MODERN BLACKSMITHING 141 



at the heel. The heel calks should be as short as you 

 can make them ; and so should the toe calks. I know 

 but a few hoise-shoers that are able to weld on a toe 

 calk good. The reason for their inability is lack of 

 experience in general blacksmithing. Most shoers 

 know not how to make a fire to weld in. They are too 

 stingy about the coal; try to weld in dirt and cinders, 

 with a low fire, the shoe almost touching the tuyer 

 iron. I advise all horse-shoers to read my article 

 about the fire. 



I have made a hammer specially for horse-shoeing 

 with a peen different from other hammers. With this 

 hammer the beginner will have no trouble in drawing 

 out the calks. See Figure 8, No. 8. The hammers as 

 now used by most smiths are short and clumsy; they 

 interfere too much with the air, and give a bump 

 instead of a sharp cutting blow that will stick to the 

 calk. 



The shoe should be so shaped at the heel as to give 

 plenty of room for the frog; the heels to be spread out 

 as wide as possible. This is important, for if the shoe 

 is wide between the heels the horse will stand more 

 firm, and it will be to him a comfortable shoe. The 

 shoe should not be wider between the calks at the 

 expense of same, as is done by some shoers, for 

 this is only a half calk, and the heel is no wider. The 

 shoe should not be fitted to the foot when hot, as it 

 will injure the hoof if it is burned to the foot. 



