Before punching, draw up the toe-clip. A punch-plate with a good-sized hole, and a tap which will fit into the square hole in the anvil will facilitate the work. The punch-plate when in position should be flush with the front edge of the anvil. Place the toe of the shoe, hoof surface upward, over the hole of the punch-plate, and drive a hole with a punch-hammer which is perceptibly thinner than the model punch. Now turn the shoe over, punch back from the ground-surface, and then file away the wire edge which the punch has raised on the ground-surface. Next, take a hand-punch, the end of which should just enter the hole, punch through from the ground-surface, and correct any bulging by dressing lightly over the horn of the anvil. Finally, use the model punch to give the hole the exact size and smoothness.
Should the hole in the toe of the shoe enlarge in time, as sometimes occurs, then back-set when necessary on removing the shoe. Backsetting is easiest with the half-round hole, because the curved side, being turned forward, runs approximately parallel to the outer border of the toe of the shoe.
Fig. 170.
Cross-section of different forms of peg toe-calk taps.
A good serviceable peg toe-calk must possess the following characteristics:
1. The tap must be of such shape as not to turn; therefore, not round.
2. The tap must be cone-shaped, and diminish in diameter about one-thirty-second of an inch for each one-fourth of an inch of its length from base to apex. If the tap has less taper it will enlarge the hole in the shoe till the head of the calk comes into contact with the shoe, when the calk will loosen and drop out.
3. The tap must be full-formed and smooth.
4. It must fit air-tight in the toe, and a single hammer-blow should be sufficient to fix it securely.