Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-05-26
MAKING A CHAIN.
The Big Ones and the Heavy Ca
bIes Are Of Wrought Iron.
SOFT STEEL FOR SMALL ONES.

the Blows Quick and Surs.
The great bulk Of chains, including
all cable and mooring chains, are sold
by the pound. The price ranges from
312 to IL cents 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
diameter, but nowadays most of the
chain used in comparatively smaller
sizes Is made Of soft steel, such chain
being made in sizes ranging by six
teenths from three-sixteenths OF an
inch to an inch and a quarter.
When the size of a chain is referred
to by those familiar with chains, 1t
always means not the link. but the
material used in It. Thus a one inch
chain would be made Of one 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 1t was made.
In other days all chains was hand
made, but the modern chain is Of soft
steel and machine made. There Is
taken long bar Of steel, which is bent
cold around a mandril that is oval in
shape. The bar is thus bent into what
looks like a spiral spring with its coils
not round, but oblong. This spiral is
cut up cold in cutting machine, which
cuts 1t into as many parts as there are
coils, each Of these being the material
for link, and at the same time the
machine spreads each of these sections
apart a little at the opening and cuts
on each Of the two free ends a long
scarf or bevel and bends the ends over
within the opening.
This bent piece Of steel is now in
shape, roughly speaking, like a letter
U with rather long arms and with its
two ends bent over inward. It needs
only to have those scarved ends weld
ed together to make 1t link of chain.
The chainmaker sits at a foot oper-
ated power hammer, with a forge be-
side him, in which he heats the open
links.
He takes from the fire link suitably
heated and hooks 1t into the chain as
far as completed and then pinches the
open ends Of the new link together un-
der the hammer, and with three or
four quick blows he Yields the link to-
gether When he takes hot link
from the fire he puts cold one in, and
so he continues to work. 1t Is alto
gether n quick and more economical
process Of manufacture than hand
forging but 1t has not yet been adapt
ed to chains of the larger sizes.
There are wrought iron chains Of
some sizes that are machine made, but
all wrought chains Of material above
an inch and a quarter in diameter are
hand forged.
OF whatever size the big chain is to
be the workmen cut up the iron bars
into straight lengths, each suitable to
be made into a link. This length Of
iron Is heated, one end at a time, and
one after the other the ends are ham
mered down by hand on an anvil to
shape the scarves or bevels. Then
this straight piece Of heavy wrought
iron with scarved ends is swaged into
link form, and II It is to be a stud or
bar chain there is placed within the
link before II Is welded together the
stud or bar This is stout little bar
Of cast iron, with its ends rounded In,
cOncaved to lt the rounding surface
OF the link iron the stud being placed
across the link inside Of It and mid.
way of It's length.
Once In place and the link pinched
together on It's ends the stud could not
be got out except by breaking II out
with sledge, Its purpose is to pre-
vent the links from drawing together
at their sides and wedglng 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 Is again put In the
Are to be finally heated for the weld
Ing which is done by hand II takes
n blacksmith to handle II and on big
chains two or three helpers striking
with sledgcs to do the welding. The
iron must be OF precisely the right
heat, and the blows must be quick
and sure to complete the work perfect
ly before the iron cools.
Stud chain Ia sometimes made Of
iron as small as Gve.eighths Of an
inch In diameter. From that the iron
used runs through various dlameters
up to three inches and more A three
inch chain makes tremendous cable,
suitable for a Ave ton anchor.-Har.
per's Weekly