Rolling the Eye
The eye of the hinge is rolled using a special die and a press, in this case a fly press.
Rolling the Eye
The pieces with started eyes are on the left, the rolled eye pieces are on the right. The yellow cup holds oil which lubricates the pieces before they are rolled in the press.
Hinge Eye Die
This is the die we use for rolling hinge eyes. The piece is placed in the die, a brass piece in the front keeps the hinge from scraping against the die while being rolled. The pin that the eye is being rolled around goes through the die.
The die is made of tool steel because it must be tough to resist wear.
Placing Die in Press
The die with its hinge piece is placed in the fly press under the ram.
Rolling the Eye
Once the die is under the ram, Molly swings the cross bar and the press screw forces the hinge piece through the tool. Notice the counter weights on the cross bar.
Removing the Pin
After rolling the eye, Molly drives the hinge piece out of the die with a hammer and then pulls the pin out of the die piece using a pair of pliers. It is a tight fit.
Making a Latch
is a description, with photos, of the steps we go through to make a Suffolk Latch.
Making a Hinge
is a description, like Making a Latch, that shows the steps we go through to make a Butterfly Hinge.
Making a Grip
shows the process for making a Cabinet Grip.
Blacksmith's Blog Posts
collects posts we created for the Horton Brasses blog in 2010 and 2011. There's information about the shop, what we make and how we make it, including links to two videos.
Tools of the Trade
shows some of the tools in Molly’s blacksmith shop.
Making a Living
describes how we became blacksmiths.
Glossary of Blacksmithing Terms
is linked to various words that are not commonly known by non-smiths throughout this section of the site.