Book description
INTRODUCTORY IN compiling this book on Blacksmith work, I have in mind
the many little difficulties which arise from time to time in this class
of work. In my own experience, and also in that of my fellow workmen,
problems both of time saving and labour saving have had to be solved,
and the tricks of the trade and wrinkles which have been learned
thereby, are passed on in this book to anyone who can make use of them.
I trust that they will be found of real service to the young and
ambitious smith. Blacksmithing is a trade difficult to learn. Well
termed the King of Trades, practically every kindred trade depends on it
in some shape or form. Tools, without which modern methods could not be
de- veloped, have to be speedily made, repaired and tempered. I have
endeavoured in this book to demonstrate, by drawings and simple text
matter, specimens of smith work commonly done, and the best, simplest
and quickest way to do them. From my own experience, gained at the
forges of different engineering works, I have tried to pass on the
easiest and best methods of arriving at the finished job. The different
types of forged work seen to-day, and the various methods by which they
may be done, appear to be endless. It is not surprising, therefore, that
many smiths are often at a loss as to how to commence a job and how best
to proceed with it. It is no uncommon sight to see a smith commence with
what should really be an intermediate or final operation. Valuable time
and material is often lost through such methods. With a view to
surmounting this difficulty, I have illustrated the finished article,
the commencing, following- through and final operations, which have
proved under various conditions to be most successful. To become a good
smith, the ability to concentrate ones mind on the work in hand is
necessary. While the iron is in the lire, the smith should be mentally
visualising the various operations to be gone through immediately the
iron is ready. He is a poor workman who brings his heated iron below the
hammer with no clear idea in his head as to what he intends to do first.
A good motto would be, Think first and act afterwards. The smith who is
well equipped with tools will often finish his job in one heat, whereas
the smith using antiquated methods will require three or four heats for
the same job. Some of the tools illustrated in this book might almost be
called labour-saving gadgets, as in many cases they have no resemblance
to the orthodox tool. The smith who has to rely on his striker has
obviously to use different methods from the smith who has the advantage
of the steam hammer. Rapid calculations plays an important part in
modern smith work, and the smith who can reckon in figures the required
length of material necessary to do a certain job has the advantage of
his fellow workman who merely relies on guesswork. I do not suggest that
the working black- smith should be a skilled mathematician, and I have
there- fore embodied in this work one or two simple formulas for
calculating length, which will be found to work out very well in
practice. These formulas can quickly be acquired by memory, and the
smith will then be saved the worry of wondering whether he has cut
enough material for a job, or whether he is going to have a big waste of
bar. In a sentence, I have endeavoured to show, by illustrations and
text matter, how to obtain the length of material for a job, the tools
required, and the operations necessary to complete the job in the most
expeditious manner.
