Fig. 12. Grille.
CHAPTER IX.
Twisting—Braiding—Making a Fire Shovel.
Exercise No. 2.
Fig. 14.
Twisting. A piece of one-half inch square stock, nine inches long, is heated its entire length, one end caught in a vise and with a monkey wrench or heavy pair of tongs on the other, it is twisted to the right. If the heat is an even one and not too hot, the spacing of the twist will be uniform. In case one part twists faster than another, a little water is used to cool that part. The beauty of twisted work depends on having the spacing uniform between the turns. (See [Figure 14].) Flat stock can also be twisted in this manner. To straighten twisted work, it is heated red, set on the end grain of elm wood and hammered with a wooden mallet. The mallet used in this work should be made from hickory. For heavy striking a little band of iron can be put on the mallet a half-inch from one end, so that the mallet will not split. The block on which to straighten the iron should be about ten inches in diameter and three feet high. A short block about eight inches wide and twelve inches long may be set into the coal box, having coal under and around it to hold it in place. This makes a very handy block on which to bump up light pieces of metal or to straighten metal.