John Ashbery - The instruction manual



New Metal working for the dummies


As I sit looking out of a window of the building
I wish I did not have to write the instruction manual on the uses of a new metal.

Forming Cylinders with Rolls
1. By means of the screws on top of the forming machine, bring both ends of the front rolls
together until the metal sheet will just pass freely between them.
2. Experiment to find the proper height of the rear roll to make a cylinder of the desired diameter.
3. Hold the sheet in a horizontal position with the surface which is to form the outside of the cylinder, against the bottom roll.
4. When using a lock seam, make the cylinder larger than the final diameter and spring the seam together

Riveting sheet-metal joints
1. Holes for rivets having been previously punched by hand or machine, place a rivet thru matched holes in the joint by standing the rivet on its head on a stake and lowering the laps of joint over it
2. Draw the laps together by placing a rivet set over the stem of the rivet and striking the set with a hammer.
3. When a joint requires a number of rivets, place a rivet thru the metal, at both ends but do not clinch it tight, then begin riveting at the middle of the joint and work toward the ends.
4. When the holes for rivets do not exactly match each other in location, use a drift pin to make a hole just large enough for the rivet to pass thru.
5. After rivets have been headed, place the joint over a stake and strike the lapped edges to bring them as close together as possible.

Tinning a Soldering Iron
1. Heat the iron to a bright red.
2. Forge the iron to suit the job by striking with a hammer on an anvil or other heavy metal
block.
3. Heat the iron again to a dark red.
4. Clamp the iron in a vise or hold it against a metal edge and file the surfaces of the point bright and smooth.
5. Heat the iron again until it will melt solder freely.
6. Rub the point of the iron on a lump of sal-ammoniac to clean it, then melt a few drops of solder on the sal-ammoniac and rub the iron over it until it is tinned. Fig. 37.
7. Clean the soldering iron by dipping the point in a solution of sal-ammoniac and water. The solution should be made of one part of sal-ammoniac to forty parts of water. The solution should be kept in a glass or earthenware vessel.

Raising or Bumping Sheet-Metal Forms
1. Carve a shallow circular depression in a wooden or lead block.
2. Hold the sheet in your left hand, place the edge in the depression of the block and bump it with the small end of a raising hammer around the outline of the form to be raised.
3. Continue bumping the metal, gradually turn the sheet after each blow of the hammer and with each revolution work inward toward the center until the right shape is obtained.
4. Hold the raised form over a round-head stake and with a wooden mallet smooth out all dents that were made with the raising hammer.

Wiring Edges
1. Wired edges for cylindrical sliaped objects should be completed while the metal sheet is flat.
2. Insert the wire in the edge prepared by the turning machine or the bar folder and secure the wire at several points by bending the metal over it with a hammer.
3. Place over the lower roll of the wiring machine a section of the edge in which the metal has been bent around the wire and turn the crank screw on top of the machine to bring down the
upper roll.
4. Set the gage so that the wired edge fits snugly between the gage and the edge of the upper roll, then turn the crank screw back about two turns to slightly raise the upper rolL
5. Turn the handle of the machine to draw the entire edge between the rolls.

Flanging or Stretching Metal for Riveted Connections
1. Mark with a gage the width of the edge to be flanged and rest the edge on a flat stake.
2. With the cross peen of a riveting hammer strike the edge to be flanged.
3. Hold the flange flat on the surface of a stake and smooth it with tlie flat face of a hammer.
4. To stretch a right-angle flange for circular work, hold the flange to be formed to a circle
on the square head stake and strike the outer edge of the flange with the cross peen of a
riveting hammer.
5. When a joint of pipe is too small to slip over a connecting joint, slip it over a stake and strike the metal with the peen of a hammer.

Drilling Holes
1. Clamp the drill securely in a breast drill or a drilling machine.
2. With a center punch make a distinct mark to indicate the center of the hole.
3. Place the point of the drill in the center punch mark. When practicable have the metal resting on or against a wooden support.
4. Turn the drill to the right and at the same time force it against the metal. Eelieve the pressure on the drill as it breaks thru the metal.
5. When drilling steel apply oil to the point of the drill. Do not use oil when drilling cast iron.
6. To countersink holes after they are drilled use a drill slightly larger than the head of the screw or bolt to be used in the hole.
7. A star drill may be used to drill holes in brick, stone and concrete.

And as a last breeze freshens the top of the weathered old tower, I turn my gaze
Back to the instruction manual which has made me dream

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