Easy Designs in Ornamental Iron Work
Many an industrious lad has made money manufacturing the common forms of wood brackets, shelves, boxes, stands, etc., but the day of the scroll saw and the cigar-box wood bracket and picture frame has given way to the more advanced and more profitable work of metal construction. Metal brackets, stands for lamps, gates, parts of artistic fences for gardens, supporting arms for signs, etc., are among the articles of modern times that come under the head of things possible to construct of iron in the back room or attic shop. The accompanying sketches present some of the articles possible to manufacture.
First, it is essential that a light room be available, or a portion of the cellar where there is light, or a workshop may be built in the yard. Buy a moderate sized anvil, a vise and a few other tools, including bell hammer, and this is all required for cold bending. If you go into a forge for hot bending, other devices will be needed. Figure 1 shows how to make the square bend, getting the shoulder even. The strip metal is secured at the hardware store or the iron works. Often the strips can be secured at low cost from junk dealers. Metal strips about 1/2 in. wide and 1/8 in. thick are preferable. The letter A indicates a square section of iron, though an anvil would do, or the base of a section of railroad iron. The bend is worked on the corner as at B, cold. If a rounded bend is desired, the same process is applied on the circular piece of iron or the horn of an anvil. This is shown in Fig. 2, at C. This piece of iron can be purchased at any junk store, where various pieces are always strewn about. A piece about 20 in. long and 4 in. in diameter is about the right size. The bend in the metal begins at D and is made according to the requirements. Occasionally where sharp bends or abrupt corners are needed, the metal is heated previous to bending.
Although the worker may produce various forms of strip-metal work, the bracket is, as a rule, the most profitable to handle. The plain bracket is shown in Fig. 3, and is made by bending the strip at the proper angle on form A, after which the brace is adjusted by means of rivets. A rivet hole boring tool will be needed. A small metal turning or drilling lathe can be purchased for a few dollars and operated by hand for the boring, or a common hand drill can be used. Sometimes the bracket is improved in design by adding a few curves to the end pieces of the brace, making the effect as shown in Fig. 4. After these brackets are made they are coated with asphaltum or Japan; or the brackets may be painted or stained any desired shade.
In some of the work required, it is necessary to shape a complete loop or circle at the end of the piece. This may be wrought out as in Fig. 5. The use of a bar of iron or steel is as shown. The bar is usually about 2 in. in diameter and several feet in length, so that it will rest firmly on a base of wood or stone. Then the bending is effected as at F, about the bar E, by repeated blows with the hammer. After a little practice, it is possible to describe almost any kind of a circle with the tools. The bar can be bought at an iron dealers for about 40 cents. From the junk pile of junk shop one may get a like bar for a few cents.
A convenient form for shaping strip metal into pieces required for brackets, fences, gates, arches, and general trimmings is illustrated at Fig. 6. First there ought to be a base block, G, of hard wood, say about 2 ft. square. With a round point or gouging chisel work out the groove to the size of the bar, forming a seat, by sinking the bar, H, one-half its depth into the wood as shown. In order to retain the bar securely in position in the groove, there should be two caps fitted over it and set-screwed to the wooden base. These caps may be found in junk dealers' heaps, having been cast off from 2-in. shaft boxes. Or if caps are not available, the caps can be constructed from sheet metal by bending to the form of the bar, allowing side portions or lips for boring, so that the caps can be set screwed to the wood. Thus we get a tool which can be used on the bench for the purpose of effecting series of bends in strips of metal.
Since the introduction of the laws requiring that signs of certain size and projection be removed from public thoroughfares in cities, there has been quite a call for short sign brackets, so termed, of the order exhibited in Fig. 7. These sign-supporting brackets do not extend more than 3 ft. out from the building. A boy can take orders for these signs in almost any city or large town with a little canvassing. The sign supporting bracket shown is merely a suggestion. Other designs may be wrought out in endless variety. A hook or eye is needed to sustain the ring in the sign.
The young man who undertakes to construct any sort of bracket, supports, frames or the like, will find that he will get many orders for lamp-supporting contrivances, such as shown at Fig. 8. It is hardly necessary to go into details for making these stands, as every part is bent as described in connection with the bending forms, and the portions are simply riveted at the different junctures. Both iron and copper rivets are used as at I, in Fig. 9, a cross sectional view.
The best way is to bore straight through both pieces and insert the rivet. In some cases the rivet is headed up in the bore and again washers are used and the heading effected on the washer. Copper rivets are soft and easily handled, but are costly as compared with iron rivets.
Good prices are obtained for the guards for open fireplaces made in many varieties in these days. The return of the open fireplace in modern houses has created a demand for these guards and in Fig. 10 we show a design for one of them. The posts are made sufficiently stiff by uniting two sides with rivets. The ends at top are looped as shown, while the ends or butts at the base are opened out to make the feet. Rings are shaped on forms and are then riveted to the base cross-piece as illustrated. Crosses are made to describe to central design and the plan is worked out quite readily with the different shapes.
The making of metal fire grate fronts has proven to be a very interesting and profitable occupation for boys in recent times. Not long ago it was sufficient for the ingenious youth to turn out juvenile windmills, toy houses and various little knickknacks for amusement. The modern lad wants more than this. He desires to turn some of his product into cash. Therefore we present some of the patterns of fire grates which boys have made and can make again from scrap iron, with few tools and devices, and find a ready market for the same as soon as they are made. Figure 11 is a sketch of a form of fire grate bar or front that is constructed with a series of circles of strip metal. The best way is to go to the hardware store or iron dealer's and buy a quantity of 1/4-in., 1/2-in., and 3/4-in. iron, about 1/8 to 3/16 in. thick. In fact 1/16-in. metal would do in many cases where the parts are worked out small in size. The 1/8-in. metal is very strong. Then after getting the supply of strip metal in stock, procure the usual type of metal worker's hammer, a cheap anvil, a 9-lb. vise, a cold chisel, a file or two, and a round piece of shaft iron, about 3 in. diameter and 2 to 3 ft. long. This piece of iron is represented at B, Fig. 12.
The iron is held in position by means of the straps of metal C, C, which are bent over the shaft tightly and grip the board base with set or lag screws as shown. The wooden base should be about 2 in. thick and large enough to make a good support for the iron shaft. The process of bending the rings in this way is as shown. The piece of strip iron is grasped at D. Then with the hammer the iron is gradually worked cold about the mandrel as at E until the perfect form is acquired. After the form is finished, the strip at the terminus of the ring is cut off. In order to get a steady base the wooden part may be bolted to a bench. In Fig. 13 is shown the method of clipping off the completed ring. The cold chisel is held upright, and by delivering several blows with the hammer upon the same, the point is caused to chip through the metal and release the ring. The shaft or mandrel is marked G. The cold chisel is indicated at I and the position where the hand grasps the strip is at H. The final operation in shaping the ring is by driving the protruding cut, lip down, to the common level of the opposite point, thus giving us the finished ring with the lips closed on the mandrel as at J, Fig. 14. These rings can be turned out in this way very speedily. The next operation involves the process of uniting the rings in the plan to shape the design. The design work is often worked out ahead and followed. Some become so proficient that they can develop a design as they proceed.
Figure 11 is a design of grate front used for various purposes in connection with grate fires. The series of rings are united by a rivet between each at the joining point. With thin metal the holes can be punched with an iron punch and hammer on an anvil where there is a hole to receive the point of the punch after the punch penetrates the metal. For the heavier forms of metal a drill is necessary. A metal drill and brace can be purchased very cheaply for this work. After drilling the holes, the parts are erected and the rivets inserted and headed up as each addition is made. Thus the series of rings are united and then the side pieces are similarly riveted. The points at the top are then worked out and joined on. These points are filed down to the necessary taper after the union is effected. The finishing work involves smoothing rough places with a file and painting. Asphaltum makes a good black finish. Some of the best designs of grates are bronzed. Some are silvered. The different designs are finished as desired by customers.
Figure 15 is another design of grate in which the process of shaping the rings is like that in the first design. There are some half circles in this pattern and these are framed by shaping the same about the mandrel with the hammer. In order to get the shoulders close and the circle complete it is necessary to heat the metal. A coke fire can be made in a hole in the ground. Then procure a tin blowpipe and blow the flame against the metal at the point to be bent. This metal will become red hot very soon, and can be bent readily against the anvil and the circular form. Let the metal cool off on the ground after heating. Fig. 16 is another design which can be wrought out. The middle adjustment is wire screen work which may be bought at a hardware store and set into the position shown. Fig. 17 shows a chipping off device useful in connection with this work. Metal chippers can be bought at any tool store. The chipper is placed in the jaws of the vise as at K, and secured there. The strip of metal in process of cutting is marked M. The hammer head is caused to strike the metal just over the cutting edge of the chipper. The quick, hard blow causes the cutting edge to penetrate far enough to sever the piece. Bending cold with a wooden form is done as in Fig. 18. The wooden form is marked P and is about 8 in. wide and 7 in. high, forming a one-sided oval shape. There is a pin R set into the base board of the oval form and the strip of metal for bending is grasped at S and the other end is inserted back of the pin R. By applying pressure, the strip of metal is bent to the form.
Figure 19 shows the hour-glass wood bending form, made by selecting a piece of hard wood block, about 6 in. square and boring through with an inch bit. Then the hole is shaped hour-glass like. The view is a sectional one. The block is placed in a vise and the strip for bending is inserted as at T.
The strip of metal is grasped at W and can be bent to various forms by exerting pressure. Fig. 20 is another type of fireplace front, constructed by uniting the shaped metal pieces. In fact an almost endless variety of designs can be wrought out after the start is once made. A good way to figure the price on the grate is to add up the costs of the parts and charge about 12 cents per hour for the work.