Create curved iron details with a jig.
Bending hot iron into a curl or wave for wrought iron projects is hard to do with a ball-peen hammer and anvil. The bending of the iron is more easily accomplished with a jig, which is two metal bars set a specific distance apart on a wood base that can be clamped to the work bench. The heated iron is placed between the bars and pulled, to bend the iron into the proper design.
Instructions
1. Drill two holes 1/2 inch in diameter 1/2 inch apart into the center of the longer midline of a 4-by-6 side of a 2-by-4-by-6 plank of wood, using a 1/2-inch bit. Do not drill deeper than 1/2 inch into the wood.
2. Drill two 1/2-inch holes into a 3-by-1-inch piece of thin metal 1/2 inch apart lengthwise on the metal sheet.
3. Place two 1/2-inch bolts into the holes in the metal sheet. Pull the sheet to the caps of the bolts.
4. Set the bolts into the holes in the wood. The holes are the same size as the bolts, which helps to keep the bolts in place while you use the jig to make wrought iron ornamental projects. Use a hammer to pound the bolts down deeply into the wood.
Tags: bolts into, bolts into holes, inch apart, into holes, into wood
