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Basic forging operations

Short answer

Forging shapes hot metal by hammering or pressing, improving grain flow and strength. Operations: upsetting reduces length and increases cross‑section; drawing down reduces cross‑section and lengthens; fullering cuts grooves to spread metal; bending over the horn; punching drives a hole; hot cutting uses a hot set. Common tools include anvil, hammers, tongs, flatters, swages, fullers, punches and hot sets.

Define forging. Explain the following forging operations: upsetting, drawing down, fullering, bending, punching and cutting (hot cutting). List the common forging tools.

Forging is shaping metal by hammering or pressing it, generally hot (at red or white heat), so that plastic flow produces the required shape. It improves the grain flow and strength.

Operations

  • Upsetting: the length of a bar is reduced and its cross-section increased by compressing it along its axis, e.g. making a bolt head or a rivet head. If the unsupported length exceeds about 3 times the diameter, the bar bends (buckles).
  • Drawing down: the cross-section is reduced and the length increased by hammering between flat or round faces; the metal is turned after each blow.
  • Fullering: grooves are made across the bar with a fuller to spread the metal lengthwise (before drawing down) and to form shoulders.
  • Bending: the hot bar is bent over the anvil horn or in a bending fork to make hooks, angles and rings.
  • Punching: a punch drives a hole through the hot metal; the job is placed over the pritchel hole of the anvil (or a bolster) so the slug can be pushed out. Drifting enlarges the hole.
  • Cutting: a hot set or hot chisel cuts the hot bar; a cold set is used for cold work.

Other operations: forge welding, swaging, flattening.

Common forging tools

  • Anvil (with horn, face, hardie and pritchel holes), hammers (hand, sledge, ball peen), tongs with various jaws, flatters, set hammer, swages, fullers, drifts, punches, hot sets and chisels, and a forge or furnace.
 upsetting         drawing down
   | |               ___________
  _| |_             /__________/  length increased
  |___|  head

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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