MECHANICK EXERCISES: OR, The Doctrine of Handy-Works.
Of SMITHING in General.
Definition.
SMITHING is an Art-Manual, by which an irregular Lump (or several Lumps) of Iron, is wrought into an intended Shape.
This Definition, needs no Explanation; therefore I shall proceed to give you an Account of the Tools a Smith uses; not but that (they being so common) I suppose you do already know them; but partly because they may require some pre-caution in setting them up fittest to your use, and partly because it behoves you to know the Names, Smiths call the several parts of them by, that when I name them in Smith's Language (as I shall oft have occasion to do in these Exercises) you may the easier understand them, as you read them.
Of setting up a Smith's Forge.
THE Hearth, or Fire-place of the Forge marked A (in Plate 1.) is to be built up from your floor with Brick about two foot and an half, or sometimes two foot nine Inches high, according to the purpose you design your Forge for; for if your Forge be intended for heavy work, your Hearth must lie lower than it need be for light work, for easiness of management, and so broad as you think convenient: It may be built with hollow Arches underneath, to set several things out of the way▪ The [Page 2] Back of the Forge is built upright to the top of the Ceiling, and inclosed over the Fire-place with a Hovel, which ends in a Chimney to carry away the Smoak, as B. In the back of the Forge against the Fire-place, is fixed a thick Iron Plate, and a taper Pipe in it about five Inches long, called a Tewel, or (as some call it) a Tewel-Iron marked *, which Pipe comes through the Back of the Forge, as at C. Into this taper Pipe or Tewel is placed the Nose, or Pipe of the Bellows. The Office of this Tewel, is only to preserve the Pipe of the Bellows, and the back of the Forge about the Fire-place from burning. Right against the Back is placed at about twenty Inches, or two foot distance the Trough, and reaches commonly through the whole breadth of the Forge, and is as broad and deep as you think good, as at D. The Bellows is placed behind the Back of the Forge, and hath, as aforesaid, its Pipe fitted into the Pipe of the Tewel, and hath one of its Boards fixed so that it move not upwards or downwards. At the Ear of the upper Bellows Board is fastened a Rope, or sometimes a Thong of Leather, or an Iron Chain or Rod, as E; which reaches up to the Rocker, and is fastened there to the farther end of the Handle, as at F. This Handle is fastened a-cross a Rock-staff, which moves between two Cheeks upon the Center-pins in two Sockets, as at G. So that by drawing down this Handle, the moving Board of the Bellows rises, and by a considerable weight set on the top of its upper Board sinks down again, and by this Agitation performs the Office of a pair of Bellows.
Of the Anvil.
THE shape of a Black Smith's Anvil I have inserted in this Figure, though it is sometimes made with a Pike, or Bickern, or Beak-iron, at one end of it, whose use I shall shew you when I come to round hollow work. Its Face must be very flat and smooth, without Flaws, [Page 3] and so hard, that a File will not touch it (as Smiths say, when a File will not cut, or race it.) The upper Plain A. is called the Face; it is commonly set upon a wooden Block, that it may stand very steady and solid, and about two foot high from the floor, or sometimes higher, according to the stature of the Person that is to work at it.
Of the Tongs.
THere are two sorts of Tongs used by Smiths; the one the Straight nosed Tongs, used when the work is short, and somewhat flat, and generally for all Plate Iron. The other Crooked nos'd Tongs, to be used for the forging small Bars, or such thicker work, as will be held within the Returns of their Chaps. The Chaps are placed near the Joint, because, that considering the length of the Handles, they hold the Iron faster than they would do, were they placed farther from the Joint, as in the Fig. 3, 4. A the Chaps, B the Joint, CC the Handles.
Of the Hammer, and the Sledge.
THere are several sorts of Hammers used by Black-Smiths; as first the Hand-hammer, which is sometimes bigger, or less, according to the Strength of the Work-man; but it is a Hammer of such weight, that it may be weilded, or governed, with one hand at the Anvil. Secondly, the Up-hand Sledge, used by under-Workmen, when the Work is not of the largest, yet requires help to batter, or draw it out; they use it with both their Hands before them, and seldom lift their Hammer higher than their head. Thirdly, the About Sledge is the biggest Hammer of all, and is also used by under-Workmen, for the battering, or drawing out of the largest Work; and then they hold the farther end of the Handle in both their Hands, and swinging the Sledge above their Heads, they at Arms end let fall as heavy a Blow as they can upon the Work. There is [Page 4] also another Hammer used by them, which they call a Rivetting-hammer. This is the smallest Hammer of all, and very rarely used at the Forge, unless your Work prove very small; but upon cold Iron it is used for riveting, or setting straight; or crooking small work. In Fig. 5. A the Face, B the Pen, C the Eye, D the Handle.
Of the Vice.
THE Vice must be set up very firmly that it shake not, and stand upright with its Chaps, parallel or range with your Work-bench; because square filing, is a great piece of good Workmanship in a Smith; and should the Vice not stand upright, and range with the Work-bench, the Chaps pinching upon two square sides, would make the top side of your work either lean towards you; or from you; and consequently you filing (as a good Workman ought to do) upon the flat, or Horizontal Plain of your work, would take off more of that Angle, or Edge, which rises higher than the Plain, and less off that Edge that lies lower than the Plain; so that one Angle being higher, or lower, than the other, your work instead of being filed Square, would be filed Square-wise, when you shall have filed all its flat sides, and that more or less, according to the leaning of the Chaps of your Vice. AA the Face, hath its two ends lie in a straight Line with the middle of its Face, or Plain. B the Chaps must be cut with a Bastard Cut, and very well tempered, C the Screw Pin, cut with a square strong Worm. D the Nut, or Screw Box, hath also a square Worm, and is brazed into the round Box. E the Spring must be made of good Steel, and very well temper'd: Where note, that the wider the two ends of the Spring stand asunder, the wider it throws the Chaps of the Vice open. F the Foot must be straight, and therefore will be the stronger to bear good heavy Blows upon the work screwed in the Chaps of the Vice, that it neither bow, or tremble.
Of the Hand-Vice.
OF the Hand-Vice are two Sorts, one is called the Bread Chapt Hand-Vice, the other the Squar Nos'd Hand-Vice. The Office of the Hand-Vice, is to hold small work in, that may require often turning about; it is held in the left hand, and each part of your work turned upwards successively, that you have occasion to file with your right. The Square-nos'd Hand-Vice is seldom used, but for filing small Globulous Work, as the Heads of Pins that round off towards the Edges, &c. And that because the Chaps do not stand shouldering in the way, but that the flat of the File may the better come at the Edges. Their Chaps must be cut as the Vice aforesaid, and well tempered.
Of the Plyers.
PLyers are of two Sorts, Flat Nos'd, and Round Nos'd. Their Office is to hold, and fasten upon all small work, and to fit it in its place. The Round Nos'd Plyers, are used for turning, or bowing Wyer, or small Plate, into a circular Form. The Chaps of the Flat Nos'd Plyers, must also be cut and temper'd, as the Chaps of the Vice. A the Nose, B the Chaps, C the Joint, DD the Handles.
Of the Drill, and Drill-Bow.
DRills are used for the making such Holes, as Punches will not conveniently serve for, as a piece of work that hath already its Shape, and must have an hole, or more, made in it. Hore the force of a Punch, will set your work out of order and shape, because it will both batter the Surface of the Iron, and stretch its Sides out: The shank of a Key also, or some such long Hole, the Punch cannot strike, because the Shank is not forged with substance sufficient; but the Drill, tho' your work be filed [Page 6] and polish'd, never batters or stretches it, but cuts a ture round Hole, just in the point you first place it. You must have several Sizes of Drills, according as your work may require. The shape in Fig. 8. is enough to shew the Fashion of it; but it must be made of good Steel, and well tempered. A the Point, AB the Shank, C the Drill-barrel: Where note, that the bigger the Drill-barrel is, the easier it runs about, but less swift.
And as you must be provided with several Drills, so you may sometimes require more than one Drill-bow, or at least, several Drill-strings; the strongest Strings for the largest Drills, and the smallest Strings for the smallest Drills: But you must remember, that whether you use a small or strong String, you keep your Drill-bow straining your String pretty stiff, or lese your String will not carry your Barrel briskly about. But your String and Bow, must both be accommodated to the Size of your Drill; and if both, or either, be too strong, they will break, or bend your Drill; or if too weak, they will not carry about the Barrel, as aforesaid.
The Drill-Plate, or Breast-plate, is only a piece of flat Iron, fixt upon a flat Board, which Iron hath an hole punched a little way into it, to set the blunt end of the Shank of the Drill in, when you drill a hole: Workmen instead of it, many times use the Hammer, into which they prick a hole a little way on the side of it, and so set the Hammer against their Breast.
Of the Screw-Plate, and its Taps.
THE Screw-Plate is a Plate of Steel well temper'd, with several holes in it, each less than other, and in those Holes are Threds groved inwards; into which Groves, fit the respective Taps that belong to them. The Taps that belong to them, are commonly made tapering towards the Point, as Fig. 7. shews. But these tapering Taps, will not serve for some sorts of works, as I shall shew in its proper place.
[Page 7] These are the most Essential Tools used in the Black-Smith's Trade; but some accidental work, may require some accidental Tools, which, as they may fall in, I shall give you an account of in convenient place.
Of Forging in general.
I Think it needless to tell you how to make your Fire, or blow it, because they are both but Labourer's work; nor how little, or big, it need to be, for your own Reason will, by the Size of your work, teach you that; only let me tell you the Phrase Smith's use for [Make the Fire] is, Blow up the Fire, or sometimes, Blow up the Coals.
When it is burning with the Iron in it, you must, with the Slice, clap the Coals upon the out-side close together, to keep the heat in the body of the Fire; and as oft as you find the Fire begin to break out, clap them close again, and with the Washer dipt in Water, wet the outside of the Fire to damp the out-side, as well to save Coals, as to strike the force of the Fire into the in-side, that your work may heat the sooner. But you ought oft to draw your work a little way out of the Fire, to see how it takes its Heat, and quickly thrust it in again, if it be not hot enough: For each purpose your work is designed to, ought to have a proper Heat suitable to that purpose, as I shall shew you in the several Heats of Iron: For if it be too cold, it will not feel the weight of the Hammer (as Smiths say, when it will not batter under the Hammer) and if it be too hot, it will Red-sear, that is, break, or crack under the Hammer, while it is working between hot and cold.
Of the several Heats Smiths take of their Iron.
THere are several degrees of Heats Smiths take of their Iron, each according to the purpose of their work. As first, a Blood-red Heat. Secondly, a White [Page 8] Flame Heat. Thirdly, a Sparkling, or Welding Heat.
The Blood-red Heat is used when Iron hath already its form and size, as sometimes square Bars, and Iron Plates, &c. have, but may want a little Hammering to smooth it. Use then the Face of your Hand-hammer, and with light flat Blows, hammer down the irregular Risings into the Body of your Iron, till it be smooth enough for the File. And note, that it behoves a good Workman, to Hammer his Work as true as he can; for one quarter of an hour spent at the Forge, may save him an hours work at the Vice,
The Flame, or White Heat, is used when your Iron hath not its Form or Size, but must be forged into both; and then you must take a piece of Iron thick enough, and with the Pen of your Hammer, (or sometimes, according to the size of your work, use two or three pair of hands with Sledges to) batter it out; or, as Workmen call it, to draw it out, till it comes to its breadth, and pretty near its shape; and so by several Heats, if your Work require them, frame it into Form and Size; then with the Face of your Hand-hammer, smooth your work from the Dents the Pen made, as you did with a Blood-red Heat.
A Sparkling, or Welding Heat, is only used when you double up your Iron (as Smiths call it) to make it thick enough for your purpose, and so weld, or work in the doubling into one another, and make it become one entire lump; or it is used when you join several Bars of Iron together to make them thick enough for your purpose, and work them into one Bar; or else it is used when you are to join, or weld, two pieces of Iron together end to end, to make them long enough; but, in this case, you must be very quick at the Forge; for when your two ends are throught of a good Heat, and that the inside of the Iron be almost ready to Run, as well as the outside, you must very hastily snatch them both out of the Fire together, and (after you have with the Edge of your [Page 9] Hammer scraped off such Scales or Dirt as may hinder their incorporating) with your utmost diligence clap your left hand-piece upon your right hand-piece, and with all speed (least you lose some part of your good Heat) fall to Hammering them together, and work them soundly into one another; and this, if your Bars be large, will require another, or sometimes two or three pair of Hands besides your own to do; but if it be not throughly welded at the first Heat, you must reiterate your Heats so oft, till they be throughly welded; then with a Flame Heat (as before) shape it, and afterwards smooth it with a Blood-red Heat. To make your Iron come the sooner to a Welding-heat, you must now and then with your Hearth-staff stir up the Fire, and throw up those Cinders the Iron may have run upon; for they will never burn well, but spoil the rest of the Coals, and take a little white Sand between your Finger and your Thumb, and throw upon the heating Iron, then with your Slice, quickly clap the outside of your Fire down again; and with your Washer dipt in Water, damp the outside of the Fire to keep the Heat in.
But you must take special Care that your Iron burn not in the Fire, that is, that it do not run or melt; for then your Iron will be so brittle, that it will not endure Forging without breaking, and so hard, that a File will not touch it.
Some Smiths use to strew a little white Sand upon the Face of the Anvil also, when they are to hammer upon a Welding-heat; for they say it makes the Iron weld, or incorporate the better.
If through Mistake, or ill management, your Iron be too thin, or too narrow towards one of the ends; then if you have substance enough (and yet not too long) you may up-set it, that is, take a Flame Heat, and set the heated end upright upon the Anvil, and hammer upon the [Page 10] cold end, till the heated end be beat, or up-set, into the Body of your Work. But if it be a long piece of work, and you fear its length may wrong the middle, you must hold it in your left hand, and lay it flat on the Anvil; but so as the heated end intended to be up-set, may lie a little over the further side of the Anvil, and then with your Hand-hammer in your right hand, beat upon the heated end of your work, minding that every stroak you take, you hold your work stiff against the Face of the Hammer. Afterwards smooth it again with a Blood-red Heat.
If you are to Forge a Sholder on one, or each side of your work, lay the Shank of your Iron at the place where your Sholder must be on the edge of your Anvil (that edge which is most convenient to your hand) that if more Sholders be to be made, turn them all successively, and hammer your Iron so, as that the Shank of the Iron that lies on the flat of the Anvil, feel as well the weight of your Blows, as the Sholder at the edge of the Anvil; for should you lay your blows on the edge of the Anvil only, it would instead of flatting the Shank to make the Sholder, cut your work through.
Your Work will sometimes require to have holes punched in it at the Forge, you must then make a Steel Punch to the size and shape of the hole you are to strike, and harden the point of it without tempering, because the heat of the Iron will soften it fast enough, and sometimes too fast; but then you must re-harden it; then taking a Blood-heat of your Iron, or if it be very large, almost a Flame-heat; lay it upon your Anvil, and with your left hand, place the point of the Punch where the hole must be, and with the Hand-hammer in your right hand punch the hole; or if your work be heavy, you may hold it in your left hand, and with your Punch fixed at the end of a Hoop-stick, or some such Wood, hold the stick in your right hand, and place the point of your Punch on the work where the hole must be, [Page 11] and let another Man strike, till your Punch come pretty near the bottom of your work; which when it does, the sides of your work round about the hole, will rise from the Face of the Anvil, and your Punch will print a bunching mark upon the hole of a Bolster, that is, a thick Iron with a hole in it, and placing your Punch, as before, strike it through. But you must note, that as oft as you see your Punch heat, or change Colour, you take it out of the hole, and pop it into Water to re-harden it, or else it will batter in the hole you intend to strike, and not only spoil it self, but the Work too, by running aside in the Work. Having punched it through on the one side, turn the other side of your work, and with your Hammer set it flat and straight, and with a Blood-heat punch it through on the other side also; so shall that hole be fit for the File, or square bore, if the curiosity of your purposed Work cannot allow it to pass without filing. When your Work is Forged, do not quench it in water to cool it, but throw it down upon the Floor, or Hearth, to cool of it self; for the quenching it in water will harden it; as I shall shortly shew you, when I come to the Tempering of Steel.
Of Brazing and Soldering.
YOU may have occasion sometimes to Braze or Solder a piece of work; but it is used by Smiths only, when their work is so thin, or small, that it will not endure Welding. To do this, take small pieces of Brass, and lay them on the place that must be brazed, and strew a little Glass beaten to powder on it to make it run the sooner, and give it a Heat in the Forge, till (by sometimes drawing it a little way out of the Fire) you see the Brass run. But if your work be so small, or thin, that you may fear the Iron will run as soon as the Brass, and so you lose your work in the Fire, then you must make a Loam of three parts Clay, and one part Horse-dung, and after [Page 12] they are wrought and mingled very well together in your hands, wrap your work with the Brass, and a little beaten Glass upon the place to be brazed close in the Loam, and laying it a while upon the Hearth of the Forge to dry, put the Lump into the Fire, and blow the Bellows to it, till you perceive it have a full Heat, that is, till the Lump look like a well burnt Coal of Fire; then take it out of the Fire, and let it cool: Afterwards break it up, and take out your Work.
Thus much of Forging in general. It remains now, that you know what Sorts of Iron are fittest for the several Uses, you may have occasion to apply them.
Of several Sorts of Iron, and their proper Uses.
IT is not my purpose, in this place, to tell you how Iron is made, I shall deferr that till I come to treat of Mettals, and their Refinings. Let it at present satisfie those that know it not, that Iron is, by a violent Fire, melted out of hard Stones, called Iron-Stones; of these Iron-Stones, many Countries have great plenty. But because it wasts such great quantities of Wood to draw the Iron from them, it will not, in many Places, quit cost to use them. In most parts of England, we have abundance of these Iron-stones; but our English Iron, is generally a course sort of Iron, hard and brittle, fit for Fire-bars, and other such course Uses; unless it be about the Forrest of Dean, and some few Places more, where the Iron proves very good.
Swedish Iron is of all Sorts, the best we use in England. It is a fine tough sort of Iron, will best endure the Hammer, and is softest to file; and therefore most coveted by Workmen, to work upon.
Spanish Iron, would be as good Swedish Iron, were it not subject to Red-sear, (as Workmen phrase it) that is to crack betwixt hot and cold. Therefore when it falls under your hands, you must tend it more earnestly at the [Page 13] Forge. But tho' it be a good, tough, soft Iron, yet for many Uses, Workmen will refuse it, because it is so ill, and un-evenly wrought in the Bars, that it costs them a great deal of labour to smooth it; but it is good for all great works that require welding, as the bodies of Anvils, Sledges, large Bell-clappers, large Pestles for Mortars, and all thick, strong Bars, &c. But it is particularly chosen by Anchor-Smiths, because it abides the Heat better than other Iron, and when it is well wrought, is toughest.
There is some Iron comes from Holland (though in no great quantity) but is made in Germany. This Iron is called Dort Squares, only because it comes to us ftom thence, and is wrought into square Bars three quarters of an Inch square. It is a bad, course Iron, and only fit for sleight Uses, as Window-Bars, Brewers-Bars, Fire-Bars, &c.
There is another sort of Iron used for making of Wyer, which of all Sorts is the soughtest and toughest: But this Sort is not peculiar to any Country, but is indifferently made where any Iron is made, though of the worst sort; for it is the first Iron that runs from the Stone when it is melting, and is only preserved from the making of Wyer.
By what hath been said, you may see that the softest and toughest Iron is the best: Therefore when you chuse Iron, chuse such as bows oftenest before it break, which is an Argument of Toughness; and see it break sound within, be gray of Colour like broked Lead, and free from such glistering Specks you see in broken Antimony, no flaws or divisions in it; for these are Arguments that it is sound, and well wrought at the Mill.
Of Filing in general.
THE several sorts of Files that are in common use are the Square, the Flat, the three Square, the half Round, the Round, the Thin File, &c. All these shapes you must [Page 14] have of several Sizes, and of several Cuts. You must have them of several sizes, as well because you may have several sizes of work, as for that it sometimes falls out that one piece of work may have many parts in it joined and fitted to one another, some of them great, and others small: And you must have them of several Cuts, because the Rough-tooth'd File cuts faster than the Bastard-tooth'd File, the Fine-tooth'd File faster than the Smooth-tooth'd File.
The Rough or Course-tooth'd File (which if it be large, is called a Rubber) is to take off the unevenness of your work which the Hammer made in the Forging; the Bastard-tooth'd File is to take out of your work, the deep Cuts or file-stroaks the Rough-file made; the Fine-tooth'd file is to take out the cuts, or file-stroaks, the Bastard-file made; and the Smooth-file is to take out those cuts, or file-stroaks, that the fine File made.
Thus you see how the Files of several Cuts succeed one another, till your Work is so smooth as it can be filed. You may make it yet smoother with Emerick, Tripoli, &c. But of that in its proper place, because it suits not with this Section of Filing.
You must take care when you use the Rough File, that you go very lightly over those dents the Hammer made in your work, unless your work be forged somewhat of the strongest, for the dents being irregularities in your work, if you should file away as much in them, as you do off the Eminencies or Risings, your work (whether it be straight or circular) would be as irregular, as it was before you filed it: And when you file upon the Prominent, or rising Parts of you Work, with your course cut File, you must also take care that you file them not more away than you need, for you may easily be deceived; because the course File cuts deep, and makes deep scratches in the Work; and before you can take out those deep scratches with your finer cut Files, those places [Page 15] where the Risings were when your work was forged, may become dents to your Hammer dents; therefore file not those Risings quite so low, as the dents the Hammer made, but only so low, as that the scratches the Rough-file makes may lie as low, or deep in your work, as your Hammer dents do; for then, when you come with your smoother Cut Files, after your rough File, the scratches of your rough File, and your Hammer stroaks, or dents, may both come out together. But to do this with greater certainty, hold your File so, that you may keep so much of the length of your File as you can to rub, range, (or, as near range as you can) upon the length of your work; for so shall the File enter upon the second Rising on your work, before it goes off the first, and will slip over, and not touch the dent or hollow between the two Risings, till your Risings are brought into a straight line with your hollow dent. But of this more shall be said when I come to the Practice of Filing, upon several particular sorts of work.
If it be a Square Bar, (or such like) you are to file upon, all its Angles, or Edges, must be left very sharp and straight. Therefore your Vice being well set up, according to fore-going Directions, you must in your filing athwart over the Chaps of the Vice, be sure to carry both your hands you hold the file in, truly Horizontal, or flat over the Work; for should you let either of your hands mount, the other would dip, and the edge of that Square it dips upon would be taken off; and should you let your hand move never so little circularly, both the Edges you file upon would be taken off, and the Middle of your intended Flat, would be left with a Rising on it. But this Hand-craft, you must attain to by Practice; for it is the great Curiosity in Filing.
[Page 16] If it be a round Piece, or Rod of Iron, you are to file upon, what you were forbid upon Square Work, you must perform on the Round; for you must dip your Handle-hand, and mount your end-hand a little, and laying pritting near the end of your File to the Work, file circularly upon the Work, by mounting your Handle-hand by degrees, and dipping your End-hand, in such manner, as when the Middle of your File comes about the top of your Work, your File may be flat upon it, and as you continue your stroaks forwards, still keep your hands moving circularly till you have finished your full Stroak, that is, a Stroak the whole length of the File. By this manner of Circular filing, you keep your Piece, or Rod round; but should you file flat upon the top of your work, so many times as you shall remove, or turn your work in the Vice, so many Flats, or Squares, you would have in your work; which is contrary to your purpose.
When you thrust your File forwards lean heavy upon on it, because the Teeth of the File are made to cut forwards; but when you draw your File back, to recover an other thrust, lift, or bear the File lightly just above the work; for it cuts not coming back.