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26 HAND - FORGING work being done. This comes only by experience. Men who have worked for years at forging and are successful in this line of work pay particular attention to their fire; they know that to do work fast and well they must have a good fire. Younger men who are working at forging cannot be urged too strongly to pay particular attention to their fire. It should always be clean, and clinkers should be picked out with the poker. The fine cinders may be dropped below by pulling the slide at the bottom of the tuyere, but the fire must not be torn to pieces when cleaning, as this is not necessary. Heating.—It is not advisable to turn on too much blast at first in heating, especially when welding. Heat slowly until the iron becomes quite hot; then it may be given more blast. Large pieces of iron that are heated too quickly get hot on the outside while the center is not so hot. Heating slowly will get the piece hot throughout. Then, again, too much blast is liable to come in contact with the piece being heated and cool it. This generally comes from putting the piece down too low in the fire, or it may come from having a hollow fire,with not enough coke under the iron. This kind of a fire may be helped by forcing the sides in toward the center with the shovel, then putting more coal on. However, too strong a blast is liable to burn the coke before the heat is |
Hand Forging by Thomas F. Googerty