Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-04-22
MANUFACTURE OF CHAINS
Iron Must Be of Right Heat and Blows
Quick and Accurate.

~ o. OdAh VI Slcluo,
malleable AM. mooring chains are sold
by the pound. The price ranges from
g IL to IL cents a pound according
to the size, material and quality.
All cables and other very heavy
chains are made of wrought iron, and
there are made wrought iron chains Of
all sizes down to and including chains
of material a quarter of an inch in di-
ameter, but nowadays most of the
chain used in comparative sizes is
mode of soft steel, such chain being
made in sizes ranging by siXteenths
from three-sixteenths of an inch to an
inch and quarter.
When the size of chain is referred
to by those familiar with chains it al
ways means not the link but the ma
terial used in it. Thus a 1-inch chain
would be made of 1-inch steel or iron.
The completed link would be about
five or six times as long and about
three and half times as wide across
as the thickness of the material Of
which it was made.
In other days all chains were hand
made, but the modern is machine
made. There is taken a long bar OF
steel which is bent cold around
mandril that is oval in shape. The bar
is thus bent into what looks like
spiral spring with it's coils not round,
but oblong. This spiral is cut up cold
in a cutting machine which cuts it in
to as many parts as there are coils,
each of these being the material for
link, and at the same time the ma
chine spreads each of these sections
apart a little at the opening and cuts
on each of the two free ends long
scarf or bevel and bends the ends over
within the opening.
This bent piece of steel is now in
shape, roughly speaking, like letter
U with rather long arms and with its
two ends bent over inward 1t needs
only to have those carved ends welded
together to make it link of chain.
The chainmaker sits at a foot-operat-
ed power hammer, with forge beside
him in which he heats the open links
He takes from the fire a link suit
ably heated and hooks it into the chain
as far as completed and then pinches
the open ends of the new link together
under the hammer, and with three or
four quick blows he Yields the link to-
gether. When he takes a hot link
from the fire he puts cold one in, and
SO he continues to work 1t is alto
gether a quick and more economical
process of manufacture than hand
forging, but it has not yet been adapt
ed to chains of the larger sizes.
There are wrought iron chains Of
some sizes that the machine made, but
all wrought chains of materials above
an inch and quarter in diameter are
hand forged.
Of whatever size the big chain is 20
be, the workmen cut up the iron bars
into straight lengths, each suitable to
be made into a link. This length If
iron is heated one end at time, and
one after the other the ends are ham.
mered down by hand on en- anvil to
shape the scarves or bevels. Then
this straight piece of heavy wrought
iron with scarved ends is swaked into
link form, and if it is to be stud or
bar chain, there is placed within the
link before it is welded together the
stud or bar. This is stout little bar
of cast iron, with its ends rounded in.
conceived to fit the rounding surface
of the link iron, the stud being placed
across the link inside of it and mid
way of its length.
Ince in place and the link pinched
together on its ends, the stud could not
be got out except by breaking it out
Nth Il sledge. It's purpose is to pre-
vent the links from drawing together
at their siles and wedging under heavy
strains. In stud chain there is
stud in every link.
With this stud in place and the link
beat to shape with the scarves over
tapping. the link ia again put in the
fire to be finally heated for the weld
ing, which is done by hand. 1t takes
a blacksmith to handle it, and on big
chains two or three helpers striking
with sledges to do the welding. The
iron must be of precisely the right