by J.M. Drew St. Paul Publishing Company
1918
Next, let us try to make an ordinary door hook. Take a piece of i
round iron two or three feet long. Put one end in the fire so that
there will be burning coke both above and below it. Give blast
enough to heat it quickly, but not enough to blow the coke out
of the middle of the fire. Get the end of the rod up to a white
heat and square about four inches of it, as shown at. a, Fig. 6.
Draw it out so that the corners will come out square and sharp.
After heating again, draw out the end, as shown at b. The
shoulder between the small part and the original iron is made by
holding against the edge of the anvil and striking so that the
edge of the anvil will cut into the iron to form the shoulder. In
drawing out iron to make a point on it or to make it smaller,
always draw it square first, no matter what is to be its shape
finally, for you can reduce its size faster by squaring it than by
trying to keep it round or any other shape. Next make this small
end round by flattening down the corners. Stop pounding and
heat the iron as often as it gets below a cherry red in color. After
point, as at e. "Complete the hook by bending the end and twisting the middle, as shown at f. The beginner is apt to
have trouble in getting the eye of the hook perfectly round. It usually persists in being oval, rather than circular. The
trouble is usually caused by not bending the end enough at the start. The end must be given its full amount of bend
before the other part is bent, as afterward it cannot be gotten at.
MAKING A STAPLE
To make a staple draw out one end of a rod and round it, or leave it square, depending upon the kind of staple you
want. Decide how long you want the staple, and bend the end at right angles to the remainder of the rod (Fig. 7), to
form one leg of the staple. Do not make the complete bend at this time, or the finished end will be in the way when
you sharpen the other end. (Jut off the iron for the second leg a little shorter than the first, to allow for lengthening in
drawing out to a point. Now draw out the second leg to a point, then heat in the middle and complete the bend.