SMITHY Shop Tools

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Smithy (Forging) Shop Tools:

Smith’s Forge or Hearth :

 It is used for heating purpose during the forging operation .

 The structure of hearth is made of cast iron or cast steel. It has four-legged support, an hearth known as bottom, a chimney along with hood. An opening is also provided on the rear side of the structure to supply the air into the furnace.The hearth is covered by fire bricks lining.For quenching purpose, a water tank is also provided in front side of forge. Air under pressure is supplied to the furnace by the blower.

List of tools used in forging shop

(1) Fullers (Pair is required)

(2) Swages (Pair is required) 

(3) Flatter

(4) Set Hammer

(5) Chisels

(6) Punch and Drift 

(7) Drifts

Anvil: The anvil forms a support for black smiths work when hammering. The body of the Anvil is made of mild steel with a tool steel face welded on the body but the beak or horn used for bending curve is not steel faced. The round hole in the Anvil called prichel hole is used for bending rods of small diameter, and as a die for hot punching operations. The square or hardies hole is used for holding square shanks of various fitting.

    The weight of Anvil varies from about 50 kg to 150 kg and should stand with the top face about 0.75m from the floor. The height may be attained by resting the anvil on a cast iron or wooden base.

::Anvil uses::

• To carry out the forging operations successfully, a proper supporting device is needed which should be capable of withstanding heavy blows rendered to the job.
• An anvil stands as the most appropriate choice for this purpose.
• Its body is generally made of cast steel, wrought iron or mild steel provided with a hardened top, about 20 to 25 mm thick.
• This hardened plate is welded to the body on the top.
• The horn or beak is used in bending the metal or forming curved shapes. The flat step provided, between the top and the horn, is used to support jobs during cutting and is known as chipping block.
• The flat projecting piece at the back of the anvil is known as tail.
• It carries a square hole to accommodate the square shank of the bottom part of various hand tools like swages, fuller. It is called a hardie hole.
• The circular hole provided near the hardie hole is known as pritchel hole.
• The commonly used size of an anvil weighs approximately 50-150 kg although it is manufactured in various sizes.
• The top face of the anvil should stand at about 0.75 m from the floor.

Anvil 3D image Anvil real image

Anvil Stand: Anvil is mounted on wooden block or Anvil stand. This stand is made of cast iron. The height of the anvil stand will be at about 600 to 750 mm from the ground to the top of the Anvil.

Chisels: 

• Chisels are used to cut metals in hot or cold state.
• Those which are used for cutting the metal in hot state are termed as hot chisels and the others used for cutting in cold state are known as cold chisels.
• The main difference between these chisels is in the included angle at the cutting edge.
• A cold chisel carries an included angle of 60 degrees at the cutting edge and the latter is well hardened and tempered. It is made of high carbon steel.
• A hot chisel can be made of medium carbon steel as there is no need of hardening. It is used to cut the metal in plastic state. The included angle of its cutting edge is 30 degrees.

Swage Block: 

• It is usually a block of cast steel or cast iron carrying a number of slots of different shapes and sizes along its four side faces and through holes from its top face to bottom face.
• This is used as a support in punching holes and forming different shapes. The job to be given a desired shape is kept on a similar shaped slot, which acts as a bottom swage, and then the top swage is applied on the other side of the job.
• The holes in the top and bottom face are used in punching. Their use prevents the punch from spoiling by striking against a hard surface after the hole has been punched.

swage bock real image

Hammer's used in Forging shop (Smithy shop):

• A smith’s hammer is usually a ball peen hammer or a straight peen sledge type hammer of relatively small size. Its weight normally varies between 1.0 kg and1.8 kg. A ball peen hammer is used for all general work and its peen is employed when light blows at a faster speed are needed, such as in fullering a rivet head in a countersunk hole.
• Sledge hammers are comparatively 3to 4 times heavier than the hand hammers. They are available in varying sizes and weights from 3 kg to 8 kg. They are employed when heavy blows are needed in forging and other operations done on heavy jobs.

Tongs: 

They are used to hold the jobs in position and turning over during forging operation. They are made of mild steel.

Tongs are usually made in two pieces, riveted together to form a hinge. Smaller length on one side of the hinge carries the holding jaws, which are made in different shapes and sizes to suit the corresponding shapes and sizes of the jobs, and the longer portions on the other side of the hinge form the arms which are held in hand by the smith.

Tongs are usually named after the inside shapes of the jaws.

Flat tongs are used for gripping thin section and small flat pieces.

Round hollow tongs, with curved surface inside, are used for holding round work.

Hollow tongs with square jaws are used to hold square or hexagonal work. Pick up tongs have their jaws so shaped that even small sections can be easily picked up. They are not used for holding the work.

Punches:

• Punches are tapered tools made in various shapes and sizes. They are used for producing holes in red hot jobs. A larger tapered punch is called a drift.
• The job is placed on the anvil and the punch is hammered through it up to about half its depth. In is then turned over and the punch made to pass through it.Completion of this operation in two stages prevents the job from splitting and full to bursting.

Flatters:

• These are also known as smoother. They are made of high carbon steel and consist of a square body, fitted with a handle, and a flat square bottom. They are used for leveling and finishing a flat surface after drawing out or any other forging operation.

Set Hammers:

• It is made of tool steel and hardened. It is not used for striking purpose. Its construction is also similar to that of a flatter but is smaller in size and it does not carry an enlarged bottom face. It is used for finishing corners, formed by two adjacent surfaces at right angles. The job is supported on the anvil and the tool is hammered from the top.

Fullers:

• These tools are made of high carbon steel in different sizes to suit the various types of jobs. They are usually used in pairs, consisting of a top and a bottom filler. Their working edges are normally rounded. They, are employed for making necks by reducing the cross-section of a job and also in drawing out.

Swages:

• They are used for increasing the length of a circular rod or for finishing the circular surface of a job after forging.
• Like fullers, they are also made of high carbon steel in two parts called the top and bottom swages.
• Their working faces carry circular grooves to suit the size of the work. They are available in various sizes.
• The top swage carries is a handle and the bottom swage a square shank to fit the hardie hole of the anvil during the operation.

Bench Vice:

Bench vice is used to hold the work piece tightly with in the jaws.