ALLOY STEEL -- Iron and various elements mixed to give the iron permanent characteristic changes. Carbon content or heat treating qualities will vary according to the mix.

ANNEAL -- The process of using suitable temperatures and cooling to produce the softest state possible in metal and to reduce as much internal stress as possible in any given piece of iron or steel.

ANVIL TOOL -- Any tool that is installed on, or inserted into, an anvil to perform special services that are not practical if performed on the anvil alone, a tool that can be held in or on the anvil instead of in the blacksmith's hand.

BAR STOCK -- See stock.

BILLET -- Any piece of iron or steel that is round or square in cross section and is not less than 1 inch in cross section and not more than 12 inches long.

BITE -- The amount of the opening and the shape of the portions of the jaws of a tong that actaully holds the piece to be worked on. For example, the tongs have a long bite, a short bite, sharp bite, or good bite.

BLADE -- The cutting portion of any tool such as a knife, a shovel, or a garden hoe.

BLANK -- Any piece of metal or part thereof that is ready, without further treatment, to be shaped into a final product.

BOLSTER -- A piece of steel that is to be placed on the anvil or held in the vise and that contains one or more holes of a specified size and shape. It may be used to finish the shaping of a tenon by driving the tenon into the hole or holes.

BOW -- In tongs this is the circular shaped portion of the jaws of the tongs between the bite and the hinge. This is usually built in to increase springiness or to provide for extra capacity behind the bite. In shackles this is the circular shaped portion of the shackle between the eyes.

BUMP -- To bend or reshape a whole product without disfiguring any specific portion of it by using a hammer, considerably heavier than usual, in a gentle manner.

CAKING QUALITY -- A quality of powdered or finely ground coal that causes it to stick or cake together and hold its shape. This quality is very helpful in making coke.

CARBON STEEL -- Steel that contains carbon added to increase its hardening ability. In general the American Society for Metals considers steel with less than 0.30 percent carbon to be low carbon; 0.30 percent to 0.50 percent carbon is high carbon.

CARBON-ALLOY STEEL -- A combination of carbon and any of various alloy components in the steel.

CHOKE --To grip a hammer handle close to the hammerhead or to grip the reins of tongs close to the hinge.

CIRCUMFERENCE --The distance around any circle.

CLINKER -- Noncombustible, nongaseous material in the coal that has melted down and formed a dough like mass over the grate of the tuyere. When a clinker cools below a molten state, it becomes a brittle solid mass.

COKE -- A brittle, lightweight material, nearly pure carbon, that remains after the volatiles and most of the non combustibles have been removed from coal. You make coke in your forge as you burn green coal.

COLD-CUT -- A hardy or chisel made for cutting cold iron or steel.

CRIMP -- A bend in metal, so sharp at the apex that it cannot successfully be forged out. It may be large or small and is to be avoided in all blacksmith work.

CRITICAL POINT TEMPERATURE -- That temperature at which iron and steels lose their magnetic attraction. This is a very important temperature used in heat treating of iron and steels. It lies within a very narrow temperature range.

CUTTING PLATE -- A large, fiat piece of metal, made of iron, steel, or nonferrous metal, that is placed on top of the anvil face to protect the anvil from injury when hot or cold cutting is done.

CUT WASHER -- A flat washer left in the raw state after it has been punched out of the parent sheet stock. It is usually oversized to allow for variation in stock size of bolts and rivets.

DIAMETER -- The distance across the exact center of a circle.

DRAW DOWN -- To reduce diameter or thickness.

DRAW OUT A POINT -- To forge a point on the end of a rod or a bar.

DRAW THE TEMPER --To temper to a desired hardness or to reduce hardness.

DRESS -- To smooth and refine the work.

DRIBBLE CAN -- A small tin can nailed to a wooden handle. The can has one & penny nail hole in the left edge. It is used to dribble water on unwanted hot spots on the iron while the iron is in the fire.

ENDO -- To move something end ways only. To strike one end of a bar while the other end is resting on the anvil to cause all energy to travel the length of the bar only.

EYEBALL -- To look something over, usually to estimate its size or shape.

FLY ASH -- The dusty particles of ash, cinder, and dirt that go into the air from the forge.

FULLER -- The process of forming an indentation during the forging process in order to move metal one way only. A tool for performing the fullering process.

HAND HAMMER -- Any hammer with a head weight of 4 pounds or less, designed to be held in one hand.

HAND TOOL -- Any tool held in the hand.

HARDY TOOL -- Any tool held in the hardy hole of the anvil.

HEADER -- A tool designed to receive the shank of a rivet or nail so that a head can be hammered onto the rivet.

HEAT -- That portion of metal that is to be heated or is already heated to forging temperatures. 'To make a heat' means to heat a work piece to forging temperature.

HOLDING HAND -- The hand that the smith uses to hold his work piece or tongs while he is working at the anvil or at the fire.

IRON -- Any iron or steel.

KITCHEN FAT -- The fat drippings from meat or fowl that has been strained and is free of water.

LINCH PIN -- A form of cotter pin, usually made of flat stock and usually several times as wide as it is thick. It is designed to be used repeatedly.

LINCHPUNCH -- A hot-punch shaped with an elongated flat nose or point. It is designed to punch narrow elongated holes in round stock to receive a linchpin.

MILD STEEL -- See steel.

NORMALIZE -- To allow a piece of steel or iron to cool slowly from forging heat to room temperature in the atmosphere. This process relieves internal stresses caused by forging. It is not the same as annealing.

QUENCH -- To immerse hot iron in a liquid, usually water. The water or oil used as a coolant.

RADIUS -- One half the diameter of a circle, the distance from the center of any circle to its edge. "The radius" is the name given to the rounded edge of an anvil. The anvil is ground or filed to the smith's need. The radius avoids producing anvil scars or cuts on the inside of an over-theedge bend.

REIN -- A somewhat archaic name for the handles of blacksmith's tongs or pliers.

SLUG DRIFT -- A drift of a specified accurate size with a short, slight entrance taper on each end. It is used for dressing holes to an exact size.

SOAK -- To soak a piece in the fire means holding it at a given temperature for an extended length of time to allow the heat to become the same internally and externally.

SPRINKLE CAN -- A tin can with about five or six holes punched in the bottom. It is attached to a handle and is used to sprinkle down the fire.

STEEL -- Any of the purified iron and iron alloys available today.

STOCK -- The metal from which an object will be made.

SWAGE -- A tool used for working metal, hot or cold. The metal may be hammered into the swage or hammered down to fit over it.

SWAGE BLOCK -- A perforated cast iron or steel block with grooved sides. It is used in heading bolts and rivets and for shaping bars or flat metal by hand work.

TANG -- The nail-shaped end of a chisel, file, or other tool. The tang is usually driven into a wooden handle.

TONGUE -- A flattened projection thinner than the main stock.

TOOL STEEL -- Any combination of carbon and alloy components.The combination will depend on the requirements for the tool.

VAPOR BLANKET -- The steam or gas or both created around a piece of hot metal when the metal is dipped in water or oil.