Screw Swage Copy

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

The gunsmiths & blacksmiths at Colonial Williamsburg have been working on making a copy of the wood screw swage tool.  This is the tool shown in the metalworking tutorial "Making 18th c Wood Screws".  They actually initiated this project in late 2011, so there is no hurry.  Here are some photos of the original tool and the blank copy from the CW blacksmith shop. In keeping with typical 18th c shop practice, the copy has been forged from an old file as you can see from the pattern left from the file teeth.

Jim

[Shreckmeister]

The loop looks very thick.  Could that cause excessive wear on the tensioning screw and lead to premature failure? 

[KC]

        "The loop looks very thick."

I thought the same thing but then thought maybe there's just lots of "meat" left for final shaping. It looks a little heavy at the handles and on the strap that holds the clamping screw.

Those guys are pretty amazing. I went to Colonial Williamsburg last year and could have hung around the gun shop and the blacksmith shop all day but my kids got restless.

[Kermit]

I had the same problem at CW with my wife. I turned her loose to wander and shop and come back to find me when she was done. Still could have used a few more days. Maybe alone would be best.

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

This swage tool copy was an apprentice project, which appears to be very well done.  The final shaping is still to be done, so I assume that the hinge loop end will probably be properly shaped when the tool gets to that point.  Remember, you can always make something smaller, making it larger is a problem!

Jim

[Sawatis]

Hey Jim,
Something I noticed just now when looking at your's next to the CW copy...the "faces" what I'm calling the edge where the die threads are located appear to be in a nice convex arc...I could see how this would maximize the pressure the handles could provide and allow for limited contact only of the screw stock...is this true or am I seeing a photographic anomaly?
John

[James Wilson Everett]

Yes, I do see a variation in the size of the gap along the length of the CW tool.  It is still a work in progress!  I believe that they wish to make a good copy of the original tool and not try to improve on it.  I think that the apprentice blacksmith who has forged the tool so far has done a good job, but now a lot of file & finishing work!

Jim

[Sawatis]

Jim, I wasn't at all critiquing the work on the copy being made!   I was wondering about the original..are the curved mating surfaces of the swage intentional?...seems  that would lend advantage in the ability to apply pressure without adjacent areas of the swage interfering...I am wondering if what I see in the picture is what it really looks like or if the curve is a photographic thing?
Thanks
John

[James Wilson Everett]

Yes, I now understand what you are seeing.  But I don't think that the tool is so sophisticated!  Once the two sides of the tool are in contact, that is all the swage travel you get.  As far as the mechanics of the tool, it does seem a bit backwards to me.  The screw swage hole with the greatest mechanical advantage is the smallest size, while the largest screw swage hole has the least.  Go figure??  However, this is consistant with the similar tool shown it the John Wyke tool catalog from the mid 18th c.  Thanks for the observation.

Jim

[ddoyle]

It makes better sense the way it is built. If you put the large diameter screw on the other end (far from the support of the screw) then things would not stay as true. I think mechanical advantage is secondary to keeping the threads on each arm lined up. Beautiful tool thanks for sharing.