The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1914-06-12
MAKING A CHAIN.
The Big Ones and the Heavy Ca
bIes Are Of Wrought Iron.
SOFT STEEL FOR SMALL ONES.
The Larger Sizes Are All Hand Forged.
and In This Work the Metal Must
Be Of Precisely the Right Heat and
the blows Quick and Sure.


the blows Quick and Sure.
The great bulk Of chains. including
all cable and mOoring chains. are sold
by the pound. The price ranges from
3is 10 II 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 n 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 10y six
teenths from three xteenths Of an
inch to an inch ana quarter.
! When the size of chain is referred
to by those familiar with chains. II
always means not the link. but the
material used In It. Thus 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 Il half times as wide
across as the thickness of the material
of which ii was made
In other days all chains was hand.
made. but the modern chain is Of soft
steel and machine made There is
taken n 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 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 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
y with rather long arms and with its
two ends bent over inward. 1t needs |
only to have those scarved ends weld |
ed together to make 1t link Of chain |
The chainmaker sits at q foot oper |
ated power hammer. with q forge be |
side him. in which he heats the open |
links.
He takes from the fire link suitably |
heated and hooks it into the chain a.
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 a cold one in. and
so he continues to work. Ii Is alto
gether quick and more economical
process of manufacture than hand
forging. but ii 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
Ill wrought chains of material above
IN inch and quarter in diameter are
hand forged.
or whatever size the big chain Is to
he the workmen cut up the iron bars
into straight lengths, each suitable to
be made into link. This length OF
iron is heated. one end at time. and
one after the other the ends are ham.
mered down by hand on an anvil to
shape the scarves or bevels Then
his straight piece Of heavy wrought
iron with scarved ends Ia swaged into
link form. and II 1t is to be a stud or
bar chain there IL placed within the
link before 1t Is welded together the
stud or bar This is stout little bar
If cast iron. with Its ends rounded in
conceived to fit the rounding surface
IF the link iron. the stud being placed
across the link inside Of It and mid
way of its length
Once in place and the link pinched
together on its ends the stnd could not
be got out except by breaking it ont
with sledge. Its purpose is to pre-
vent the links from drawing together
ut their sides 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 Is again put in the
ire to he finally heated for the weld.
ny. which Is done by hand. Ii takes
, blacksmith to handle ii and on big
'hains two or three helpers striking
With sledges to do the welding. The q
ron must he of precisely the right
heat, and the blows must be quick U
md sure To complete the work perfect
y before the iron cools. I
Stud chain Is sometimes made OF
ron as small as five-eighths Of nm
nch i'm diameter From that the iron
lsed runs through various diameters
Up to three inches and more A three II
nch chain makes tremendous cable.
uitable for five ton anchor -Har
er's Weekly.