Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1885 — Hammer Signals. [ARTICLE]

Hammer Signals.

There are few persons, either in the city or country, who have not at times watched a blacksmith at work in his shop with his assistant or striker. They have noticed that the smith keeps, up a constant succession of motions and taps with a small hand-hammer, while with his left hand he turns and moves the hot iron which the assistant is striking with a sledge. The taps are not purposeless, but given entirely for the direction of the striker. When the blacksmith gives the anvil quick, light blows, ft is a signal to the helper to use the sledge or strike quicker. The force of the.blows given by the blacksmith’s hammer indicates the force of blow it is required to give by the sledge. The blacksmith’s helper is supposed to strike the work in the middle of the width of the anvil, and when this requires to be varied the blacksmith indicates where the sledge blows are to fall by touching the required spot with his hand-hammer. If the sledge is required to have a lateral motion while descending, the blacksmith indicates the same to the helper by delivering hand-hammer blows, in which the hand-hammer moves in the direction required for the sledge to move. If the blacksmith delivers a heavy blow upon the work, and an' immediate light blow on the anvil, it denotes that heavy sledge blows are required. If there are two or more helpers, the blacksmith strikes a blow before each helper’s sledge-hammer blow, the object being merely to denote where the sledge blows are to fall. When the blacksmith desires the sledge blows to cease, he lets the hand-hammer head fall upon the anvil and continue its rebound upon the same until it ceases. Thus the movements of the hand-ham-mer constitute signals to the helper, and what appear desultory blows to the common observer constitute the method of communication between the blacksmith and his helper.— Hardware Reporter.