HISTORICAL EDUCATION AT PROVIDENCE PLANTATION

"BLACKSMITHING"

From the earliest decades of the eighteenth century, blacksmithing was one of first trades to be practiced on the frontiers. Although the early construction of log buildings was done without nails, hunters, scouts, and traders required guns to perform their duties and provide food for themselves. Indians adopted Euro-American ways of hunting and warfare and also required gun repairs as well as the sharpening of their axes and knives. From the very beginning black-smithing was the essential craft on the frontier. This was true all the more so when it understood that it was the blacksmith function of the GUNSMITH, who early on also may have been a trader among the Indians and provided that service to them. It is noteworthy that just as the earliest blacksmith in Williamsburg, John Brush, the capital of Virginia, was an armorer and gunsmith, so the first known blacksmith on the far-flung frontier of Virginia (in what later became known as Western Pennsylvania), John Frazier, was a gunsmith and a trader among the Indians.

Blacksmithing on the Frontiers

As noted in the Introduction, most blacksmiths (like other tradesmen) on the early frontiers received their training in the east coast town and countryside shop within the apprenticeship system. Most of them probably learned blacksmithing and other trades at their fathers' knees and carried their skills to the frontiers. As they arrived on the frontier they doubtless set up shop and began to ply these trades, first for their own use and later, as demands increased, in providing a wide variety of products to other plantation owners and frontiersmen in and around the small communities that progressively arose in the region. Housewrights in performing timber frame construction and installing shiplap siding and wooden roof shingles would require nails. At the time of the American Revolution such construction began to take place, bringing with it ornamentations such as iron hinges for paneled doors and shutters. Perhaps more practical needs were hinges and bars for keeping unwanted persons from stealing meats and dairy products from outbuildings and horses from stables. Of course, coopers needed hoops and nails; wagons and carts required replacement parts and repairs, as well as new iron "tires" for the wheels. The blacksmith made these as well and shoed the horses (much later farriers assumed this work). He also made and repaired tools, locks, and many fireplace necessities for cooking (cranes, trivets, grates, andirons, etc.)

Blacksmithing Tools

The Forge. The period forge (sometimes called "the fire") was usually made of brick, or in many instances on the early frontiers, it was constructed with (less durable) fieldstone. It formed a small raised hearth (say 5' square and roughly 3' high) with a chimney in the back that exited the roof from the inside or extended several feet above it outside the end of the building. The hearth has a fire-pot that is connected by a metal flue to the end of a bellows to blow the fire. A hood (or "hovel") above the fire is attached to the chimney aids to direct smoke and fumes away. The fire itself is made of bituminous coal and is easily begun in an "igloo" of piled up coal. The fire is small and concentrated and unburned coal is kept conveniently nearby on the forge table. With his "slice" or long-handled shovel and his fire hook or rake, and a bunch of twigs to flick water around the fire, the smith controls the size and depth of the fire. Clinkers form in the hearth and must be scraped out of the fire pot or from below the hearth if they fall through the fire pot. The apprentice soon learns how to pump the bellows (often suspended from the ceiling or a foot or so above the floor to avoid dampness that could rot the leather bellows) so as to regulate the heat of the fire and thus provides the appropriate heat for the product he seeks to make. A tub of water is kept nearby to quench the heat of the metal or cool the tongs.

One of the most important skills the blacksmith needs to acquire is the ability to determine when the stock is the correct degree of heat for a particular operation by the color of the metal in the fire. A blood-red heat is suitable for smoothing the surface of metal. A white heat is required for shaping, drawing down, or upsetting the material. A sparkling heat is necessary for the process of welding pieces of metal together.

The Anvil. Most of the blacksmith's work is done on the anvil. This indispensable tool has retained its basic shape since ancient blacksmiths first conceived of it. It consists of cast or wrought iron with two "tables," the smallest and softest of which is used for cutting hard metal with a cold chisel the larger table is the "face." It is flat, smooth, and hard. The cone-shaped "horn" (beak, bick, bickern, or pike) is used for working curved or rounded pieces of metal such as rings, links, or shackles. At the other end of the "face" are two holes, one round, named the "pritchet" hole, and the other, the square "hardie" hole. Driving a punch into the metal over the hole of the pritchet prevents it from doing damage to the "face." The hardie (or swage) hole holds the square shanks of "bottom" tools, which make an impact on the underside of the metal when the blacksmith strikes it from above. Often the anvil is positioned on part of a sawn tree trunk, which anchored in the earthen floor of the shop for stability. Most shop anvils on the frontier were probably around 200-250 pounds for relative ease of transportation (today they may weigh up to 300 or 400 pounds).

The Hammer. The use of this tool led to the practice of referring to the blacksmith as "the hammer man." Hammers of various shapes and weights allow the artisan to "work" the hot, plastic- like metal into almost any desired sharp or configuration on the anvil. He will also use a sledgehammer, flattening, and rounding, and cutting "hammers." The ringing clang of the hammer on the anvil is itself a very intriguing sound that seldom fails to draw the attention of passers-by outside the shop.

The Tongs and the Vise. Handling hot iron or steel can be very dangerous because these metals reach very high temperatures and transmit heat quickly. For this reason blacksmiths use a wide variety of sizes and shapes of tongs to hold the metal to be worked. The standing leg vise holds the metal that may require bending or twisting while very hot, and it is used for finishing operations such as riveting, and filing to shape or polish the metal and polishing. The small hand vise is used for similar tasks but with smaller pieces of metal.

Other blacksmithing tools. These tools may be used less often, but are still very important to the blacksmith when he needs them. These include swages, swage blocks, stakes, hardies, cold chisels, files, punches, screw plates, mandrel, flatter, fuller, and header. These items may still be purchased at auctions, antique stores, and (sometimes) yard sales, if used tools are desired. Some who can afford them will prefer to start out with new tools.

The Blacksmithing Materials

Iron. This rare metal is difficult to find today. It can be worked with the hammer within a wide range of heat. For many tasks it is brought to a heat around 2,400 degrees and is taken from the fire at a bright yellow color. Optimum results are achieved by learning early on what color represents what temperature and which one to use for specific jobs. This the hammer man does by controlling the forge with the bellows and to 'strike (the metal with the hammer) while the metal is hot." Working museum shops have likely collected much of the true iron, though sometimes it is hidden away in a warehouse, garage or shop.

Steel. Thanks to the steel industry this metal is readily available and generally reasonably priced. It may be worked at slightly lower temperatures. It is required for making edges that cut. In the eighteenth century its high cost precluded making the entire cutting instrument out of steel. Also, it is more difficult to forge except at very high temperatures (which require more time, and energy). So steel edges were forged to the otherwise iron product. Through controlled heating and quenching, the steel edge is hardened and tempered. This process made it possible to make durable and sharp edges for axes and drills. Steel also made strong springs, hammers, and files. Steel is generally available through local suppliers (see Yellow Pages) and (in limited sizes and shapes) hardware stores.

Blacksmithing Operations

Welding. Welding itself is an ancient process involved in blacksmithing. It is simply the joining together of two or more pieces of metal, whether iron is welded to iron, iron to steel, or steel to steel. Fusion of the pieces is made possible by heating both pieces in the forge to a temperature of 2,4000 degrees and hammering them together very quickly where the blacksmith wants them to connect. This hammering refines the grain of the metal as it cools. In order to achieve a weld the joint areas of all pieces must be free of scale caused by oxidation and free of contamination. The use of a flux such as borax (alone or mixed with wood ashes or metal filings) is absolutely necessary to prevent oxidation and accomplish a good weld. Crown Alloys Company (Madison Heights, MI) offers a good flux (Nos. 3 and 4) made available through local distributors (call 1-800-521-7878 and tell them we referred you. They will send a free sample for your experiment upon request).

Laying. This operation, also known as "steeling," is the welding of a hard steel edge on a softer wrought-iron head of an axe, hoe, or plow. In this way the edge of these tools could be replaced indefinitely. Although doubtlessly true everywhere, it was especially true on the frontiers that this was one of the most frequent requests the blacksmith received from other frontiersmen and Indians alike.

Brazing. This the joining together of two or more pieces of metal by the use of a brass solder known as "spelter," The process is employed in cases where the metal pieces to be joined are too thin for welding.

Annealing. is the process of softening steel in order to work it with cutting tools. This operation involves heating the piece to a blood-red color and allowing it to slowly cool.

Tempering. This operation is the direct opposite of annealing, for it slightly softens and strengthens steel or iron. This process involves first bringing the metal to the proper heat to harden the metal and then tempering it by rapid quenching of it in a liquid bath. This can be a tricky process simply because different steels, for example, harden at different temperatures. When possible it is necessary to run an experiment to see what metal hardens at a cheery red, orange red, or white heat color (see the helpful, extensive discussion in Alex W. Bealer, The Art of Blacksmithing (Third Edition, Revised and Updated by Charles McRaven. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1984, Chapter 6.)

Case Hardening. This process involves hardening the outer surfaces of steel in order to work it with cutting tools. Leaving the core of the metal soft actually makes it more resilient. You will find humorous Moxon's suggestion that the smith cover the iron all over with a cement made of powdered cow horn or hoof, coarse sea salt, stale urine or white wine vinegar, and clay, with more clay added to enclose the whole: when the clay has dried hard, put the whole lump in the fire and bring it to blood-red heat; then take the iron out and quench it. (Joseph Moxon, Mechanick Exercises, Third Edition. London, 1703).