Practical forging and art smithing

by Thomas F. Googerty

CHAPTER XI.

Making a Drawer Pull—Chasing—Making a Door-knocker—Repousse—Perforated Decoration.

Exercise No. 7.

Drawer pulls can be of one part, the handle being fastened directly to the drawer, or they may be of two parts, the handle and plate. The handle can be made stationary on the plate or movable. In [Figure 33] are shown some hinges, drawer pulls and key escutcheons. The open work is cut out while the stock is hot, or if light stock is used, it may be drilled, cut and filed while the plate is cold.

Fig. 33.

Fig. 34. Fig. 35.

Fig. 36. Fig. 37.

The stock used in making a plate for a pull, somewhat like those illustrated, is represented in [Figure 34]. After the plate is cut to size, which is done cold with a hand chisel, the outside surface is hammered while hot with a ball hammer, drawing the plate a little thinner near the edge. This hammering gives the surface a rough texture. The edges are now ground or filed to shape and the holes are drilled as shown in the drawing. The round holes are for screws to fasten the pull, and the square holes are to fasten lugs, on which the handle is to swing. The lugs are shown in [Figure 35]. The tenon can be filed, the top rounded, the holes drilled, and the lugs riveted into the plate. When riveting the lugs, they are caught in a vise, the plate set on and the tenons are riveted tight into the holes. The square holes in the plate should be countersunk a little on the back before the lugs are riveted.

The handle is a movable one, and the drawing is shown in [Figure 36]. The different steps in making the handle are represented in [Figure 37]. When the stock, which should be soft steel, is cut, the ends are heated and drawn out tapering to ³⁄₁₆ inch at the end. One-and-a-half inches from each end of the bar is marked with a center punch. The ends are now bent over ¼ inch, then the bar is bent at the center marks. When the handle is formed to fit the plate it is smoothed with a file. If desired, a line can be chased on the handle and around the edge of plate. In doing this a short, light chisel is used. After lines are traced on the plate with a slate pencil the chisel is set on the line and struck with a light hammer; at the same time it is drawn towards the worker with the lead corner of the cutting edge directly on and above the line.

Fig. 38.

The chisel should receive rapid, light blows and be continually moved toward the workman. The lead corner of the chisel should be guided onto the line while the other corner is doing the cutting. See [Figure 38], a rather large sized drawing of the cutting edge of the chisel. When the lines are chased with the chisel, they should be gone over again with quite hard blows of the hammer, forcing the chisel down to make the lines quite pronounced.

To put the handle in place on the plate, it is heated and sprung into the holes of the lugs. The last thing to do in finishing all work of this kind is to heat it to a dark red. All scale and dirt is then scraped off; when cool, some oil is put on. For this kind of work, machine oil is good. The reason it is heated to a dark, even red heat is that when cool the handle and the plate will have the same color and texture.

Fig. 39.

Exercise No. 8.

In [Figure 39] are shown some hinges, latches and door knockers. [Figure 40] is a drawing of a simple knocker. The plate is cut out and the line around the edge is chased with a tool. The chasing tool is simply a cold chisel ground to a short bevel and rounded somewhat like a fuller, as shown in [Figure 41]. A short chisel is used for cold work and a longer one for hot work. The chasing can be done while the metal is cold. If it is to be very deep or wide the plate is heated and a longer chisel is used. The lug at [Figure 42] is made and riveted into the plate. The top of the hammer is filed to straddle it. A hole is then drilled and a rivet put thru. Holes are drilled around the edge of the plate for screws or nails.

Fig. 40.

Fig. 41. Fig. 42.

In making the hammer a piece of ¾-inch square, soft steel is used. It is upset on one end to get the stock large enough for the bottom of the hammer. The bar is then drawn out on the horn as shown at [Figure 43]. The top part is formed as shown at [Figure 44]. Lines are chased on the front of hammer as shown in the drawing; this can be done after it is formed. If the lines are to be very deep it should be done while the piece is straight and heated.

Fig. 43. Fig. 44.

There is ample room for design in the making of door knockers, both for outside and inside doors of dwellings. Knocker plates for doors on the inside of dwellings can be elaborated by a combination of repousse, chasing and perforated decoration which give a variety of light and shadow. Perforated plates can be backed up with colored leather or cloth which gives a very pleasing contrast to the metal.

Fig. 45.

In [Figure 45] is shown an interior door knocker. It is backed up with colored leather. The plates are made of ⅛-in. thick, soft steel. After the plates are cut out, the openings are marked with a slate pencil and gone over with a short cold chisel to mark them. The plate is then heated, and the part enclosed by the chisel line is cut out. A very narrow chisel, 12 in. long, is used to do the cutting. The cutting is all done from the outside. This gives the edge a slight bevel. The edges of open places are trued up with a file. The openings must not be filed too exact and smooth. The most essential thing to look after is form; the work looks best when it shows handwork and is not mechanical.

Fig. 46.

Handwork is most in keeping with the design and the material. The lines on the plate are chased with a narrow chisel and the foliated form bumped out from the back by hammering on the end grain of the elm block. The hammer that does the knocking is hinged on the top plate so that the bottom part moves out and in when knocking. Very thin red leather is glued on the back of the plate with fish glue. The diameter of the top plate is 4½-in., the bottom 2½-in., and the hammer is 6¾-in. long.

A good method of working out ideas for pieces of this character is to make numerous rough sketches on paper with a lead pencil, making one line over another without erasing. When one gets what he thinks is good it is redrawn and perfected. It may then be worked in the material.

Fig. 47.

At [Figure 46] is shown a door knocker hinged at the top. The plate is one piece. At [Figure 47] are shown the dimensions of the plate. After the shape of the plate is sketched on the metal, the lines are traced with a chisel. The open work is then cut out, and the outside of the plate is cut and filed. The center leaf at the top of the plate is indicated by forcing the metal down along the top edge of the leaf with a punch, also at the bottom to form the interlace. The plate should be hot when this is done. The hammer shown in [Figure 48] should be forged from ¾-in. square, soft steel. The lug shown on the drawing is to be made and riveted into the top of the plate. The hammer is then placed over the lug, and the lug is drilled to conform to the drilled holes in the hammer.

Fig. 48.

The chasing on the plate and hammer is done with a chisel as previously explained. A gauge should be made from a piece of steel to scratch the guide lines on the plate for the chasing as shown in [Figure 48]. These lines are then cut with the chisel.