Basic Techiques of Blacksmithing: A Manual for Trainers (Peace Corps, 1982, 102 p.): Day 2: Session: 7. Forging: a blacksmith's hot punch

Basic Techiques of Blacksmithing: A Manual for Trainers (Peace Corps, 1982, 102 p.)

Day 2

		Session: 5. Properties of metals
		Session: 6. Forging a blacksmith's cold chisel
		Session: 7. Forging: a blacksmith's hot punch
		Session: 8. Heat treating

Session: 7. Forging: a blacksmith's hot punch

Total Time: 2 hours

Objectives:

* To identify and discuss different types of punches and their functions
* To make a blacksmith's hot punch

Resources:

* Andrews, page 52.

Materials: 10 - 15 automobile coil springs (6" length and 3/4" to 5/8" in diameter), and a variety of punching tools.

Trainer Notes

The punching tools distributed in Step 2 should be assembled in advance. They should include at least two types of hand-held blacksmith's hot punch, several cold punches, drifts, mandrels, an awl, nail sets, and center punches.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)
Explain the session objectives and briefly outline the procedures.

Step 2. (10 minutes)
Distribute among the participants a variety of punching tools used by crafts people and discuss their uses and properties.

Trainer Notes

* Stimulate a discussion of each tool by asking:

- What are some potential uses for this punch?
- What can be determined regarding the qualities of the steel from which this tool is made?
- What are some scrap steels from which this tool could be made?
- Which of these punches are used by local crafts people at your work sites?

Step 3. (10 minutes)
Focus the discussion on the hand-held blacksmith's hot punch and ask participants to identify how it is used.

Trainer Notes

Some important uses of the punches which should be mentioned include:

* piercing sheet metal (cold)

* center punching to mark stock

* driving out old rivets, shafts, etc

* hot punching

* drifting (enlarging) holes

Step 4. (10 minutes)
Briefly explain the procedures involved in making a blacksmith's hot punch.

Trainer Notes

* Be brief in your explanation and be sure to mention the importance of making the hot punch long enough to allow holding it while maintaining a safe distance from the heat of the piece being punched.

* Point out and explain the parallels which exist between the procedures for making a hot punch and those involved in making a cold chisel.

* Explain that the punch blanks will be annealed and tempered in the next session, along with their cold chisels.

Step 5. (15 minutes)
Demonstrate the techniques involved in making a hot punch.

Trainer Notes

* Before beginning the demonstration, remind participants that they should observe carefully and note any procedures which appear confusing and may need to be clarified later.

* During the demonstration, focus your explanation on identifying transitions from one major step to the next.

Step 6. (10 minutes)
Have the participants review and explain the procedures and techniques which they observed.

Trainer Notes

* Before proceeding to the next step in this session, be certain that all the participants have had the opportunity to clarify the procedures such that they are ready to begin working at their stations.

Step 7. (50 minutes)
Have participants form their work teams and practice making a hot punch.

Trainer Notes

* Circulate among the groups making suggestions, providing assistance, and pointing out safety precautions and examples of good hammering posture.

Step 8. (10 minutes)
Reconvene the group and ask participants to discuss and share among themselves any technical difficulties which they encountered and what they did to overcome them.