ORDER VII.—METAL WORKERS (NOT ELECTRO PLATE OR PRECIOUS METALS)

Sub-order 8.—Other Workers

220.—Annealers, Softeners, Hardeners and Temperers

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annealer ; annealing furnace man, annealing man, muffleman, muffle worker, softener

beats metal, or metal articles in process of manufacture, in an oven or furnace, to a given temperature, and then allows to cool slowly in order to soften metal or to relieve stresses, or to refine crystalline structure or to produce all those results; when dealing with small articles, fills annealing pots, adds oxide of iron and places in oven by hand or by pushing them in on truck or carriage; also attends to firing of ovens; opens and closes dampers, or gas pressure valves, to regulate temperature; often specifically designated, e.g., blade annealer, cartridge annealer, rim annealer.

annealer (files) ; heater, iron heater

an annealer q.v. who softens or anneals blank files or rasps in a closed furnace; softens or anneals old used files.

annealer (finished wire)

an annealer q.v. who anneals finished wire to make it soft and ductile; places wire in coils in large pans holding 2 to 5 tons of wire; fits pan into position over brickwork cup in furnace by use of crane; covers top with metal cap; watches condition of wire under heat and I; swings pan off furnace when operation is judged complete.

annealer, lead (galvanised sheet)

superintends annealing process and directs men engaged in it; is responsible for proper annealing and for working of furnaces; as for annealer (tin plate).

annealer (nails, tacks, screws) ; bluer, muffleman (nails)

an annealer q.v. who anneals nails, screws or tacks by heating in muffle or furnace.

annealer, rough (wire)

an annealer q.v. who anneals billets of iron or steel between operations of rolling into rod or wire.

annealer (tinplate)

piles sheets on iron stand; covers them with an iron box which he makes air-tight by sealing with sand; runs the whole into reverberatory furnace, and after being heated, allows it to cool gradually, to restore softness and pliability to sheets after rolling.

annealing furnace man, annealing man

see annealer.

bluer

(i) see annealer (nails, tacks, screws);

(ii) see temperer (fishhooks);

(iii) see temperer (needles), carbonizer, carburizer, see hardener, case.

case hardening furnaceman

see hardener, case.

caser

see hardener, case.

cleaner

see hardener's assistant.

goffer

(i) hardener (saws); a hardener q.v. who hardens or "goffs" circular saws, by heating them and then placing them flat, between flat iron table, and heavy plate of goffing press, the former of which lies in cooling or quenching bath; lowers heavy plate on saws by moving power lever;

(ii) fits certain types of saws between heated blocks of another type of goffing machine; applies pressure by lever control and leaves saws to cool slowly under pressure.

hardener

hardens finished iron and steel articles by heating to redness, in a hardening furnace, and quenching 'by plunging into bath of oil or water; in some cases, also tempers articles by reheating to a lower temperature and cooling in air; feeds and tends furnace fire; sometimes specifically designated, e.g., axle hardener, blade hardener, die hardener, drill hardener, edge tool hardener.

hardener, case ; carbonizer, carburizer, case hardening furnaceman, caser

heats metal articles, iron and steel forgings, casting, etc., in a muffle furnace, together with a composition of nitrogenous substances, in order to harden outer surface of metal; or covers them with a casehardening mixture within an iron box, a sagger or other fire-clay vessel, within which they are hermetically luted and which is exposed for a long period to considerable heat in a large muffle furnace; cools by plunging into cold water or oil; sometimes specifically designated, e.g., axle case hardener.

hardener (file)

heats file, after cutting, in bath of molten lead and then plunges into bath of brine, to harden it.

hardener (needles)

a hardener q.v. who places roughly finished needles in closed pans; heats rto redness in furnace from which air is excluded, and then plunges them into hath of whale oil.

hardener, ring

a case hardener q.v. who hardens metal rings for ring spinning frames.

hardener (saws)

(i) heats saw to redness in flat-bottomed furnace and then cools it by immersion in oil;

(ii) (small saws, e.g., hack saws) heats saw in molten load or in salt and cools by plunging in oil;

(iii) (circular saws), see golfer.

hardener, scissors

a hardener q.v. who hardens and .tempers semi-finished scissor blades before they are fitted together; usually done 'by scissors forger (190) q.v.

hardener's assistant (saws) ; cleaner

moves levers lifting and closing door of hardener's furnace, when working on large saws; cleans off, after "quenching" or cooling, excess oil adhering to saws, by rubbing in sawdust.

heater, iron heater (files)

see annealer (files).

malleable iron oven man

places white iron castings in metal pail or box with a covering of hematite ore dust, to render them malleable; places whole in gas furnace, blocks up furnace door with bricks and fireclay and when process is judged complete, withdraws box from furnace to cool.

muffleman, muffle worker

see annealer.

muffleman (nails)

see annealer, (nails).

oil proofer (metal work)

dips metal fuses, contained in wire basket, into boiling oil until they attain a specific colour, to anneal them after being stamp pressed.

pot man

an annealer q.v. who anneals small articles in annealing pots.

rubber (needles), wire rubber ; straightener

places large bundle of hot wires (the length of two needles) held together by two iron bands at each end, on iron-topped table after annealing; with curved iron bar, called a "file," presses on wires and rolls them to and fro, to remove coil curve from wire.

softener

see annealer; sometimes specifically designated, e.g., flyer softener, joint softener, saw softener.

straightener

see rubber.

temperer

reheats articles of steel, after hardening to a given temperature and then cools in such a manner as to make metal hard, soft, tough, ductile, as may be required, i.e., may reduce temperature sharply to a second given point by plunging in oil, and then allow to cool slowly, or may quench quickly by plunging metal into bath of oil or water, or may set articles aside to cool slowly in air.

temperer (fish-hooks) ; bluer

places fish-hooks, after hardening, in iron cylinder, which he causes to revolve over gas or charcoal until fish-hooks become light blue in colour; then empties them into a pan to cool.

temperer (needles) ; bluer

spreads needles, after hardening, on pans in oven, or passes them in machine over gas jets.

temperer (saws)

heats saw blades, after hardening, to comparatively low temperature, and then allows them to cool slowly, to render them elastic; works at furnace, upon or across flat bottom of which blade is rotated or drawn, while subjected to pressure, or "goffed" by weighted top plate; cools blades in open air.

temperer's assistant

feeds saws into tempering furnace and generally assists temperer (saws) q.v.

wire tuber, steel (wire works)

an annealer q.v. who subjects steel wire to heating process in sealed tube to soften it for drawing.

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From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016.   This text is in the Public Domain.