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.
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