Stock: Escutcheon plate: 1 × 1⁄4 in. flat iron. Bolt: 3⁄4 × 1⁄2 in. iron. Knocker: 1⁄4 × 1 × 4 ins. long. Directions: Take the piece of metal intended for the escutcheon plate and thin the ends out according to the dimensions of the drawing. Draw out the end of the 3⁄8 × 1⁄2 in. piece until it is 3⁄8 in. in diameter and 2 ins. long. The thickness of the door must determine the length of this bolt. Since the door knocker fastens on to the door, the bolt should go through and fasten on the inside with a washer and nut. The other end of the bolt is rounded to the dimensions given and a 1⁄4-in. hole is drilled through the centre.
Knocker: Taper the 1⁄4 × 1 × 4 in. piece of iron down as shown in sketch, retaining the thickness, 1⁄4 in., throughout the whole length. The two small pins on the end of the knocker are now made 1⁄4 in. in diameter and 1⁄4 in. long. This whole piece is bent into shape, the pins touching and the sides filed parallel to fit the bolt. When it is fastened into the bolt it should fit up snug and close.
Ball for end of knocker: Take a piece of 5⁄8-in. round iron any length. Fuller in as shown by the sketch. Rivet this to the centre of the knocker, the pin on the end of the ball projecting far enough through to make a rather large rivet head on the other side. The rivet head acts as a knocker. The bolt is pushed through the escutcheon plate, then the knocker is ready to be placed on the door. Sometimes these balls are made long enough to go through the door and fasten in the same way as the bolt.
Second door knocker: The design and dimensions given here show the general scheme of this knocker. The escutcheon plate is made with a piece of 1⁄8 × 51⁄2 × 7 in. soft steel. The corners of this piece are clipped off and filed rounding or square.
Knocker: The knocker is made in the same way as the knocker was made in the first design. You use a piece of very heavy material about 13⁄4 in. in diameter. The ends are drawn down to 1⁄2 in. in diameter. If the stock is 1 in. in diameter, the piece may be upset large enough in the middle for the centre. This lessens the work of drawing out and is perhaps a much quicker way of making a knocker. The length of the knocker ring before it is bent is about 15 ins. This is pushed into the eye bolt. This knocker is placed on the door with wrought iron nails, one in each corner. The bolts that hold the knocker are riveted flush to the back of the plate. This finishing work should be done by the peen end of the hammer while the metal is cold.
Escutcheon plates: Escutcheon plates are used for lock plates and fancy key ways. Some are plain, while others lend themselves to elaborate decorations. They are forged out while hot. Two designs are here given. The simpler one explains itself.
Decorated Plate:
Stock: 1⁄8 × 1 × 6 in. soft steel.
Directions: Mark off 11⁄2 in. each way from the centre of the plate and centre-punch. This allows about 11⁄2 in. on each end for drawing-out purposes. Draw ends out. (See sketch). Split the metal down to the centre-punch mark as shown in the sketch. These small ends are now bent out, and the long ends are bent in a circle, thus forming the design. The key way is made by drilling two 1⁄4 in. holes 1⁄2 in. apart about the middle of the piece. Chisel out a piece between the two holes according to the design. Drill four holes as shown. These are for screws or wrought iron nails, used to fasten plates to doors. Many escutcheon plates are used for wall cabinets, cedar chests, doors, etc.
DOOR KNOCKERS
Stock: Piece of soft steel 1⁄8 in. thick, 3 × 7 ins., for the escutcheon. Knocker, 3⁄4 × 1⁄4 × 51⁄2 ins. Eye bolt 3⁄4 × 1⁄2 bar any length. Strike pin, 3⁄8 in. round, 3⁄4 in. long (on bar).
Directions: Mark off on a thin sheet of metal the outline of the drawing. Cut the escutcheon plate same shape as the drawing (using cold chisel). File it up so that the edges are perfectly smooth. With a 1⁄8-in. drill, drill holes for the screws.
Knocker: Split the 51⁄2-in. piece of stock, leaving 1 in. square for the eye bolt and eye untouched. Round up the wings to 1⁄4 in. in diameter. Twist the two wings according to the design. Bring the two loose ends together and weld up 11⁄2 in. from the end. The same heat will enable you to draw and shape the loop. Spread out the parts between the weld and the twist, forming in this way the loop. Eye bolt: This is best made by working the end of a bar any length of the size stock given. The drawing shows a jaw-shaped holder to receive the eye of the knocker.
Punch a hole about 3⁄4 in. from the end of the bar about 1⁄4 in. in diameter. Cut out the piece between the hole and the end of the bar with a chisel. This forms the jaw. The small pin end is fullered down and drawn out the same as you did on the boss of the ring for the andiron, then it is riveted on to the escutcheon plate (see drawing) in place to receive the knocker. A 1⁄8-in. hole is drilled through this and through the eye of the knocker for the rivet to fasten the two together. The strike pin is made in the same way as the eye bolt, except that there is no jaw, just the plain piece of iron. The sketch shows a simple projection for the knocker to strike on.
Door knockers were used formerly in place of door bells, but to-day they are merely used for ornamental purposes.
DOOR PULLS
Door pulls are used as knockers, too. In general they take the place of door knobs, and are used in conjunction with a door plate. They are made of soft steel or iron.
Stock: Soft steel or wrought iron, 1⁄8 × 3 × 61⁄2 ins., made same way as the door knockers.
DOOR HANDLES
Stock: 5⁄8 in. round, 6 ins. long, of soft steel or wrought iron.
Directions: The piece of stock is drawn from the centre 23⁄4 ins. both ways to 5⁄16 in. in diameter. This will leave a piece of the full size material on each end of the rod. Flatten this out from the wide ends. Heat the iron very hot and flatten it down so that the width will be not less than 11⁄2 in. to 2 ins., to 1⁄8 in. thick. Cut the design out. Any one of the designs shown can be used. The bosses are drawn up from the under part by using the peen of the hammer and driving it into a hard wood block, or on an iron stake, as explained in the article on embossing. A very blunt chisel, like a fuller, will give the centre effect. The handles are now bent into shape. Some handles are twisted out of flat stock.
DRAWER PULLS
Drawer pulls are made in much the same way as door knockers. There are the escutcheon plate, bolt, and ring. They may be made to push through a drawer of any kind. The design depends much upon the use the drawer pull is put to. They can be made out of round iron, flat iron, twisted iron.
Stock: Escutcheon plate, 1⁄8 in. soft steel, 21⁄4 ins. round. Bolt, 1⁄2 in. square on the bar. Ring, 1⁄4 × 61⁄2 ins., all of soft steel.
Directions: With a cold chisel cut a piece of flat soft steel 21⁄4 ins. round and make a disc. Divide the disc as shown by the drawing. File out the escalloped edges and with a small hand chisel chase the lines so as to form the design. The small half-round chisel will form the ovals and a centre-punch will form the dots. The ring is made by drawing each end of the 61⁄2-in. piece to a taper, leaving about one third of it for a centre. The ends should be tapered to 1⁄4 in. round. These ends fit into the bolt. Bend the ring into a circle. Engrave the design as you did on the escutcheon plate, using the same tools. The eye bolt is made from the 1⁄2-in. square bar by drawing out the end of the bar 2 ins. or less in length, 1⁄4 round, the length depending upon the thickness of the drawer. This bolt is to go through the drawer and be screwed tight in place with a nut. The large part is now cut off 1⁄2 in. in length and the four corners knocked down. A 1⁄4-in. hole should be drilled through the bolt to receive the ring. Heat the ring red hot at the heavy part and with a pair of tongs open it out just wide enough to receive the eye bolt. Then the ring is pushed into place.
Bossing up: Place the disc while cold on the hollow wood block and drive down from the under side with the hammer, bending in the inside. This makes the outside slightly oval, so that the bearing will be on the outer surface. The depth of this concave should not exceed 1⁄4 in. A few designs are here given.
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
Transcriber's Notes:
Spelling appears to be evolving between US/UK e.g. ACKNOWLEDGMENT, galvanized, practice, calipers, wagon, mold. Both color and colour are used in the text.
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
Obvious typos repaired:
- p92. ELECTRICTY -> ELECTRICITY
- p104. place-ing -> placing.
- p175. When you have taken off the bending -> binding.
- p176. braclet -> bracelet.
- p279. it will come on -> come out.
- p294. a temperature of 4300° -> 430°F.
- p300. champering -> chamfering
- p321. cut if -> cut off.
- p332. orginal -> original
The text contains some inaccuracies which have been left but are noted here:
- p36. This piece of wood is quoted on p34. as being 10 × 11⁄4 × 11⁄4 ins.
- p309. "The articles all this time are absorbing charcoal" should be "carbon".