Rational Horse Shoeing and Wagon Making
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with rules, tables, recipes, etc., useful to
manufactures, blacksmiths, machinists,
well-drillers, engineers, liverymen,
horse-shoers, farmers, wagon-makers,
mechanics, amateurs and all others who have
occasion to perform the work for which this
book is primarily intended.
Take a piece of tool steel 1 ¼ inches square, neat it red hot.
Now remember here it is that the trouble begins in handling
tool steel. If, in the process, you ever get it more than red hot,
it is spoiled, and no receipt, or handling or hammering will ever
make it good again. The best thing in such a case is to cut off
the burnt part in spite of all proposed cures. This must be
remembered whenever you heat tool or spring steel. If the
burnt part cannot be cut off, heat it to a low heat, cool it in
lukewarm water half a dozen times, this will improve it some, if
you can hammer it some do so. N ow punch a hole about two
inches from the end with a punch that will make a hole 1 1/8 x
1 3/8 If the punch sticks in the hole, cool it off and put a little
coal in the hole that will prevent the punch from sticking. This is
a good thing to do whenever a deep hole is to be punched. Be
sure that the hole is made true. Next, have a punch the exact
size of the hole wanted when finished, drive it in and hammer
the eye out until it has the thickness of about 3/8 of an inch on
In order to do this you may have to heat the eye many
times, and upset over it with the punch in the eye. This
done put in the bottom fuller and with the top fuller groove
it down on each side of the eye, like the cut referred to.
Now dress down the face then the peen-end. When
finished harden it in this way: Heat the face-end first to a
Jaw red heat, dip in water about an inch and a half and
brighten the face and watch for the color. When it begins
to turn blue cool off but don't harden the eye. Wind a wet
rag around the face end and heat the peen-end, temper
the same way. With a piece of iron in the eye, both ends
can be hardened at the same time, but this is more
difficult, and I would not recommend it.
For ordinary blacksmithing a flat peen hammer is the thing,
but I have seen good blacksmiths hang on to the
machinist's hammer as the only thing. See No. I, Figure 5.
This hammer is more ornamental than useful in a
blacksmith shop. The hammer should be of different sizes
for different work, light for light work, and for drawing out
plowshares alone the hammer should be heavy.
For an ordinary smith a hammer of two up to two and
one-half pounds is right. Riveting hammers should be only
one pound and less. No smith should ever use a hammer
like NO.3, in Figure 5. This hammer I have not yet been
able to find out what it is good for. Too short, too clumsy,
too much friction in the air. I have christened it, and if you
want my name for it call it Cain's hammer. It must surely
look like the hammer used by him, if he had any.
