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.