[TheForge] How is something like this made?

[Bob Willman]

	Lots of hand filing and polishing after the rough stuff is finished.



Bob Willman
Bowling Green, Ohio
The Eagle's Anvil
WB8NQW

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Polaski
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 5:24 PM
To: theforge at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TheForge] How is something like this made?

I was looking around some antique watch sites and came across a link to this
antique medical instrument site... I've been wondering how something this
ornate gets made... especially the brace and saw. 

Would it be roughly forged and then the flat shapes filed? Or is it a lot of
swage work, with male & female dies to match?

Has someone made something like this before? 

I've been really curious about how the more ornate and "fine" stuff is made,
for example, European tools with little sculptures in them. It's amazing
that people can do that at all. I can barely bash out a little dragon head,
let alone a full iron cherub! How do they do that? I know some things are
cast, but how do people make forged sculptures?

Here's some examples:

<http://antiquescientifica.com/saw_amputation_c_1750.jpg>

<http://antiquescientifica.com/neurosurgery__trepanning_set__Lichtenberger_S
trasbourg_out.jpg>

I can't find a good example of the European tools I was thinking of, but I
think almost everyone has seen pictures of vices or anvils with ornate
scenes on the side. 


Jeff Polaski
Research and Graduate Studies Webmaster
University of California, Irvine
http://www.rgs.uci.edu/
949.824.6363


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