Excerpt from Forging M I introduction Al, 6 HE art of blacksmithing is an ancient one and for centuries, probably, was the only metal-working profession. With the development of the method of casting iron, the cheapness of this useful process brought about a wider adoption of cast iron forms than was justified by the fragile nature of the castings used. In later years the fields of usefulness of the two types of metal work have been very definitely fixed by the require ments of construction, the element of tensile strength, and the expansion of the methods of production manufacturing. The development of drop forging had also a marked effect upon the return to forging methods, particularly in the small tool field, the skill in the use of power hammers and the use of gang. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.