DIY Network

Crafting a Custom Bar Shoe Kit Lindsay adds to his blacksmithing skills. From "Trade School" episode DTRS-209

Figure A

In this session, Chad instructs Kit to form a custom bar shoe from raw stock, a process that will truly test his skills in blacksmithing. A bar shoe protests, supports and dissipates concussive forces away from the hoof. When a horse goes lame, this therapeutic shoe may just be the thing to breathe some life into a tired hoof. More difficult to craft than a regular horseshoe, a bar shoe gets it's name from a "bar" created by welding the two heel ends together, thus closing the shoe (figure A).

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Basic Tools:

bar stock
ruler
bar stock cutter
center punch
gas forge
farrier tongs
blacksmith hammer
anvil
tub of water
flux
wire brush
fore punch
pritchel
rasp

Saftey Note: Wear the proper welding hood, shield or goggles when welding. A leather apron and half leather canvas work gloves are also recommended. Always wear 100% cotton when working with fire or hot materials.

After preheating the forge, Kit starts by measuring and marking a 14" section of 5 1/16" x 3/4" bar stock. He cuts the piece using a bar stock cutter that twists it against a table-mounted holder (figure B).

He then makes a divot at the center of the bar stock by striking down on a center punch (figure C). This gives him a permanent reference point for symmetry as he bends and shapes the shoe. Note that the divot is placed along the outside edge of the stock where the bend will be.

Figure B

Figure C

Measuring from the center mark, he punches six nail hole marks for later reference. These are placed about 1/3 of the way from the outside edge of the bar and spaced about an inch and a half apart (figure D). He also punches two reference points two inches from the ends. These serve as guides as he makes the bends that close the shoe. He then places the stock in the forge (figure E).

Figure D

Figure E

Once heated to a reddish orange glow, Kit manipulates the steel. Working quickly and deliberately, he starts with the central toe bend. Grasping the steel with tongs, he strikes the now malleable steel over the anvil horn paying attention to his center mark (figure F). The steel wraps around the horn as he strikes, but cools too rapidly to complete the bend. Always before returning the steel to the forge, he strikes it against the flat anvil face to keep it level (figure G). He finishes the bend after the next heat.

Figure F

Figure G

Kit forms the bends on the heels, called "hockey sticks". Again, heating to a reddish-orange color, he quickly cools one end by dipping it in water (figure H). Then he utilizes a corner of the anvil face to make a sharp bend on the inside of the heel (figure I). After the next heat, he refines the outside of the bend by striking the now upturned end against the anvil face (figure J).

Figure H

Figure I

Figure J

Kit continues refining both heel bends and shoe branches over the anvil horn until the heel ends overlap at about one inch (figure K). To prepare for the weld, he hammers the overlapping heel ends together as much as possible, then holding the shoe upright, strikes the top of the shoe to level out the bottom (figure L). Kit double-checks the shape by lining it up with a complete shoe (figure M).

Figure K

Figure L

Figure M

Kit moves to the most critical step; welding the two bent heels together. If his weld doesn't hold, the shoe will become scrap. After heating to a fiery red color, he aggressively cleans the shoe using a wire brush to remove impurities in the steel called slag (figure N). Working quickly to maintain the hot glow, Kit pours flux around the seam of the weld and returns the shoe to the forge (figure O). The flux used for forge welds is basically a pure laundry detergent, which acts as an oxygen barrier--this allows the hot steel to fuse together. He flips the shoe over in the forge to evenly heat both sides of the shoe.

Figure N

Figure O

After pulling the shoe out, he has a total of fifteen seconds to tap the weld area twice, flip it over and tap the area twice again. He then uses a feathering stroke with the hammer to blend the ends together (figure P). Before the steel cools too much, he brushes, fluxes and returns it to the forge. He repeats this process three times to secure the weld.

On the next heat, he feathers the bottom of the weld seam against the anvil horn and the top of the seam against the anvil face. Once properly feathered, he bangs the shoe against the anvil face to achieve a smooth seamless bar (figure Q).

To finish the shoe, Kit creates nail holes. He returns the shoe to the forge, being careful not to overheat, which could break his weld. He pulls the glowing shoe out and brushes again to remove the slag. For each nail hole, he strikes a fore punch dipped in bees wax about one third of the way through the steel (figure R). The bees wax allows the punch to slide out of the divot. He repeats this on each subsequent mark, reheating the shoe as often as necessary.

Figure P

Figure Q

Figure R

He lines the nail holes over a square hole in the anvil face and breaks through the steel using a pritchel, which is similar to the fore punch, but with a finer point (figure S). In the process of creating the holes, the shoe flexes out along the branches. These slight bulges are called frogeyes. Kit cleans these up by hammering on the side of the shoe against the anvil horn. Then, on the anvil face, he hammers the backside of the holes flat.

Kit heats the shoe one last time and brushes off the slag to clean it up. After cooling the shoe in water, he punches the nail holes through the backside with the pritchel to open them up a bit more. He then secures the shoe in a table vise and files the weld bulge down flat using a rasp (figure T).

To determine if the shoe is a success, Chad asks Kit to throw it against the concrete floor. If the shoe bounces it indicates that the weld was properly made, if not, all of Kit's hard work was for nothing. Kit and his bar shoe both pass the test (figure U).

Figure S

Figure T

Figure U

RESOURCES :

Colorado School of Trades
1575 Hoyt Street
Lakewood, CO 80226
Phone: 303-233-4697
Website: www. schooloftrades.com