Subject: Re: Re[2]: Educating the Public - Historical Accuracy

From: [email-masked] (David Hoopes)
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 17:15:09 -0600

I also work at a Historic site, and am always interested discussions along
that line.

>This is my principle contact with blacksmithing as well, at Historic Allaire 
>Village in NJ.  I'd like to do a better job with the historical information.  
>Any others out there who'd like to communicate on this topic?
>Bruce
>
>
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David Hoopes
[email-masked]
Lenexa, Kansas (Near Kansas City, Mo)

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From: [email-masked] (George Dixon)
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 21:12:21 -0500

>On Mar 20, 10:15am, [email-masked] wrote:
>> Subject: Re[2]: Educating the Public - Historical Accuracy
The work I do is 'period' and I'd be interested for sue.
George Dixon

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From: [email-masked] (Thomas Boudreau)
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 23:28:45 -0400

>>> Village in NJ. 

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    I'm game, let's educate each other! A good place to start might be on
the topic *medieval smithing* or who came first, the blacksmith or the
farrier..:)
    
    How about the nailsmiths, and chainsmiths, often women and young kids
doing the work in 12hr, 6 days a week, no *welders* or *little giants*.

    How did they do it!! 

-->Thomas B.
-->N.S. Can.<--------> [email-masked] <-------

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From: [email-masked] (George Dixon)
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 09:46:12 -0500

>doing the work in 12hr, 6 days a week, no *welders* or *little giants*.

I read once that the first purpose-built prison in colonial America had the
inmates making nails all day.  They wore an iron collar that had a chain
tied into the ceiling to allow them just enough movement to make the small
circle from the forge to the anvil stake.

Nail making was also a staple of farm families for generations.  It was
done in the fireplace in winter by the wife and kids.  The stock was
supplied by merchants who would take the nails for resale.  These would be
flat stock nails with a minimum of forging, pointed and nicked then snapped
off in the 'header' and headed (the protruding material flattened).  I have
made a nail-header in this fashion and have done runs of nails for the heck
of it.  A lot of nails can be cranked out with very little tooling or time
involved.
The header was made by punching a small hole through some 3/4" stock, then
drifting the hole with a tapered drift.  The taper  holds the forged taper
of the nail blank which, when nicked above where it would protrude from the
tapered hole, causes the excess stock to stay above the header.  This
excess can be either driven down (upset) or hammered over.  Either way will
work as the nail's head.  The trick is to nick the taper at the right
length, to the right depth, so that the rod acts as a handle to get the
tapered nail blank to the header where it can be snapped off and headed.
This way no tongs are involved.  Tap the point of the now headed nail up
with the hammer and let it fall aside as it pops out of the header and grab
another rod..........
George Dixon

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From: [email-masked] (Thomas Boudreau)
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 1996 00:02:14 -0400

Interesting! These inmates probably had to forge their own shackles!!
However..., nails and hardware in general were hard to come by and not
wasted. people were known to tear down or even burn older buildings to
recover and reuse such pieces. It sure beats making every nails, etc. to
build a new building. I also read somewhere that a good nailsmith, with a
helper, could put out approx. 2000 nails.(12 to 15hr. days)in one day. Of
course decorative nails,..roseheads, wrought, mushroons.. took more time,
and used in making doors and furniture, etc. 
  Iron was probally more important in our neck of the woods, because the
French had everything coming from Europe, and were not permitted to
manufacture or make anything on there own, until the English took over. Off
course, they traded with the New Englanders and got most supplies from
there. When they were not fighting with them, they traded with them!!
  Getting back to the inmates..I have reproduced hand cuffs of around 18th cen.
and these were riveted to secure them!! Have you heard of these? 

##############################################################################>
>supplied by merchants who would take the nails for resale. 
>George Dixon
>
>
>
>
-->Thomas B.
-->N.S. Can.
-->[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 1996 07:47:26 -0500

me three, I do the gypsy forge thing. 1750 to 1900, just basically change
clothes, the tools haven't changed much since the dark ages.

Looking forward to this,
Kenny Valdejo

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 22:18:44 -0500

for a historical perspective check out the society for creative
anachorism(sca), a non profit educational   group incorporated to re-create
the middle ages.  not all of them do the research but a lot of them do and
then try to it the right way.  right now from where i am sitting i can see a
dozen reprints of medieval or rennaissance tech books,.  and a few that  are
photcopies of 400 year old documents.  these help when i am doing a period
piece.

i can't find ttheir address right now. if anybody is interested drop me a
line and i'll do what i can.

S sweebe

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 22:19:31 -0500

tom jefferson had a slave that made nails all day.

a good nailor could make a nail in about fifteen seconds.

in the early days of the  expansion of america, nails were a rare commodity.
 peeople would burn there old house down to get the nails before they moved
west.  it got so bad that some communities offered a keg of nails to replace
the ones in a house just so they didnt burn their house down.