. Drill a number of graduated holes through the
piece along the centre. The smallest hole should be about 1/32 in.
in diameter and the largest, about 1/8 in. Take your steel punch and
file the end down, tapering so that the point will go into the smallest
hole. Drive the punch into the hole until it just goes through. These
holes take the shape of the tapered punch. Repeat this in each hole
until the draw plate is made up of a number of graduated tapering
holes. Your draw plate is used for reducing wires from a large size to
any size you have holes for and for making hollow tubing for hinges.
_To reduce wire:_ You can always buy the wire any thickness you wish,
but many times a small piece of wire is needed quickly and can be made
with little trouble.
If you should wish to reduce a piece of wire 1/8 in. thick to any size
smaller than 1/8 in., file the end of the piece so it just goes through
the hole far enough to grasp with the tongs. Rub a little soap over the
surface of the wire, draw it through the hole. It is reduced to the
size of the hole it goes through. After the first or second operation
the wire must be annealed, as pulling it through the draw plate hardens
it.
_Tubing for hinges:_ Cut a strip of No. 28, copper (or silver) any
length. Cut the width of it three times the diameter of the tube you
wish to make, and cut the end of this piece to a point. Place your 6
× 1 × 3-in. block in the vise. With a round file, file a groove across
the block.
[Illustration: Shaping tube before drawing in plate]
Place the strip of copper or silver over the groove and, using the
hammer, drive the metal into the groove, forming a gutter.
Repeat this until you have driven the copper into a cylindrical shape.
Put the pointed end through the largest hole in the draw plate. Rub
well with soap. Clasp the end sticking through with the tongs and pull
it through. Repeat as you did when drawing wire through. Anneal when
necessary. Continue to put the tube in one reducing hole after another
until the tube is the size you wish. This tube with a small hole
through the entire length is used for fine hinges.
[Illustration: Draw plate and tongs with tube going through]
[Illustration: Sawing off pieces of tubing for hinges]
_Fine hinges:_ To make a hinge for a box, bracelet, or any small
dainty article that requires hinges, take a piece of the tube made as
described. After you have decided just how long the hinge must be to
fit the article you are making, saw the tube into three pieces, or five
pieces, of equal length by placing the tube in a vise. If it is to be a
three-piece hinge, two will be soldered on the one side and one on the
other, the two just far enough apart so that the one is in position to
fit exactly in between them. When the three pieces are in place, a wire
is pushed through the hole, and the hinge is made.
[Illustration: Filing half round groove in hinge, for tube]
_To make the wings of the hinge:_ Take a piece of silver or copper, No.
10, the length and width to be determined by the size of the hinge.
Place this copper plate in the vise, file a groove through the centre,
just large enough for the copper or silver tube to fit in about half
its depth.
Saw the piece through the middle of the groove.
[Illustration: Bind in place with binding wire, and solder]
Take two of the three short tube pieces, bind them on the groove ends
of one wing. Bind the third piece of tubing in the middle of the groove
end of the other wing. Place the two wings together and see that they
fit closely. Do this with the greatest care, as there is no possible
chance for filing after the tubes are soldered on the wings. Wash with
borax, put some silver solder on the joints, and solder as before
explained. When binding the tubes for soldering do not put the binding
wire through the holes of the tubes. This wire makes a good conductor
for the solder which is apt to fill up the small holes in the tubes.
All binding should be done on the outside.
The wings of the hinges should be filed to a taper, or any shape that
will add to the appearance of the hinge. The hinge lends itself very
well for decorative purposes and can always be made so that it adds to
the attractiveness of the piece of work. Lock plates can be made by the
same method. They, too, can be finished up to add to the ornamental
side of the article. _Cabinet hinges:_ Cabinet hinges are made either
of brass or copper. The hinge must be made in proportion to the design,
thus adding to the decoration.
[Illustration]
_Material:_ Strip of copper, No. 10. Cut out according to the design.
The two ends of one are turned over a wire nail 1/8 in. in diameter.
The one end of the other is treated in the same way. Test if they are
true by placing a wire through the three tubes. Cabinet hinges may be
finished by using the round head hammer and driving down a number of
hammer marks, going all over the surface of the hinge. Or they may be
embossed from the under side. The spacing of screws and rivets plays an
important part in the design of the hinge.
XII
JEWEL BOX AND DESK SET
HOW TO MAKE A COPPER JEWEL BOX (RECTANGULAR)
_Materials:_ A narrow piece of No. 20 copper, 20 ins. long × 1-1/4 ins.
wide: this is used for the sides. One piece of No. 20 copper, 6-3/8
× 4-1/8 ins. for the lid. One piece of No. 24 copper, 6-3/8 × 4-3/8
ins. for the bottom. Two pieces of copper No. 24, 6 × 1/2 in., for the
hinges. Copper nails 1/16 in. in diameter, for rivets.
_Tools:_ Vise, shears, mallet, hard solder, borax, rivet set (steel
tool), dividers, and centre punch.
[Illustration: Top view]
[Illustration: Front]
[Illustration: Sheet developed for sides and ends. Bend on division
lines]
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Make a working drawing of a box, 6 × 4 × 1/4 ins.,
(inside measurements). The box is to have feet, and a lid with
hinges is to be fastened to it. Take the strip of copper, 20 × 1-1/4
ins., measure it off into sections of 4 ins. and 6 ins. alternately.
Beginning on one end mark a point 3/8 in. from the end. (Point G.) Draw
a line (E G) 1/8 in. long, perpendicular to the base line. With the
dividers set 1/8 in. apart, and one leg placed against the base line,
draw a line 3-1/4 ins. long paralleled to the base. (Line E F). Draw F
H. In the section D C M S, mark the point O 3/8 of an inch from D. Draw
K O equal to 1/8 of an inch. With the dividers set at 1/8 in., draw a
line 5-1/4 ins. long (K L). Join L and N. Repeat this in the other two
sections. With the shears, cut along lines G, G E, E F, F H, H O, O
K, K L, L N, etc. The projections left form the four feet for the box
to rest upon. To bend the corners, mark with lead-pencil C D, M S, R
T. Place these division lines, in turn, between the jaws of the vise,
and bend down at right angles. You now have a rectangular box like the
picture, with one corner open.
[Illustration]
To close the side, solder the open end. Clean thoroughly the parts
to be joined. Place the parts in their proper positions and bind the
corner with binding wire. Wash the joint with borax. Place some small
pieces of silver solder on the inside corner. Hold it over a fire and
heat until the solder runs into the joint. Cool off in water and take
off the binding wire. If the solder should run through and fasten the
wire to the side of the box, the wire can be peeled off and the solder
filed down to the copper. But care must be taken not to let the binding
wire sink into the copper. File up the corners smooth and square up the
box with a steel square. _To make the bottom of the box:_ Take the
piece of No. 24 copper, 6-3/8 × 4-3/8 ins. Set the dividers 3/16 in.
wide. With one leg on the edge of this plate, draw lines on the four
sides.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Cut out the small square made in each corner by the crossing lines. Put
the plate into the vise and bend the four sides up along these lines.
Try it, to see if it just fits the inside of the box. It is the bottom
and must be exactly right or the box will be out of square. Now take it
out for drilling and riveting. With the centre-punch prick points one
inch apart and midway between the edge and the base. Holes are bored
through these punch marks, with the drill press and a 1/16-in. drill.
The bottom is now ready to slip into the box and to place for riveting.
Put it in, the bent edge turned down and flush with the lower edge
of the box. It is necessary first to fix the bottom securely in place
before all the rivets can be put in. To do this we put one rivet on
each side. Take a sharp-pointed instrument, stick it into the centre
hole on each of the four sides, whirl it round, and mark the place
where the hole should be drilled through. Take the bottom out and prick
punch these holes. Drill the four holes, place the bottom back, and
push the copper nails through from the outside in, leaving the head on
the outside as decoration. If the head should seem too large, reduce
it by filing before riveting. Cut the nail off, leaving about 1/16
in. of it projecting. With the hammer strike on this projecting end,
flatten it down until it covers up the holes. This is called riveting.
Now the bottom is made firm so that any amount of drilling can be done
without throwing it out of place. Drill all the rest of the holes and
put a rivet in each one of them. The heads of these nails add to the
decoration if they are put in carefully and at regular intervals.
_To make the lid:_ If you look at your design you will see that the
lid is raised a little in the centre and that the edges extend 1/8
in. over the four sides of the box. Take the 6-1/4 × 4-1/4 in. piece
of copper. With lead pencil mark the 1/8-in. lap over all around the
lid. Place the lid on the end of the square block. With the round end
of the raising hammer drive down lightly all around the inside of the
lead-pencil mark, increasing the blows toward the centre. This will
make an oval-topped shape. The hammering is bound to distort the edge
of the copper. Turn the lid upside down on the bench; with the mallet
strike down on the top of the raised part until the edges flatten down
on the bench. If any kinks should come from the hammering flatten them
by driving directly over them. The lid should rest on the box without
rocking.
[Illustration]
_To make the hinges:_ Take the two pieces of copper 6 × 1/2 in. (No.
24). Lay a piece of No. 8 wire lengthwise in the piece of copper,
and, using your fingers, bend the copper up on each side of the wire,
keeping the two edges the same length.
Place this between the vise jaws, pressing the two open sides
together, forming a hinge right on the wire. Fix both pieces of copper
this way. Draw the wire out. You have two cylindrical pieces of copper
6 ins. long with wings attached. Divide one of the pieces into six
one-inch sections. Put this between the vise jaws down to the rounding
part. With your jewellers' saw, saw close to the vise and along the
division lines, cutting out sections 2, 4, 6.
[Illustration: The copper is to be pressed together along dotted line]
[Illustration: The copper cylinder must be sawn out in sections, as
where the arrow points]
[Illustration: Section of hinge]
[Illustration: This sketch shows the method of riveting the hinge to
the jewel box]
File up all open parts so that the joints will be at right angles to
the hinge. Do this carefully or else they will not swing true when
hinged together. Use the cut hinge to measure off the sections on the
other hinge. Cut out sections 1, 3, 5 on the second hinge, allowing
a little on each section for filing. Fit the two parts together and
fasten by pushing a wire through. Try the hinge to see that it works
true and snug. Select one of the sides as the back of the box, put the
lid on, with the hinge in place. You will notice that the thickness
of the hinge prevents the lid from fitting down on the box. File the
side of the box down so the hinge sets flush with the top, and file the
wings of the hinge down to a taper. The wings are to be riveted, one
flat to the under side of the lid, and the other to the back, after
bending it down on the inside of the box. See section view. Hinges are
sometimes soldered in place. To do this, wash the joints with a little
soft-solder fluid. Heat the box in the bunsen flame hot enough to make
the solder run in between the joints. File any rough edges off, smooth
down carefully, and polish.
CEDAR CHEST (WITH BRASS TRIMMINGS)
A plain cedar chest is much improved by the addition of copper or brass
trimmings. They add strength, too, to the box.
[Illustration]
The design shows a cedar chest with hinges, corner plates, handles, and
lock plate. The screws can be bought with pyramid-shaped heads, which
resemble hand-made rivets. They add very much to the general effect of
the whole. One must be guided by the size of the box in selecting the
appropriate screw decorations. This box is 12 × 20 × 36 ins. The lid is
2 ins. deep.
_Hinges:_ The hinges should be made of No. 10 copper or brass, 3 ins.
wide, and should extend two-thirds of the way across the top and half
way down the back. This tends to keep the lid straight and support the
back of the box.
_Lock plate:_ The plate is made of a piece of 8 × 3 in. metal, the
same thickness as the material used in the hinges. The design should
correspond to the design of the hinges. The key way is in the lock
plate, toward the top.
_Handles and handle plate:_ The handles are made of 1/2-in. round
copper or brass, large in the middle, tapering toward the ends. These
ends are turned up, fitted into eye bolts and riveted into the handles.
The handles should be 10 × 4 ins., with the design of the hinges and
the lock plate carried out.
_Corner plates:_ These plates go on the four corners of the chest.
They are made of No. 14 metal. Perhaps the simplest way to make them
is to take a piece of No. 14 metal and cut a 6-in. square. Draw the
diagonals. Cut out one of the four triangles from this square. Now bend
the piece along the diagonal lines and you make a corner to fit on the
box. Solder this open corner to the box. In making corners for the lid,
make the same pattern and trim it down to suit the depth of the lid.
The trimmings on the box can be left smooth or they can be treated
with the peen of the hammer and a facet surface put on, which is done
quickly and is very decorative in effect.
The hinge part of the hinge is made as explained in the article on
hinge making. The metal used here would be quite strong enough just
to turn over in the pin without soldering it first to the body of the
hinge piece.
Put the lock on the chest before the lock plate is placed. This fixes
the place for the key-hole; otherwise one might get the key way too
close to the opening and find no lock that would fit it. The handles
are put in by means of screws, but a much stronger one is made by using
bolts and screws. The bolts that hold the handle on the plate are
carried through the box, and a nut and washer fasten them tight on the
inside.
DESK SET IN COPPER
Ink well holder and pen tray. Book rack. Corners for desk pad. Letter
file. Bill file. Stamp box. Paper cutter, letter opener, and book mark.
INK WELL HOLDER AND PEN TRAY
_Material:_ No. 16 copper, 10-1/2 × 5-1/2 ins., for the tray. No. 16
copper, 1-1/2 × 8 ins., for the box. No. 16 copper, 3 ins. square, for
lid.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Tray: You will notice, in the design of the tray given,
a 3/8-in. ledge all around. The inside of the tray is lowered 1/4 in.
except a square place in the centre toward the back large enough for
the box to set upon. The depression in the tray is made in the same
way as described before in making the small square tray. You put it
into the vise and with a round wooden peg drive it in according to the
design. The ledge must remain parallel to the bottom of the tray. Round
it off by placing the tray on the anvil stake and driving the proper
curve in it with the wooden mallet.
[Illustration]
_Box or holder--Sides:_ Take the copper piece, 8 × 1-1/2 ins. and
divide it into 2-in. spaces. Bend these at right angles to form a
square box, the open ends meeting at one side. Solder with hard
solder. _Lid:_ Take the 3-in. square piece. Over a square block the
exact size of the inside of the box drive the piece for the lid. The
corners must be driven down even so that the lid will fit on the top of
the box; otherwise the ink will evaporate. The hinge on the lid is made
with a drawn tube in the same way as was described in the article on
the making of hinges. The box is now ready to be put on the tray. File
the surface of the projecting square flat, so that the box will set
level. Bind it down with binding wire, and solder in the usual way.
_Ring and ring post fastened to the box:_ The post is made of a piece
of 3/8-in. square copper. At a distance of 5/16 in. from the end a
shoulder is filed on it, with the stem long enough to go through the
thickness of the lid. A hole, too, is drilled through one end of this
post large enough for a 1/8-in. copper ring to be pushed through.
This copper ring is made by turning a piece of copper wire around a
1/2-in. round rod in a spiral shape. Cut off the ring or rings as you
need them. This ring is opened out, pushed into the hole, and squeezed
together. It acts as a little handle to lift up the lid. A piece of
blotting paper the exact size of the lid is pushed into the inside of
it. This helps to keep the ink from evaporating. If the piece of work
has been carefully done there will be little finishing and filing to
do. You can readily see that the beauty of metal work depends as much
upon the finish as upon the design.
BOOK-RACK
[Illustration]
Book-racks are most useful for holding choice books on one's desk. They
are made of heavy copper. This design is made so that one can place
any number of books between them, by pushing the side pieces out. All
book-racks are made in the same way. The design on the side pieces can
be sawed out (or pierced) or embossed, or the facets left by the hammer
will make a beautiful decoration. Any design work, however, must be
done while the copper is in a straight piece, otherwise the bending is
apt to spoil the work.
_Material:_ Two pieces of copper, No. 14, 12 × 6 ins.
_Directions:_ In the design shown here the edge of the upright ends
are rounded. Some have just the corners rounded off. Decide upon the
design you wish. Cut it out, and file the copper sheet accordingly.
Make the edges of the whole rack perfectly smooth and rounded. Mark off
6 ins. from one end. Bend this at the 6-in. line at right angles to the
8-in. piece. It is well to do the bending over a wooden block in the
vise, using a mallet so as not to mar the metal. Polish and finish as
before.
METAL CORNERS FOR A DESK PAD
[Illustration]
Metal corners made of brass, copper, or silver are found very useful
for protecting the corners of blotters upon desks. They keep the
corners from curling up and add much to the general appearance of any
desk. The designs are many, but for all practical purposes the plain
corners seem best, as they are more sanitary.
[Illustration]
_Material:_ The pieces of metal 6 × 2-1/2 ins. No. 22.
[Illustration: Fold on dotted lines. Corners for blotter]
_Directions:_ Mark your copper sheet off like this pattern. Now get
a piece of wood, iron, or copper about 3/16 in. thick and just the
shape of one of these corner designs. This 3/16 in. thickness will be
about equal to the thickness of your blotter and the thickness of the
card-board. Take your copper sheet and bend the ends along the lines
marked on the pattern, over the iron or wood form, driving them down
to fit the shape well. You now have a triangular piece with an opening
on one side. This piece would slide over the corner of a card-board
pad usually cut about 24 × 18 ins. Solder the edges together. It is
necessary to rivet these corners to the card-board to prevent their
slipping off easily. To do this drill a small hole down through the
under side close to the edge, slip these corners on the card-board,
push the iron form in, and drive the rivet through the hole, through
the card-board against the iron plate, thus riveting the corners
to the card-board. Take out the iron plate and repeat on the four
corners. If designs are to be made on metal, they must be sawed out or
pierced while the metal is in the straight piece. Polish free from all
roughness. A piece of soft flannel or woollen cloth is glued on the
under side of these corners, so that the metal cannot scratch the desk,
or any polished surface it rests upon.
BILL FILE
This is a useful article for filing notes or memoranda of things that
need immediate attention. There is very little variety in design. The
base can be made square, circular, six-sided, etc., and decorated in
many ways. It looks well either in copper or brass. Only heavy copper
should be used, in order to give weight to the base.
[Illustration]
_Material:_ A 3-1/2-in. square of No. 10 copper. Rod of sharpened steel.
_Directions:_ Take a piece of iron 1/2 × 2-1/2 × 2-1/2 ins. Go to any
scrap heap for this. Place the copper sheet over this block of iron,
letting the surplus metal extend evenly all around. Put it into the
vise with the corner vertical. Tighten it up and drive the metal over
the corner till it touches the sides of the iron. Do this on all the
corners. Make the outside of the metal fit tightly over this iron,
acting as a shape or form. If the metal should feel springy before
driving it up close, anneal it. Notice that in driving these corners
down they are longer than the four sides, and they suggest feet. If
filed flat and smoothed up you have a square box with a foot on each
corner. Take it off the iron form and make the top rounding by driving
it over the hollow block. Now drill a 1/8-in. hole through the middle.
Place the copper rod in the hole and solder with hard solder.
PAPER CUTTER, LETTER OPENER, BOOK MARK
[Illustration]
_Paper cutter:_ No article on a desk is more useful than a good paper
cutter. It may be one with a plain flat blade, no marked handle and
without decoration aside from that of the metal itself with its hammer
marks left upon it. Again we may have one with blade and handle, the
blade either pointed (sharp edged or blunt), the handle plain or with
sawed-out design. Those with pointed blades are serviceable as letter
openers too. Then some designs have handles made long enough to turn
the end over, forming a raised handle.
_Material:_ Piece of No. 20 copper, 7/8 × 9 ins.
[Illustration: Paper knife. Cut on dotted lines]
_Directions:_ If the blade is to be pointed, take your strip of copper
and draw a line right through the centre. Mark a point 1/8 in. on the
end, either side of the centre line. Draw lines from these points to
the extreme ends of the other side. See dotted lines in the sketch.
File up the edges rounding, and polish the whole. Select a piece of
copper free from scratches and marks of any kind for this work. This
paper cutter can be left smooth, or it can be decorated by the marks
left by the planishing hammer. These marks give a good finish and look
well.
PAPER CUTTER WITH TURNED HANDLE
_Material:_ Piece of No. 20 copper, 7/8 × 16 ins.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Mark off lines on the copper strip as you did to make the
plain paper cutter. Carry the tapering lines back 7 ins. Cut off these
side pieces with shears. File the edges for the whole length smooth.
If any decorating is to be done, do it while the copper is in the
straight piece, as it can't be done easily after the handle is turned.
All filing, too, must be done before the handle is turned. When filed
and smoothed up or decorated as you wish, bend half the remaining 9
inches of the copper over and on to the blade, in this way forming
the handle. The size of the handle will depend upon one's feeling of
comfort or discomfort about it. If the edges still feel a little rough
a piece of emery cloth will smooth them down.
LETTER OPENERS
Letter openers are really small paper cutters and are made in exactly
the same way. They are shorter and narrower than the paper cutter,
but almost always have a sharp pointed blade. Many scraps of copper
left over after the making of large pieces can be used to make letter
openers.
BOOK MARK
[Illustration]
Book marks are very handy to have on one's desk. They are easily made
and if very light copper is used need not be heavy or clumsy. They
should be made very smooth, for they must slip easily into place in the
book.
_Material:_ No. 30 copper, 3 × 3/4 in. _Directions:_ This drawing can
be used as the guide. Make it the required size and work just as you
did when making the paper cutter. The little tongue on the inside is
sawed out. It should swing easily to and fro, as it must be pushed open
to catch the pages of a book and clamp them down. File and finish very
smooth. If it is left the least bit rough it would tear the paper as it
is pushed in.
BRASS WORK
XIII
FINGER BOWL, CRUMB TRAY, TEA CADDY, VASE, BELL AND BRACKET, DRAWER
PULLS, ETC.
_Brass:_ Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The zinc colours the
copper and gives it the yellowish or brassy look, depending upon the
amount of zinc melted with it. While the operations are the same
whether you are working with brass, copper, or silver, the presence of
the zinc in brass makes it less pliable than the pure metals. That is
why brass hardens so quickly under hammering, making it necessary to
anneal the metal very often in order to work it. But zinc and copper
combined melt at a lower temperature than copper or silver pure, so
that great care must be taken when preparing the metal for soldering or
annealing that you do not heat it over a dull red heat before plunging
it into water.
TO MAKE A BRASS FINGER BOWL
Finger bowls of brass are very ornamental and useful and can be made
of the simplest designs. A half dozen are a welcome addition to any
table. Design the bowl and proceed exactly as you did with the copper
bowl, working the sheet of brass up into a rough bowl shape on the hard
wood block. Using the same tools, finish the bowl on the round stake.
The surface of the bowl may be left mottled, or it can be smoothed up,
as one wishes.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
These sketches suggest a number of articles that can be made out of
brass.
CRUMB TRAY AND SCRAPER
_Material:_ One piece of brass, 10 × 6 ins., No. 16. One piece of
brass, 12 × 4 ins., No. 16.
[Illustration]
_Tools:_ Anvil stake, mallet, shears, dividers.
_Directions:_ With the dividers set at 5 ins., one leg of the dividers
tangent with the top of the brass plate and the other in the centre
lengthwise of the piece, draw a circle. Cut around the circle with the
shears. Beat over 3/4 in. of the centre part of the circle, tapering
along the circle line toward each end. Round up this edge and curve it
a little inward on wood block so that when grasped by the fingers it
will be comfortable. Smooth off edge and make the flat part perfectly
straight, so that when placed on the table to receive the crumbs it
will lie perfectly flat.
CRUMB SCRAPER
A very simple design is given here. Mark out the dimensions on a sheet
of paper and lay the design on a sheet of brass. Cut the brass out to
fit the design. Using the mallet, drive up the rounding part on the
anvil stake to match the rounding part on the tray.
[Illustration]
_Handle of scraper:_ Place the handle part on a hard wood block and
with the small end of the raising hammer drive down on the handle,
embossing it from the outside toward the front. Give it a half hollow
shape. If the edge of the handle is smoothed off with a file and made
rounding, it makes a good handle for the scraper. Flatten the scraping
edge so that it lies flat on the table and picks up all the crumbs on
its way to the tray. Polish and finish as you did the tray.
[Illustration]
TEA CADDY
_Material:_ One piece 24-gauge soft brass (yellow), 11 × 3-1/4 ins.
(for body). Disc 3-7/8 ins. in diameter (for bottom). Square: 4-3/4
ins. for lid. Two strips, 11 × 3/4 ins., one for rim of lid and one for
rim of body.
_Tools:_ Block used to make round tray (copper), drilling hammer,
mallet, wooden peg, iron stake, silver solder, steel stippling tool.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Take the piece of brass 11 × 3-1/4 ins. Bend it till the
edges meet to make a cylinder. Bind it round with a piece of binding
wire. See that the edges come together tight. Wash with borax. Use
silver solder and proceed as before with soldering. Cool in water,
clean off the joint both inside and outside till the surplus silver
is filed off smooth. This leaves a fine joint line which will take on
the colour of brass in time and will scarcely be noticed. Round the
cylinder up by placing it on a round stake or on a round wood block.
Tap gently with your mallet to do this.
_Bottom:_ Take the 3-7/8-in. disc. Draw a circle on it equal to the
bottom of the cylinder. Put the anvil stake into the vise. With the
edge of the circle on the square end of the stake, drive the metal with
the driving hammer, so that the upturned rim is at right angles to the
disc. Test this to see that the rim stands up all round and fits the
outside of the cylinder close. File the top edge of this smooth and
a little rounding. Shape up and solder as you would a copper piece,
keeping in mind the low melting point of brass. The heating of the
bottom for soldering must heat the body of the caddy to a red heat and
there is danger of unsoldering the part done. To prevent this melting,
the soldered joint should be painted both inside and outside with rouge
or ordinary clay wash. Mix a little clay in a saucer to a liquid and
rub it over the joint. If the soldering is carefully done there will be
little filing to do afterward.
_Rim (for the body):_ Take your 11 × 3/4-in. piece. Bend it into a
circle to fit the inside of the body. Cut it off the right length, bind
and solder the two ends together. Clean off, round up on the stake,
and make it just large enough to drive it into the top, pushing it
down until about 3/8 in. extends above the cylinder. This supports the
rim of the lid. If it is driven down tight it will hold of itself in
place. If not, use a little soft solder to make it secure.
_Lid:_ One square piece, 4-3/4 ins. Take the mould used for your round
tray. Punch holes in each corner of the brass plate, and nail it right
over the depression as you did when you made the round tray. With
your round peg drive the metal into the depression. When the metal is
perfectly smooth and fits the impression take it out. Place the body
of the caddy over the top of this lid piece and mark around it. Make a
second circle 3/8 in. beyond the one just made. Cut out along the outer
circle. Now draw a circle on the inside of the lid equal to the body of
the tea caddy. Place the lid on the anvil stake and turn it up as you
did the bottom piece. This should be made the same size as the bottom,
as it must fit over the same diameter. Make the rim for the lid in the
same way as you did the rim for the body. Round it up. Be careful that
the rim of the lid fits over the rim of the body and that the diameter
of the rim on the lid equals the diameter of the body of the caddy.
Place the rim on the lid and soft solder it.
_To decorate:_ With the steel stippling tool mark any little design
on the surface of the lid or body, or both, pricking up the design.
Finish the work by polishing the same way as copper is polished. You
can prevent its tarnishing by the use of lacquer. This lacquer can be
bought at any paint shop. It is put on with a brush and left to dry.
The lacquer being transparent does not cover up any of the design.
VASE (IN BRASS)
_Material:_ Yellow brass, No. 20. One piece, 7-1/4 × 9 ins. (for the
body). One piece, 5-in. disc (for base). Handles, 2 pieces, 5-1/2 ×
5/16 ins. square.
[Illustration]
_Tools:_ Hard wood block, shears, anvil stake, files, raising hammer,
carpenters' gouge, chisel.
_Design:_ Vase, 7-1/4 ins. high, with a diameter at the top of 2-1/2
in. The body tapers toward the base. Two handles, one on each side, to
be designed according to taste. The base is to be weighted in order to
insure safety when in use for flowers, etc.
_Directions:_ Make a pattern for the vase in the following way: Draw a
2-1/2-in. circle. Using the same centre, draw a 1-in. circle inside the
2-1/2-in.
[Illustration]
Through the centre of these circles draw a line 9 ins. long; 3/4 in.
below the outer circle, over this centre line draw a line 1 in. long,
1/2 in. on one side and 1/2 in. on the other. Seven inches below this
1-in. line draw a 2-1/2-in. line, 1-1/4 in. on one side and 1-1/4 in.
on the other. Connect the inside points of each line with the top line
(see design), drawing lines between the two points. If the pattern is
carefully developed from the drawing the metal will fold up in the
right way for a vase. To do this, continue the tapering lines beyond
the circle until the two lines intersect. With the point of the compass
on the point of intersection, and the pencil point where the sides
meet the 1-in. line, draw an arc of a circle any length. Using the
same centre, open the compass until the pencil reaches the base lines.
Draw an arc of a circle any length. Use your 30° and 60° angle and
divide the half of the circle into 6 equal parts. Take one of these 6
divisions with your compass, and step off their distance on the large
circle 12 times. You now have the exact circumference for the top of
the vase. Draw lines from these points to the point of intersection.
This marks off the small circle or base. Connect the 12-in. point on
the top and bottom with solid lines. Cut this pattern out and lay it on
the metal. Cut out the metal and fold up. It should fit the drawing.
The edges should meet close. Clean, bind, and solder as you did with
the copper work.
_Base:_ Use the hard wood block and drive up the 5-in. disc over the
depression. Shape it as nearly as you can like the design, using the
same method as you did with the copper bowl. Keep annealing this brass
whenever it feels springy. Place it on the anvil stake. Use the driving
hammer and shape it.
[Illustration: Some Problems in Copper and Brass Work Made by Boys]
Repeat the annealing and hammering until the desired shape is gotten.
Notice in the design that the neck is a little smaller than the
bottom of the vase. Place this small end on the point of the anvil
stake and swell it out, forming a little rounding collar so that the
end of the vase will slip in and fit tight. When the end of the vase is
in position, wash the joint with a little soft-soldering fluid, place
a little soft solder in the joint and heat until it melts. Be careful
that the solder does not run over the collar. It is so hard to file off
the brass.
[Illustration: Drawn to scale 1/2 inch = 1 inch]
_To weigh down the base:_ Turn the base upside down. Melt enough soft
lead to fill up the opening level with the bottom. A circular piece of
brass is made to fit over the lead to hide it. Lap the edges of the
base over the piece just enough to hold this and the lead in place.
_Handles:_ Handles are a matter of individual taste. The vase can be
left without handles if desired.
[Illustration: Suggestions for drawer pulls to be worked out in copper,
brass, wrought iron, or soft steel]
Take two pieces of 5 × 5/16 ins. square; file into shape according to
the design. Bind the handles on the body of the vase. Place a little
silver solder wherever the handles touch. Be careful to guard the
joint made by soldering the body of the vase with clay or rouge, as was
done when making the tea caddy. Now you are ready to solder the body
of the vase and the base together. Push it in place, see that it is
perfectly straight, bind and solder. If not well soldered it will not
hold water. File off the surplus solder, polish and lacquer as you did
the tea caddy.
BELL AND BRACKET FOR A WALL DECORATION
This stationary bell is very useful for any purpose that a small bell
serves. It has the advantage of being always in one place.
_Material:_ No. 20 brass, used for both the bowl and bracket. The size
of the design determines the amount of material used.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Make the bowl in the same way as you did the copper bowl,
raising hammer, wood block, etc. The last work done on this bell should
be of such a nature as to harden the metal so that the ring is clear.
This clearness of the sound depends upon the hardness of the metal.
The harder you can get the metal without splitting it, the better the
bell's tone.
[Illustration]
_Bracket:_ The bracket is made of two pieces, the plate and the hanger.
The plate can be made of any design or shape suitable--square, oblong,
oval, or round.
Decide upon your design, mark this on the plate, and cut out. Drill
small hole for the nails to fasten it, either to the wall or to a
small piece of hard wood 1/4 in. thick for a backing.
_Hanger:_ The hanger can be made of flat, square, or round material.
This picture shows a design made of No. 20 brass. It is cut tapering
and shaped over a round wood block in the vise. The slots are sawed out
as shown. The bell is fastened to the hanger by means of two or three
links formed together in a chain, one large enough to hook over the
hanger, and connected to the bell with a little eye bolt made of brass,
which is pushed through the bell and riveted on the inside.
The ringing of the bell is done by a small brass rod fastened to the
hanger with a small chain. The work is finished up by the use of pumice
stone.
SILVER WORK
XIV
FINGER RINGS, SCARF PINS
_Silver:_ There is very little difference in the handling and working
of silver from that of brass and copper. The same operations are
carried out and the same tools are used. Silver is more pliable than
either one of the other metals, though copper is softer. However,
silver melts at a lower temperature than copper or brass, and for that
reason greater care must be taken during the process of annealing,
soldering, and enamelling.
Silver, of course, is the most precious metal you have worked with.
So then the cost of the material limits one to the working out of
comparatively small problems. When buying silver, always buy sterling.
The sterling silver is made especially for silversmiths and is used in
all silver work, pure silver being too soft to stand the wear that is
required.
While copper is sold by the pound, silver is sold by the ounce, and
rolled out to any thickness you wish. But the gauge is the same as that
of copper, a No. 20 in silver being the same as No. 20 in copper. If
the problems given here are carefully worked out, enough practice in
the handicraft of silver will be given to enable you to work out much
larger problems in the metal.
_Selecting stones for rings, pins, brooches, or bracelets:_ Choose the
stones that are round or oval in shape, and pick those that have a
fairly level bed and are well bevelled. This is necessary so that the
bezel will hold tight when rubbed against the stone. Semi-precious and
precious stones can be bought at any dealer in stones, and one has his
choice out of many to pick from.
FINGER RINGS
Bands for finger rings are all made, practically, in the same way. But
there is a great difference in the way stones are set in these bands.
Perhaps the three ways most generally used are: setting by means of a
bezel, or small band; prong setting, and setting the stone down in a
cavity cut in the metal, just large enough to hold the stone.
_Finger ring, stone set with a bezel:_
_Material:_ One piece of silver, 2-3/8 × 1/2 ins., No. 20, for ring.
One piece of silver, 1/8 × 1-1/2 ins., No. 28, for bezel. Stone. Silver
solder. Borax.
_Tools:_ Ring mandrel (you can make one yourself), small wood mallet,
drill press and 1/16 in. drill, saw frame and saw, centre-punch, small
Swiss files.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Directions--Pattern:_ To make a ring of this kind first cut a piece
of paper 1/4 in. wide and long enough to go around the finger which
the ring is to fit. Straighten this piece of paper out. This gives the
length of the piece of silver needed for a ring. Cut another piece of
paper 1/2 in. wide to this length. Draw with ink the pattern of the
ring on this second paper.
Cut the design out and paste it on the piece of silver. With the
centre-punch mark the centre of each spot. Drill holes into each one.
Saw out the design. With a pair of shears cut off the surplus metal. Be
careful to save all the scraps. They can all be returned and exchanged
for silver plate. File close to the design. You now have the band ready
for bending.
[Illustration]
_To bend the ring:_ A ring mandrel is needed. This is merely a tapering
rod. One can buy steel mandrels which are graduated for all sizes of
rings. A small tapered square punch which you can make yourself, will
be found helpful. Take a piece of 3/16-in. round or square steel. File
the end, tapering to a square point, 1 in. long. Harden it the same as
you did the half moon punch used to make the hat pin. This punch is
used for design work. Round holes can be squared by driving the square
punch into the hole to any depth. This saves filing.
Place the ring mandrel in the vise. Using a wooden mallet, bend the
ring in a circular shape over this mandrel till the two ends meet. Try
the ring on the finger. Snip off the ends so that the ring fits rather
tightly. This will allow for stretching the ring after it is soldered.
_To put on the bezel:_ Bend a piece of No. 28 silver, 1/8 × 1-1/2 ins.,
around the stone. This can be done with the thumb and finger. Make the
silver fit around the largest part of the stone. Snip off the ends.
Bind the two ends with binding wire, wash with borax, put a little
piece of silver on the inside and heat over the bunsen burner; which is
hot enough for this kind of work. Cool off in water, remove the binding
wire. Each end of this bezel must be filed to fit the circle of the
ring.
[Illustration: Bezel for ring]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
When this is done bind the bezel on, and at the same time bind the
lower part of the ring so that the open ends fit tightly together.
Solder the bezel and the open part of the ring at the same time. Wash
all the joints. Place silver solder on the inside of the bezel, say
one half-dozen pieces (small), round on the inside, and also one or two
small pieces on the joint of the ring itself. Place the whole ring in
the bunsen flame. It will all heat up about the same time. Watch the
solder carefully. See that it runs all around between the bezel and the
body of the ring. Cool off. Take off all the binding wire. File the
inside and outside of the bottom part of the ring.
Place the ring on the mandrel and go over it gently with a steel
hammer, shaping it around and making it to fit the finger. File the
edges around smoothly. Go over it all with a small square file and file
out all imperfections in the slots. Place a piece of fine emery cloth
on a tapered round wood peg. By revolving it around this you polish
and trim up the inside of the ring. Using the same emery cloth twisted
around a flat stake or file, go over the outside until the ring is free
from scratches.
_Stone:_ If the bezel has been carefully made the stone should drop
right into place. If by chance some of the solder should have filled up
the bezel space and made it smaller, take a sharp tool like a pocket
knife blade and scrape the inside of the bezel till the stone fits.
Place the stone. With a smooth piece of steel or very hard wood press
the bezel against the stone. The bezel is thin enough to yield to this
pressing process. It will cling to the sides of the stone and prevent
its falling out. Polish the ring by rubbing it with pumice stone and a
piece of cloth. This finishes the work.
_Finger rings, silver cut away to set stone in:_
_Material:_ For this class of work we require much heavier silver than
for the other rings.
[Illustration]
One piece of silver, No. 10, 1/2 × 2-3/8 ins. Solder. Borax.
_Tools:_ Same as were used for the bezel setting. In addition we shall
need one or two small chisels, which you can make yourself. Chasing
tool.
_Directions:_ Make the pattern of your ring as you did before. Paste
it on the silver piece, and cut out. Bend the silver around the ring
mandrel so that it will fit the finger it is intended for, and solder.
Place the stone in its proper position and mark the outline of it on
the silver. Now you will need a small chisel to chip away the silver
and make the space for the stone.
_To make chisel:_ Take two pieces of 3/16-in. round steel 5 ins. long.
One piece is to make a flat chisel and the other for an oval chisel.
File the ends to a chisel shape.
[Illustration]
This steel must be tempered before it can be used. To do this place the
ends just filed into the fire. Heat about 1 in. of the end red hot.
Cool 1/2 in. of this hot end in the water till quite cold. Take it out
and rub the end with a piece of emery cloth till it shines.
The colour will begin to flow toward the end. When the blue colour
reaches the end plunge the whole piece into water. The oval chisel
is used for outlining the depression. The flat chisel is used for
levelling the bed to receive the stone. With this chisel cut away the
material inside the marked outline, keeping a little inside the border
line. Cut away the silver to about the depth of 1/32 in. You will find
the opening a little smaller than the stone. With your chasing tool
drive around the inside of the oval, undercutting until the stone
fits in. This undercutting drives up a little silver rim, which does
the work of a bezel on the stone. When this rim is forced against the
stone, the stone is held in place. The ring is now ready for the
stone, but the thickness of silver makes it large and clumsy. Before
putting the stone in, the ring should be filed down to the proper
dimensions. This requires a great deal of filing. Use a rough file at
first and finish with a fine one. When the ring is shaped as you wish
polish up the inside and outside.
_To place the stone:_ With the ring mandrel on the vise, put the stone
in place and put the ring on the mandrel. Tap gently on the silver rim,
driving it against the stone. Do not drive it too hard or else you may
crack the stone. Finish up and polish as explained before.
_Finger ring, stone set with prongs:_
_Material:_ One piece of silver, No. 14, width and length the same as
the others. Stone--in the design, square.
[Illustration]
_Tools:_ Same as used in making the other rings.
_Directions:_ Draw design, cut pattern, place it on the silver, and
cut out as before. Bend the ring to fit the finger, and solder. After
the silver band has been cooled off and the wire has been removed, put
the band back on the mandrel. With the planishing hammer strike down,
flattening the top. This reduces the thickness of the ring and gives
us a flat surface, to which the prongs are soldered.
_To make the prongs:_ Place the stone on a No. 24 piece of silver. Draw
the outline of the stone on it. The square piece of silver should be
1/8 in. larger all round than the size of the stone. A stone may be set
with 4 prongs, or 6 or 8, according to one's taste. In this setting we
have the 4 prongs. Mark the outline of the prongs on the square piece
of silver according to this picture.
[Illustration: Drawings showing prongs, unfinished, and soldered on
ring at point marked by arrow.]
Saw out on the dotted lines. Cut a piece of copper the exact size of
the stone. Place the copper on the silver and bend up the prongs at
right angles to the silver plate. Take away the copper, and file the
under part of the silver piece flat, and prepare the upper part of
the ring in the same way. Bind the flat part of the prong piece to
the flattened part of the ring, and solder. If the flattening in the
first place has made the ring too large for the finger, cut a piece out
along the soldered joint. Fit it to the finger and resolder. File all
joints perfectly smooth. The prongs should be filed carefully and made
perfectly even and of the exact size and shape. Place the stone in and
push the prongs against it. Rub each separate prong down until it fits
close against the stone. This prevents their catching on anything like
cloth, etc. Polish and finish as explained before.
_Finger ring, made of twisted silver wire:_
[Illustration]
_Material:_ No. 30 fine silver wire; length depends upon the design of
the ring.
_Tools:_ Same as those used in making the other rings described.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Cut off a piece of No. 30 wire about 6 ins. long. Bend
it in the middle, place the two ends in the vise and, with a pair of
pliers, grasp the other end. Twist the wire into an even twist. Select
the stone. The round stones are best for this wire setting. In making
this wire ring it is best to make the setting for the stone first. Cut
a piece of wood the exact shape of the largest part of the stone. Bend
a piece of No. 30 silver 1/8 in. wide around the wood peg, till the
two ends just meet. Coil around this the twisted wire, one strand upon
the other, until you have about three coils. Wash with a little borax;
place a little silver solder upon the under side of this coil. Heat and
solder the strands together; at the same time solder the band on the
inside. Place it on the ring mandrel, and curve it to fit the shape of
the finger. Either press it with your fingers or use a mallet.
_The setting is now ready for the ring:_ The ring can be made either by
twisting a piece of wire to fit the finger or by using just the plain
wire itself for the ring band. In either case, the piece of silver used
for the band, plus the size of the setting, must equal the size of
the finger. Solder the two ends of the ring band to the sides of the
setting. File the inside opening of the setting to a level; place the
stone in as you did the others. Clean and polish up as usual.
SCARF PIN
[Illustration]
_Material:_ A piece of No. 20 silver for the body of the pin; the size
is determined by the size of the stone to be set. A piece of No. 24
for the bezel. A piece of No. 20 silver wire for the pin. The pin piece
can be bought at any jewellery store, if you do not wish to make your
own. They are better, too, than those you make yourself. Solder and
borax.
_Tools:_ Shears, files, draw plate.
_Directions:_ Cut a piece of silver, No. 20, the size of any one of the
above designs. Cut a piece of No. 24, 1/16 in. wide and long enough
to go around the stone, to make a bezel. Be sure that this bezel fits
close and tight around the stone. Bind the bezel, and solder. After
soldering, fit the bezel again to the stone, for the soldering is apt
to change the shape. File the bottom off perfectly flat; clean the
surface of that part to be used for the back of the pin. Bind the bezel
on this piece, wash with borax, and solder it in place.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Pin:_ This can be bought at any jewellery store. However, if you wish
to make your own, you can do so in the following manner: Place a piece
of No. 16 wire in the draw plate and reduce it a little. This drawing
through the plate stiffens the wire, and this is just what is needed in
a pin; otherwise it would bend when pushing it into the scarf. When you
think it is stiff enough, file the end to a long needle point. Cut it
off about 3 ins. long. Bend the blunt end down at right angles 1/8 in.
Place this end against the back of the pin in such a way that the bent
end will be against the plate and a little above the centre. Bind it in
place and solder it on tight. Be careful to heat just as little of this
pin as possible, for you remember that heating a piece of silver red
hot softens it, and you must heat it red hot to solder. So confine the
heating to as small a space as possible. Sometimes I soak a piece of
cloth in water and wrap it around the pin, covering up all except the
part to be soldered. This prevents it from softening.
[Illustration]
_To place the stone:_ The stone is put in and the bezel is pushed
against it and holds it in place.
This is a very plain scarf pin without any pretence at design. Scarf
pins can be made in all shapes, sizes, and all sorts of cut out designs.
All silver should be polished smooth and made free from scratches.
The polishing hardens the surface of the metal. This is why silver
jewellery of all kinds becomes brighter and smoother the longer it is
worn.
_Setting of stones in scarf pins:_ There are many ways of setting
stones for scarf pins. The setting just described is called a box
setting, the bezel forming the box to receive the stone. The open or
prong setting is made in the same way as that kind of setting is made
for the stone in the ring.
XV
NECKLACES, BROOCHES, BRACELETS
NECKLACE
[Illustration]
This necklace is made on the basis of a circle 7 ins. in diameter.
Most necklaces having pendants are about this size. The design of this
necklace is very simple. One stone is set in the pendant and this shows
on both sides. The whole is connected by silver links. The stones, one
either side of the pendant, between the links of the chain, are set in
the same way as you set the stones in the scarf pin and rings. The only
work to be done which is different from any you have done before is the
making of chain links.
_Material:_ No. 20 or 22 round silver wire, the amount depending upon
the size of the chain. Stones, carefully selected.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Draw the design of your necklace on a piece of paper.
Place the stones at intervals. When they seem well proportioned draw
the chain links between them. The length of the links will depend
entirely upon your setting. When you have decided just how many links
go between the stones on your design, measure off the length of one of
those links. Round links do not hang as well as oval links, neither do
they look so well.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_To make the links:_ Take a piece of iron 3/16 in. in diameter and
file the two sides oval in shape. This is a bar on which you can bend
the links. One end of the silver wire is placed against this mandrel
and both put into the vise and fastened. Bend the wire round and round
this iron rod, making the coils as close as you can get them. Count
each revolution as one link. You can easily count the number of links
in your necklace. When you get the number of turns needed, unfasten it
all from the vise and pull the rod out. You have a spiral-shaped coil.
With a jewellers' saw, saw the length of the spiral on the end of the
links. Each one will drop off in the shape of a link. This is the very
best way to bend up a number of links that will be uniform in size. You
will notice that the ends of the link, after it is sawed off, are not
opposite each other. Push these ends together, using the fingers or a
pair of pliers. If the sawing is carefully done the links will be ready
to solder. Solder first one link in the usual way. Hook the other link
into it. Repeat until the chain is the desired length. If the proper
amount of solder is placed on the joint it will run in without making
lumps to be filed off later.
_Pendant:_ The pendant is made in the same way as the watch fob, which
is explained in a later chapter. The setting of the stones in the chain
is done as other stone setting, except that the ends are filed into
shape to receive the links for joining. Fastenings for the necklace can
be bought at any jewellery store. It is much better to buy them than to
attempt to make them.
Square silver wire can be used to mark out the design, or any design,
instead of round wire, and great variety can be secured merely by a
change in the shape of the wire used for the links. Again, you may have
a necklace with or without the pendant; the so-called bar necklace, the
dog collar, or the chain may be lengthened until it becomes the watch
chain.
In the group picture of necklaces there is one necklace made up of long
flat links joined together by small links soldered on. The design for
the necklace is sawed out. It is used for a necklace and watch chain.
This is only one of many suggestions for sawed out design work applied
in this way.
COLLAR SLIDE
[Illustration]
Collar slides make very pretty pieces of jewellery. Three form a set,
and they are easily made. These given here are all made of silver with
turquoise setting. The centre slide is usually a trifle larger than
the other two. A piece of ribbon is slipped through a little wire slot
put on the back of each slide for that purpose. Any colour ribbon that
blends with the silver and turquoise looks well.
_Material:_ One piece silver, 5/8 × 1-1/8 ins. (for centre slide). Two
pieces silver, 9/16 × 1-1/8 ins. (for other two). Three stones well
matched. Piece of No. 20 silver wire, 5 ins. long.
_Directions:_ Cut out the shape as the picture shows and saw out the
inside according to the design, leaving a flat space at the top large
enough for the stones you have selected. Set the stone the same as you
did stones for rings, scarf pins, etc. After the bezel is in place for
soldering, cut off a piece of No. 20 wire, and bend it in the shape of
the sketch given here.
This is soldered on the back of the slides. Bind this on at the same
time you bind on your bezel, wash with borax, and solder both. Do same
on each one. File down the bezel, put the stone in place and push the
bezel against the stone by rubbing. Polish and finish. This design will
no doubt suggest many ways of making slides.
[Illustration: Collar slide]
BROOCHES AND BAR PINS
[Illustration]
Brooches and bar pins are made in much the same way as scarf pins. The
bezel is soldered as to a flat bar of silver to receive the stone.
But, in place of the stick pin, brooches have a bar, hinged on one end,
and a little catch hook on the other. These bars and catch hooks can be
bought very cheaply at almost any jewellery store, and cheaper than one
can make them. However, if you wish to make that part of the brooch or
bar pin yourself you can do so in the following way: Take a piece of
silver 2 ins. long and 1/8 in. wide, No. 20. Round this piece of silver
up by driving on the wide side about one inch from the end. Keep doing
this till the piece of silver is about 1/16 in. square. Drive the four
corners down, and you have an 8-sided bar. If these corners in turn
are hammered down you have a 16-sided piece, etc. Continuous hammering
reduces this bar to a round piece of silver about one inch long. The
end should be flattened down according to the sketch (1).
[Illustration]
_To make the hinge (staple and hook):_ Take a piece of
silver, No. 24, 1/8 in. wide and 3/8 in. long. Bend it up in the shape
of a staple, square at the end (2). The piece for the hook can be made
at the same time you make the piece for the pin. Use a piece of wire
1/16 in. × 3/8 in. long. After hammering, bend it like the sketch (3).
[Illustration]
_To put the staple and hook together:_ Drill a 1/16-in. hole in the
staple very close to the top. Drill one in the flat shank of the pin
also close to the top. (See sketch.)
Put a silver rivet in and rivet the two together, making a hinge. Place
this on the bar pin or brooch and then put the hook in its proper
position. Now you can get the exact length the pin should be. Cut it
off long enough to let the end project through the hook about 1/8 in.
File this to a needle point and polish very smooth. If it is rough it
will not push through any kind of cloth easily. To solder, bind the pin
and hook to the brooch or bar pin, and solder as you would any other
piece. Polish and finish up as you have done before.
BRACELET WITH SAWED OUT DESIGN AND STONE SETTINGS
_Material:_ One piece of No. 20 silver, 8 × 3/8 ins. One piece of No.
24, 1/6 in. by any length needed for the number of bezels required.
Three or five stones (turquoises blend well with silver).
[Illustration: Bracelet with stone]
_Tools:_ Saws, saw frame, drill press and drills, small files, borax
and solder.
_Directions:_ Secure small stones of uniform size and the same colour,
or colours that blend well together. If the stones selected are too
large the bracelet is apt to have a heavy or clumsy look. Bracelets
should be fine, and above everything else dainty looking. Take your
8-in. piece of silver and divide it into five equal parts if there are
to be five stones, and three equal parts if three stones are to be
used. Lay each stone in its section and mark the outline with pencil on
the silver.
The sawed out design is a matter of spacing between the stones. The
design shown here is a good one for this. You will see that the spaces
between the stones are cut away so that the stones stand out as the
design rather than the bracelet itself.
[Illustration: Section of bracelet]
If you are working out the design given here, drill holes and saw out
the spaces. Do this while the silver is in a straight piece, also file
these slots or spaces true and straight, rounding the edges both ways.
At the same time round the outside edges both ways, too. This makes
the bracelet free from sharp edges and it will feel comfortable to the
touch.
Shape the bracelet, bending it as you have bent other bands. There is
danger, when bending this, of the weak places, where the open spaces
come, bending in sharp angles. To avoid this put the greatest strain
on the solid places and bend these first. Bring the two ends tight
together, then bind and solder. When you have taken off the binding
wire, file down any thickness left at this joint flush with the silver
band. Bracelets are both oval and round in shape. Choose one of the two
shapes and round the bracelet up in that form.
Now cut the silver for the bezels long enough to go around each stone.
These are all soldered in the usual way, then filed to fit and lie flat
on the bracelet. Place the bezels on the solid places and bind each one
separately. Place a little bit of silver solder on the inside of each.
Be careful to wash the joint made in the band with a little clay to
prevent its melting during the soldering of the bezels. If the bracelet
during the soldering has lost its shape round it up again. File all the
bezels down so that the tops are perfectly smooth. File off any rough
spots in the circle or bracelet and polish it all inside and outside.
Shape a soft piece of pine wood to fit the inside of the bracelet. Put
this wood into the vise and put the bracelet on it. Now set the stones,
one by one, and rub the bezels tight against them. Polish with rouge or
pumice.
THE INDIAN BRACELET
The open bracelet is really an Indian design. Take a piece of silver
wire, 3/16 × 8 ins. long. Hardened silver is best. It can be gotten
just as silver wire that has been softened can be bought. Cut a piece
3/8 in. long from each end. Place these pieces on a piece of charcoal.
With the blow pipe melt these pieces. Each will run into a little
silver ball. Solder the balls to the end of the silver wire, one on
each end. Bend the wire now in the shape of a bracelet. You can make
the two balls just touch or you can leave them about an inch apart.
Polish in the usual way. If the balls are carefully soldered on to the
ends of the wire they make a very effective decoration.
[Illustration: Indian bracelet]
XVI
SPOONS AND PICTURE FRAME
Silver spoons: (1) Teaspoon, (2) Sugar tongs, (3) Mustard spoon, (4)
Salt spoon and salt-cellar.
_Material:_ No. 8 sterling silver 6 × 1-1/4 ins.
_Tools:_ Hard wood block, drill press and 1/16-in. drills, jewellers'
saw and frame, files, shears, and raising hammer.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Examine carefully any teaspoons you have at home. These
will suggest ideas for designs. They will give you a clearer notion
of how teaspoons are made than any sketch you may see. When you have
decided upon your design, draw it on paper and cut out your pattern.
Paste this pattern upon the piece of silver. You cannot cut this metal
with a pair of shears. Put it into the vise and cut it out with a cold
chisel as you did the paper knife, or you can cut it out by placing
it upon the flat stake and, with the chisel held vertically, driving
the chisel into the silver. You will find the vise best, however. Now
you have the outline of a spoon with the same thickness all the way
through. If you have examined a teaspoon carefully you will see that
the bowl of the spoon itself is thinned toward the outer edge, and
that the handle is tapered toward the end. The thickness of the metal
is left at the short bend of the spoon where it meets the bowl. Now
place the large end on the anvil stake and with the raising hammer
(round end) drive down on the metal, thinning it out and at the same
time shaping it into a spoon bowl. Your silver widens out and makes the
bowl larger than it should be. Cut off the surplus silver. It is much
better to have to cut down to the size than to be compelled to stretch
the silver out, as it were, to a certain size. In one case you can stop
when you have the proper thickness, but in the other you might make the
metal too thin for practical purposes, in order to get it wide enough.
_Handle:_ Handles should be tapered out from the thickest part to the
end, and left large enough on the end to saw out or file into shape
any design you may wish to make. Don't work your problem too close
so far as material is concerned. Any waste material in silver can be
returned and exchanged for full value.
Hammering any metal hardens it. When this silver becomes hardened
anneal it, but just enough to allow you to shape it up. However,
the last annealing should be done some time before the hammering is
finished so that the last work on it will harden it sufficiently to
prevent its bending when in use. Hand made spoons have a beauty about
them not matched by those mechanically made. If this handle is to
have a sawed out design, the drilling and sawing are done as before
described.
The finishing should be carefully done. Round the edges so that they
feel smooth and comfortable. After polishing, the spoon is ready for
use.
SUGAR TONGS WITH CLAWS
[Illustration]
_Material:_ No. 16 gauge silver, 9 × 3/8 in.
_Directions:_ Make your pattern and mark it off on the strip of silver.
Either saw or cut off the surplus material. Drill two holes where the
holes are shown, for the claws. Saw down to these holes. Do this on
either end. You now have three prongs, the middle one a little wider
than the other two. Take the pliers, grasp the points of the outer two
and turn them outward, forming a claw. File them until they have the
shape shown by the design. Do the same on both ends. File the whole
piece up, rounding the edges nicely. Notice that the edge view given
in the drawing shows the centre thinner than either side. This is
flattened down and the flattening of the silver hardens it, so that
when it is turned it acts like a spring. When you have flattened the
centre part out to the thickness of the drawing, place it on a wood
block and with a chisel-shaped wood peg drive in the centre, making the
inside slightly concave, and rounding the top side a little. This will
bend the tongs like the design. Shape the claw ends to fit the sketch
on a hard wood block, using a mallet. Before bending the silver into
shape take the wood peg, place the claws on the wood block, and with
the wood peg drive down and slightly concave the centre of the claws.
All design work must be put in when the metal is in a straight piece.
SUGAR TONGS WITH BOWLS
These are made in the same way as the tongs with claws. In the place
of claws you make the bowl spoon shaped on the wooden block, using a
mallet. The spoon bowl should not be larger than 1/2 × 7/8 in. Finish
and treat in the same way as the sugar tongs with claws.
MUSTARD SPOON, SALT SPOON AND CELLAR
[Illustration]
_Material--Mustard spoon:_ No. 14 silver, 3/16 × 3 ins.
_Directions:_ To make a mustard spoon like the sketch given here,
measure 1/2 in. off the end of the silver stock. This makes the bowl of
the spoon. Flatten the end down, thinning it out toward the edge. File
the bowl round. Place it on a block and hammer it into a plain simple
bowl shape very deep. One inch from the handle end flatten it out,
thinning it out toward the end. File to shape, and bend as shown in the
sketch, similar to a teaspoon.
SALT SPOON AND CELLAR
[Illustration]
_Material--Spoon:_ 3/16 × 2-1/2 ins., No. 14.
_Directions:_ Salt spoons are made in the same way as mustard spoons.
However, the handle is shorter, and the bowl is oval shaped and not
quite so deep. Any little sawed out design may be placed on the handle,
same as the teaspoon design. Using the same design, a set can be made
to match.
[Illustration]
_Material--Salt-cellar:_ Silver No. 24, disc 3 ins. in diameter.
_Directions:_ Take the 3-in. silver disc. Draw on it a 1-in. circle in
the middle. Place it on an anvil stake and drive it into shape like
the sketch given here. This is done in the same way as the base of the
chalice was hammered up. Hammer marks should be left. They add to the
design itself. When you have driven it up, see that the bottom is flat,
so that it sits level on the table. Trim the top off and file the edges
round.
_Salt-cellars with fluted sides:_ There are many ways of making
salt-cellars. Some have straight sides, some have tops bent over, some
are saucer shaped, and some have fluted sides. Take the 3-in. disc,
and divide it into 12 equal parts. File out in a hollow block a round
depression and with the mallet and a wood peg to fit the depressions
drive each of the divisions into the depression. Narrow the scallops
toward the bottom, both in width and depth. Keep within the angle
formed by the divisions. As you repeat one after the other you will
notice the sides beginning to turn up and shape themselves into a cup
similar to the first salt-cellar. The base of this should be one inch
in diameter. Finish up and file as you did the others.
[Illustration]
SMALL SILVER PICTURE FRAME
_Material:_ One piece No. 24, 1/4 × 13 ins. One piece No. 24, 3-in.
disc (2-in. hole sawed out of centre). One piece No. 24, 1-1/2 × 1/2
ins., for feet.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Bend the strip of silver, 1/4 × 13 ins., to fit the
outside edge of the disc. Cut off the ends, and solder. Push the disc
into the ring made and solder the ring into the disc, keeping the
edges flush with the surface of the disc. File off the soldered joints
smoothly.
_Feet:_ Saw out the design for the feet according to the drawing, and
solder them on to the back edge of any part of the circle. This must be
done with hard solder. Before soldering the feet on, paint the joints
already soldered with clay, wash and paint the opening where the heat
is applied for soldering on the feet. The edge of the 2-in. circle is
bevelled slightly. To do this place the edge on an anvil stake and with
a very light hammer drive gently down, bending inwardly. If this is
carefully done it will require no finishing except the polishing.
The frame is now ready for the glass. Any kind of window glass may be
cut to fit the inside. A little card board frame is made to hold the
glass and picture into place. Take a strip of card board 1/4 in. wide,
long enough to bend into a circle to fit the inside of the silver frame
tightly. Cut a disc of card board to fit the card board circle. Glue
the disc and circle together. Cover with velvet, so as to hide the card
board. Fasten to the back a little stand for holding the picture in
proper position. This, too, is made of card board and covered with the
same material.
XVII
WATCH FOBS
WATCH FOBS OF SILVER OR COPPER BACKGROUND, WITH SILVER INITIALS
[Illustration]
The few designs shown here are easily worked out in either metal. Many
handsome watch fobs of silver alone, or copper plain, or copper and
silver lettering can be made from an elaboration of these designs.
College students delight in copper fobs with silver lettering,
symbols of their fraternities, or figures representing their class
year. The white of the silver and red brown of the copper blend very
well together. The fobs may be set with a single stone, or a number of
stones, and, again, symbols may be sawed out of the silver sheet.
[Illustration]
_Material:_ Silver, No. 16 gauge. Copper, No. 14 gauge. The size of the
piece of metal depends upon the size you wish to make the fob.
_Tools:_ Solder, rivets, shears, drill press and drills, saw frame and
saw.
_Directions:_ After deciding upon the design, draw it on paper and cut
it out. Paste this pattern on the silver sheet and cut out along the
outline. If there is any cut out work to be done, drill the holes and
saw the design out. If you are making a silver fob and you wish to
enrich it by setting stones, decide upon your stone, make a bezel out
of No. 24 silver, and proceed to set the stone as you did in the ring.
If the background is copper with silver initials riveted upon it, saw
out the slot for the strap to go through, and polish the surface free
from all scratches and lines. File the slot round so it will not cut
the leather strap. Polish by tearing a little narrow strip of emery
cloth the length of the sheet and pushing it through the slot backward
and forward, pressing down on the top and bottom of the slot. This
tends to round it and to polish out the file marks. Mark the initials
on the silver and saw them out. Be sure that the stems of the letters
are wide enough to allow holes for riveting. Put only enough rivets
in to hold the letters in place. Two are usually enough, except with
the letters V and W. The more carefully you follow the lines of the
letters, the less filing you will have to do later. However, even with
the greatest care some filing must be done and since these letters are
the principal part of the decoration, they should be filed square,
smooth, and a little rounding on the edges of the face side. Keep the
side to be riveted against the plate flat, so it will fit snugly when
fastened.
When the holes have been drilled in the letters, place them on the
copper plate in the proper position and scratch through one hole with a
sharp instrument. Drill a hole through this point the same size as the
holes in the letters. Rivet these on with silver rivets. Square the
letters up on the plate, drill the remaining holes, and rivet. If the
rivet is driven down good and snug the end of the rivet can be filed
flush with the top of the silver. If one should wish to use rivets for
decorative purposes they should be arranged in a definite way. While
riveting the ends be careful to round them up instead of making them
flush.
XVIII
NAPKIN RING, SILVER COMB, BELT BUCKLES
NAPKIN RING (SILVER OR COPPER)
_Materials:_ No. 20 gauge (either material), 5 × 1-1/4 ins. Individual
napkin rings may be made either of silver or copper. Most rings are
made of the silver, but copper lends itself very well for them. The
design may be pierced, or etched out with acid. But the design work
should always be done while the metal is in a straight piece. All
napkin rings are made in this way.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Take the silver or copper sheet and round the edges.
File the two ends that are to be soldered together perfectly flat so
that they will meet with the least possible opening. Bend the metal in
shape around a hard wood peg. Bind with binding wire, wash with borax.
Then place bits of silver solder along the inside and solder. After
soldering, remove the binding wire and file the joint on the inside and
outside, until it is all perfectly smooth. Polish and finish. Make a
copper napkin ring in the same way.
[Illustration: Napkin ring]
CUFF LINKS
[Illustration]
Cuff links may be made of gold, silver, copper, or brass. Often the
design is worked out in the metal alone, again engraving is added, or
enamel or stones. The designs given here are merely suggestions. Any
one of them works out well in the metal. You will notice that some
have a ball on one end of the link and a plate on the other, while
some have the double plates. Again, some are made with loose links
joining the two heads. The link is loosened and pushed through the hole
in the cuff and then hooked on to the plate. One must be careful to
make the plates on a pair of cuff links small enough to go through the
buttonhole of a cuff.
_Material:_ For plain oval pair of cuff links. Two pieces of No. 20
silver, 7/8 × 1/2 in. Two pieces of silver wire, No. 14, 3/4 in.
_Directions:_ Mark the design by drawing an oval on the two plates of
silver. Keep length and diameter of both the same. Clip off the sides
and shape to design. Save the small pieces of silver clipped off, as
they will be used to make the balls at the other end of the cuff link.
With the file, bevel the edge and smooth all down. Place the plates
on a wooden block and curve them a little. Take the scraps of silver
you cut from the plates, place them in two separate groups on a piece
of charcoal, and heat it until they melt. When the pieces melt they
form themselves into balls. When these silver balls are cool enough to
handle with a pair of pincers, cool them off in water. File away any
part of the ball a little flat and solder the silver rod to the ball.
Solder the other end of the silver rod to the curved side of the oval
piece. Bend the connecting rod, like the picture. This forms the link.
Do the same with the other link. Then file, polish, and finish. If
stones are to be set, the bezels are made and put on the flat plates
and soldered on at the same time the plate is soldered to the link. The
stone is placed in position after it is all finished.
SILVER COMB
The comb described here is of medium size. It can be made larger, or
smaller, as the working principle is the same.
[Illustration]
_Material:_ No. 20, silver, 4-1/2 × 2-1/2 ins. Three pieces of No. 24
silver for the bezels. The size of the pieces depends upon the size of
the stones. Three turquoise stones.
[Illustration: BOYS FROM ELEVEN TO FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE DOING METAL
WORK IN THE COUNTRY
A Great Variety of Work is Going On. Some Boys are Making Square Copper
Trays, Some are Working on Bowls, While a Number are Doing Jewelry
Work.]
_Directions:_ Take the silver plate, 4-1/2 × 2-1/2 ins., and divide it
across the shorter dimension into places corresponding to the number
of teeth in the design. Be extremely careful about the spacing. Centre
punch these divisions and drill holes about 1 in. from the edge through
each one equal to the thickness of each tooth. Here the thickness would
be about 1/16 in.
[Illustration: Suggestions for belt buckle for a lady. Can be worked in
brass, copper, or silver stone setting]
With a sharp tool draw lines from these holes to the outer edge. Be
careful to have all the lines running parallel to each other. Place
the saw through the holes and saw the divisions out, keeping as close
to the line as possible. When they are all sawed out, file each tooth
separately, rounding each one a little. Do this filing most carefully,
for the least roughness left will pull the hair when the comb is put
in place. The extreme point of each tooth should be sharp, after a
gradual taper from about 1/3 the length of the tooth to the end. This
can all be done with a file. The comb is now ready to bend in shape.
Place it on the round stake and with a hammer curve it until it forms
an arc of a 5-in. circle. Most combs are curved to that degree.
_Stones:_ Cut strips of silver for the bezels, long enough to fit
exactly around the stone. Set the stones on the same way as you did
those for rings and pins. Polish and finish.
XIX
ENAMELLING
Enamel is a glass fused to the surface of metals, for decorative
purposes. It is bought in flat discs about 1/4 in. thick and weighing
from 5 to 6 ounces. These discs are broken up so that one is able to
buy enamel in small quantities. It comes in any colour and when put
upon the surface correctly the colour does not change and it is not
affected afterward by atmospheric influences.
_Tools:_ One needs few tools for this work. A wooden mallet, a mortar
and pestle, and a small spoon used to put the enamel on the metal when
filling the design will be found sufficient. The spoon may be made by
taking a 1/8-in. piece of silver or copper wire with about 1/2 in. of
the end flattened down spoon shaped. File this end round and smooth so
there will be no ragged edges.
_Process:_ When you have decided upon the colour which you wish, put as
much enamel as you will need into the mortar and cover it with clear
water. The water washes the enamel and prevents it from flying out
as it is broken up. Place the pestle on the pieces of enamel and tap
gently upon the end of the pestle with the wooden mallet, till the
enamel is broken up into fine pieces. While doing this the water will
become discoloured. Drain the water off and pour fresh water on. Repeat
this so long as the water becomes discoloured. With the pestle grind
the enamel to a fine paste. Press down upon the pestle, at the same
time give it a twisting movement with the wrist. When the water remains
clear and the enamel is pasty and free from lumps it is ready for use.
While using it keep it just covered with clear water. This prevents its
drying and in this dampened state it is in the best working condition.
_How to place the enamel on the metal:_ With the small spoon pick the
enamel up out of the mortar, place it on the metal and press it down
into any depression. Keep it well moistened all the time. Repeat this
until the whole depression is covered. If any part is left uncovered,
that part will show black after firing. Then each black spot must be
scraped clean, covered with enamel again and refired, which makes
much unnecessary work, so be careful at the first to place the enamel
just where it should be on the metal, and so avoid the extra work and
firing. _The muffle furnace:_ This is a small furnace made for the
purpose of melting enamels by what is called a reflected heat. The
muffle is a half rounded, shaped clay form open only at one end, into
which the piece to be fired is put. The flame of the furnace plays on
the outside of this muffle. The temperature is raised to the required
heat and the piece inside the muffle is fired without having any flame
playing directly upon it. The reflected heat does the work. These
furnaces can be bought in almost any general supply store. They come
in all sizes. Natural or artificial gas can be used for heating; the
regular hose or tube attachment is all that is necessary.
_The piece in place for firing:_ It is usually best to light the oven
before you begin to place the enamel on the work to be fired. The
furnace heats up in the meantime. Place the piece on the top ledge
of the furnace close to the chimney. This is a good place to dry the
moisture out of the enamel. If this is not done the steam generated by
the moisture and the heat causes explosions, which in turn disturb the
enamel surface and dislodge small particles of the enamel. When the
steam has stopped rising from the enamel--which you can tell by holding
the piece between you and the light--the moisture has dried out and the
work can be put into the muffle by use of a long pair of muffle tongs.
Extreme care must be taken when placing the piece to be fired into the
furnace. The enamel is now very dry. The particles are no longer held
together by the moisture and the least jar will dislodge them. The
doors of the furnace are usually in two pieces, so that the upper half
can be lifted away from time to time. One can look in and watch the
process of melting. When the enamel is first put into the furnace and
the heat begins to melt it, it rapidly changes colour. As it begins to
melt it settles down and takes on a glassy, soft, smooth surface. At
this point it is ready to take out. It is placed again on the top of
this furnace, where it cools off slowly, otherwise the difference in
expansion between the metal and the glass would cause the surface to
crack. After one or two trials one easily recognizes the critical time
when the enamel is well baked. These directions are only for enamelling
flat surfaces. If one should wish to enamel both the inside and outside
of a box lid rounded on the top and curved on the under side, a few
large drops of gum arabic should be mixed with the enamel used for the
under side. This prevents it from dropping off when in position for
firing.
When the work has cooled off so that it can be handled, it will show a
surface every part of which is covered, if carefully done. If not the
black spots will appear. These are copper spots oxidized by the heat,
and must be thoroughly scrubbed and scraped. The enamel edges around
these spots must be scraped away, covered with enamel, and refired.
If there are no spots shown, the work is ready for finishing. You will
find on the upper edge of the enamel line a black line caused by the
impurities in the enamel which rise to the top edge. Scrape this off
with a fine file until it entirely disappears.
The copper, too, usually takes on beautiful colours during the heating
process. Many like to leave the colours just as they happen to come
by the heat, others prefer to polish the surface to bring out the
real copper colours rather than the oxide colours. To clean the oxide
off one must put the piece into a pickling bath made up of one part
of sulphuric acid to eight parts of water. This softens the scum on
the surface of the metal so that a soft rag dipped into any cleaning
material like pumice stone will easily clean it off.
TWO METHODS OF ENAMELLING
_Cloisonné:_ In this work the design is done usually in coloured
enamels, which are separated one from another by means of ribs of
metal bent so as to follow the outlines of the design. These ribs are
placed on the plaque, and a drop of solder here and there keeps them in
place. The coloured enamels are filled in between these ribs and fired
as before explained.
_Champlevé:_ In this method the partitions between one colour and
another are formed by ridges of the base and not by separated ribs of
metal. These ridges are made by driving the metal with chasing tools
from the under side up and raising it above the surface. The spaces
between these walls are filled in with enamel, and it is all fired as
explained before.
The lid on the rose jar as shown in the group is an example of this
kind of enamelling.
IMITATION PATINA (GREEN TINT ON COPPER)
The best method of obtaining a coating resembling patina is to immerse
the article in a solution of nitrate of copper, and then to place it
while still wet in a chamber containing an abundance of carbolic acid.
In this case the development of the green incrustation may be observed
from day to day. If after a week the object has not yet obtained the
proper colour, it must be again dipped in the above solution, and this
operation is repeated till the desired shade has been acquired. As the
formation of this green colour proceeds in the same way as in the open
air, but more rapidly, a handsome and permanent coating of green can be
produced by this means.
CHEMICAL METAL COLOURING
_How to put a thin coating of colouring on the surface of metals by
chemicals:_ A great variety of shades may be obtained simply through
heat. The colours ordinarily produced on copper articles by means of
heat come through the polishing. Any metal whose surface is highly
polished will take on a number of different colours, beginning at a
straw colour and changing to a dark straw, purple, dark blue, light
blue, and steel or gray, by heating the piece to be coloured to a
temperature of 630° F.
_Barium sulphide and water (a very good composition for colouring
metal):_ Immerse object until it assumes desired tint from light
brown to violet to black. Heat gently over bunsen flame until a rich
deep violet appears. After it is cool rub with soft cloth.
_Patina imitation (a very good composition for the greening of copper):_
1 part sal. ammoniac,
3 parts cream tartar,
6 parts salt,
12 parts hot water,
2 parts nitrate of copper.
Saturate soft cloth and rub or sprinkle the solution on the copper. Let
stand in the open air ten or twelve hours. Wash the colour off with
clear cold water. Tone down to suit.
Another way of colouring metal.
Silver.
_To oxidize silver:_ The following is a solution commonly used for
oxidizing silver:
Potassium sulphide, 5 grains,
Water, 10 fluid ounces.
The variety known as liver or sulphur is generally used, and imparts a
reddish brown colour to the silver, the colour being darker the darker
the solution. It should be worked at 60 or 70 per cent. The stronger
the solution the blacker the colour. If ammonium carbonate (20 grains)
is added to the above formula and is worked hot, a black colour appears
upon rubbing with a very fine wire brush. It takes on the colour of
black lead.
_Colouring of brass:_
Copper sulphate, 2 ounces;
Water, just sufficient to dissolve the copper sulphate;
Ammonia, to neutralize and make slightly alkaline.
This will turn brass a very beautiful blue-black colour. Copper assumes
a very beautiful tint from this solution.
_Cement for engravers:_ Melt best pitch in an iron pot and when
completely liquid stir in a mixture composed of two thirds of raw pitch
and one third plaster of paris. Make a lot of ten pounds. Add one half
pound mutton tallow, boil and mix thoroughly. Should this be too soft,
add plaster of paris until you get the desired hardness:
5 lbs. black raw pitch,
5 lbs. plaster of paris,
1-1/2 lbs. mutton tallow.
_To polish enamel:_ After rubbing it down with the corundum file, take
a small rod of tin or pewter and after anointing it with fine Tripoli
or rotten-stone, grind the surface of the enamel evenly with the tin
or pewter rod. Next take a stick of lime wood and use that with the
rotten-stone in the same way and finish with putty powder and stick
covered with chamois skin.
_To unsolder a piece of work:_ Paint those joints which are not to be
unsoldered with a mixture of clay water, to which add a little common
salt. When dry, scrape the part to be unsoldered and paint it with
borax. Now heat till solder melts, pick off with pliers or knock it off
with a gentle tap. The borax adds flux, thus helping the solder to run
at a melting temperature.
MACHINERY IN METAL WORK: DIE MAKING
Most of the jewellery that we see nowadays and also much of the metal
work is made under presses or drop hammers. As was shown in the making
of the mould for the round copper tray, the skill lies in the making of
the design and the making of a mould to fit the design.
The description of the making of a match safe by means of die sinking
will explain how all die work is done: The design for the match safe is
made by the artist, who turns it over to the die sinker. He, in turn,
chisels out of a steel block, about 7 ins. square, a depression in
which the design fits. If the match safe has an embossed design, this
is all chiselled out carefully with small chisels and filed up smoothly
so that when a piece of soft lead is driven into the depression it will
take the shape of the match safe as designed by the artist. The lead
is so soft that it takes the print readily. This lead reproduction
shows to the die sinker any imperfection in the die. The imperfections,
if there are any, are smoothed down. The driving in of the lead into
the depression is repeated from time to time, until the mould is the
exact reproduction of the artist's design.
The die is now hardened by heating it red hot and cooling in water.
When taken out of the water it is placed in the hammer or press. On
the ram of the hammer is keyed, directly above this die, a square
block of lead. When the hammer falls, the impact of the lead upon the
impression produces a reproduction of the impression. This lead piece
makes the top die. A piece of thin silver is placed in the steel die
over the impression. If the ram is now dropped upon the silver plate
it will force the plate into the impression and will stamp the design
on the silver. One half of the match box is made in this way. When two
of these are made, put together, and soldered, they make a whole match
box. Thousands of match boxes would be made from this one die. That is
the reason why this class of work can be sold so cheaply.
The principle explained here is used for the making of tea sets, dinner
sets, etc. The same thing is true of the round wood mould you made to
make the copper tray in. It can be used to make dozens of trays, all
the same size and shape.
GLOSSARY
_Alloy:_ Base metal added to silver or gold for hardness or colour.
Also any combination of different metals by fusion.
_Annealing:_ Softening metal by making it red-hot and cooling slowly;
for steel, brass, copper, silver, cooling quickly in water.
_Backing:_ The coating of enamel on the back surface of box lids, to
neutralize expanse and contraction, thus preventing top enamel from
cracking.
_Basse-taille:_ Low cutting of metal beneath the line of the surface,
used in enamelling. The drawing or modelling of the subject is given by
the different depths of cutting.
_Beck iron:_ T-shaped anvil or stake used in hammer work. The arms of
the T are long; one is round and slender, and tapering; the other has a
flat upper surface.
_Bossing up:_ Beating out sheet metal in the back into rough forms
required.
_Champlevé:_ A process of enamelling on metal in which the ground of
the pattern is cut away with a chisel into a series of shallow troughs
into which the enamel is melted, the surface being afterward ground
smooth and polished.
_Chasing:_ Surface modelling of metal with hammer and punch or chasing
tools.
_Cloisonné:_ An enclosing ribbon wire, which being soldered edgewise on
a metal ground makes a trough into which enamel is melted, the ribbon
making the division. Thus the design is separated.
_Collar:_ A ring made of stout leather filled with sand or some other
soft material used to support the pitch block.
_Draw Plate:_ A flat plate of steel or iron with rows of graduated
holes, used for drawing or reducing wire.
_Face Plate:_ A square thick iron plate with the surface perfectly
smooth and level to test work on.
_Flux:_ Any material used to protect the surface of metal from
oxidation when exposed to heat. Borax and water mixed, etc.
_Graver:_ A kind of small chisel used for cutting metal, or lines on
surfaces.
_Mandrel:_ A rod of wood or iron of any section used either for coiling
wire for chains or the making of rings. _Matt tool:_ A punch, flat and
graduated on one end, used for making groined surfaces on metal.
_Pickle:_ Solutions of various acids in water used for removing the
film of oxide and sulphide surface of metal. The acids used are nitric
acid, hydrochloric acid, and sulphuric acid, about 8 to 1. This is
strong enough for ordinary work.
_Pin:_ The hard wood peg fixed in the bench to hold work against to
file and fit.
_Pitch block:_ Some iron blocks and wood blocks covered with pitch used
as a support for metal in repoussé work or chasing.
_Planishing:_ Beating a plane or level surface to a sheet of metal by
the use of a broad smooth-faced hammer on a stake or anvil. Also used
to give smoothed face to a bowl or cup or other object in sheet metal.
_Repoussé:_ The method of beating out sheet metal from the back with
hammer and punches.
_Sand bag:_ A flat circular or square bag of leather filled with sand
used for bossing up metal upon.
_Scraper:_ A tool made from an old file by sharpening the point on
a stone to a three-sided pyramid; used for scraping clear edges and
surfaces to be soldered and for cleaning up work generally.
_Snarling iron:_ Long Z-shaped bar of iron fixed in a vise and used
for bossing out the surface of vessels from the inside. They act by
rebounding from the blow of the hammer near the end fixed in the vise.
_Tracer:_ A chisel-shaped punch used for cutting for any design or work
that requires deep lines.
THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP
XX
BLACKSMITHING AND TOOLS
Let's go to the blacksmith's shop and tell the blacksmith what we have
done. You see I've shown you all he taught me about copper, brass, and
silver. I promised to take you there when we got through. Come on. Here
we are! This is his shop. Mr. Blacksmith, this is my friend. I've shown
him how to do work in metal and he can do all that you taught me. We
both want to learn how to make things out of steel and iron. Are you
ready to take us on?
Yes, boys, you are just in time to help me out. And while you are
lending a hand I can show you how to make many things that every boy
can learn to do with iron and steel. Come into the shop. First I'll
tell you about the blacksmith shop equipment. This is my forge and
bellows, with the coal heap at the side; here is the anvil and here are
my tools. You see it doesn't take a blacksmith long to name the things
he needs to equip his shop. But you must know how each thing is used
and what it is used for. Let me draw you a picture of the forge on
this board and explain to you how it is built.
[Illustration]
_A_ is the chimney. You see it has an opening in the bottom to let
the smoke go up. _B_ is a leather bellows. It is placed back of the
chimney out of the way of sparks from the forge fire. The nozzle of
the bellows goes through a hole ending on the hearth of the forge. _C_
is the hearth where the coal is placed. _D_ is a nest in the centre of
the hearth, called a tuyere. Through this opening the blast from the
bellows enters the coal heap.
The whole forge is built of brick and mortar. Modern forges are made of
iron and steel and have a sheet iron hood in place of a brick chimney.
But the principle of the tuyere, where the blast enters the forge, is
the same as we blacksmiths have always used. Now I'll build the fire in
the forge. Here in this box are some shavings. I save all my shavings
and put them here to start my fire with. Place the shavings over the
tuyere and light them. Let them burn for a little while, then cover the
whole with this soft bituminous coal. This kind of coal is free from
sulphur and phosphorus, and it cokes very nicely when the gas and tar
are burnt out. Now it's time to use the bellows. You can take hold of
this handle and pull down. The weights on the bottom pull the handle
up again. Sometimes weights are placed on the top board. This helps
to increase the air pressure. Notice that the bellows hang in a frame
and the centre axis is fastened to the upright, allowing the upper and
lower half to rise and fall. When the lower half falls it sucks the air
in through a little trap door on the bottom, and when raised the trap
door closes and the air is forced through the nozzle into the tuyere on
the forge. This alternates, first taking the air in and then forcing
the air out. Pump gently at first, then the coal will not smother
the fire. That volume of smoke coming up is mostly from the burning
shavings and it goes right up the flue. This blue flame that you see
now shows that the gases are burning in the coal. When they are burnt
out the coals give a red glow. Now the bright fire is shown through
the coal. Put your poker into the coal heap and raise it gently. The
opening made on the top is a vent for the heat to escape and prevents
the fire blowing into the shop. An opening like this should always be
left at the top, on account of the oxygen which is being pumped in
constantly. Sprinkle a little water on the coal around the outside of
the fire. This helps to pack the coal down tight and keep the fire in a
confined space, for it is apt to spread and use up much more coal than
is needed.
You see, boys, this is an old-fashioned blacksmith shop. Most of the
work done here is horseshoeing, though we have many complex things
brought in for us to repair, none of which can be turned away. All
these shoes hanging on the rafters are for horses and mules. The mule's
shoe, you see, is a different shape from the horse's shoe. I make these
in my spare moments and we call them stock shoes. Notice that the stock
shoes have no heels or toes on them. These are put on when the shoe is
made to fit the horse's foot.
Shoes are now made by machinery and I buy them when I haven't time to
make them. But they, too, must be fitted to the foot, for they come
only in stock form.
Now I'm going to show you how to make a horseshoe. I'll make it out of
this piece of steel tire from a wagon wheel. We use all this kind of
scrap to make the stock shoes. That's why our made shoes can be sold
cheaper than the manufactured shoes, if we have the time to make them.
Steel is being used in place of iron in all branches of industry. A
steel shoe weighing half a pound will wear as long as an iron shoe
weighing one pound.
This piece of steel tire which I am using is 1 in. wide and 1/2 in.
thick. I want to keep the thickness 1/2 in., but reduce the width to
3/4 in. To do this the end of the piece of metal is put into the forge
fire. As soon as it is hot enough, I take it out and place it, edge up,
on the anvil, and with the hand hammer draw it out any length I wish.
You see that driving down on the edge of the hot bar thickens it. Now
turn it over and drive on the flat side. You must keep driving first
on the edge and then on the side until it is the right size. This is
called stretching the metal out. Now the bar is long enough to bend in
the shape of a letter U. Heat about 6 ins. of this bar and then place
it on the largest part of the anvil horn. Strike on the projecting end
with a hand hammer. It bends easily into the shape.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Take the chisel-shaped tool. The edge of this tool makes the groove to
fit the nail heads. Every horseshoe has eight rectangular holes for
nails, four on each side. These are punched through with this punch,
and are made just large enough to fit the horseshoe nail heads. Now you
see a stock shoe, and it is just like the dozens I have hanging on the
rafters. But before the shoe is placed on the horse's foot it must
have the front piece, called the toe calk, welded on and the ends of
the shoe turned up for heels. To make the toe calk I take a piece of
iron or steel about 2 × 3/4 × 1/2 in. The end of this piece is prepared
like this:
[Illustration]
The little projection is made very sharp so that it can stick into
the hot iron. In this way it is kept in place during the process of
welding. When the calk is made I heat the shoe and place the calk in
the proper position. The calk is cold and the little projecting point
is easily driven into the hot iron. Now that it is held in place it
must be welded on. Iron and steel are welded together only by the
use of a flux. There are many kinds of fluxes used. For this I shall
use _borax_. I buy it by the pound and it comes in boxes like this.
Sprinkle a little on the calk, heat it in the fire, watch the fire.
When the metal is hot enough to weld you will notice a brown smoke
coming from the fire. That tells you the borax is burning. There, see
the smoke! Now I must take the shoe out quickly and place it on the
anvil. A few quick, light blows upon the calk and the welding is done!
The hammering must be done quickly after the shoe has been taken out
of the fire, or the cold air will lower the temperature and prevent
the metal from uniting. There, it's welded! Now I shape it and fit it
to the horse's foot. The heels can't be bent up until I know just how
long the horse's foot is. I measure by placing it on the hoof. Then the
two ends of the shoe are bent and driven down so that the height of the
heels equals the height of the calk. Now, boys, this is a hand made
shoe. When you know how to use the fire and the tools it is an easy
problem to make a horseshoe.
[Illustration: The modern forge. An ideal forge for use when electric
power is available]
[Illustration]
So it is with all blacksmiths' work. There is not anything about it you
can't do. Any boy can build his own blacksmith shop if he has a shed
or shelter large enough to keep the rain from a forge, anvil, and some
tools. You needn't have the big, old-fashioned brick forge like mine.
Here is a picture of a portable forge that I can recommend. It can be
bought at almost any store that deals in hardware supplies. It is
small and handy and can be easily taken from place to place. You can
buy any size anvil you wish. They come in all sizes, weighing from
five pounds to five hundred pounds. Here is a list of tools which will
do all the work, both ornamental and plain, which you may wish to do.
Get this equipment, then build your shop.
BLACKSMITHS' TOOLS
Some of these tools you have used in your copper, brass, and silver
work. You will need your vise, files, your various punches, dividers,
hand cold chisel, and square. In addition, you should have the
following:
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Position of fullers]
[Illustration: Top fuller]
[Illustration: Bottom fuller]
[Illustration: Bottom swage]
[Illustration: Top swage]
[Illustration: Swages in position]
_Hand hammer:_ A hand hammer is used more than any other tool in the
shop. The flat face is used for shaping material and the round plain
for riveting, etc. The top and bottom fullers are used for making
depressions in iron and steel. This process is called fullering. The
top and bottom swages are used for rounding square iron or steel or
reducing large sizes to smaller ones. Hot and cold chisels are both
used for cutting iron. As the name shows, one is used for hot iron and
one for cold iron. Gouges are for cutting ornamental shapes on sheet
iron or steel, hot or cold. Calipers are used for measuring diameters.
The broad flat surface of the flatter smoothes rough places. The set
hammer is used to make square shoulders. It is a small hammer and
does the work in narrow places which larger tools cannot reach. This
sledge weighs about eight pounds. It is used where heavy hammering
or driving is needed, and in conjunction with such tools as swages,
fullers, set hammers, etc. The hardie is a sharp cutting tool used to
cut small pieces of iron and soft steel while hot or cold. Tongs are of
all sizes. Those most called into use have the following shapes: The
shovel for the fire must be small and strong so the clinker formed on
the bottom can be shoveled out without carrying too much coal with it.
A poker, rake, and dipper also are needed for use about the fire.
[Illustration: Hot chisel]
[Illustration: Cold chisel]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Set hammer]
You know now all the tools needed to equip a shop. I want to tell you
about the fuels, such as coal and charcoal, which you will use, and
something about pig iron and wrought iron which I think you ought to
know.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Hardie]
[Illustration: Tongs]
The smoke is the most troublesome thing in a blacksmith's shop. The
old-fashioned forge is perhaps the best made to draw the gases and
smoke out, except when exhaust fans are used for that purpose. Hoods
are fitted to pull down over the fire, completely covering the smoke
area, and the suction made by the fan will draw all the smoke from
the fire. This, of course, is possible only in modern equipped shops.
The portable forges that we use have none of this drawing-out system,
except through a natural draft chimney, made either of bricks or by
extending an iron pipe from the hood through the side of the shed or
through the roof. The down-draft system is a hood placed to one side
of the fire. It falls over the fire by means of a hinge placed on the
hood. This is not as effective as the overhead system on account of the
smallness of the hood. The pipes are all underground, otherwise the
system is the same as the overhead system.
[Illustration: Water dipper]
[Illustration: Fire tools]
_Danger of explosion:_ Coal gases leak into the tuyere when the blast
is shut off. When the blast is put on these gases are blown up into the
hot fire and they explode from the heat. They do no harm, except the
noise made by the explosion.
_Fuels:_ The coal used in a blacksmiths' shop is a soft coal called
bituminous coal. It is supposed to have less phosphorus and sulphur
than any other kind of coal. Coal containing either of these
ingredients should not be used. Sulphur makes iron hot short and
phosphorus makes the iron cold short that is, the iron is made brittle
while hot by means of the sulphur, and brittle when cold through the
effect of the phosphorus. When this soft coal is heated the coal tar
is burned out and the coal burns into a coke.
_Charcoal:_ Charcoal is a solid fuel and the very best fuel for heating
purposes. It is free from the impurities mentioned here. It is made by
burning hard wood in a closed oven or kiln. This kiln in turn burns the
wood into lumps of charcoal. The cost makes the only real objection to
the use of charcoal as fuel.
PIG IRON
Iron ore is an oxide of iron containing from 35 per cent. to 65 per
cent. iron. The rest is oxygen, phosphorus, sulphur, silica, and other
impurities. Iron ore is charged into a blast furnace, mixed with
limestone as a flux, and melted down, with coke as fuel. The metal
which results from this melting is known as commercial pig iron.
WROUGHT IRON
Wrought iron is made from pig iron. The pig iron is remelted in a
so-called puddling furnace by charging about half a ton at one time
into the furnace. While in a molten state it is stirred up with large
iron hooks by the puddler. It is kept boiling so as to expose every
part of the iron bath to the action of the flame in order to burn out
the carbon. The other impurities will separate from the iron and run
out of the furnace as slag.
The temperature in the puddling furnace is high enough to melt pig iron
but not high enough to keep wrought iron in a liquid state. So, as soon
as the small particles of iron become purified the partially congealed
portion forms a spongy mass, in which small globules of iron ore are
in a semi-plastic state. These are gathered up by the puddler and his
helper and are formed into a ball on the bottom of the furnace by means
of long rabble bars used for this purpose. The ball is about 150 to 200
pounds in weight. These lumps of iron are taken to a large hammer or
squeezer.
There they are shaped into long blooms to fit the rolls. They are taken
right from the squeezer to the rolling mill and rolled out into bars
4 ins. or 5 ins. wide and 3/4 in. thick. These bars are called muck
bars owing to their spongy-like appearance and the large quantity of
cinders which they contain. The muck bars are now cut into lengths of
3 ft. and 4 ft. and are piled on top of each other in blocks of 200
lbs. The blocks are put into a heating furnace and heated to a welding
heat. While at this heat they are put through the rolls, thus welding
the whole mass together, at the same time reducing the pile to sizes
required by the market. When cold these are cut into lengths for use.
This is the iron used in most blacksmiths' shops.
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.
[Illustration: Stake Pin]
_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.
[Illustration: HOW TO MAKE A STAPLE]
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.
[Illustration: Gate hook]
_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.
[Illustration: HARNESS HOOK]
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
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration: Fish spear]
_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.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Bolt]
_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.
[Illustration: Bolt in heading tool]
All hand-made bolts are made on this principle, whether they are very
large or very small.
[Illustration: Collar]
[Illustration: Bolt heads]
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
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
_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.
[Illustration]
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.
XXII
WELDING
It is often necessary to join together two pieces of iron, or the ends
of the same piece, as in forming a circle, so that the joint will form
one solid mass. When this is done the pieces are said to be welded
together. Most of the problems treated so far have had to do with
single pieces of iron. Often many pieces are welded together to make
one forging, as in making the horseshoe. This is called built up work.
It is possible to weld any iron surfaces provided no oxide of iron
is formed upon the surface. If such a coating occurs welding is
impossible. Iron heated in the air absorbs oxygen, which results in
the oxide formation. There are two ways of guarding against this
difficulty: (1) Suitable fluxes, and (2) reducing fires.
The best flux is a sharp sand, usually beach sand. This is sprinkled
over the ends to be welded. The sand fuses on to the ends of the iron
and excludes the air. The reducing fire is one that consumes all the
oxygen that is forced into it by the blast. This is obtained by having
a thick bed of fire for the air to pass through before coming into
contact with the iron and by keeping the blast pressure low enough
to enable the fire to burn all that is admitted. A thick fire, so to
speak, should always be kept.
TO MAKE AN IRON RING
[Illustration]
The simplest problem for a first weld is a flat iron
ring. This drawing shows a ring 3 ins. in diameter on the inside and 5
ins. on the outside.
_Stock:_ Flat piece of iron 13-1/2 × 1 × 3/16 ins.
_Directions:_ The making of this ring involves the processes of
bending and welding. Before the bending is done the two ends are upset
and made about 1-1/16 in. thicker than they were, for about 1 in.
back from either end. To do the upsetting, place the hot end on the
anvil vertically and strike on the cold end with the hammer until the
required thickness is obtained. If the end which is being upset was not
heated more than 1-1/2 in., it will probably upset without bending. If
heated more than this the probabilities are that it will bend during
the process. If it does so, it should be laid upon the anvil and the
bend hammered out. When the desired thickness has been obtained scarf
the ends as shown in the drawing, using the round end or peen of the
hammer to do so. (See scarfing.)
Do the same to the other end, putting the scarf on the opposite side to
the first one. Now heat the piece, about half its length, quite hot.
Place it upon the thickest part of the horn of the anvil, strike upon
the end that projects beyond the anvil, and bend it into a ring. The
scarfs, being opposite, will now fit and come together. (See drawing.)
Bend over till the two edges lap. This gives plenty of material where
the joint comes, to allow for the waste of the material from the high
welding heat and also that needed for the hammering of the metal during
the welding. The upsetting is done to allow for this waste, and to
give opportunity to reduce the pieces to the required thickness. All
welds should be a trifle large at the joint. The driving down edgewise
on the horn of the anvil bends the material, but prevents one shaping
it to its proper dimensions. That is why in flattening down the weld
care must be taken not to widen the iron at that place so that it is
too thin. A few trials will make this perfectly clear. A finish on the
iron depends upon how skilfully one can use the hammer without unduly
marking the metal.
SMALL CHAIN
[Illustration]
Most chains are made by hand, especially those used for the purpose of
lifting heavy loads. Small chains, where no special strain is called
for, are welded by electricity. There are special factories for the
making of chains. Most of these factories have rolling mills attached.
The material is here rolled out to suit the different size chains that
are made. Machinery forms the bars of iron into special shapes the size
of the links. These in turn are cut by machinery. These links are all
of the same size and are cut off on an angle, thus making the scarf.
They are taken by the workmen, the ends lapped over slightly, then put
into the fire and welded. Within the last few years the Navy Department
has taken up the method of welding the large anchor chains by machinery.
_Stock:_ 3/8 in. round, 6 ins. long.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Scarf for chain welding]
[Illustration: Link ready to weld the end]
_Directions:_ The drawing shows the size of each link in this chain.
Heat the 6-in. piece in the middle. Place it on the horn of the anvil
and bend it U-shaped, as you did the piece for the staple. (See
articles in welding for chains.) The two ends are the same length.
This is perhaps the only weld that is made without upsetting. When the
scarfs are made like the drawing, bend the ends so that the scarfs
overlap. Now it is ready for welding. Place the link in the fire. Be
careful to have the link well covered both above and below with hot
coals. Let there be just enough blast to increase the heat of the fire.
In a little while the sparks will flow up from the iron. At this time
the link should be turned upside down in the fire without changing its
position. The hottest part of the fire being underneath, the iron will
heat there quickest. This turning it upside down finally brings all the
parts to be welded in the hottest part of the fire. When these iron
sparks begin to show, it is time to take the piece out. Place it on the
anvil and lightly tap upon the joint. The iron is very soft on account
of the intense heat and if the blows are too heavy the iron will
flatten out until it is too thin. In that case it would be impossible
to finish the piece and make the weld the size it should be when done.
If you examine the links of any chain you will have difficulty to find
the welded end. The process of welding is not easy at first, but a
few trials with the heating of the iron and handling the tools at the
critical moment will prove encouraging. Chains are usually made by
making first one link, then putting the stock for the next link into
the first, before bending the second end.
All hooks, swivels, or shackles are put on the chain when made, in the
same way that you add a link in order to lengthen the chain.
WELDING
[Illustration: Axle Welding]
[Illustration: Flatten the ends out; split and push together]
[Illustration: Ring Welding]
Welds are named according to the manner in which the pieces are put
together. The principal welds are: (1) flat welds, (2) butt welds, (3)
lap welds, (4) cleft welds, and (5) jump welds. The selection of the
kind of weld to be used in any problem depends upon the form of the
pieces of metal to be worked upon.
[Illustration: Hammer peen]
_Flat welds:_ For flat welds the ends of the pieces of metal are first
upset. Use the peen of the hammer and draw the metal out thin at the
end, flatten it out and narrow it up edgewise at the extreme end. The
metal is forced first forward and backward by the hammer strokes.
Large scarfs are sometimes made by using a fuller. This is a very
much quicker way for large work than the one just explained, but one
requires a helper to handle the sledge hammer in this case, to strike
down on the fuller.
[Illustration: Use of fuller in making scarfs]
[Illustration: Scarfing on edge of anvil]
Most smiths use the edge of the anvil for making scarfs. Place the edge
of the metal, after it has been upset, on the edge of the anvil and
strike down on the top with a hammer or sledge. This moves the metal
with each blow and the end of the bar is increased, making, as it were,
a series of steps. It is a process much the same as fullering except
in place of the fuller you use the edge of the anvil. This is the
quickest way to make a scarf, and the weld depends wholly upon how the
scarfs are made in any one of the operations spoken of here.
If the scarf is well made it will be a little higher in the middle than
at the sides, so that when the pieces are placed together the slag
that forms will squeeze out. The welding is done as follows: Place the
scarfs of both pieces separately in the fire, the scarfs downward.
(When we speak of scarfs we refer to the bevelled edge of the roughest
part of the scarf.) This prevents any impurities melting on the scarf
surface. When the scarf begins to get hot enough to weld, iron sparks
will blow out with the blaze. This is the sign to get things in
readiness. One cannot linger for a moment when the iron is hot enough
to weld. See that the anvil is clean. Have the hammer ready in hand. If
one has a helper he will handle one piece while the smith handles the
hammer and the other piece.
If there is no helper a hammer is placed conveniently near the anvil.
The two pieces of iron are grasped by the smith, one in either hand,
drawn out of the fire and given a sharp rap on the edge of the anvil or
forge to remove any dirt or pieces of coal clinging to the scarfs. One
piece is placed on the anvil and the other piece is put on top of this.
The weight of the second piece holds the first piece in place until
such time as the smith can get his hammer ready to strike. As soon as
the pieces stick together the ends of the scarfs are welded first. They
are the thinnest and will cool the quickest. The body of the piece
welds while you are welding the scarfs. Both sides are worked upon,
first on one and then on the other, till the piece is hammered down to
the required size. In trial work it is best for one to use pieces of
iron long enough to avoid the use of tongs.
[Illustration: Butt welds]
_Butt welds:_ If the butt weld is carefully made it is perhaps the
safest weld of all. This method is used mostly in welding round iron
bars, 1-1/2 ins. in diameter up to 2-1/2 ins. They are made as follows:
the ends of two bars are heated to a welding heat. Then they are
brought out of the fire, put in a swage, end to end, and struck on the
ends with a sledge hammer. While driving upon the ends the iron upsets
when the contact takes place and at the same time the smith is driving
the weld down. Two processes are acting here, one lengthwise and one
downward. This makes the best weld, from the fact that the two ends
that come together have a welding heat on the whole surface of each, a
condition hard to get in any other kind of weld.
[Illustration: Flat Scarf]
_Lap weld:_ Two flat pieces are laid face to face, as shown in picture,
and are welded. One must be careful that the two pieces have the same
temperature, otherwise the colder piece would cut into the hotter and
make a defect.
[Illustration: Split scarf, cleft weld]
_Cleft weld:_ If the weld is required to stand much strain, such as in
parts of a locomotive frame, pieces are generally joined by the cleft
weld. One piece is upset and split with a chisel. The two sides are
spread apart. The other piece is scarfed on both edges to fit into this
opening. If the pieces are very large much of the welding can be done
while in the fire. The two pieces are placed together, in the proper
position, in the fire. When the heat is hot enough to weld they are
driven endwise. This drives the point of the one piece into the crotch
of the other. Take them out of the fire and place upon an anvil or
under a hammer. Small pieces are welded in the same way, except they
may be driven with a hand hammer on the end just before driving upon
the surface. The piece is reduced to the proper size and finished.
[Illustration]
_Jump weld:_ When one piece of metal is to be welded at right angles to
another piece, a jump weld is made. Many are made by using a bob punch,
making a hollow depression in a flat piece, and a rounded or button
head shape on the end of the upright. Heat the end of the upright and
also the flat piece around the bob punch hole to a welding heat. Take
them out of the fire and drive the button head down into the hole made
by the bob punch.
[Illustration: Jump weld]
[Illustration: Corner plate]
Another jump weld can be made in the following way: when square iron is
to be welded to square iron, one end is upset and flattened. The other
end is simply upset a little when the upright is to be welded to it.
These ends are brought to a welding heat, and the work is finished as
in the first jump weld. The hammer plays an important part in these
jump welds, for the scarf projecting at the base must be welded by the
hand hammer.
WORK INVOLVING FLAT WELDS
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Making a corner plate:_ This corner plate shows two pieces of metal,
1/4 × 1 × 6 ins. welded in the corners, upset. The ends of the pieces
to be joined are scarfed as explained in the flat weld. Both pieces
are heated, then one placed on the other, driven down, and welded. They
are shaped upon the edge of the anvil, and the ends are cut off to the
length shown by the drawing.
[Illustration: T Weld]
_T weld:_ This is used in making a T plate. The cross piece is upset in
the middle and scarfed by using the peen of the hammer as shown.
The upright piece is upset on the end and scarfed, same as was done
on the corner weld. Both pieces prepared are then heated and welded
as described in the making of the corner plate. The sketch given here
shows fairly well the different steps.
[Illustration: Detail of T weld]
XXIII
MILD STEEL OR SOFT STEEL
Mild steel, or soft steel, is supplanting wrought iron in many shops.
Any smith who has worked with this metal will always prefer it to
wrought iron. It is much stronger and can be bent, forged, and twisted
in all manner of shapes, without cracking or splitting. This cannot be
said of wrought iron. Therefore, when mild steel is used one is sure of
finishing his problem, provided he understands the process of heating
it. The matter of heating mild steel is the vital thing. It should
never be worked at a welding heat or below a red heat. If worked either
above or below this point it will show it by splitting or cracking
before the problem is finished. Large crystals formed by working at or
above the welding heat will cause the breaks, and internal fractures
when working at the low heat will cause the cracks. However, this can
be worked at a black red heat if the blows delivered affect only the
surface and do not penetrate to the centre. This metal lends itself to
forging better than wrought iron does. It is very good for most kinds
of forging and particularly good for making weldless rings. One of the
best problems to illustrate one of the many uses to which soft steel
may be put is the making of a weldless ring.
[Illustration: Weldless rings]
A piece of soft steel 1 in. wide, 1/4 in. thick, 4 ins. long, is the
stock used for this ring. With a centre-punch mark off 3/4 in. from
each end. (See sketch.) In each centre-punch mark punch a 1/4-in. hole
through the piece. With a hot chisel cut between these holes half way
through on one side. Turn it upside down and finish cutting through
from the other side. Now drive the chisel through, widening the slot
out. Trim up the inside of the slot. Cut away all rough edges. Upset
the piece on the anvil after heating and drive down on the ends. This
will increase the size of the hole by shortening the length and bulging
the sides out. The piece is now put on the horn of the anvil and
rounded into a ring. The ends are now trimmed off or driven down into
the thickness, as shown in the drawing. This is the method of making a
weldless ring. It is easily made out of soft steel. It would require a
very fine grade of wrought iron to do a piece of work of this kind, for
wrought iron is fibrous and unless great care is exercised in forging
it will split at the ends along the grain when opening it after the
slot is cut in.
Steel is much cheaper than wrought iron, another good reason for its
use. For the making of nuts, too, it is better than wrought iron. All
one needs to do is to cut a piece off the end of a square bar, the
proper thickness, punch a hole in it, and square it up. If wrought iron
were used, to get the same strength one would need to bend the iron
around a mandrel in the shape of a ring so that the grain of the iron
would run around the hole of the nut. Then it should be welded and
shaped into a square nut.
CHAIN HOOK OF SOFT STEEL
[Illustration: A chain hook]
Up to the present time our work has been with wrought iron entirely.
This hook is to be made out of soft Bessemer steel, which of course
is very different from high carbon steel. It is the cheapest of
the steels. All building material, railroad rails, boiler plates,
steel cars, etc., are made of this cheap soft metal. The process
of manufacture is quite simple. Molten cast iron, taken from the
cupola, or blast furnace, is poured directly into a so-called Bessemer
converter--a pear shaped vessel. Air is blown through the mass of
molten metal. The air adds oxygen to the bath, and increases the heat
to a temperature high enough to burn out all the impurities from the
cast iron. This converts it into steel. It requires no more than nine
or ten minutes to convert fifteen tons of cast iron into soft steel.
The air is shut off and a sufficient amount of ferro-manganese is added
so as to give the proper amount of carbon. The liquid steel is poured
into ingots and these ingots while still hot are rolled into the shape
used for the market. A piece of this kind of steel you are going to use
to make a hook. Soft steel can be worked in the same way as you work
wrought iron. It is not fibrous like wrought iron and is not apt to
split unless worked at a low temperature.
[Illustration]
_Stock:_ Soft steel, 5-1/4 ins. long, 3/4 × 1/2 in.
_Directions:_ The drawing gives all the steps necessary for the making
of this hook. Notice in the drawing when the stock is given it is
fullered down 1-1/8 ins. from one end. This is the amount needed to
make the eye. After fullering the stock it is placed on the anvil and
squared up.
[Illustration: Stock for hook]
[Illustration: Rounding]
[Illustration: Finishing]
[Illustration: Punching hole]
These square corners are knocked down, making it round. When the body
of the hook itself is drawn out, like the drawing, a hole is punched
through the eye, using the same kind of punch as you did to make the
nut. While using the punch keep cooling it off in cold water to prevent
its getting hot; if you do not, the end is apt to burr and rivet itself
into the iron. It also prevents its sticking into the hole. Place the
ring of the eye on the point of the anvil and round up carefully with
light blows from the hammer.
[Illustration: Rounding the eye of hook]
When rounded up drive the punch in again to the required size. This
finishes the eye. The body of the piece is now gone over carefully with
calipers and square to get the diameters and length. Bend the small
point at right angles to the axis of the hook, like the drawing. Now
it is ready for bending in the middle. Heat the middle very hot. Cool
off the point about 1/2 in. Place the middle on the horn of the anvil
and strike upon the small turned up cold nib to bend the hook from this
point. By striking upon the cold end to bend it one can do so without
destroying the shape. It will stand a lot of work upon it when cold.
When the hook is bent around as nearly like the drawing as you can,
flatten it out at its widest part by laying it upon the anvil and
striking with the hammer. The cross section of the drawing shows the
shape that this flattened part should be.
[Illustration: Shaping the hook]
This is what we call a solid eye hook. Another way of making an eye
is to take round material of sufficient length to bend an eye on the
end by placing the piece over the horn of the anvil. The body of the
second hook can be made out of round iron, pointed down at the end and
finished up the same as the first.
[Illustration]
_Bending a corner in iron and upsetting while bending:_ In this problem
we bring in the making and bending of iron, so that the thickness
at the corner must be sharp on the top side and rounding on the
inside--without flaws or cold-shut. This bending method applies to all
metals, whether of square iron or wide flat iron.
[Illustration: Corner plate]
_Stock:_ Piece 6-1/2 × 3/8 in. square.
_Directions:_ Heat the metal in the middle and bend it over the
rounding edge of the anvil.
When the piece is bent we still have to make it square on the outside
and rounding on the inside. The bend just made should be placed in the
fire and re-heated. Cool the stems off in the water to within one inch
of the bend. Place the point of the cold stem on the anvil and strike
on the hot corner. This is repeated on both outside corners until
the piece assumes the shape of the drawing. This same result can be
obtained by upsetting the metal in the centre before bending, as shown
in the drawing.
FLAT WRENCHES
[Illustration]
Wrenches are used for screwing nuts on bolts. They can be made in two
ways: (1) One known as the solid wrench is made without welding, (2)
the other, is made of wrought iron and is welded.
_S wrench of soft steel:_ The sketch here is of a wrench made from
soft steel 1/2 × 1 × 5 ins. Fuller down the stock edgewise as shown.
Draw out the centre 1/4 in. thick and taper it from 3/4 to 5/8 × 5 ins.
long. Cut the corner off, as shown by the dotted lines, and round the
two ends up to the size given. Punch a 1/2-in. hole in the large end
and a 3/8-in. hole in the small end of the bar. With a sharp chisel cut
a V-shaped plug out of each end, tangent to the circles.
[Illustration: Wrench hardie]
_Jaws:_ The jaws of the wrench are finished with a tool called a wrench
hardie, placed usually on the anvil for the purpose of finishing up
work of this kind. Finish up both ends in the same way. Heat the wrench
at the nick and cool the jaws off in water. Place the nick on the horn
of the anvil and bend it as shown. Repeat on the other end. If the
wrench is carefully made it will require no filing to fit the nut.
These wrenches are sometimes polished and case hardened to prevent the
jaws from wearing while in use.
_Large flat wrench:_ A quick way to make a large wrench is to make it
of wrought iron. A piece of iron 1 × 1/2 × 4 ins. is bent at almost a
right angle. The inside corner is the corner made by the natural bend
the metal takes when shaping it.
[Illustration: Wrenches]
Scarf this corner by placing the peen of the hammer on the corner and
striking the face of the hammer with the sledge or by using a bob punch
if one is available, or it may be made by using the peen of the hammer
without the use of a helper. Select a piece of round iron 7/8 in. in
diameter. Upset the end of this and scarf it to fit the scarf made in
the angle piece. Heat both pieces to a welding heat. Place them on the
anvil and weld the handles to the jaws. The inside is rounded up at the
same time the scarfs are being welded into place. Draw the points out
to a short taper and bend them up in the shape of a wrench on the heel
of the anvil. This is a simple way of making a large wrench that can be
used for all kinds of work.
[Illustration: Alligator wrench]
_Alligator wrench:_ Stock 1 × 1/2 × 5 ins. steel. The alligator wrench
is one of the handiest tools to have in a home or shop. For general
repair work it is indispensable and is easily made. Mark off 1-1/2 ins.
from the end of the stock. This is the jaw part. Place the other end of
the stock in the fire. Take it out and from the centre-punch mark draw
the handle out 3/4 in. wide, 3/8 × 8 ins. long, and tapering to 3/8 ×
1/4 in. at the extreme end. The edges of the handle should be rounding.
Place the jaw ends in the fire and heat red hot. Punch 1/4 in. hole
back 1-1/2 in. from the end. Draw out the end and shape as shown in
the drawing. With a three-cornered file, file the teeth on a slant and
close together. This slanting will allow the wrench to let go of the
work better than those filed at right angles to the axis of the piece.
The teeth should slant backward and should be put only on one side of
the jaw. Both jaws should be hardened and tempered a blue colour. To
do this, heat the body of the steel back of the jaw to a red heat and
plunge the whole into water one inch beyond the depth of the jaw. When
cold take it out and polish. Draw the temper in the same way as you
would for a knife blade. (See article on tempering and hardening.)
SOCKET WRENCHES
[Illustration]
Socket wrenches are useful for tightening nuts in places that are
difficult to reach. It is most convenient when many nuts of the same
size are used, as bolting shaft irons for vehicles, etc. Some are made
to fit an auger brace; some have solid handles with a cross bar, and
some have holes punched in the shanks to place the iron bars in while
twisting the nut on the bolt. This drawing shows a style of wrench in
general use. It can be made in two different ways. One is called the
welding method, the other is the solid method.
_Welding method:_ Cut a piece of metal 1/4 × 1 in. of Norway iron. The
length of this bar must be determined by the size of the nut it is to
be used for. Heat one end of the piece of iron and scarf it. Repeat on
the other end. Bend the piece into a collar or ring, weld the two ends
together, forming a cylinder about 1 in. deep--any diameter. Select a
piece of round iron for the shank, the size depending upon the size of
the socket. Upset one end of the round iron to fit the collar made.
[Illustration: Weld collar, then put stem in, and weld]
[Illustration]
Drive the shank into the collar about one half the depth of the collar,
place it in the fire, and at a welding heat weld the collar to the
shank. If the wrench is to be for a hexagonal nut, make a hexagonal
drift pin (a square one for a square nut), and drive the pin into the
collar. Place it all on a swage and round up with a top swage. Drive
the collar down until it takes the shape of the drift pin. To do this
successfully requires many heatings, and it can be done only while the
metal is hot enough to yield always under the hammer blows. Should the
drift pin stick after the collar is driven into it, place the pin on
the anvil, giving it a slanting blow. This will loosen the pin and it
will come out easily.
The shank should now be driven down as shown in the sketch, and two
holes punched in at right angles to each other. These are holes to
place iron bars for turning the wrench. These holes can be made in two
ways: one, by forming lugs or bosses on the shank and punching holes in
each one, or, a sharp tapered round punch, flat and sharp on the end,
can be used to split the metal and force the sides out as the punch is
driven in.
If the cross bar is to be used in place of the holes, a cleft scarf
made in one end of the shank and a 3/8-in. bar of iron welded to this
about 4 or 6 inches long on either side of the shank will act as a
handle.
[Illustration]
_Open-sleeve or socket wrench:_ The wrench given here is for
practically the same use as the one just described. It is lighter
than the other. The opening is longer and allows the bolt to protrude
through the nut without forcing the wrench off. This wrench is made of
machine steel, and the size must be determined by the size of the nut.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Socket wrench for square nuts]
For a small wrench take a bar of 3/8 × 1-1/4 × 6 in. soft steel. Mark
off on the bar 2 ins. from each end and on these centre-punch marks
fuller down on the top and the two sides so that the bottom of the
fuller will measure 1/2 × 1/4 in. Draw these ends out to 1/2 × 1/4
in. any length. Cut the four corners off and make the centre round.
Bend the two arms as shown and punch 1/2 in. hole through the boss. Be
careful to prevent cold-shuts while doing this. Drive a drift pin into
the hole and forge the shape as shown. Bend the two arms as shown and
weld together. These should be worked down to a 1/2-in. round. The ends
can be made into a brace shank by squaring the end and tapering it to
fit the jaws of the brace. Or weld a piece of 1/2-in. round iron long
enough to bend it into the shape of a brace, putting a round knob on
the end for a hand hold. This makes a simple wrench and one that can be
used in many places where flat wrenches are not convenient.
[Illustration]
OPEN WIRE ROPE SOCKET
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
These sockets are made for wire cables, ropes, etc., and are best made
of mild steel. Place the end of a 1-1/2-in. square bar in the fire and
reduce it as shown in the sketch. Cut two outside corners off, as shown
by the dotted lines. Round the ends up. Punch a 1/2-in. hole 2 ins.
from the rounded end in the centre of the piece. Then cut a piece out
with a sharp chisel, equal to the width of the hole. With the fuller,
open the jaws out. Now cut the socket off 4 ins. from the rounded end
and drill a 1/2-in. hole through this end of the socket. A drift pin
3/4 in. on one end and tapered to 3/8 in. on the other is now driven
into the 1/2-in. hole at the jaw side.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Forge the shank as shown in the drawing while the drift pin is in.
While forging keep driving the drift pin into the hole. When finished
the hole should measure 3/4 in. at the large end and 1/2 in. at the
small end. When the socket is finished cut the ends square and smooth
up. During all the time the steel should never be worked below a red
heat and most of the time at a high heat, below welding heat, until it
is ready for finishing. Now the jaws are ready to be closed. This is
done by placing a piece of flat iron, 3/4 in. thick and the width of
the jaw, in between the opening, and close the jaws on this either with
the hand hammer or a flatter. Drill a 1/2-in. hole in the middle of
the end. This is made for the pin. Make a pin to fit this hole out of
1/2-in. round stock. Upset the end of the bar a little and place it in
a heading tool, driving down and forming a head 1/8 in. thick and 3/4
in. in diameter. Take it out of the heading tool, cut the bolt off 1/2
in. longer than the width of the jaws. This allows for a 3/16-in. hole
and pin. A small 3/16-in. hole is now drilled in the shank of the bolt
and a split pin is put into the hole to prevent its falling out. The
split pin is made by flattening down a piece of 1/8-in. wire in a small
swage to a half round. Now double over to form an eye on one end of the
two flat planes coming together. When this is put in through the hole,
a chisel put in the opening will widen out the ends, thus preventing
them from falling out.
[Illustration]
HINGE AND BUTT
The hinge and butt are used on doors and gates. This fastening is made
similar to the other hinges, except the eye is welded, instead of being
a solid eye.
_Stock:_ 1/4 × 1 × 7-1/2 ins. wrought iron.
[Illustration: Hinge]
_Directions:_ The end of this piece of stock is bent around a drift
pin as shown in the drawing and welded along the dotted lines. This is
done by scarfing the end of the bar into a short tapered point. Bend it
down at right angles about 3 in. from the end. Bend it in the opposite
direction about 2/3 of the way around. Put in the drift pin. This now
forms a hook shape. Continue the driving over until the scarf lies flat
on the straight side. Take out the drift pin and weld the scarf to the
body of the hinge. Drive the drift pin into the hole, shaping it up.
The back of the hinge is perfectly straight so that it will lie flat
upon the wooden door. The other end is drawn out, tapered and the end
rounded up, and 1/4 in. holes punched in as shown.
The butt is made in the same way as you made the ornamental butt and
hinge.
[Illustration: Welded hinge eye]
[Illustration: Turned eye]
[Illustration]
Bent hinges, such as are used on tail boards for wagons, railroad
cars, etc., are simply ends of the iron piece bent around at a given
diameter, with the under side flat, and the stock rolled up on one
side. These hinges may be used in pairs. In that case a long rod is
pushed through, connecting the two hinges.
TONGS
Tongs are used by blacksmiths to hold pieces of hot metal while working
upon them. _Stock:_ Two pieces iron, 7/8 × 7/8 × 18 ins. Two pieces
iron, 3/8 × 3/8 × 12 ins.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Tongs]
_Directions:_ Mark off 2 ins. from one end of the 7/8 × 7/8 × 18 in.
piece and heat it quite hot. This marked end is now placed on an anvil
and flattened down to 1 × 2 × 7/16 in., leaving the shoulder as shown.
(1) Heat the piece again. Place it upon the anvil, with the flattened
piece extending beyond the anvil, and, with the shoulder on the outer
edge of the anvil, flatten this down 1 in. wide, and 7/8 in. thick. (2)
Then the shoulders should be at right angles to each other, as shown
in the sketch. Re-heat the piece 1 in. from the last shoulder made.
Reduce the shoulder (2), the iron to 9/16 × 7/16 in. (3) Notice that
this shoulder is directly opposite the other. This completes the jaw of
the tong. Draw out the end to about 3 ins. in length. It is now cut off
the bar and another piece made just like it for the pair.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The reins or handles are welded to the small ends and tapered down as
shown in the drawing, then rounded 4-1/2 ins. on the ends to 3/8 ins.
in diameter. A hole is now punched through the eye of the jaw and a
3/8-in. rivet inserted. The little groove which you see in the jaw is
put there with a fuller. This is done so that you can use it to hold
small round iron as well as flat iron. The two parts are now riveted
together. This is done either by making a head on a rivet and cutting
it off, allowing about 3/8 in. for a head on the end that goes through
the tongs, then heating the tongs and completing the riveting, or,
as many smiths do, by putting a piece of straight 3/4-in. iron in,
allowing 1/2 in. on each end plus the thickness of the parts of the
tongs for riveting. This piece of iron is made very hot, put into the
hole, and both heads are riveted on at the same time. It frequently
happens that the rivet bends in the holes while hammering on the ends.
This prevents the tongs from opening easily. If such is the case, put
the rivet and jaws into the fire and heat red hot. Hold the handle,
open and close the jaws while cooling. This not only centres the rivet
but prevents sticking. The tongs should work smooth and free when
cooled off in water.
[Illustration]
XXIV
HARDENING AND TEMPERING: TOOL MAKING
EFFECTS OF CARBON ON STEEL
What is commonly known as carbon steel is a metal composed of iron
containing varying amounts of carbon. Steels containing much carbon are
called tool steels to distinguish them from the low carbon steels. Tool
steel, when heated red hot and plunged into cold water, will harden,
while low carbon steel treated in the same way will not do so. This is
an excellent way of testing two bars of steel for carbon when one is
not able to distinguish grades of steel accurately. It is carbon that
gives the hardening quality. When steel is heated it becomes red at
1000° F. At 1300° F. it passes a point at which it absorbs considerable
heat without any increase in the temperature, showing that some change
in the structure of the metal must be taking place. If the steel is
heated above this point and allowed to cool slowly, a brightening of
the colour may be noticed as it passes this point, known as the point
of recalescence. The brightening is due to a liberation of the heat
previously absorbed.
_Method of heating steel in forge fires:_ All steel work, including
tool dressing, hardening, and tempering, was formerly done in an
ordinary forge fire. Now we have special furnaces for that purpose.
However, in using a forge fire, care must be taken to insure good work.
The fire must be very deep--that is, a large body of coke must be put
between the tuyere, and the tool, so as to prevent the blast reducing
the carbon on the surface of the steel. Sulphur will injure the quality
of any steel tool. Hence, a fuel low in sulphur should be used.
Charcoal is the best for this purpose, but the cost and the difficulty
in maintaining the heat prevent its general use in blacksmith shops. If
the coal does contain sulphur a great deal of it can be extracted or
reduced by one making his own coke. This is done by burning the green
coal to a coke and in this way driving off much of the sulphur. Gas
furnaces or oil furnaces are used. This is much better than coal, for
a uniform heat can be kept and an oxidation of the steel prevented.
Whether natural or artificial gas is used, all that is necessary is
to adjust the supply of gas in such a way that there will be a very
slight excess of gas present beyond the proper amount for combustion.
The presence of this gas excludes all air from the steel and therefore
prevents its oxidizing the surface of the metal.
_Heating in lead:_ In order to prevent oxidation molten lead makes
a most satisfactory bath. The lead is melted in a cast-iron pot and
heated in the forge. The steel must be left in the bath until it has
all been heated to the required temperature. As the steel will float in
the molten lead it must be weighted down to keep it submerged.
_Hardening solutions:_ In many cases clear cold water is used in
hardening steel. Some use soft or rain water. The temperature of the
water for general work should not fall below the temperature of the
shop; otherwise it would extract the heat too quickly from the steel
and cause cracks or breaks in the work.
_Salt solution:_ Salt is often added to water which is to be used as a
hardening solution. (1) It increases the rate at which the bath will
extract the heat from the steel; (2) it prevents the formation of steam
on the surface of the water. Put as much salt in rain water as it will
dissolve. This is considered one of the best and easiest made solutions
for hardening steel.
_Oil solution:_ Linseed oil, lard, cotton seed oil, whale oil, and
melted tallow make good hardening solutions. They are used mostly
for fine work. The oil prevents the sudden chilling of the steel and
lessens the chances of cracking and breaking. Springs are mostly
tempered in oil.
_Metallic hardening baths:_ For very delicate tools mercury is
sometimes used. It has a greater heat conductivity than any solution
mentioned. However, the fumes given off are poisonous and for this
reason it is not extensively used.
TEMPERING: THE PART COLOUR PLAYS
When you buy steel for tools from a merchant he will assure you that
the steel he sells you will harden at a cherry-red heat. This is true
provided the metal has not been spoiled either by overheating it or
working it at too low a heat during the making. This causes cracks or
internal fractures.
If these directions for working steel are followed out a tool should
harden at a cherry-red heat when plunged into water. When the steel is
heated to the proper temperature, usually a cherry red, and plunged
into a hardening solution, it will be very brittle, so that a file will
not cut it. One test often used is to take a fine mill cut file and try
to cut the hardened part of the tool. If it slips over the surface
without cutting, the steel is considered hard; if the file cuts, the
steel is not hard enough. Re-heat the steel hotter than before, cool
it off in water, and test again. All cutting tools should possess
a certain amount of hardness or toughness. When the steel has been
plunged into cold water it is too hard for use. It is necessary to then
reduce this hardness so that one can use the tool for the particular
kind of work it is made to do. This process of reducing the hardness is
commonly called drawing the temper, and the colour scheme plays a very
important part in this operation. Perhaps the steps will be clearer if
the process of drawing the temper on a cold chisel is explained: After
the chisel is forged the proper shape, place the body of the tool in
the fire, heat it red hot back of the point. Now heat the point to a
uniform cherry-red heat, plunge 1-1/2 in. of this hot point into the
water and hold it there until it is quite cold. This is determined by
water clinging to the point when the chisel is taken out. Polish the
part cooled off with a piece of emery stone, an old brickbat, or any
rough polishing material. You will notice a group of temper colours
starting from the point where the tool came into contact with the
water. The heat in the body of the tool gives rise to these colours as
it is conducted through the cold point of the steel. In this group of
colours the first will be (1) pale yellow, (2) a full straw colour,
(3) brown, (4) purple, (5) dark blue, (6) full blue, (7) light blue,
(8) gray. This colour scheme corresponds to varying temperatures in
the metal. The first colour (pale yellow) accompanies a temperature of
430°, while the last colour, gray, means a temperature of 700°. The
colours show, too, a varying in the hardness or toughness of the steel.
A cold chisel should be tempered a blue; so when the blue reaches the
cutting end of the tool the end should be plunged immediately into
water and cooled off. This is the principle of hardening and tempering
all common tools.
[Illustration: Colors, left to right: pale yellow, straw color, brown,
purple, dark blue, full blue, light blue, gray]
However, these colours mean nothing so far as tempering is concerned
unless the cutting edge of the steel has been thoroughly hardened.
Then the colours have a real value. To prove that these colours are no
test unless hardening precedes, take a piece of brass, or copper, or
soft iron. Polish, then heat the piece in the fire to the temperature
given here. You find the same set of colours, but you cannot use any of
these metals for cutting tools.
The table of temper colours given in this book shows the colour
required for tempering tools most commonly used.
_Tempering of springs:_ Under the head of springs we may include every
variety, from the small spring used in locks and fire-arms to the
largest springs in use. They are made of spring steel of the required
thickness, forged into shape, then hardened and tempered.
This hardening and tempering of springs is done in some cases by
polishing and heating over a fire and drawing them to a blue colour.
Then they are plunged into oil to fix the temper. Sometimes springs are
heated red hot and cooled in oil, then held over the fire until the oil
burns with a bright flame on the spring. It is then allowed to cool in
the air. If the spring is found too hard, more oil is put on it and the
operation is repeated until the desired spring movement is obtained.
TOOL MAKING
It is possible for you to learn to make all of the tools you may need
to use, including hammers. And not only will you be able to make
blacksmiths' tools, but such as are used by carpenters, bricklayers,
stone-masons, machinists, etc. You must not expect to be able to do
this work at first, but in a little while you will be able to replace
your first working tools with those of your own make. From time to
time, as the tools break or wear out, you can repair them or replace
them with new ones. This gives excellent practice in forging and
handling steel, and prepares you for more and more advanced work, an
experience necessary for doing any work well.
_Steel:_ There are many different grades of steel, depending upon the
percentage of carbon contained in each. Steel low in carbon can be
easily welded but cannot be tempered. Carbon steel is very difficult to
weld and it can be done only by the use of borax or some other flux.
High carbon steel or so-called tool steel, can be tempered. It is used
for making cold chisels, files, drills, cutting tools, etc. _Crucible
steel:_ All tools are made from crucible cast steel. The cast steel is
made by placing in a graphite crucible a certain amount of wrought iron
and soft steel, and carbon is added in the form of manganese. These are
all melted in furnaces. When melted they are poured into ingots and
drawn or shaped to sizes for the market under different kinds of power
hammers. These various size bars are used for the making of all kinds
of tools. The tools we are going to make are (1) centre-punch, (2) cold
chisel, (3) cape chisel, and (4) lathe tools. There are five lathe
tools; (1) round nose, (2) diamond point, (3) side tool, (4) cutting
off or parting tool, (5) inside or boring tool.
[Illustration: Centre-punch]
_Centre-punch:_ You will find the centre-punch a most useful tool to
have on hand. It is used for marking centres before drilling holes,
starting points in work, etc. A small one is made out of a piece of
3/8-in. hexagonal tool steel, 3 ins. long. Put one end into the fire
and taper it 3/8 in. long to 1/4 in. in diameter, as shown in the
sketch. Make this end flat. Put the other end into the fire and draw
it into a sharp tapered round point to about 1/16 in. on the end.
This extreme point is ground to a very sharp point. The angles of the
extreme should be about 45°. This is hardened and tempered a blue
colour. Then it is ready for use.
[Illustration: Cold Chisel]
_Cold chisel:_ Cold chisels are usually made out of 5/8-in. hexagonal
tool steel, 6 in. long. The form and dimensions are given here.
Heat one end of the bar and place it upon the anvil. Draw it out for
the short end. This is the part upon which the hammering is done when
the tool is finished. The surplus stock is cut off with a hot chisel
and the short end is flattened. When cutting tool steel of any kind
the chisel should be very sharp and the steel red hot. Put the other
end of the bar into the fire, beginning back about 2-1/2 ins. from the
end. Flatten it down to a chisel shape, as shown in the drawing. Cut
the surplus stock off, harden and temper as explained before for the
cold chisel.
[Illustration: Cape chisel]
_Cape chisel:_ The drawing gives the form and the dimensions. The small
end of this tool is forged out in the same way as you forged the small
end of the cold chisel. Reverse the bar and heat the other end. Two
inches back from the end fuller the metal down as shown in the drawing.
Draw it out tapering. This end, too, is cut off, hardened and tempered
as you did the cold chisel. Cape chisels are used mostly for cutting
key ways in shafting. The point being wider than the rest of the blade
gives clearance while cutting.
LATHE TOOLS
_Round nose:_ The drawing gives the form and the dimensions.
[Illustration: Round nose]
_Stock:_ A piece of 7/16 × 7/8 × 7 in. tool steel.
This size best fits the tool post of the lathe. You see by the sketch
that one end is bevelled. This end is always made first. It is done
by heating and chamfering the edges down with a hand hammer. Place
the other end in the fire and draw it out to a sharp point in both
directions. Throw the bevel on one side by placing the tool on the
anvil and driving one side of the metal down to the other side. The
point is now cut off on a bevel for clearance.
The drawing shows a cross section view of the tool. Notice that it
is smaller on the bottom than on the cutting edge. This is done by
reducing one side more than the other. The cutting edge of the tool
should extend about 1/32 in. above the common level.
_Hardening and tempering:_ All lathe tools of this type are hardened
and tempered in the same way as you did the cold chisel. The temper
colour of this tool is a very light straw. When this colour reaches
the extreme point plunge the tool into water. The slight change of
temperature does not materially lessen the degree of hardness, but it
does toughen the tool so that it will do more work.
[Illustration: Diamond point]
_Diamond point:_ The form and dimensions are given.
_Stock:_ 7 × 7/16 × 7/8 ins.
[Illustration: Side tool]
Heat one end and bevel it off as you did when making the round nose
tool. Place the other end in the fire, 5/8 in. from the end, and
fuller down to one half the thickness of the bar. This fullering is
done on the bottom fuller, which is placed on the anvil. Re-heat this
end, place it again on the fuller in the depression made, and with the
hand hammer draw this end out and at the same time square it up into a
diamond point by turning the tool at an angle of 45° with the anvil.
Turn again, in exactly the opposite direction. Repeat this until the
point of the tool is drawn out as shown by the sketch. The clearance
should not be more than that shown. It is now cut off by placing the
face of the diamond on the outer edge of the anvil. Place the cold
chisel above this edge, strike the chisel with the sledge hammer and
cut it off. If this is carefully done it will cut the proper bevel for
the cutting edge. The drawing shows the slope of the cutting edge to be
parallel to the top of the tool. The tool is hardened and tempered the
same as the round nose tool.
_Side tool (right hand):_ The form and dimensions are given here.
_Stock:_ 7 × 7/8 × 7/16 in.
To make a tool of this kind bevel off the end of the stock, place the
other end in the fire, and heat about two inches to a red heat. Take it
out and place about one inch of this on the round edge of the anvil.
With the hand hammer reduce the thickness of this steel, driving on
the edge nearest you (see sketch marked A). The hammering reduces the
thickness of the edge, which will be the cutting edge when finished.
The part opposite to where you are working will be reduced very little.
A chisel is now used for cutting the cutting edge on the tool (see B).
Place the tool on a piece of soft iron, place the chisel along the line
and cut through to the soft iron below. This gives not only a clear cut
but prevents the chisel from driving in if it should strike the hard
anvil. The clearance is cut off along the other lines. (C) The cutting
edge is now offset. To do this use a set hammer. Push the part made
beyond the anvil 1/4 in. Place the set hammer in this shoulder, drive
down until the offset is driven down about 1/8 in. (D).
The method of tempering this tool is a little different from the way
you have tempered other tools, on account of the length of the cutting
edge, which should be hardened its full length. Place the end just
finished in the fire and heat to a red heat. Plunge the whole tool into
water. Take it out and polish the cutting edge with emery stone. Now
place in the fire a piece of any kind of iron; 1 in. square will do.
Heat it red hot, then place it upon the anvil, and lay the part of your
tool that has been hardened on the hot bar. It will draw enough heat
from the hot bar to produce the temper colours. This is one way to give
a piece of hardened steel the heat to temper it when the body of that
piece does not contain heat enough to do so.
[Illustration: Boring tool]
_Boring tool:_ Boring tools are made for the purpose of enlarging holes
in cylinders, or any hole which should be enlarged after it has been
drilled. The work to be done must determine the size and length of the
boring tool. This is not true of any other one of the lathe tools.
_Stock:_ 7 × 7/16 × 7/8 in.
Bevel one end. Place the other end in the fire and heat about 3 ins. of
it. Draw it out to a tapering octagonal shape, as shown in the sketch.
The end is pushed over the anvil about 1/2 in. Drive it down at right
angles. The clearance for the cutting edge is cut off with a hot chisel
and made ready for hardening and tempering.
[Illustration: Cutting-off tool]
_Cutting-off or parting tool:_ This tool is made for dividing bars of
metal into different lengths. The form and dimensions are here shown.
_Stock:_ 7 × 7/8 × 7/16 in. tool steel.
Bevel one end. Place the other end in the fire and heat about 1 in.
Place the fuller on the anvil. Put the top fuller on this, then put
the steel between the two fullers about 1/2 in. from the end. Using the
sledge hammer, drive down so that the centre thickness will measure 1/8
in. Draw the lump left on the end to 1/8 in. thickness, the same width
as the tool. The drawing shows that the clearance on this tool is one
half the thickness of the cutting edge, or 1/16 in. This clearance must
be put on as shown in the drawing, otherwise the tool will not clear
while doing the cutting. Finish up as shown in the sketch. Harden and
temper in the same way as you did the round nose tool. Cutting off
tools are made with the shoulder all on one side. (See sketch and see
article on tempering steel.)
XXV
HOW TO HARDEN, SOFTEN, AND STRETCH STEEL
ANNEALING OR SOFTENING OF STEEL
All steels that are worked under hammers and heated to any degree of
temperature, when finished should be softened by heating, so that the
unequal strains caused by the working of the metal may be neutralized.
When the work is entirely finished it is placed in a furnace or forge
fire and heated red hot. Then the fire is either withdrawn from the
furnace, or the blast is shut off from the forge, and the metal is
allowed to cool off as the fire goes down. This softens the metal and
saves it from the danger of unequal strains.
Hard or high carbon steels are treated in a different way. The metal
is heated red hot, then it is placed in a box filled with slack lime.
The lime completely covers the piece. The cold air is prevented from
striking it and cooling it off too quickly. When no lime is at hand
wood ash can be used.
Sometimes the steel is heated red hot, then held until the red
entirely disappears. Then it is plunged into cold water. This process
is known as water annealing and is a process used for tool steel when
quick work is required. It softens the metal so that it can be filed
and worked quite easily.
CASE HARDENING
We have learned that carbon gives the hardening quality to steel. Since
there is little carbon in soft steel and none in wrought iron, they
will not harden as carbon steel does when heated red hot and plunged
into water. But there are many small articles which are best made of
this soft steel and iron and which must be hardened in some way to
make them useful. In order to supply the lacking carbon the metal is
put through a process known as case hardening. There are two methods
of case hardening. The first method is to heat a piece of soft steel
or iron red hot and cover the part to be hardened with cyanide of
potassium. The metal will absorb the carbon out of the cyanide and
when cooled in water will have taken on a hardened surface. If this is
repeated two or three times the hard surface deepens.
Any drug store will sell you some cyanide of potassium. It comes in
cakes. The cakes are broken up into small pieces. Be careful to keep
the hands as much as possible from contact with the cyanide.
SET SCREW
Set screws are made of soft metal, but the points must be hardened
to resist the wear. This is done by heating the set screws red hot,
then sticking the point into the cyanide until it cools off. Re-heat
and repeat the work. During this time the iron is absorbing carbon.
Heat again, plunge into cold water. The carbon forms a case on the end
of the screw. Now you have a screw hard on the outside but of soft
material in the inside. It is able to resist any shock that carbon
steel itself could not stand.
The second method calls for the use of pulverized charcoal and bone.
The principle is the same as in the first method. The iron articles to
receive a case hardening are placed in a cast-iron box with a layer
of charcoal above and a layer of bone dust below, alternating in this
way until the box is filled to the top. The box is then placed in a
heating furnace and heated to a temperature 1200° F. It is kept at
this temperature from three to four hours. The articles all this time
are absorbing charcoal from bone dust. The box is taken out of the
furnace and plunged into a bath of cold water. From this cold bath
it is plunged into a bath of boiling water, then taken out and dried.
The pieces are oiled over slightly to bring out the colours. They have
not only a hard exterior after this process, but they have a beautiful
mottled surface of grays and blues, colours one often sees in parts of
small guns, wrenches, etc.
Surgical instruments, guns, small wrenches, etc., are hardened in this
way. The equipment for the second method is much more expensive than
that for the first; however, the principles involved are the same in
both cases.
BRAZING
Brazing is a process of joining two pieces of metal by the use of
another metal, such as brass or copper. The use of solder has been
explained in the article on soldering. This article will tell about
brazing of wrought iron, cast-iron, and steel in the forge fire.
One must bear in mind that when a forge fire is used for brazing,
the fire should be free from green coal on account of the presence
of sulphur. A reducing fire is best for that purpose. It is well to
mention here that a forge fire that has been used for brazing must
be thoroughly cleaned before it can be used again for any welding
purposes. The brass will run down and clog the tuyere. If the least
bit of smelter is left on the forge it is apt to mix with the coals.
In that case it would find its way into the fire, melt, and collect on
any iron that may be in the fire heating. The success of any of these
operations depends absolutely upon a clean fire and a clean piece of
work to be done.
_To prepare the pieces to be brazed:_ All parts to be brazed should
be free from any foreign matter. They should be filed or polished
with emery cloth or sand-paper. This refers not only to the parts
that come into contact with each other, but both sides of the contact
edge for the depth of at least 1/2 in. When the parts are clean, put
them together. See that the joints fit. Paint the joints with a flux
made of boracic acid. Mix one part boiling water with one part borax
and two parts boracic acid. Keep it pasty so that it can be handled
with a brush. Ordinary borax can be used if the other is not at hand.
The smelter (brass) can be bought at supply stores. However, brass
filings, common sheet brass, or brass wire is just as good. If brass
filings are used these should be mixed with the flux. Any old tin can
will do for the mixing. A spoon for dipping the flux out when wanted
can be made on the end of a rod 1/4 in. in diameter, about 20 ins.
long, by flattening out an inch of the end, drawn out quite thin and
fashioned spoon shaped. Place the parts to be brazed in the fire and
heat till they are red hot. Dip the spoon into the brazing material
and put a little of the smelter on the joints. Increase the heat. When
the smelter begins to run add more. When it shows a bright streak all
around the parts to be joined shut off the blast and let it cool before
removing it from the fire. When it is black hot remove it from the
fire and file into shape. Be very careful to see that the pieces to be
brazed are so fastened together that they will not move apart when once
put into place. This can be done by packing brick or clay around them
or by clamping them in place. Do not put any weight that would cause
any strain upon them, for when heated this would change the position
and might cause a bend in the brazed parts.
_Brazing of cast-iron:_ Cast-iron is prepared for brazing in the same
way as steel or iron is prepared. The flux, however, is not the same.
It is made up of boric acid, 8 oz.; pulverized chlorate of potash, 4
oz.; carbonate of iron, 3 oz. Mix these together thoroughly, breaking
up all lumps that may be there. Keep this mixture in a glass jar.
Place the pieces to be brazed in a fire as you did the iron and steel.
Heat it all red hot. Mix the flux with the smelter and put it on. Do
not put this on at any time before the metal is red hot. Increase the
heat and add more flux and smelter. When the brass has flowed into
the joints, shut off the heat and let the metal cool off in the fire.
Cast-iron requires a higher temperature for brazing than iron or steel.
If a brass rod is used in place of the smelter, push the end of the rod
in the joint to be brazed. It will melt off as fast as it is pushed
in. When brazing some cast-iron, the break should be reinforced on the
unexposed side by a plate of wrought iron or steel. If this is cleaned
off thoroughly and placed against the break the smelter will not only
fill up the break but it will hold this piece of metal fast.
_Brazing steel band saws:_ Band saws break very often while in use.
They can be repaired only by brazing the broken ends together. Do so
by filing each end of the broken pieces, tapering to a very sharp edge
3/4 in. in length for lapping over. The length of this lapping depends
upon the width of the teeth of the saw. When the ends are filed, place
them in a vise that can be bought for this purpose. If no vise is at
hand two wood clamps, or iron clamps, or an ordinary shop vise will
answer the purpose. Put the two ends overlapping in place, and clamp
close enough to these ends to keep them in a straight line and, also,
for shifting while brazing. Paint the joint with flux, using the first
flux mentioned in the article. Put a piece of silver solder between the
laps. Now heat the jaws of a pair of close tongs white hot, and grasp
the joints between the hot jaws, and pinch them together. The heat in
the tongs will melt the silver and braze the two parts. Hold the tongs
steady; if not, they will bend, and the saw will be rather hard to
straighten when the tongs are removed. Do not remove the tongs until
they are black hot. Now place the saw in a vise and file the teeth to
correspond to those on either side of the joint. Smooth the roughness
from the joint.
_The value of brazing:_ A knowledge of how to braze is most useful to
any one working with the metals. Many things break that can be repaired
only by this process. For instance, tubing, automobile parts, very
complex parts of machinery, etc., when broken cannot be welded; they
must be mended by brazing. The success of the process depends upon the
care taken to make the parts perfectly clean and well fitted together.
If this is well done the brazing material will find its way to the
closest joints and fix them.
PROCESSES OF STRETCHING IRON OR STEEL
(1) _Drawing:_ Stretching a piece of metal in one or more directions
either by hammering, or pulling, or rolling, is called drawing. In the
blacksmiths' shop the term drawing always means a decrease in the size
of a cross section of the piece and an increase in the length.
(2) _Bending:_ Bending means making the metal take a shape from a
straight line. It may be made into a circle or curved or bent at right
angles.
(3) _Twisting:_ In the process of twisting no change is made in the
axis of the piece. The faces of the piece are changed; as for instance,
when you twist a piece of paper holding one end fast and turning the
other in the direction of its axis.
_Upsetting:_ Upsetting means increasing the thickness of a piece of
iron by shortening its length.
_Forming:_ Forming is the process of giving a piece of iron shape,
either by hammering or by using some forming machine; for example, the
bulldog.
_Welding:_ Welding means joining two pieces of iron together by heating
them to the right temperature and hammering or pressing them together.
XXVI
FORGING HAND HAMMERS
_Cross peen hammer:_ The sketch shows the form and gives the dimensions
of this hammer.
_Stock:_ 7/8 in. square, 2-1/2 ins. long.
[Illustration: Cross peen hammer]
It is best to make this hammer on the end of a bar. In this way you
dispense with the handling of tongs, and you are able to get the best
control of your material. Mark with a centre-punch, the centre of the
2-1/2 in. piece. Through this, punch a hole with an eye punch. (See eye
punch in tool list.) The hole will be a little less than the finished
size. Draw the face end slightly tapering. Drive the four corners down
and make the face of hammer octagonal in shape. The sketch will show
just where to begin this knocking down. The hammer is now cut off and
the face squared up. The centre of the face should be a little higher
than the outer edges. Now drive into the eye a drift pin. This pin is
made of 3/4 × 3/8 × 4 in. steel. It is tapered for the whole length
down to 1/2 × 3/8 in., and oval in shape. It is driven into the hole.
This gives the real shape to the eye of the hammer. Take the pin out
and re-heat the hammer. Draw the cross peen out to a taper as you
would if you were making a cold chisel. Be careful to keep all within
the dimensions given. The hammer may now be filed and polished if one
wishes a bright hammer; otherwise, it needs only to be tempered: then
it is ready for use.
_To temper the hammer:_ Place the whole hammer in the fire and heat it
red hot. Grasp it with a pair of pick-up tongs through the eye. Dip
the face in water half way up to the eye, and hold it there until the
face is chilled off. Reverse by placing the peen end into the water.
While this is cooling dip up enough water with the hand to keep the
face of the hammer cold. Take it out and polish both ends with a piece
of emery cloth wrapped around a piece of wood. The colours now are
beginning to run from the middle toward the ends. When the purple
colour reaches either end plunge that end into water, holding it in the
water until the purple colour reaches the other end. Then plunge the
whole hammer in water. This tempering darkens the hammer if it has been
previously polished. Rubbing well with emery cloth again will restore
the brightness. The hammer is ready for the handle. A hammer of this
kind can be made without the help of a second person.
[Illustration: Processes in making peen hammer]
_Round peen hammer:_ The form and dimensions for this hammer are given
here.
[Illustration: Step in making hammer]
_Stock:_ A piece of 1-1/2-in. square tool steel. This hammer, too,
is best made on the end of a bar about 20 ins. in length. With a
centre-punch mark off 2 ins. from the end. This spot marks the centre
of the eye. Place this end in the fire. One inch from the end fuller
down on the four sides of the bar (1). This makes a neck one inch in
diameter and having eight sides. Place it back in the fire and heat
again. Now put the bar again on the fuller 2 ins. from the first fuller
(1). This time fuller only two sides, the two sides opposite the
centre-punch mark. Fuller so that the thickness measures 1-1/4 ins.
This means only 1/8 in. depression on the two sides. Put again into the
fire and draw the first end out so that it measures 1 in. octagonal,
any length. (See sketch 2.) Heat again, this time the whole body of the
piece. Punch a hole with the eye-punch where the centre-punch was made.
The hole will be a little less in size than the finished hole will be
(see sketch) to allow for the increase in size while working the metal
into shape. Put the drift pin into the hole. Drive it through until the
small end just shows through on the other side. Place a fuller over the
hole and work the metal out sidewise by striking on the top of the
fuller with a sledge hammer. This requires a helper to do the heavy
work. While the heavy work is being done the steel must be heated many
times, but always without the drift pin. Keep the drift pin in water
while the hammer is being heated, as the pin must always be cold when
driven into the eye. Drive it in a little farther each time, so that by
the time the centre is finished the hole will be the proper size (3).
The thickness of the metal around the eye should be about 1/8 in. on
the outer edges and 3/16 in. in the centre. This tapers a little from
the centre outward, as is shown in the drawings. Put the 3/4-in. bottom
fuller on the anvil and place the neck of the hammer on this and a top
fuller above that. Strike on the fuller and reduce the neck until it
measures about 3/4 in. in diameter, keeping the octagonal shape all the
while.
[Illustration]
Heat the hammer again where the face should be, and fuller down between
the body and the face so that this will measure about 1-1/8 in. square,
using the same large fullers as before and making it octagonal. This
finishes up completely the body of the hammer between the face and the
peen.
With a sharp chisel cut the hammer off an inch and a half from the
body. You will then have enough stock for the face of the hammer.
[Illustration]
The surplus stock on the peen allows for holding with the tongs, and
the face of the hammer is rounded up to about 1-5/8 in. in diameter.
Bevel the edges down 1/16 in. back of this face and, with a sharp
chisel, trim the face off flat or square with the axis of the hammer.
The centre of the face should be a little higher than the outside edges.
Grasp the face with the tongs and place the peen in the fire. Take
it out and cut it off 1 in. in length and make the edges rounding.
To shape the peen, place the neck on a large fuller and round up as
shown in the picture. Be careful each time to give it one eighth of a
turn so that the octagonal shape will not be lost. If the hammer has
been carefully forged it will require little finishing in the way of
filing, unless one wishes to make a fancy polished hammer. If such
a one is desired some draw filing and polishing must be done. This
makes the hammer look better, but it doesn't increase its efficiency.
The tempering is done in the same way as the tempering for the cross
peen hammer was done. However, this hammer is larger and heavier than
the cross peen hammer and is more difficult to temper. While the same
principle is involved in the tempering of both hammers, greater care
must be taken in tempering this one.
The handle is placed. You will find that the driving of the drift pin
into the eye, first on one side and then on the other, makes both
outside openings larger than the centre. This should be so, as it helps
to hold the handle firmly in place.
TOOL STEEL AND THE MAKING OF TOOLS
Here are a few problems which deal with the making of your own tools.
When buying steel for this work always tell what the steel is to be
used for. The merchant will probably recommend to you a grade of steel
from which you can make tools that will last.
_Hardie:_ Take a piece of 1-1/8-in. square tool steel. Make this tool
on the end of a bar if the bar is long enough. It is easier handled in
that way. The dotted lines on the drawing show the amount of material
required to make the shank. This should be made to fit the hole in
the anvil; 3/8 in. from the shank fuller down on the two sides of the
steel, leaving 5/8-in. thickness between the fuller marks. Draw the end
out to a 3-in. taper on one side and widen it out to 1-3/4-in. taper
on the other. (See drawing.)
[Illustration: Hardie]
[Illustration: Set hammer, second process]
_Set hammer:_ A set hammer is made with a piece of 1-1/8-in. square
steel; 1-5/8 in. from one end mark the hole. Put one end of the bar
into the fire and heat it. Take it out and punch a hole with the eye
punch in the piece of steel when it is marked. Knock the four corners
down, bevelling them as shown in the sketch, and trim the end off
rounding for the head. Cut it off 4 ins. long; fuller the four corners
1-1/4 ins. from the face as shown in the sketch. The end view of the
drawing shows the depth of the fuller marks.
[Illustration: Set hammer, completed]
[Illustration: Set hammer, first process]
_Hot chisel:_ This tool is made much as you make the set hammer.
However, where the set hammer is fullered on the corners the hot chisel
is fullered on the two sides, and the end is drawn out tapering. Used
to cut hot iron. (See drawing).
[Illustration: Cold chisel]
[Illustration: Hot chisel]
[Illustration: Hot chisel, details]
_Cold chisel:_ This tool is made out of 1-in. square stock. The
punching of the eye and head part of this chisel is made in the same
way as the other tools described here. A blade is tempered from the
centre to 2-3/4 ins. in length, and the cutting edge is finished a
little rounding. This tool is made to cut cold iron, hence its name.
[Illustration: Another cold chisel]
XXVII
SOME GENERAL FORGING PROBLEMS
_Ice shaver:_ Ice shavers are useful as shavers, breakers and choppers
of ice. They are made out of a piece of low carbon steel for the blade
and a piece of 5/8-in. round iron for the handle.
[Illustration: Ice shaver]
_Directions:_ Take a piece of 1/2 × 6 × 4 ins., and cut along as shown
by the lines. When these two corners are cut out, point the centre
piece for a cleft weld. Slit the end of the rod, scarfing its points
thin, and slip this point into the crotch of the scarf, and weld with
borax. This now gives you a piece that looks like a shovel. On the
other end of the handle bend a ring about 4 ins. in diameter. Place the
flat end in the fire, heat it up, and taper this flat end down very
thin, about 1 in. long. With a file, file four teeth in the end, the
same shape as shown here. It is now ready for tempering. This is done
by heating all the teeth well back toward the handle red hot. Plunge
the whole thing into water to cool it off. Take it out and polish. Heat
a piece of large iron in the fire red hot. On this piece of metal place
the teeth of the pick. When the blue colour appears on the point and
cutting edges of the teeth, cool in water. It is now ready for use.
[Illustration]
_Grub hoe:_ The form and dimensions of this tool are given, also the
different steps in the process of forging.
_Stock:_ 1-1/4 × 3/4 × 5 in. steel.
_Directions:_ Mark off with a centre-punch the middle of the piece of
stock, and then mark off 1 in. from the middle in either direction.
Fuller, as shown in the sketch, on the first end, to a depth of 1 in.
Heat the piece and fuller the other end to a depth of 1/2 in. (A).
The centre lug is now 2 ins. long. To make this 2 ins. long it is
necessary that the fuller be placed on the piece on the outside of the
centre-punch marks. Draw out the two ends, as shown by the sketch, one
being directly opposite the other. Punch a hole with the eye punch in
the middle of this lug almost through on one side. Take the punch out,
turn the piece upside down, and finish punching the hole. The punch
used for doing this part of the work should be straight and tapered and
quite thin on the end. The problem is not to cut out a large piece but
rather to split the metal. It's only 3/4 in. wide and will not allow
for the cutting away of any material. A punch of this kind will heat up
on the end while driving, when it is apt to bend. To avoid this keep it
cold by dipping it into water from time to time. Place a little green
coal in the hole after you have started the punch in. This prevents its
sticking in the hole and it also prevents the end of the punch from
getting hot. A very deep, narrow slot can be punched successfully in
this way.
[Illustration]
The drift pin used to shape the eye upon should be made the size of the
finished hole--that is, 1-1/2 × 3/4 in. and 6 ins. long--oval-shaped,
and tapered on the small end to 3/8 × 1/4 in. This taper should be the
whole length of the drift pin. Drive the pin into the hole about half
way down. This widens the hole so that it can now be placed on the horn
of the anvil and fullered to the required thickness, which should be
1/8 in. on the extreme edge of the eye. Drive the drift pin again about
4 ins. or 5 ins. At the same time work the metal down on the outside.
Repeat this till the hole fits the drift pin. The pin is now driven in
through from the other side, thus making both outside openings of the
eye the same size. The hoe is now finished up as shown in the sketch
and ready for hardening and tempering.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
This is done in the same way as you did the chisel and the same temper
colour is used for both. Five pounds is considered about the right
weight for a hoe of this kind. The problem of working out the eye for
this is the same as for making the eyes of picks, hatchets, and tools
of similar design.
TURNBUCKLES
Turnbuckles, made either of steel or iron, are used for truss rods.
There are many ways of making turnbuckles. Out of all, three methods
are here given: (1) Solid forged buckle, (2) welding up, (3) pipe
method.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Solid forged buckle:_ This is made of soft steel. Select a piece of
1-1/2-in. square stock 6 ins. long. Mark off 2 ins. with a centre-punch
on each end. Draw the ends out 1 in. round. Bend the ends down as shown
at _B_. Forge the buckle part to 1-1/4 in. round at the end, as shown
at _C_. Make the other end just like this one and weld the two ends
together so that the total length will be 10 ins. Now drill holes in
each end for a 3/4-in. tap. Tap a right-hand thread in one end and a
left-hand thread in the other end, or you can put a swivel hook in one
end in place of the thread. To do this the hole should be drilled 7/8
in. without a thread. Select a piece of 7/8-in. round soft steel 10
ins. long. Upset the end and work a tapered round head on as shown at
_D_. The head should be 1 in. long and large enough to work loosely in
the slot. Put this into the hole with the head between the wings and
point the end forming it into a hook.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Welded turnbuckle: To be welded at arrow point]
_Second method:_ This is done by welding the two rods to collars. Make
two collars out of wrought iron, the size depending upon the size of
the turnbuckle. Scrape the ends of this flat iron, bend each into a
circle, and weld on the horn of the anvil, thus making two collars. The
arm should be drawn out of a piece of flat iron and made half round by
a swage on the anvil. This leaves the original thickness of the bar
on each end of the piece drawn out. These ends are now flattened and
scraped as shown at _A_ and should be wrenched to lap on the inside
of the collars. Place one collar on one end and the wings opposite
each other. Push a bar of iron into the opening within an inch of the
collar. This bar prevents the tongs from squeezing the two wings
out of shape and loosening up the collar while welding. Grasp the
turnbuckle with a pair of tongs and place the end in the fire. Take a
welding heat and weld this down on the horn of the anvil. At the same
time shape it as shown at _B_. Draw out the piece of iron, place the
other collar in the open end, and weld it as you did the first. This is
finished up in the holes made. Threads can be cut or swivel hooks can
be placed in.
_Third method:_ Take a piece of pipe, length and size desired. Heat one
end and upset it, enlarging and thickening it slightly. Cut a round
iron plug to fit this end tightly. Heat the plug and drive it into
the pipe. Place it on the fire and weld the pipe to the plug. At the
same time forge the end square or hexagonal. Drill a hole in this end,
pin the swivel hook same as explained in the second method. Select
the iron, make the head on the rod, and put it through the pipe into
the hole, head inside, before the plug is welded in the other end. Be
sure that this rod will turn freely. Shape the hook before the plug is
welded in the 2-in. end. This gives one an opportunity to push a rod
into the pipe and hold the head of the hook while shaping it in the
form of a hook or eye as required.
Now weld a plug in the other end the same as you did in the first.
Drill a hole in this end and cut a thread to receive the truss rod
end. This last method is much simpler than the other two. It has this
advantage, that the thread will not rust so quickly, since it is always
enclosed in the pipe. However, there is danger of a very weak spot
right back of the plug, because you know when two pieces of metal are
welded together the temperature should be the same. If not, the cold
one will cut into the hot one and form cold shuts. In this case it is
impossible to get the plug the same temperature as the outside. As a
consequence there is a defect in the forging.
[Illustration: Eccentric strap]
_Eccentric strap:_ The principles applied in the working out of this
problem are used in making many articles of wrought iron. Eccentric
straps are much used in foundries, machine shops, and general shop
work.
_Stock:_ Bar of wrought iron or soft steel 1-1/8 ins. square, 16 ins.
or 20 ins. long.
Round the bar down on one end to 1 in. in diameter. Split the other end
up the length of the bar 8 ins. to within 1 in. of the shoulder made
by the rounding down of the stock. These two arms are now thrown at
right angles to the stem, forged down to 1/2 × 1 in. the entire length.
The arc of the circle made by the arms is determined by the size of
the thing the eccentric strap is meant to fit when it is finished. The
ends are now turned up at right angles and are bent to fit the circle.
A gouge chisel will cut the end off rounding. All ladle handles can be
made in this way.
_Garden hoe:_ The drawing shows the form and dimensions of the hoe, a
garden tool very simple in construction and very useful.
_Stock:_ 6 × 4 × 1/2 in. steel.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Hoe]
_Directions:_ Mark off 2 ins. at one end and cut down 1 in. deep on
both edges. Cut out a wedge-shaped piece as shown in the sketch. Draw
out the piece 1/2 in. in diameter and 6 ins. long. This forms the
handle. Fuller down on each side of the handle where it joins the body
as shown by the full lines. With the fuller spread out the metal on
either side of the handle until it forms a blade 8 × 5 ins. This blade
should be 3/16 in. thick at the top and 1/8 in. at the cutting edge.
Bend the handle into shape. File or grind the edges of the blade to
make it smooth. This should be tempered by heating it red hot. Plunge
into oil. Take it out when cold and hold it over the fire until the
oil flashes off. Then allow it to cool in the air. Grind it and polish
if a bright finish is required. If not it is now ready for the wood
handle.
_Wood chisel:_ Chisels for cutting wood can be made from a piece of
gas pipe and a piece of steel, or from old cold chisels too short for
use. If no piece of old tool steel is at hand take a new piece, 5/8 × 4
ins., hexagonal.
If a piece of gas pipe is used, 1/2 in., heat one end and place it on
the point of the horn of the anvil. With the peen hammer thin the point
down around the end. This thinning stretches the metal and gives you a
funnel-shaped opening, and a scarf to use for welding. The short chisel
end should be pushed into this for about 1 in. and the scarf should be
tapped down gently on this chisel. Sometimes it is necessary to upset
the end of the chisel in order to make it fit the scarf. If required to
do this, put it into the fire and heat it red hot, and upset it on the
end where the weld is to be. Now put it into the pipe, put borax on the
scarf, and heat it hot enough to weld. Take it out and weld it up in a
bottom swage and reduce the weld to 1/2 in. in diameter. Cut the shank
off about 3-1/2 ins. from the weld and heat this end again. Stretch
it on this end so as to enlarge it to fit the wood handle which will
be placed in later. Heat the steel end. Flatten it down to the shape
of a wood chisel, the width to be according to the size needed. Out
of this piece of steel a chisel 1/2 in., 3/4 in., or 1 in. can be
made. It should be tapered down 3/4 in. on the cutting edge. File the
cutting edge on the chisel. It gives a much better finish. The chisel
is hardened and tempered almost the length of the whole blade, a blue
colour, by heating it red hot, plunging it into water, polishing, and
drawing the temper on a hot piece of iron. The handle is made by using
what is known as a hollow auger. This shapes the wood to fit the pipe.
A piece of the same pipe can be sawed off with a hack saw about 3/8 in.
wide. This makes an iron ring, which should be driven in the end of the
wood handle to prevent it from splitting. These chisels make the best
kind of tools for rough, heavy work.
_Door hasp:_ Door hasps are found most commonly on barn doors and
gates, and in conjunction with a staple and lock form a complete
fastening. The drawings make clear the different steps in the work.
_Stock:_ 1/4 × 1 × 6 ins.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ The eye is made first. Heat the piece red hot. Fuller
down the stick 5/8 in. from one end, and 2 ins. from the fullered mark
put in another. The distance between the fullered marks should be
2 ins. Draw out the space between the fullered marks to 5/8 in. in
width, 2-1/2 ins. long. Cut the corners off the piece left on the end,
as shown by the drawing. Round this up with the hammer on the anvil.
Punch a hole in the middle of the eye, but keep the thickness the same
during all the work. To make the body of the piece, where the slot is,
2 ins. from the shoulder fuller the end down to 5/16 in. from the end.
Draw out this end to 1-5/16 in. in length. This forms the loop, and
at the same time it tapers to a sharp end. (See drawing.) The piece
is now ready for punching. Mark places for the punch holes, then cut
between the holes with a hot chisel. In this way the centre piece is
cut out, forming the slot. If this is carefully done little work will
be required to finish it. The slot is filed out if any rough places
are left. The end is bent up. Sometimes a ring is put in it, as a door
pull, and sometimes the latch itself is used for the pull.
[Illustration: Dividers]
_Pair of dividers:_ Perhaps the simplest way to make a pair of dividers
is to get a pair of buggy top joint butts, 1/2 in. size. Weld to each
of the legs a piece of steel to form the two legs for the dividers.
Begin about 1 in. back of the weld and draw the legs out tapering,
octagonal in shape and rounding toward extreme sharp points. Place a
washer on each side of the joint, and rivet the ends together with a
steel rivet. If carefully done the dividers will require no wings. If
wings are required they can be made by punching a slot 1/2 × 1/8 in. in
each of the legs, 2 ins. from the joint. In each of these slots drill
holes, in one a 1/8-in. hole and in the other a hole for a 3/16-in.
tap. Drill both sets of holes through the legs. Tap out the one and
make a thumb screw to fit. This is done by drawing out a 3/8-in. stem
on the end of a 3/8-in. rod and cutting off 3/8 in. of this to form the
head of the thumb screw. Heat this end and flatten down. Finish up with
a few strokes of the file. Cut a 3/16-in. thread on the end. Screw it
into the dividers. Draw out a wing 3/8 in. wide, 1/8 in. thick, to fit
the slot. Bend it into a semicircle and place it into the slot. Open
the dividers. See that it swings round on this circle. Drill a small
hole in the end of the wing to fit the 1/8-in. hole drilled into the
leg and rivet it into the slot. This makes a pair of dividers that can
be used for all classes of work.
[Illustration: Thumb nut]
STONE CHISELS AND PICKS
1. _Stone chisels:_
_Stock:_ 1/4, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4-in. octagonal steel, 5 ins. long. Stone
chisels are made out of the above sizes of steel, in sets, for the
cutting of marble, sandstone, granite, etc.
_Directions:_ Put one end of the stock in fire. Heat about 1 in. Draw
this hot end to a taper 1/4 in. at the small end and 1-1/2 in. long.
Place the extreme end again in the fire, take it out and strike it on
the end by placing it upright on the anvil. Upset this end and form the
round top shown in the drawing. If this top is not completed in one
heating, heat it again and repeat the hammering on the end. All stone
chisels are made with this rounding end so that wood mallets can be
used for driving purposes. The ones shown here are the shapes used on
most stone chisels.
[Illustration: Stone chisels]
[Illustration: Stone chisels]
The size of the teeth depends upon the hardness or softness of the
material to be cut. The large teeth are used for hard stone cutting and
the small teeth for soft stone cutting. Place the other end of the tool
in the fire and flatten it down as shown in the sketch given here.
Notice the dotted lines show that the extreme cutting edge of this tool
is narrower than the body. This is an allowance made for the spreading
out of the tool while cutting the teeth. Space off the teeth with a
3-cornered file as shown in the same sketch, and cut the teeth with a
chisel made in the following way: Take a piece of 1/2-in. octagonal
steel. Draw it out in the shape of a cape chisel. (See sketch.) Heat
the end of the steel tool, then place it in the vise. With the end
projecting up place the chisel on the mark made by the file, strike
down sharply on the chisel, and drive it down to the required depth.
This is repeated until the teeth are all cut. Flatten the cutting edge
carefully on the anvil, and all teeth that may have been driven out
of a straight line by the cutting. Heat the tool to soften it. File
between the teeth the roughness made by the forging of the tool. A
small flat jewellers' file will be found best for this purpose. Harden
the tool as you did the cold chisel, and temper it at the purple
colour sign.
2. _Pick:_
_Stock:_ 1/2-in. square tool steel, 8 ins.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Mark the middle of the bar with a centre-punch. Punch
the hole through with the eye punch. Put in a drift pin and flatten
down the bulged sides of the bar made by punching the hole. Draw the
two ends out to a sharp square point. This should make the pick not
more than 10 ins. long. The drawing should show the shape it will be
when finished. These picks are hardened the same as cold chisels, and
tempered at the purple colour.
ROCK DRILLS (USED WITH MACHINERY)
As the name indicates, these drills are used for making holes in rocks
when blasting is to be done. The form and shapes most in use are shown
here.
The double drill, used so much in power drilling machines, is made in
the following way: Take a 1-in. octagonal bar of steel, any length.
Heat one end, and upset it to 1-1/4 in. in diameter. Put a small
1/2-in. fuller on the anvil and place the end of the bar lengthwise on
the fuller. Put the top fuller directly above this and strike with a
sledge hammer. The result is two fuller marks driven down within 1/2
in. of meeting. Reverse this and do the same on the other two sides.
This marks a cross.
[Illustration: Tools for rock drills used in machines]
[Illustration: Machine drill]
Place the forming tool in the anvil, and with a set hammer forge out
the wings as shown in the sketch. The diameter of the drill depends
upon the size of the hole to be drilled and is made accordingly. Use
a sharp chisel for cutting the cutting edges of the drill. It is now
ready for tempering. Drills are made in this way from the raw material.
When once made they are kept in shape by what is known as the drill
dressing tool shown here. These rock drills wear out on the sides,
thus reducing the diameter. When re-dressing they are always upset to
the required diameter. The re-dressing is done in the following way:
Heat the end of the drill in the fire and place the dressing tool so
that the cross impression fits the end of the drill. Drive on the end
lengthwise of the bar, upsetting the drill to the required diameter, at
the same time retaining the original shape of the cutting edge of the
drill.
_To temper rock drills:_ Take two small tubs of cold water, one clear
and the other made soapy by cutting up a bar of cheap soap into bits.
Heat the end of the drill to be tempered to a dull red and put it into
the tub of clear water, the cutting edge only under water until it is
cooled off. Take it out to polish. When the straw colour appears plunge
it into the tub of soapy water. This does away with any red heat that
might be in the bar when the temper colours appear. Soapy water is a
poor conductor of heat and it allows the steel to cool off without
suddenly chilling it.
DRILL FOR HAND DRILLING
[Illustration]
These drills are used for drilling holes in rocks where it is
impossible to place machines or where machines are not available, such
as on farms, where great rocks and nigger heads are to be removed by
drilling and blasting out.
They are made as you would make a cold chisel. The taper, however, is
much shorter and the ends are usually either rounded or diamond shape.
(See sketch.) The cutting edges are ground, but in many cases they are
forged and filed to shape. They are tempered in the same way as cold
chisels are treated.
[Illustration: Round and flat hand drill]
[Illustration: Pipe drill]
_Round and flat hand drill:_ Take a piece of octagonal steel, the size
and length depending upon the size and depth of the hole to be drilled.
These should not be over 20 ins. in length, for the blow would have
little effect upon the cutting edge of the drill. Put one end into the
fire, take it out and finish it up as you would the short end of a
cold chisel. Reverse the piece of steel, and heat this end, for about
two inches, red hot. Place it on the side of the anvil face and flatten
it down tapering. Make it very short and just wide enough for the size
hole to be drilled. With a hot chisel cut the end into the proper
shape, either round or diamond shape. With the hand hammer work the
cutting edge on the end. This end should be from 1/8 in. to 3/16 in. in
thickness. Either file or grind the bevel which forms the cutting edge
sharp. Harden and temper it the same as you would a cold chisel. If it
is found, on trial, to be too soft, re-heat, harden, and temper at a
higher colour. One of the best hand drills for drilling holes in soft
material like bricks or sandstones is a piece of gas pipe any length.
File teeth in the end, like a saw tooth. Case harden the end. This
drill will go through a wall almost as quickly as a twist drill and
with much less labour.
SHACKLE
Shackles are used for connecting chains, wire, ropes, etc.
[Illustration: Shackle.]
_Stock:_ One piece of 3/4-in. round iron, 12-1/2 ins. (for shackle).
One piece of 1/2-in. round iron, 4 ins. (for pin). One piece 1 ×
1/8-in. flat iron, 1-3/4 ins. (for key). One piece 3/16-in. round iron,
2-1/4 ins. (for ring).
_Directions:_ Heat the 3/4-in. round iron bar two inches, then bend
this end on the anvil at right angles to the rest of the bar. Place the
heel on the anvil, with the end sticking up. Strike on the end with the
hand hammer and drive it down into the heel of the piece. Repeat on the
other end of the bar. As one can always force the metal into any shape
one desires by first driving it one way or the other, skill in making
the two ends of the bar depends upon one's way of using the hammer.
This method of making the eye on the end of the bar does away with
welding and upsetting of the metal. A round finished eye is the result
of the natural bending of the metal. This holds good not only for the
shackles like this one but for many other tools, such as hand holds for
cars, wagons, etc.
_Bending:_ The shackle should be bent as shown in the sketch. First
bend it right back of the eye, each one at about 45°. Heat the body of
the piece and shape it around the horn of the anvil until the opening
measures 1 in. wide. The sledge and swage are best used for this
purpose. Place the swage on the metal and have the helper strike the
swage. The shape is not apt to be changed or the metal marred if these
tools are used.
_Pin:_ Take the 1/2 × 4 in. piece of stock. The end is heated and
upset about 1/2 in. Place this end in a heading tool and work a button
head on the end with either the cupping tool or a hand hammer. The pin
should have a slot cut through it 2 ins. from the head. To do this make
a punch to cut the slot the shape required. After the piece is marked
punch the slot by driving the punch half way through on one side. Turn
the piece over and drive the hole through on the other side. This
enlarges the metal a little. Reduce it to the 1/2-in. size to fit the
hole in the shackle. Cut a little piece of iron the thickness and width
of the key, 1/2 in. long. Heat the end with the hole in and drive this
drift into the slot. With 1/2 in. top and bottom swage and the drift in
the slot, reduce the pin to fit the hole. Drive the drift out. You now
have a nice rounded pin with a hole in, 3/8 × 1/8 in.
_Key:_ Take a piece of 1 × 1/8 in. flat iron or steel. Mark the shape
of the key. Cut it out and file to fit the slot. Drill holes in the
small end of this to prevent it falling out of the pin.
_Ring:_ Bend the piece of 3/16-in. wire around a 5/8-in. rod in the
shape of a spiral and saw off each ring as required. The ring should
fit the hole in the key. This method of making a shackle is the same
whether the material is 1/4 in. in diameter or any size up to 2 ins. in
diameter.
CROW-BARS, AND WELDING OF TOOL STEEL TO WROUGHT IRON
[Illustration: Crow-bar]
Crow-bars are made by welding a piece of round No. 2 flat steel into
the end of a wrought iron bar any length or any size, depending upon
the use to which the bar is to be put when made. This drawing shows
a bar for shifting rails for railroads. When the size is determined,
select the wrought iron to be used. Upset the end and split it with a
chisel 3/4 in. for a cleft weld. Re-heat the end to a white heat. Place
it upon the edge of the anvil nearest you and with the peen of the
hammer work the scarf out to a sharp point. Repeat on the other side.
(See picture.) Place the piece of steel selected for welding, in the
fire; shape this end down to a sharp point at an angle of 45°. With
the edge of the chisel placed on this scarf, strike on the top of the
chisel with a sledge hammer. This will cut a nick and at the same time
it raises up a sliver which will help hold the piece of steel in the
iron between the cleft. Cool this scarf off in water until it is black
hot. Heat the piece of iron (scarf end). Place the end of the steel
scarf between the cleft and close the scarf on to the steel by striking
gently. The steel will now stay in the end of the piece until it is
welded. Place the scarf in the fire and when it is red hot cover it
with borax. Get a welding heat on the wrought iron close to the joint
first. Gradually work this heat toward the steel till the borax begins
to burn, emitting a dark brown smoke. Take it out of the fire and place
it on the anvil. One or two sharp blows on the end of the steel will
drive it up into the crotch of the scarf. Now strike gently on the top
of the scarf. Increase the force of the blows when you are sure the
two pieces are welding together. If the pieces are not welding, which
will be readily seen by the points of the scarf opening while working
them down, place them again in the fire, put on borax and re-heat. A
few trials will teach you how hot to get it for welding. Flatten down
the end and shape it as shown in the drawing. Harden and temper the
crow-bar as you would a cold chisel. If the point is not quite sharp
enough grind it on the stone.
NAIL PULLER OR CLAW TOOL
This tool is made in much the same way as you make a crow bar. However,
before bending the end up into a crow-bar shape, cut a slot in the
end, as shown in the picture. Now bend it into shape. The handle should
not be over 20 ins. in length and tapered usually from 3/4 in. at the
large end to about 3/8 in. at the smaller end. The end is now flattened
and a hole punched in it to hang it up when not in use. This is one of
the handiest tools to have around any shop, not only as a nail and a
bolt puller, but it may be used in place of the crow-bar. The drawing
explains the various steps in the making of the tool.
[Illustration: Nail puller]
BUTCHER KNIFE
_Stock:_ Spring steel, 7/8 × 1/16 in. × 9 ins. long.
[Illustration: Butcher knife detail]
The spring steel used for carving knives or any steel used for that
purpose should be a grade that will harden in oil just hard enough to
feel a mill-cut file cut the steel. Cut the stock off 9 ins. and forge
the shank first. On this size steel this forging of the shank consists
in reducing the thickness of the material and widening it about 1/16
in. to 2 ins. in length. This tends to toughen the steel, and it makes
a better knife by this extra work.
[Illustration: Butcher knives]
To forge the blade, heat 7 ins. and bend it a little edgewise before
reducing the one side for cutting edge. Allow the stretching and
thinning out of this edge to straighten the blade, and the curve on the
back will form itself, naturally, by the extra length of the cutting
edge. Do not try to forge the exact shape of the knife. It is much
better to reduce it to the required thickness, outline the shape, and
cut it with a hot or cold chisel. At this thickness the knife can be
worked either hot or cold when doing this particular kind of work.
Cut along the outline, thus giving it shape. A fine file will finish
the roughness on the outline and trim up any uneven spots caused by
the shaping. When the knife is finished, so far as the forging is
concerned, anneal it by heating the whole blade and allowing it to
cool in slaked lime. This relieves any strain due to forging. Handles
are made of bone, birch, or beech, and can be shaped to suit one's
taste. They should measure about 1 × 5/8 × 5 ins. Rivets hold them in
place. (See cut.) These are of brass wire, easily made by cutting off
the length required to go through the wood to hold the blade in place.
Place the blade in the slot of the wood handle and drill four holes
through the wood and through the blade. Do not make the holes more
than 1/16 in. in diameter. Take the blade out, harden, and temper.
All drilling of holes and fitting should be done before the blade is
tempered, while it is in the soft state. It is difficult to drill the
holes after the tempering has been done.
_To temper the blade:_ The blade is tempered by heating it on a coke
fire. Place the back of the blade down, on a piece of flat iron. The
iron will heat red hot. The iron under the knife prevents the flame
striking the blade and heating it unevenly, in spots, as it were. When
the blade is red hot plunge it into a bath made of linseed oil. Take
it out of the oil and polish it. Use the piece of iron the blade was
heated on to draw the temper. This hot iron is put on the anvil, the
back of the knife edgewise is placed on the iron and moved forward and
backward to insure a uniform heat. As soon as the straw colour appears
take out any buckle or bend caused by the hardening. Place the other
side of the blade on the anvil. A few quick, sharp blows with the peen
of the hammer will straighten the blade. Continue the tempering until
the purple colour shows. The blade should be tempered so that a very
smooth, sharp file will just cut it when rubbed over the surface. Place
the blade in the handle and rivet it in place, polish it, and then
grind.
ORNAMENTAL IRON WORK
XXVIII
PROCESSES, ANDIRONS, FIRE TOOLS
[Illustration]
The handling of wrought iron when making ornamental work often brings
in, besides the usual smithing operations, the processes of embossing,
impressing, engraving, etching, inlaying of copper or brass, grinding,
and polishing. Embossing is done by heating the piece and raising the
metal from the back into an iron above the surface.
Impressing is done by cutting an impression in an iron block and
driving the metal into it.
Engraving consists of putting the design upon the iron with a diamond
point chisel or any sharp tool, with the aid of a hammer. When the
design is cut out by means of acid the process is called etching. It
is done in this way: The surface to be etched is first covered with a
layer of wax. The design to be left is scratched through the wax into
the metal by using a very sharp tool. This lays bare the surface of the
metal to be etched. The acid or etching fluid is then applied. When
sufficiently etched the acid is removed from the surface of the metal
by means of turpentine. This stops the action of the acid immediately.
Inlaying is hammering one metal into the surface of another. It is done
by cutting a groove in the surface of one metal and hammering the other
metal into this groove.
Impressing, engraving, etching, inlaying, etc., are used on fine pieces
of ornamental work, such as door knockers, drawer pulls, door handles,
sword blades, ornamental hinges, fire sets, etc., or on small pieces of
work such as initials or coats of arms, etc.
_Splitting of iron or soft steel:_ Splitting iron or soft steel is done
for many pieces of work. All solid rings, rings without welds, handles
for carrying ladles in foundries of all kinds are made in this way.
Most of our ornamental work, where we require two pieces of iron
running from a stem in opposite directions, calls for this process.
[Illustration: Copyright, 1911, by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
Splitting and Shaping the Iron in the Making of Andirons.]
We are now going to make a pair of andirons. The process of splitting
iron comes in with this problem.
[Illustration]
_Pair of andirons:_ It is always best to make a sketch of the large
pieces of ornamental work to be made, in order that they may have the
proper proportion to their setting and bear the right relation to their
surroundings. For instance, a grill made from either wrought iron or
soft steel must fit the opening when finished, iron gates must fit
space for which they are intended, yet not be too tall or too short to
be in good proportion to their setting, etc. Andirons must fit into
the fireplace and occupy the space so as to give the eye a sense of
fitness and proportion to the whole hearth. This sketch shows a pair of
andirons that can be made suitable for any size hearth. No inlaying,
etching, etc., is used upon this work, the only decoration being the
hammer marks left by the peen of the hammer. Andirons are much used in
country homes where log fires are in use. They can be made of iron or
brass, and coal or wood may be used on a hearth fitted out with a pair.
_Stock:_ One piece soft steel, 1-1/2 × 1-1/2 × 20 ins. Two pieces, 7/8
in. square, 9 ins. long. Two pieces, 7/8 in. square, 14 ins. long. Two
pieces, 7/8 in. square, 20 ins. long. One piece 3/4-in. square iron.
One piece 1 × 1/4 × 6 ins. flat iron.
[Illustration: Bend in this way to form the legs]
_Directions:_ Take the 20-in. bar and split it 10 ins. To do this rub
a piece of chalk on the two faces of the bar. This makes clear any
marking put on the surface. With the square mark off 10 ins. from one
end. Now with a pair of dividers set at 3/4 in. run along the bar with
one leg of the dividers on the outer edge to the 10-in. mark. Do this
on both faces. Now mark on this centre line with a cold chisel. Put
the bar into the fire and heat the end of it. Take it out when red
hot and put it on the anvil. The marks made by the cold chisel will
show plainly. With the hot chisel cut along the lines made by the cold
chisel, cutting from both sides of the piece until the bar is divided
into two equal parts. This will require a number of heatings to do. The
last inch should be cut from the top down. To cut this, up-end the bar
on the anvil or any solid base, placing the hot chisel in the crotch of
the piece and striking it with the sledge hammer. This cuts the last
inch down square with the axis of the bar. The sledge hammer work is
heavy and one requires a helper here. The bar is now divided into two
wings. Before shaping these two wings into the base for feet the upper
part of the bar should be drawn out according to the drawing and the
end rounded or squared as suits the taste. The wings are now shaped up
and form the two feet on the bar. (See drawing.)
[Illustration: Shape legs should be before bending]
_To shape the feet of the andiron:_ The drawing shows the shape and
length the legs should be. To do this heat the bar at the crotch, and
flatten both sides out almost straight. This prepares for shaping
according to the drawing. Measure off 3 ins. from the extreme end of
each leg and mark off with a centre-punch. The 3-in. lengths form the
feet. Taper the iron between the centre-punch mark and the crotch so
that when finished the leg should measure 1-1/2 × 5/8 in. close to the
crotch, and 1 × 1/2 in. at the centre-punch mark. Repeat this on the
other leg. Flatten out the feet so that they will measure 3-1/2 × 2-1/4
ins. These feet are slightly impressed. To do this place the feet over
a hollow iron block and force the metal down so that the under side is
raised up about 1/2 in. above the level of the foot. (See dotted lines
on the drawing of the feet.) Repeat on the other side.
The leg is now ready to be bent into shape. Heat up at the crotch and
then bend both legs back toward the top end at an angle of 60°. Heat
again and bend the legs forward, shaping them like the drawing.
_Back part of the andiron:_ The drawing shows a short upright piece
placed so as to prevent the logs rolling out in front. The 14-in. piece
is welded on to the upright, as shown in the drawing, and fastened on
to the andiron. The 20-in. piece is welded on to the andiron and forms
the leg on which the wood is placed. These pieces are welded upon short
uprights by what is called jump welds. (See description of jump welds.)
The end of the iron is bent on the anvil as square bends are always
made. (See description of square bends.) The end that fastens to the
andiron proper is also bent square, but tapered slightly to make a nice
fit. Fastening the frame to the andiron is done with a stud and bolt.
The stud is screwed into the andiron and into the frame as shown by
the dotted lines. A square headed bolt fastens the upper part, thus
preventing any twisting out of place. The only finish given to the
andirons is that left by the marking of this peen hammer. This leaves a
mottled surface, which gives an old look to the finished piece.
_Chain ring bolt:_ Ring bolt is made from a 3/4-in. square iron piece.
This is drawn down at one end until it is 1 in. long and 1/2 in. round.
A thread is cut on this end. Drill a hole through the centre of the
square head 3/8 in. in diameter.
[Illustration: Ring]
[Illustration: Ring bolt]
[Illustration: Andiron with riveted wood rest]
_Ring:_ Take the 1 × 1/4 × 6 in. piece of flat iron. Draw it out so
that it tapers toward each end. (See drawing.) On the extreme end of
each is a 1/4-in. pin 3/8 in. long. Bend ring into shape. The lower
centre of the ring has a knob. This knob is made out of a piece of
3/4-in. square iron pulled down 1/4 in. in diameter and 1/4 in. back
from the end. The fullered end makes the pin and should be cut long
enough to project through the ring 1/8 in. to allow for riveting. You
have sufficient stock to round up on the edge of the anvil into a ball
shape. Drill a hole in the centre of the ring and fit the pin on the
end of the knob into the hole in the ring. Rivet tight. The design
you see on the ring may be put on with a diamond pointed chisel. The
ring is now heated, opened out, and pushed into the hole made in the
ring bolt so that it swings easily into place. Two rings of course
should be made. The chain fastened from one ring to another is used as
a guard against fire. The chain rings are made out of 1/4-in. square
iron which is cut 10 ins. long. Then they are bent square and welded as
chain links are usually welded. Notice that the last two links show an
opening just wide enough to allow them to be slipped into the rings
of the andiron. This completes the set. The finish is made by the
indentations left by the peen of the hammer.
On page 369 is shown another pair of andirons. They are made in the
same way as the pair just described, splitting it down to form the
legs. The wood rests are riveted through the body of the piece, forming
a large rivet head in front to hold it in place and at the same time
adding to the decoration.
FIRE TOOLS AND STAND: POKER, SHOVEL, TONGS
[Illustration]
Fire tools form part of the andiron set and are used for grate fires or
open hearth fires of either coal or wood. They are always in evidence
in country homes where open fireplaces are still in use. They can be
made of brass, iron, or soft steel. If an andiron is in place the fire
tools are usually made of the same metal and finished in the same way
so as to match.
[Illustration]
_Poker:_
_Stock:_ One piece of 7/8-in. round iron or soft steel 8 ins. long (for
handle). One piece 1/2 in. round. One piece 20 ins. long (for rod).
These drawings show a simple design in fire tools. All have handles
after the same design, slightly curved, with a ball as an end
decoration. The making of the handle is described below, and this
method, of course, applies to the making of all the handles of this set.
_Handle:_
_Stock:_ One piece 7/8 in. of round stock fullered down 7/8 in. from
the end to a thickness of 5/8 in. Knock the four corners down and
round up into a ball. Five inches from this, fuller the piece to 5/8
in. thickness. Draw the piece out any length, keeping the thickness
5/8 in. Weld the 1/2-in. rod to the small end. The extreme end of the
poker may be finished in various ways. It is sometimes turned at right
angles to the rod. It may be pointed, flattened, etc. The centre of the
handle is slightly curved. To do this heat the rod and reduce it, then
place it upon the largest part of the horn of the anvil. With the hand
hammer, hammer until the thinnest part in the centre measures about
3/4 in. in diameter. In this way the handle is reduced 1/8 in. at that
point, and curved in slightly.
[Illustration]
_Shovel:_
_Stock:_ Handle, 7/8 × 8 in. round iron or soft steel. Rod, 1/2 × 10
ins. long, iron or soft steel. Shovel blades, rectangular piece of No.
20, soft steel, 6 × 9 ins.
_Directions:_ Handle is made in same way as you made the handle of the
poker.
_Rod:_ The rod is welded at one end to the handle. The other end is
flattened out to be riveted on to the shovel blade. To do this,
upset the extreme end of the rod back about 1 in. and about 3/4 in.
in diameter. Flatten this out and shape it up as shown by the sketch.
Holes are drilled in for 1/8 in. rivets.
_Shovel blade:_ Cut a paper pattern just the shape of the blade. Mark
on the inside of the pattern the width of the edges to be turned up.
Place the paper pattern on the metal and cut out the outline with a
cold chisel. Now mark off the inside line for the turned up edges.
Heat the metal in the forge fire, a little at a time, beginning at the
centre part of the round. Bend it upon a round stake, tapping gently
with the hammer until the blade is well shaped, according to your
design. This size metal will buckle up the same as the copper did. Give
as much care in rounding up the iron as you did to the copper. (See
copper bowl.) When the piece has taken on the shovel shape place the
end of the handle to be riveted on the blade, and mark the holes. Drill
and rivet the handle and the blade with 1/8-in. round head iron rivets.
Notice that the shovel blade is not in an exact line with the handle
and rod. It forms an angle with them. This bend is made after the
riveting is done. Heat the piece where the blade joins the rod and bend
it back gently either with the hand or by tapping it with a hammer,
keeping the hot part of the shovel, all the time, on the horn of the
anvil.
[Illustration]
_Tongs:_
_Stock:_ 7/8 × 12 in. round, for handle. Two pieces 1/2 × 16 in. round
rod.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Make handle as for poker and shovel. Look at the detail
drawing and you will see by the dotted lines that 2 ins. from the lower
end of the handle the stock is bent out at right angles to the axis of
the handle. Take one of the 1/2 × 16 in. round rods, place it in the
swage, using the top swage on this. Shape the piece between the two
swages. Form it to an oval shape by striking with a sledge hammer on
the top swage. This makes one half of the rounded part of the tong.
If this is done without turning the piece while working it, the cross
section will be oval. Bend it rounding, as shown by the drawing. It
is now ready to weld to the rod, but before doing this it is best to
finish the hinge. Draw out the stock between the shoulder and the
bend, 2 × 5/8 ins. in diameter. Leave the stock heavy near the handle
on account of the weight of the tongs. To form the hinge: Place a round
3/4-in. punch, flattened on the end, on the corner and drive down half
way. This makes a circular depression, just large enough to accommodate
the 1/2-in. hinge. Two of these wings of the tongs are to be made to
complete the tongs. The second piece is far simpler than the first to
make, and it is really the only part of the tong that moves. Draw out
the stock and make the same size oval as you made with the other piece
under the swages. Bend it the same shape. Repeat the work with the
punch on the end, thus making the other half of the tong hinge. File
these halves to fit perfectly. When that is satisfactory, drill a hole
through the middle. Put a round-head rivet through, and see whether
the hinge now works perfectly free. Remove rivets. The parts are now
ready to be welded to the rods. Upset the ends of the small rods, scarf
both for a regular lap weld (see Lap Weld), and finish by welding. The
end of the tongs are flattened down. Flatten out the material and at
the same time round it up. If the material is not thick enough to give
enough for this rounding part, upset the end a little, or double the
end over and weld. (See Welding.)
Tongs are now ready for riveting together. Place the hinge in position.
Push the round-head rivet through the hole made. Let it push through
far enough to allow material for a rivet head of exactly the size of
the round head. The head may be rounded up if not too large, while it
is cold. Since only a 1/4-in. rivet is called for here, this work can
be done without any heating.
Tongs are made, as you know, for the purpose of picking up pieces of
wood or coal to place them in a stove or open fire. One must keep their
use in mind when making the ends of the tongs fitted to do this work,
so the ends may be flat, round, claw shaped, concaved, etc. The finish
will be the same as the finish on the andiron, without any attempt at
ornament. The surface should show the hammer marks, but be quite free
from lumps.
_Stand:_ Sometimes hooks are fastened in the fireplace for holding the
fire tools. A tool stand, however, is most convenient and may be made
easily. The drawing shows a plain design, with base, feet, upright,
arms for receiving the tools, and handle.
_Stock:_ Base, No. 20 sheet iron, 18 × 14 ins., oblong piece. Feet:
3 pieces, 1 in. square, 2 ins. long. Upright, 3/4 in. round, 26 ins.
long. Arms, 2 pieces, 1 × 1/4 × 15 ins. Handle, 1 × 1/2 × 20 ins.
_Directions:_ The drawing shows the stand as it should look when
finished. Base is made first. Cut out a pattern of an ellipse, long
diameter 18 ins., short diameter 14 ins. Place this pattern on the
oblong piece and cut it out with shears or a cold chisel. On the inside
mark off 1-1/4 ins. parallel to the outside edge. On that line turn the
metal up as you turned up the rim of the copper bowl. This can be done
while the metal is either hot or cold. Perhaps it is a little easier
to work up most of the bend while the metal is hot and finish up while
it is cold. Do not cool the metal off in water, though. This tends
to harden it a little. Let it cool off gradually, and when necessary
anneal or soften it. _Feet:_ The 1-in. square iron is fullered down
1 in. from the end. The ball is rounded out of this end piece same as
was done in making the balls for the door knocker. This leaves part of
the metal with which to make a pin for riveting. Cut off this rivet
pin the length required. Rivet holes are made in the base large enough
to receive the rivet pins on the iron feet. Divide the base into three
equal parts. Drill rivet holes the right size, put the iron balls in
place, and rivet.
_Arms:_ The two pieces of 1/4 × 1 × 15 ins. are bent and scarfed. The
two scarfed edges are welded together. Then the end is welded to one
end of the upright post.
_Handle:_ The handle is made separate and is then welded on to the
arms. Take the 1/2 × 20 in. piece and bend it at right angles 5 ins.
from each end. Heat it in the middle and bend so the two ends come
together. This forms a loop. Make this loop the same shape as is shown
by the handle. Weld the two 5-in. ends together, shape, and then weld
this to the crotch of the arms. This forms the handle. The arms are now
bent wide enough to receive the fire tools.
_The upright:_ Cut it off 30 ins. from the top of the arms. Upset
one end large enough to make a foot 4 ins. long and about 2 ins.
wide. This is flattened down and shaped as shown, for three 1/4-in.
rivets. Push the rivets in and rivet the upright to the base. If the
base should not be strong enough to hold the upright firm it can be
strengthened by placing a brace from the long ends and fastening it to
the centre of the upright. This adds to the decoration as well as the
strength. Use a 1/2 × 1/8 in. flat bar of iron or steel. Place it in a
vise and twist it about two thirds of its length. Bend the ends to fit
the curved sides of the base and also to fit the post. A small 1/8-in.
rivet on each side and one through the post will hold it sufficiently.
The stand is finished to correspond with the andiron and fire tools.
In this design the hammer marks seem more suitable than any special
decoration. A little machine oil spread over the surface, the whole
thing heated in the forge fire until the oil flashes off, gives a
natural iron finish, which is most pleasing.
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.
[Illustration]
_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.
[Illustration]
_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.
[Illustration]
_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.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
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
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration: Copyright, 1911, by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Iron bracket]
_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.
XXX
LAMPS, LANTERNS, IRON KETTLE STAND, UMBRELLA STAND
WROUGHT IRON LAMP
[Illustration]
The sketch shows a wrought iron lamp with square base, four feet, round
hollow post, shade holder and shade.
_Base:_ No. 16 soft sheet steel, 10 ins. square.
[Illustration: Copyright, 1911, by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
Making an Iron Lamp--Bending the Parts of the Base]
Make a 2-1/2-in. circle in the centre of the 10-in. square piece. Drive
this up 1/2 in. above the level by placing it over a 2-1/2-in. hole in
a wooden block or a swage block. If this piece of iron is placed
over a hole any diameter and struck on the opposite side with the peen
of the hammer it will sink into the hole and take the rounding shape.
This can be done while the metal is cold. With a pair of dividers find
the centre of boss and describe a faint circle 1 in. less than the
diameter of the base. Tangent to those lines draw lines along the edge
of the base. The dotted lines on the sketch show how the base should be
cut out. The stock left on the corners forms the feet when the sides of
the base are bent into shape. Cut out the piece of metal as described
and bend the sides over 1/2 in. The corners must be heated red hot
and formed separately. This is best done over the heel of the anvil.
After placing the heated corners on the heel of the anvil drive quickly
with a light hammer first on one side and then on the other, forming
and upsetting the metal into shape at the same time. The flare on the
bottom of the feet is worked in after the corners and shaped as shown
in the sketch. Repeat this on the four corners. Now flare out the feet
on the horn of the anvil. Out of the centre of the boss cut a circle a
little less than the base of the post, to receive the post.
_Post:_ Take a 10 × 5 in. piece and bend it around a piece of round
iron so that the two edges will fit close together. The inside and
outside of these are filed for brazing. (See Brazing.) This post is now
bound with good strong wire to keep the joint close. Cover with flux,
place in the fire and add the smelter to the joint on the inside of the
pipe. When the smelter runs into the joint take it out of the fire and
allow it to cool in the air. The joint is now filed up on the outside
and if properly brazed should show only a very fine line made by the
smelter. The upper part of the post is now swelled out as shown in the
sketch, by heating at a low heat and spreading the metal out all around
the end.
A cap is placed on top of the post to hold the arms that support the
shade and to hold, too, the electric light bulb, or gas pipe, or oil
well, according to the light to be used. The cap is made by rounding
the end of a 1-in. bar to 1/2 in. in diameter, 2 ins. long. The other
end is cut off about 1/2 in. to allow for the flattening down to make
the cap.
Place the 1/2-in. stem into a heading tool and flatten this bar down
quite thin. Spread it out so that the edges can be turned over at right
angles to form a cap to fit the top of the post. This cap can be either
brazed or riveted on to the post. Either will look well. If used for
gas or electric light a hole should be drilled through the centre of
the cap and through the post to receive the wire. If used for gas the
lower side can be tapered out so that 1/8-in. gas pipe can be screwed
in. Now cut a thread on the top of the post to fit an electric light
socket. The same thread acts as a holder for the bracket of the shade
holder. Place the cap on the post, rivet and braze. File the lower part
of the post and the inside of the hole on the base perfectly clean. The
bottom of the post should be filed a little tapering so it will fit
into the base of the hole tight. Wire it in for brazing so that the
post will stand perpendicular to the base. Carry your binding wires
from the top of the post to the four corners of the base, using heavy
wire for this work of binding. Cover the joint with flux. Place the
centre on the fire and put the brazing material on the joint around
the post. With a slow heat, heat till the smelter runs into the joint.
Close off the blast, let it remain in the fire until cold, then remove
it.
_Shade holder:_ This is made of a piece of 1 × 1/8 × 10 in. soft steel.
Fuller down 3 ins. from the end to 3/8 × 1/8 in. Draw this out any
length. Split the other end to within 1-1/8 ins. of this fuller mark.
Throw these arms out and draw each down the same size as the other, 1/8
× 3/8 in. Place the crotch on a small bottom fuller and with the top
fuller spread each arm out so that it will measure an equal distance
from the other arms. At the same time this will shape the centre. Drive
the end out tapering 3/8 in. wide at the base, tapering to 1/8 in.
square at the ends. The length of the arms depends upon the size of the
shade. Tip ends of the arms should be bent up 1/8 in. to hold the shade
in place. Drill a hole in the centre of the tripod and tap a thread in
the hole to fit the thread on the end of the cap, so that this will
screw on. These arms can be bent down or up to suit the height of the
shade.
_Shade:_ The shade pattern is developed in the same way as the shade
described in the copper article on lamp shades. In this case, however,
each unit is cut out separately and riveted to the next; all put
together and filed; 1/8-in. soft iron rivets are used for riveting the
parts.
_Glass:_ The glass can be bought at any glazier's. Cathedral opalescent
glass is best. Place a piece of card-board on one of the units and mark
the outline of the opening. Cut about 3/8 in. larger than this outline.
This pattern taken to the glazier can be cut out from any kind of
glass, according to the size wanted.
LAMP
This lamp may be used for gas, oil, or electricity. The difference
between this and the preceding lamps lies in the construction of the
base. The full page illustration shows lamp described here.
[Illustration]
_Base:_ Soft steel 1/8 × 5 × 24 ins.
Mark off the design shown by the full lines on the 1/8 × 5 × 24 in.
piece. This is for one leg of the lamp. Cut with a sharp cold chisel
along the outline about two thirds of the way through the thickness.
Place the cut line in the jaws of the vise. With a pair of tongs grasp
the waste material, then with a prying motion break off these pieces.
File up the rough edge left by the cutting. With this piece as a
pattern cut in like manner three more pieces, making four in all. This
makes the stock for the four legs. Place the foot end of one piece into
the fire and bend about 1 in. of this end into a small circle having a
radius of not more than 3/4 in. About 5 ins. back from this heat the
metal to a length of 5 ins. Place it on the anvil as shown and with
the hand hammer drive it into a circle.
[Illustration]
While bending this into shape keep the circle a little larger than the
drawing calls for. The circle is very easily reduced, while if it was
made too small in the beginning one would have to straighten the whole
piece out to increase the size. Therefore, it is best to work it large
until finished. Wide stock like this is easily twisted out of shape, so
that it is very difficult to bend it up in a circle of this kind. It is
hard, too, to change any twist that may be worked in.
[Illustration]
Bend the other three legs in the same way, as nearly like the first
one as you can. Be sure to make the four legs the same height when
finished. Drill three holes for 3/8-in. bolts, as shown in the sketch.
Seven inches below the top drill one hole in each leg for a rosette or
some form of decorative treatment. These four legs are held in place by
means of a tapered square plug 4 ins. long. The small end should fit
the smallest width on the lamp legs and the taper 4 ins. below this
width. Drill a hole through the centre of this plug for a 1/8-in. gas
pipe, if to be used for gas. The same opening can be made for electric
wires, etc., and a lamp well, placed at the end for a lamp.
_To put the lamp together:_ Place one leg on the square plug and mark
through the holes on the plug. Centre-punch these holes and drill for
a 3/8-in. top. The hole should be drilled through the plug. Tap out
the holes and bolt the two legs, one on either side. While drilling
these holes be sure they are at right angles to the centre axis of the
plug. This means a little blocking up on the tapered end. Bolt the two
legs to the plug by using any short 3/8-in. bolts for this purpose.
If all work so far has been carefully done these two legs will stand
vertically to the plane of the table. If not they can be made to do so
by taking out a little of the curve in the legs, thereby lengthening
the side that might be a little short. Place one leg up on the third
side and with a scratch awl mark the holes through on to the plug and
drill these three holes through the plug. Tap out as you did before
and put the other two feet on. Square up all the work done. Bolts are
used for this purpose. Take 3/8-in. square bolts, 1/2 in. long. Reduce
the thickness of the head to 1/8 in., flattening and rounding the top
slightly. Put these in place of the temporary bolts. They will hold the
sides of the lamp in place.
A decorative piece can be made out of a bolt head by placing it in the
heading tool and forming a pyramid shaped head. This is pushed through
the hole and riveted on the other side. Cut off a piece of gas pipe
short enough to extend about 1 in. above the top of the lamp and to
come within 2 ins. from the base. This is now forced through the hole
in the plug. If any of the bolts should have screwed into this hole,
preventing this pipe from going through, they should be filed off. To
fill up the interval caused by the four scrolls bending outward on the
top of the lamp, forge a round ball on the end of a square bar to fit
this opening. Cut off the ball and drill a hole in through the ball to
slip over the pipe. The thread on the end of the pipe should fall below
the top of the ball. Make a tripod as explained in the description of
the preceding lamp. Screw it in the end of this pipe tight against the
ball. The end of the pipe is used for the fixtures needed.
[Illustration: Forge ball 1-2-3 Drill hole 4]
LANTERNS
[Illustration]
The lantern shown here is of a simple design and can be made out of
material without putting in any bends or twists. The material for the
making of the uprights is 1/2 × 1/8 in. steel.
The top and bottom should be made of No. 16 soft steel. The design
shows that all pieces are riveted together on a framework.
The top can be of one piece and shaped as shown in the sketch. Bottom
is of one piece and is made for electric light, candle, or oil lamp.
Fixtures for any one of the above ways of lighting must be placed
in the bottom of the lantern. For the candle, a small socket can be
riveted to the bottom. A cup to receive the oil lamp may be put in
place. If candle or oil is used the bottom of the lantern must be
fastened with a hinge, so that it will open to receive the lamp or
candle. If it is adjusted for using electric light the cluster sockets
can be fastened to the bottom, or they can hang from the top. These
lanterns can be made in all sizes, from one small enough for a cozy
corner to one large enough for a lodge keeper's gate.
They may be hung on ornamental brackets, as shown in the sketch
here, or they may hang directly from the ceiling, with ring or chain
fastenings. They are made square, round, hexagonal, and so forth.
IRON KETTLE STAND
The sketch here shows a simple design of a kettle stand. The parts are
(1) upright stand, (2) alcohol lamp holder, (3) hook.
_Material:_ One piece 5/16-in. square iron, 20 ins. Two pieces 5/16-in.
square iron, 9 ins. One piece 5/16 in. square iron, 7 ins. One piece
3/16-in. round iron, 8 ins. One sheet No. 20 iron, 6 in. in diameter.
[Illustration: Kettle stand]
_Directions:_ Flatten one end of each piece of the three pieces, 5/16
× 20 in., 2 pieces of 5/16 × 9 in. Weld these three together. Weld the
5/16 × 7 in. piece to the three pieces as shown by the sketch. Bend the
two 9-in. legs out equal distances from the front leg. This forms the
tripod. Bend the ends of the three short pieces into a scroll to form
the feet. Now, bend the centre rod up as shown in the sketch. When this
is done catch it in the vise close to the bend. With the monkey wrench
grasp it about two thirds of the way up and twist the centre piece
to the right a sufficient number of turns to give it a regular bend
between the two points. Reduce the end of this upright post to 3/16 in.
round and 6 ins. in length, leaving on the end a small boss about 3/8
in. This boss is to be rounded up by flattening and rounding on the
edge of the anvil. Through the centre of this boss punch a 3/16-in.
hole and drive into it a piece of 8 × 3/16 in. round wire. When half
of the wire is pushed through the hole bend the ends forward and at
the same time drive them into the boss. This prevents the bent piece
of iron from working up and down. It is now opened out as shown by the
sketch and bent into a hook shape. The end of the post is turned so
that the centre of this hook will hang over the centre of the tripod.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Lamp holder:_ Mark on the 6-in. disc a flower form similar to the
one shown in the sketch. Cut out the design with a sharp chisel. File
all rough edges and bend the shape up so that it will fit around the
outside of the alcohol lamp, to hold it in place. Punch a hole through
the centre for a 1/8-in. rivet and drill a 1/8-in. hole directly under
the centre of the hook. Place the lamp holder on and rivet in place.
When the kettle is placed on the hook it should hang directly over the
lamp. If it does not do so the post may be changed and the position of
the kettle made to correspond.
[Illustration: Copyright, 1911, by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
Ornamental Work and the Straightening and Finishing of an Umbrella
Stand]
UMBRELLA STAND
The umbrella stand in the accompanying illustration shows a splendidly
shaped design. You will notice that the four uprights are curved and
twisted, fastened to two rings 10 ins. in diameter. The pan in the
bottom of the stand, placed there to catch the drippings from the
umbrellas, is made of copper and is beaten into shape in the same way
as you would drive any pan into form. This is made to fit in the base
of the stand.
To make this stand, take four pieces 1 × 1/8 in. flat soft steel, 40
ins. long. Two pieces 1 × 1/8 in., 31 ins. long, are needed for the
rings; four pieces 1 × 3/8 × 12 ins. for legs. The copper pan should be
12 ins. in diameter.
XXXI
DOOR KNOCKERS, PLATES, ETC.
DOOR KNOCKER
Sketches given here show two different designs of door knockers. In the
first design the knocker itself is made of round iron and twisted to
form part of the design. It is made of very heavy stock.
[Illustration: Door knocker]
_Stock:_ Escutcheon plate: 1 × 1/4 in. flat iron. Bolt: 3/4 × 1/2 in.
iron. Knocker: 1/4 × 1 × 4 ins. long. _Directions:_ Take the piece of
metal intended for the escutcheon plate and thin the ends out according
to the dimensions of the drawing. Draw out the end of the 3/8 × 1/2 in.
piece until it is 3/8 in. in diameter and 2 ins. long. The thickness of
the door must determine the length of this bolt. Since the door knocker
fastens on to the door, the bolt should go through and fasten on the
inside with a washer and nut. The other end of the bolt is rounded to
the dimensions given and a 1/4-in. hole is drilled through the centre.
_Knocker:_ Taper the 1/4 × 1 × 4 in. piece of iron down as shown in
sketch, retaining the thickness, 1/4 in., throughout the whole length.
The two small pins on the end of the knocker are now made 1/4 in. in
diameter and 1/4 in. long. This whole piece is bent into shape, the
pins touching and the sides filed parallel to fit the bolt. When it is
fastened into the bolt it should fit up snug and close.
_Ball for end of knocker:_ Take a piece of 5/8-in. round iron any
length. Fuller in as shown by the sketch. Rivet this to the centre
of the knocker, the pin on the end of the ball projecting far enough
through to make a rather large rivet head on the other side. The rivet
head acts as a knocker. The bolt is pushed through the escutcheon
plate, then the knocker is ready to be placed on the door. Sometimes
these balls are made long enough to go through the door and fasten in
the same way as the bolt.
_Second door knocker:_ The design and dimensions given here show the
general scheme of this knocker. The escutcheon plate is made with a
piece of 1/8 × 5-1/2 × 7 in. soft steel. The corners of this piece are
clipped off and filed rounding or square.
_Knocker:_ The knocker is made in the same way as the knocker was made
in the first design. You use a piece of very heavy material about 1-3/4
in. in diameter. The ends are drawn down to 1/2 in. in diameter. If
the stock is 1 in. in diameter, the piece may be upset large enough in
the middle for the centre. This lessens the work of drawing out and
is perhaps a much quicker way of making a knocker. The length of the
knocker ring before it is bent is about 15 ins. This is pushed into the
eye bolt. This knocker is placed on the door with wrought iron nails,
one in each corner. The bolts that hold the knocker are riveted flush
to the back of the plate. This finishing work should be done by the
peen end of the hammer while the metal is cold.
_Escutcheon plates:_ Escutcheon plates are used for lock plates and
fancy key ways. Some are plain, while others lend themselves to
elaborate decorations. They are forged out while hot. Two designs are
here given. The simpler one explains itself.
[Illustration]
_Decorated Plate:_
_Stock:_ 1/8 × 1 × 6 in. soft steel.
_Directions:_ Mark off 1-1/2 in. each way from the centre of the
plate and centre-punch. This allows about 1-1/2 in. on each end for
drawing-out purposes. Draw ends out. (See sketch). Split the metal
down to the centre-punch mark as shown in the sketch. These small ends
are now bent out, and the long ends are bent in a circle, thus forming
the design. The key way is made by drilling two 1/4 in. holes 1/2 in.
apart about the middle of the piece. Chisel out a piece between the two
holes according to the design. Drill four holes as shown. These are for
screws or wrought iron nails, used to fasten plates to doors. Many
escutcheon plates are used for wall cabinets, cedar chests, doors, etc.
DOOR KNOCKERS
_Stock:_ Piece of soft steel 1/8 in. thick, 3 × 7 ins., for the
escutcheon. Knocker, 3/4 × 1/4 × 5-1/2 ins. Eye bolt 3/4 × 1/2 bar any
length. Strike pin, 3/8 in. round, 3/4 in. long (on bar).
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ Mark off on a thin sheet of metal the outline of the
drawing. Cut the escutcheon plate same shape as the drawing (using cold
chisel). File it up so that the edges are perfectly smooth. With a
1/8-in. drill, drill holes for the screws.
_Knocker:_ Split the 5-1/2-in. piece of stock, leaving 1 in. square
for the eye bolt and eye untouched. Round up the wings to 1/4 in.
in diameter. Twist the two wings according to the design. Bring the
two loose ends together and weld up 1-1/2 in. from the end. The same
heat will enable you to draw and shape the loop. Spread out the parts
between the weld and the twist, forming in this way the loop. _Eye
bolt:_ This is best made by working the end of a bar any length of the
size stock given. The drawing shows a jaw-shaped holder to receive the
eye of the knocker.
Punch a hole about 3/4 in. from the end of the bar about 1/4 in. in
diameter. Cut out the piece between the hole and the end of the bar
with a chisel. This forms the jaw. The small pin end is fullered down
and drawn out the same as you did on the boss of the ring for the
andiron, then it is riveted on to the escutcheon plate (see drawing)
in place to receive the knocker. A 1/8-in. hole is drilled through
this and through the eye of the knocker for the rivet to fasten the
two together. The strike pin is made in the same way as the eye bolt,
except that there is no jaw, just the plain piece of iron. The sketch
shows a simple projection for the knocker to strike on.
Door knockers were used formerly in place of door bells, but to-day
they are merely used for ornamental purposes.
DOOR PULLS
Door pulls are used as knockers, too. In general they take the place of
door knobs, and are used in conjunction with a door plate. They are
made of soft steel or iron.
_Stock:_ Soft steel or wrought iron, 1/8 × 3 × 6-1/2 ins., made same
way as the door knockers.
[Illustration]
DOOR HANDLES
_Stock:_ 5/8 in. round, 6 ins. long, of soft steel or wrought iron.
[Illustration]
_Directions:_ The piece of stock is drawn from the centre 2-3/4 ins.
both ways to 5/16 in. in diameter. This will leave a piece of the full
size material on each end of the rod. Flatten this out from the wide
ends. Heat the iron very hot and flatten it down so that the width will
be not less than 1-1/2 in. to 2 ins., to 1/8 in. thick. Cut the design
out. Any one of the designs shown can be used. The bosses are drawn up
from the under part by using the peen of the hammer and driving it into
a hard wood block, or on an iron stake, as explained in the article on
embossing. A very blunt chisel, like a fuller, will give the centre
effect. The handles are now bent into shape. Some handles are twisted
out of flat stock.
[Illustration]
DRAWER PULLS
[Illustration]
Drawer pulls are made in much the same way as door knockers. There are
the escutcheon plate, bolt, and ring. They may be made to push through
a drawer of any kind. The design depends much upon the use the drawer
pull is put to. They can be made out of round iron, flat iron, twisted
iron.
_Stock:_ Escutcheon plate, 1/8 in. soft steel, 2-1/4 ins. round. Bolt,
1/2 in. square on the bar. Ring, 1/4 × 6-1/2 ins., all of soft steel.
_Directions:_ With a cold chisel cut a piece of flat soft steel 2-1/4
ins. round and make a disc. Divide the disc as shown by the drawing.
File out the escalloped edges and with a small hand chisel chase the
lines so as to form the design. The small half-round chisel will form
the ovals and a centre-punch will form the dots. The ring is made by
drawing each end of the 6-1/2-in. piece to a taper, leaving about one
third of it for a centre. The ends should be tapered to 1/4 in. round.
These ends fit into the bolt. Bend the ring into a circle. Engrave the
design as you did on the escutcheon plate, using the same tools. The
eye bolt is made from the 1/2-in. square bar by drawing out the end of
the bar 2 ins. or less in length, 1/4 round, the length depending upon
the thickness of the drawer. This bolt is to go through the drawer and
be screwed tight in place with a nut. The large part is now cut off 1/2
in. in length and the four corners knocked down. A 1/4-in. hole should
be drilled through the bolt to receive the ring. Heat the ring red hot
at the heavy part and with a pair of tongs open it out just wide enough
to receive the eye bolt. Then the ring is pushed into place.
_Bossing up:_ Place the disc while cold on the hollow wood block and
drive down from the under side with the hammer, bending in the inside.
This makes the outside slightly oval, so that the bearing will be on
the outer surface. The depth of this concave should not exceed 1/4 in.
A few designs are here given.
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
[Transcriber's Notes:
Spelling appears to be evolving between US/UK e.g. ACKNOWLEDGMENT,
galvanized, practice, calipers, wagon, mold. Both color and colour
are used in the text.
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
Obvious typos repaired:
p92. ELECTRICTY -> ELECTRICITY
p104. place-ing -> placing.
p175. When you have taken off the bending -> binding.
p176. braclet -> bracelet.
p279. it will come on -> come out.
p294. a temperature of 4300° -> 430°F.
p300. champering -> chamfering
p321. cut if -> cut off.
p332. orginal -> original
The text contains some inaccuracies which have been left but are noted
here:
p36. This piece of wood is quoted on p34. as being
10 × 1-1/4 × 1-1/4 ins.
p309. "The articles all this time are absorbing charcoal"
should be "carbon".
]
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