Machine Blacksmithing

It is not necessary that a system for the blacksmith shop be of the kind usually known as red tape, which often takes more time to handle than the time it saves; but a simple method of keeping track of work, tools, and material will save time and expense.

To begin with, the blacksmith shop ought to be large enough to provide a place for everything in the shape of tools and equipment, and permit everything to be in its place. Forges should be numbered with figures of size and color which can be easily seen from any part of the shop. The forges should be referred to by their numbers, instead of "so-and-so's" forge. This would insure work being taken to the place for which it was intended. With each forge there ought to be a tool bench of such size and design as would accommodate one full set of blacksmith's tools of the kind used at the anvil. Each tool should be marked with its size and the number of the forge to which it belongs, so that each blacksmith will know the tools which form part of the set he is supposed to use, even if they should in any way get mixed up with others. To insure keeping a full set at each forge, it would be well to give each man a list of the tools belonging to the forge at which he is expected to work, with the understanding that lie will be held responsible for all tools not worn out or accidentally broken. If any tool is worn out or broken it should be reported to the man in charge, so that it could be replaced as soon as possible. Having a full equipment at each forge would be a decided advantage to a new man starting in to work, because, as anyone who has ever been employed in a blacksmith shop knows, as soon as a blacksmith leaves the shop in which he has been working, he is no sooner gone than there is a raid upon the tools he used, and it usually takes but a short time to have them exchanged for the poorest tools in the shop, or, perhaps, just removed without any attempt at replacing. When a new man comes along, he is heavily handicapped, having the worst tools in the place with which to work, and it sometimes takes weeks before he has a chance of showing what he can do.

It would be well, in arranging forges, to place them so that light work could be done at one end of the shop, medium work in the center, and heavy work at the other end, so that trip- or steam-hammers could be installed in the most convenient places according to their capacities. Every shop ought to have one or more sets of hammer tools, such as spring swages, spring fullers, bolsters, V-blocks, drifts, hacks, and breaking-down tools, which could be classed as general tools and used at any hammer, and kept on a rack where they would be most convenient. Special and larger tools than those forming sets for forges could be given out on the check system, which is common in most manufacturing plants where tools are given out from the tool-room.

To keep track of stock, it would be well to have each kind or grade marked on the end of the bars with different colors. Thus wrought iron may be marked red; Norway iron, blue; machinery steel, white; and so on until all the different grades are marked, care being taken to cut from the end not painted. When a blacksmith starts on a new piece of work he should be furnished with a card for stock to be used, along with his time card. Stock cards should be printed forms to be filled in and signed by the various hands they would pass through. The following outline would cover the most essential points: Date of issue, order number, workman's number, name of pieces to be made, number of pieces to be made, grade of stock to be used, size of stock to be used, amount of stock issued, amount of stock returned, amount of stock used, and date when work is completed. The card should be signed by the man in charge of the stock and the foreman of the shop, before being sent to the stock clerk.

Piece work is preferable to day work when the number of pieces to be made is such that it can be done to advantage, as it insures the best men getting the most compensation, especially if there is no limit set to the amount they may earn. This is a very important point. It is by no means an uncommon occurrence for a piece of work to be done the same way, and remain at the same price for years until someone comes along who uses a little more common sense than the average man. He sees a way of doing it to save time, and will perhaps turn out double the amount of work as compared with what has been done before in the same time. The result is that he earns on piece work 100 per cent more than the other men have earned. He may be paid for the first lot without any comment being made, but by the time the next lot is to be made, more than likely the price is cut in two, and another man gets the job, which is taking an unfair advantage of a good workman, and does not encourage him to bring out his best ideas. If a man can make two pieces in the time it used to take to make one piece, it means a saving of 50 per cent in fuel. If the manufacturer has a profit on one piece, it is doubled if two pieces are made in the same time as previously one piece, which, if looked at in the proper way, would be an advantage to both employer and employe.

When day work is the rule, it is quite common to have a scale of wages, and all men at the same class of work are paid at the same rate. One man might be capable of doing considerably more work than another, but at the end of the week they both receive the same amount of compensation, which is anything but encouraging for a good workman. To a great extent this is responsible for the blacksmith's present lack of pride in his work, a pride which used to be common amongst the old-time mechanics. On the other hand, some men seem to worry if they think they have done a little more than their pay calls for; but this class of men seldom has much pay to call for.

To keep track of the different kinds of tools for lathes, planers, etc., which are usually forged and marked in the blacksmith shop, it would be well to have the different brands of steel of which they are made, numbered instead of being marked with the initial of the brand. Quite often two or more brands have the same initial, and are liable to get mixed. If marked with numbers, there would practically be no limit to different brands which could be handled without confusion. The blacksmith who forges the tools should have a list of the brands of steel used with the numbers representing them, together with the working instruction which the makers of high-speed steel usually send out to their customers. The system here outlined may be added to or changed to suit circumstances. On the whole, it would take but little time to handle, would increase the efficiency of the blacksmith shop, would save time and worry, and be an advantage to all concerned.


CHAPTER II - TOOLS FOR THE BLACKSMITH SHOP

Among mechanics, the blacksmith holds a unique position, he being practically the only one who makes his own tools. This he often does without any apparent aim at economy, beauty, or usefulness, if judged by the chunks of steel on the ends of handles to be found in the odd corners of a great many blacksmith shops. It would not be fair to put the whole blame on the blacksmith, as he is usually allowed but very little time either to keep his tools in repair or to make new ones; the result is that if ever blacksmith's tools have had a high standard of effiiciency, they soon depreciate. Too much reliance seems to be put on the old saying: "A good workman can do a good job with any kind of tools." But when it comes to saving time, which is one of the most important points in modern manufacturing, the good workman with good tools comes out ahead.

Tools used by blacksmiths do not have to be so accurate to size, or made with the same precision as those used by machinists or tool-makers. Still, some of the points most essential for doing good work seem to have been overlooked. It would be to the advantage of all concerned to have one smith in every shop do the tool-making. He would soon become an expert, and would make better tools in less time than the smith who makes a tool occasionally. It would also insure every man employed having equally good tools and equal chances of doing good work. Tools made by a good blacksmith are preferable to those upon the market for several reasons, the principal of which is the poor quality of the material of which the article on the market is made. Besides, the blacksmith's tools on the market are often poorly constructed and are mostly used in small or country shops where there is no steam hammer.


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Machine Blacksmithing