.1.

Knowledge of drawing, swagi

ng, bending, upsetting,
spreading, punching and drifting techniques is
applied to produce articles to specification.
2.2.
Forging temperatures and heat specifications are
adhered to for various materials.
2.3.
Allowance is made for material shrinkage and
o
xidisation
2.4.
Appropriate forging technique is selected a
Moose Forge - exploring blacksmithing


Smithing process
Blacksmiths work with iron, the 'black' metal, and recently steel, its derivative. The black color
comes from fire scale, a layer of oxides that forms on the surface of the metal during heating.
The term 'smith' originates from the word 'smite', which means 'to hit'. Thus, a blacksmith is a
person who smites black metal.

Blacksmiths work by heating pieces of wrought iron or steel until the metal becomes soft enough
to be shaped with hand tools, such as a hammer, anvil and chisel. Heating is accomplished by the
use of a forge fueled by propane, natural gas, coal, charcoal, or coke.

Modern blacksmiths may also employ an oxyacetylene or similar blowtorch for more localized
heating. Color is important for indicating the temperature and workability of the metal: As iron is
heated to increasing temperatures, it first glows red, then orange, yellow, and finally white; then
it melts. The ideal heat for most forging is the bright yellow-orange color appropriately known as
a "forging heat." Because they must be able to see the glowing color of the metal, many
blacksmiths work in dim, low-light conditions.

The techniques of smithing may be roughly divided into forging (sometimes called "sculpting"),
welding, heat treating, and finishing.

Forging
Forging is the process in which metal is shaped by hammering. Forging is different from
machining in that material is not removed by these; rather the iron is hammered into shape. Even
punching and cutting operations (except when trimming waste) by smiths will usually re-arrange
metal around the hole, rather than drilling it out as swarf.
There are five basic operations or techniques employed in forging: drawing, shrinking, bending,
upsetting, and punching.

These operations generally employ hammer and anvil at a minimum, but smiths will also make
use of other tools and techniques to accommodate odd-sized or repetitive jobs.

Drawing
Drawing lengthens the metal by reducing one or both of the other two dimensions. As the depth
is reduced, the width narrowed, or both the piece is lengthened or "drawn out".

As an example of drawing, a smith making a chisel might flatten a square bar of steel,
lengthening the metal, reducing its depth but keeping its width consistent.

Drawing does not have to be uniform. A taper can result as in making a wedge or the
woodworking chisel blade. If tapered in two dimensions a point results.

Drawing can be accomplished with a variety of tools and methods. Two typical methods using
only hammer and anvil would be: hammering on the anvil horn, and hammering on the anvil face
using the cross peen of a hammer.

Another method for drawing is to use a tool called a fuller, or the peen of the hammer to hasten
the drawing out of a thick piece of metal. The technique is called fullering from the tool.
Fullering consists of hammering a series of indentations (with corresponding ridges)
perpendicular to the long section of the piece being drawn. The resulting effect will be to look
somewhat like waves along the top of the piece. Then the hammer is turned over to use the flat
face and the tops of the ridges are hammered down level with the bottoms of the indentations.
This forces the metal to grow in length (and width if left unchecked) much faster than just
hammering with the flat face of the hammer.

Shrinking
Shrinking, while similar to upsetting, is essentially the opposite process as drawing. As the edge
of a flat piece is curved,—as in the making of a bowl shape—the edge will become wavy as the
material bunches up in a shorter radius. At this point the wavy portion is heated and the waves
are gently pounded flat to conform to the desired shape. If you were to compare the edge of the
new shape to the original piece, you would discover that the material is thicker than before. This
change in thickness is due to the excess material that formed the waves being pushed into a
uniform edge that has a smaller radius than before.

Bending
Heating steel to a "forging heat" allows bending as if was hard plasticine: it takes significant but
not Herculean effort. Bending can be done with the hammer over the horn or edge of the anvil or
by inserting a bending fork into the Hardy Hole (the square hole in the top of the anvil) and
placing the work piece between the tines of the fork and bending the material to the desired
angle. Bends can be dressed and tightened or widened by hammering them over the
appropriately-shaped part of the anvil.

Upsetting
Upsetting is the process of making metal thicker in one dimension through shortening in the
other. One form is by heating the end of a rod and then hammering on it as one would drive a
nail: the rod gets shorter, and the hot part widens. An alternative to hammering on the hot end
would be to place the hot end on the anvil and hammer on the cold end.

Punching
Punching may be done to create a decorative pattern, or to make a hole. For example, in
preparation for making a hammerhead, a smith would punch a hole in a heavy bar or rod for the
hammer handle. Punching is not limited to depressions and holes. It also includes cutting, or
slitting and drifting: these are done with a chisel.

Combining Processes
The five basic forging processes are often combined to produce and refine the shapes necessary
for finished products. For example to fashion a cross-peen hammer head, a smith would start
with a bar roughly the diameter of the hammer face, the handle hole would be punched and
drifted (widened by inserting or passing a larger tool through it), the head would be cut
(punched, but with a wedge), the peen would be drawn to a wedge, and the face would be
dressed by upsetting.

In the example of making a chisel, as it is lengthened by drawing it would also tend to spread in
width, so a smith would frequently turn the chisel-to-be on its side and hammer it back down—
upsetting it—to check the spread and keep the metal at the correct width for the project.

As another example, if a smith needed to put a 90-degree bend in a bar and wanted a sharp
corner on the outside of the bend, the smith would begin by hammering an unsupported end to
make the curved bend. Then, to "fatten up" the outside radius of the bend, one or both arms of
the bend would need to be pushed back into the bend to fill the outer radius of the curve. So the
smith would hammer the ends of the stock down into the bend, 'upsetting' it at the point of the
bend. The smith would then dress the bend by drawing the sides of the bend to keep it the correct
thickness. The hammering would continue—upsetting and then drawing—until the curve had
been properly shaped. In the primary operation was the bend, but the drawing and upsetting are
done to refine the shape.

Welding
Welding is the joining of metal of the same or similar kind of metal.
A modern blacksmith has a range of options and tools to accomplish this. The basic types of
welding commonly employed in a modern shop include traditional forge welding as well as
modern methods, including oxyacetylene and arc welding.

In forge welding the pieces to be welded are heated to what is generally referred to as "welding
heat". For mild steel most smiths judge this temperature by color: the metal will glow an intense
yellow or white. At this temperature the steel is near molten.

Any foreign material in the weld, such as the oxides or "scale" that typically form in the fire, can
weaken it and potentially cause it to fail. Thus the mating surfaces to be joined must be kept
clean. To this end a smith will make sure the fire is a reducing fire: a fire where at the heart there
is a great deal of heat and very little oxygen. The smith will also carefully shape the mating faces
so that as they are brought together foreign material is squeezed out as the metal is joined. To
clean the faces, protect them from oxidation, and provide a medium to carry foreign material out
of the weld the smith will use flux—typically powdered borax, silica sand, or both.

The smith will first clean the parts to be joined with a wire brush, then put them in the fire to
heat. With a mix of drawing and upsetting the faces will be shaped so that when finally brought
together the center of the weld will connect first and the connection spread outward under the
hammer blows, pushing the flux and foreign material out.

The dressed metal goes back in the fire, is brought near to welding heat, removed from the fire,
brushed, flux is applied, and it is returned to the fire. The smith now watches carefully to avoid
overheating the metal. There is some challenge to this, because in order to see the color of the
metal it must be removed from the fire, and this exposes the metal to air, which can cause it to
oxidize rapidly. So the smith might probe into the fire with a bit of steel wire, prodding lightly at
the mating faces. When the end of the wire sticks on to the metal is at the right temperature (a
small weld has formed where the wire touches the mating face so it sticks on to the metal).

Now the smith moves with rapid purpose. The metal is taken from the fire and quickly brought to
the anvil, the mating faces are brought together, the hammer lightly applying a few taps to bring
the mating faces into complete contact and squeeze out the flux, and finally returned to the fire
again.

The weld was begun with the taps, but often the joint is weak and incomplete, so the smith will
again heat the joint to welding temperature and work the weld with light blows to "set" the weld
and finally to dress it to the shape.

Finishing
Depending on the intended use of the piece a blacksmith may finish it in a number of ways:

 A simple jig (a tool) that the smith might only use a few times in the shop may get the
minimum of finishing: a rap on the anvil to break off scale and a brushing with a wire
brush.
  Files can be employed to bring a piece to final shape, remove burrs and sharp edges, and
smooth the surface.
 Heat treatment and case-hardening to achieve the desired hardness.
 The wire brush either as a hand tool or power tool can further smooth , brighten and
polish surface.
 Grinding stones, abrasive paper, and emery wheels can further shape, smooth and polish
the surface.

There are a range of treatments and finishes to inhibit oxidation of the metal and enhance or
change the appearance of the piece. An experienced smith selects the finish based on the metal
and intended use of the item. Finishes include but are not limited to: paint, varnish, bluing,
browning, oil, and wax.

Ways to hammer Iron

There are a few ways to change a piece of iron's shape with a hammer. Here are the most
important ways that a blacksmith uses:

 Bending: hammering a piece of hot iron, to make it curve or to make it have a corner.
 Drawing: hammering on the sides of a piece of hot iron, to make it longer and thinner.
 Upsetting: hammering on the end of a piece of hot iron, to make it shorter and fatter.

A punch is a tool like a short stick of iron. The end of the punch is flat.

 Punching: A blacksmith hammers a punch through a piece of hot iron, to make a hole in
the hot iron.

A chisel is a tool like a short stick of iron. The end of the chisel is sharp to cut.

 Cutting: hammering a chisel through the side of a piece of hot iron, to make two shorter
pieces.
 Splitting: hammering a chisel into the end of a piece of hot iron, to make a stick of iron
into a "Y" shape, to make a fork.

Rivetting: a rivet is like a machine bolt with a head at both ends. Rivets are used to make
different pieces of iron stay together. The blacksmith makes a hole in each piece of iron, where
he wants the pieces to come together. A rivet is then put in the holes, and the blacksmith
hammers on the rivet to make the heads at each end of the rivet.

*
Welding: making different pieces of iron become one piece of iron. The blacksmith makes the
pieces of iron so hot that they almost melt. Then he puts the pieces together and hammers on
them so there is no line where they came together. Welding is the hardest thing for a blacksmith
to learn and to do.

Blacksmith's striker
A blacksmith's striker is an assistant (frequently an apprentice), whose job it is to swing a large
sledge hammer in heavy forging operations, as directed by the blacksmith. In practice, the
blacksmith will hold the hot iron at the anvil (with tongs) in one hand, and indicate where the
iron is to be struck by tapping it with a small hammer held in the other hand: the striker then
delivers a heavy blow with the sledge hammer where indicated. During the 20th century, this
role has been increasingly obviated and automated through the use of trip hammers.

 begin listing of videos, books, links, etc. for more

MooseForge Every gun that is made, every warship

launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the
final sense, a theft from those who hunger and
are not fed, those who are cold and are not This page was
clothed. This world in arms is not spending updated on
on Etsy
money alone. It is spending the sweat of its
laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes 27-Nov-14
of its children. The cost of one modern heavy
bomber is this: a modern brick school in more
than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants,
each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is
two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some
fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a
single fighter plane with a half million bushels
of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with
new homes that could have housed more than
8,000 people. This is, I repeat, the best way of
life to be found on the road the world has been
taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any
true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war,
it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.
 […] Is there no other way the world may live?
      - President of the United States/General of
the Army/Supreme Allied Commander Dwight
David Eisenhower

Twisting

Twisting Tools and Twists

One way to make a decorative accent is to twist the metal. Basically, you heat the section of metal to be
twisted, clamp one end in a vise, grab the other end with a twisting wrench, and twist. Direction is your
discretion, except where the twist has to be made in both directions and then any decision is removed
from consideration.

Some twists can also be done cold, but what fun is that.

One excellent source of information is the Old Dominion Blacksmith Association's article on
twisting:  The Twist Class
Twisting Wrenches

War Department Education Manual

EM 862 BLACKSMITH PRACTICE

Adjustable twisting wrench

First off, you're going to need a twisting wrench (and a vise to hold the stationary end of the metal to be
twisted). Twisting wrenches come in two basic flavors: fixed and adjustable. A fixed twisting wrench is
an easy tool to make. Using 1/2" square stock, the bar is bent back and forth in the shape of a flattened
"Z". One throat is sized to twist 1/4" stock and the other is sized for 3/8" stock. The adjustable twisting
wrench is usually a monkey wrench with a bar welded to the top of the tool.
 Z-shaped twisting wrench

"Store-bought" twisting wrenches

(Personal note: The Appalachian Blacksmiths Association thinks the Z twisting wrench is 10
times better than the adjustable type. I doubt it since an adjustable wrench is capable of infinite
adjustment, within limits, to make a better grip. However, metal cools while you are fiddling
with the adjustment, so ...).

Twisting Machines
 Manual Twisting Machine

Lantern Twisting Machine

Automatic Twisting Machine

Types of Twists
There are a multitude of different twists and new ones being developed occasionally. Some of
the more common are:

 plain (just heat and twist)

 veined (groves down each side and twist)

 rope (really just veined with the corners chamfered and a mild cross-hatching added for
appropriate texture)

 diamond/pineapple

 basket

 braid

Stages of a Pineapple Twist

Stages of a Basket Twist

Braid Twist
 Rope Twist

Twisted Rope Twist also called Corn-on-the-Cob Twist

 Stages of a stair twist (and reward in the upper right)

Completed stair twist

Stair twist (aka Rubik/Cube twist) from the

Central Virginia Blacksmith Guild

More twists from the net (reddit.com)

Barley Sugar Twist Incised square twist

Here is a tough one. Most A simple but elegant twist,

blacksmiths are fooled by it round and square
but
the general public doesn't see
the trick at all.
(Easy actually. It's three pieces.
One is ¼" by ½"
and the other two, are 1/4"
square. They were forge
welded on each end, and then
twisted tightly.

This one is heated, flattened

where the twist is to be
Rope twist
made, and then twisted a half
turn. Simple, I think.
3/8 bar Swaged in a 3/16 tenon A wave. Bend bar in
swage pineapple twist half,
on diamond and then twisted taper bent end, unbend

How to Make a Pineapple Twist

found at Diary of a Wandering Hen http://wanderinghen.wordpress.com/category/ren-faire-
shenanigans/blacksmithing-ren-faire-shenanigans/
 Fig. A - Fig. E, from left to right.

Steps in making a pineapple twist:

1. Mark a deep groove down the center of a piece of heated square stock. Make this mark on all
four sides of the stock. (Fig. A)
2. Place in vice and make a 3/4 twist. (Fig. B)

3. Square all four sides on the anvil. (Fig. C)

4. Punch another groove down the center of each four sides, as in step 1. (Fig. D)

5. Untwist in vice 1/4 twist. Watch the twist to see if it looks right. True up on anvil with a wooden
mallet. You now have a completed pineapple twist. (Fig. E)

Double Reversed Twisting Jig

Source: ABANA/Ron Reil's Page: http://www.abana.org/ronreil/Forge1.shtml
The adjustable length twisting jig is a very useful tool for making double reversed twists in various sized
bars. It will allow you to make virtually perfect twists every time, if you have the bar evenly heated when
its placed into the wrench jaws. I like to use an old "Ford wrench" to make my double handled twisting
wrenches out of. Using a double handled wrench will allow you to apply an even force to the bar and
not cause it to be bent out of alignment during the twisting process. Be sure you use the right kind of
welding rod when welding the high carbon steel wrench heads to the jig, or the welds will break off the
first time you use the jig. I use "UTP-65" for all such welds, expensive, but worth every penny. Also,
because your hands rotate under the hot iron during twisting, the hot scale that falls off will land on
your hand and wrist. Beginners usually find this uncomfortable, but you will soon get used to it, and it
causes no damage.

    Swages
 Block Swage Spring Swage Hardy Swage

Sources:

 SwageBlocks.com

Block Swages
A swage block is a large, heavy block of cast iron or steel used in smithing, with variously-sized holes in
its face and usually with forms on the sides.

The through-holes are of various shapes and sizes and are used to hold, support or back up a hot
bar of metal for further shaping. Operations performed on a swage block include but are not
limited to bending, cutting, punching and forming. The sides are scalloped to present formed
shapes for forging operations. Shapes are for example the curve of a wheel, which could be used
to finish a wheel rim, using a suitable hammer. Other shapes, such as the half hexagon, can be
used with a matching top swage to form a hexagonal cross-section on a bar. The various shapes
around the edge of the swage block all have corresponding shapes in the form of top swages to
shape iron bar into various sections.

A Swage Block is a multi-purpose tool used similar to an anvil by blacksmiths, metal sculptors,
armourers and other metalworkers. Swage blocks are generally thick square or rectangular
blocks of cast iron, ductile iron or steel. They have also been made of wood and bronze. They
may weigh from as little as 10 pounds (4.5kg) up to hundreds of pounds (~230kg max). Their
surfaces have impressions of various shapes for the craftsperson to work hot or cold metal on or
into. Most swage blocks have a variety of holes that pass through the thin direction. These holes
are used for bending, forging heads and punching holes.

As a multipurpose tool the industrial swage block substitutes for mutiple size and shape bottom
swages, grooving and edging dies, punching dies, bolster plates, monkey tools, bending plate and
stake plate. The artist blacksmith block also substitutes for a variety of stakes, sinking forms and
spoon molds. Blocks combining these features are the "Swiss Army Knife" of blacksmith's tools.

A Swage Block is not an anvil but have been called "hollow anvils" due to their holes or
depressions. Anvils are made of hardened tool steel so that they can resist the heavy hammering
required to forge steel into different shapes and thicknesses. A swage block is made of cast iron
(a metal inferior to steel) and is used for finish sizing hot work that has been forged on the anvil
and to shape by bending or for forming sheet metal. High quality swage blocks are made of
ductile iron or low carbon cast steel. These blocks can take much more severe duty than cast iron
blocks but they still are not anvils.

General Shapes of swage blocks are almost always square, their thickness about 1/3 to 1/4 their
width. Square blocks have the advantage of fitting on stands any direction they are turned and
when on edge being the same height. However, rectangular is also popular and hexagonal and
round blocks have also been made. Except for small Jewelers dapping blocks they are never a
cube. Cubes are very efficient compact mass but have less useful surface shapes for the the
purpose of being a blacksmiths work block.

Swage Blocks are made in an almost infinite variety of designs. There is no "standard" swage
block. However, swage blocks can be categorized as follows.

TYPES:

 Personal Blocks
 The earliest swage blocks were "personal" blocks. These were made from the pattern of a
master smith and perhaps cast only once or a few times. As a pattern made by an amateur
pattern maker (a blacksmith is not a foundryman) personal cast iron blocks rarely had
holes cast in them. Their shapes were usually simple having just what the smith wanted
or thought he might need.

 Industrial Blocks

These were the mass produced blocks made for industrial shops. For a time they were the
closest thing to a "standard" block except they were made by hundreds of unidentified
foundries each to their own pattern. Small industrial blocks were 8 x 8 x 2" (~200 x 200 x
50mm) and big industrial blocks 24 x 24 x 5" (~600 x 600 x 125mm) or larger. As
commercial castings targeting a large market industrial blocks wasted no space.

The typical industrial block has three types of geometric edge grooves.

o Half rounds for dressing shafts or axles

o 90° V's or half squares for dressing squares

o Half hexes for dressing hexagon bars and bolt heads

 The typical industrial block has three types of geometric holes.

o Round
o Square

o Rectangular

Occasionally there would be other shapes such as 60° V's, octagons, ovals and large half
rounds. Industrial blocks designed for wheel wrights or the general smithy often had a
long radius that could be used for taking kinks out of wagon tires.

 Artist Blacksmith Blocks

Most personal blocks were also artist blacksmith's blocks. The primary feature of the artist
blacksmith block is the bowl and semispherical depressions. These are followed by spoon and
ladle depressions and occasionally funnel shapes. The edges of the artist blacksmith block often
have the common half rounds and V's as well as large concave and convex curves. These shapes
are not so incremental as on industrial blocks having large jumps in size to fit a wide range of
curves on a small block. Most of these blocks do not have holes as the faces are taken up with
the bowl and spoon depressions. Often a wood (swage) block or "stump" is used for dishing
hemispherical and spoon shapes. Unusual features are most likely to be found on artist
blacksmith blocks.

 Combination or General Purpose Blocks

Obviously these combine features of industrial and artist blacksmiths' blocks.

Combination blocks can be primarily one type or the other. Most are larger blocks where
there is room for both holes and impressions.

 Armourer's Maids
 A specialty block for the armourer with shapes suitable for forming plate armour.
Possibly named for their similarity to the female form. They may have been humaniform
or just suggestive of it as some artist blacksmith blocks are. The term is known but we
have yet to see an example. Possibly made of hardwood.

 Dapping Blocks

These are a jeweler's or watchmaker's tool machined from a solid block of hardenable
steel, brass or hardwood under 3" (~75mm) square or round and have polished surfaces.
A dapping block is similar to a to a very small industrial block with the addition of small
hemispherical depressions. Dapping blocks typically have drilled holes, milled
hemispherical depressions, V grooves and half round grooves. Most are cubes but some
are rectangular and some cylindrical.

 Gun Anvils or "Gunsmith's Anvil"

Several authors have called blocks used by gun smiths to forge rifle barrels "gunsmith's
anvils". These are standard swage blocks with a half octagon impression the right size for
forge welding and shaping an old fashioned octagon rifle barrel. Most are simply general
purpose blocks. Often the impression was hand filed from a hex or half round. In this
case a well worn impression would indicate that a gunsmith or gun barrel maker had used
it. Blocks with the octagon impression are no more specialized for gunsmithing than for
any other craft. For more see The Gunsmiths Anvil

Spring Swages
Hardy Swages