146 HORSE-SHOES, ETC. 



peated, the nail holes being, however, stamped in inverse order, 

 but in making a wedge- heeled shoe, after forming the outside 

 as before, the second operation is as follows : the iron is first 

 turned on edge on the flat of the anvil and the wedge formed, 

 after whicli the quarter is drawn either on the beak or flat as 

 may be preferred. 



In making a shoe for cutting or interfering, the second opera- 

 tion is all conducted on the beak. It commences by slightly 

 drawing the toe (in this respect differing from the method of 

 making all other shoes) ; the full strength of the iron is then 

 used to form the inside branch of the shoe, while the bar is so 

 inclined that the inside branch shows a marked bevel. Only 

 two nail holes are stamped, slightly towards the inside of the 

 toe. After punching these it may be needful to lay the shoe 

 ground surface upwards on the face of the anvil and give two 

 or three blows to flatten the shoe at the toe; otherwise every- 

 thing is done on the beak. 



In making a bar-shoe the piece of iron selected must be 

 considerably longer than that needed for an ordinary shoe. 

 The bar is bent at the toe, and with the same heat the amount 

 of iron necessary to form half the ' bar ' is turned round at 

 right angles to the greatest thickness of the bar. The shoe is 

 next rounded and shaped on the beak, seated on the face of 

 the anvil, the half of the ' bar ' turned round is ' scarfed ' 

 (i.e., thinned down), and the nail holes are punched (in many 

 cases only two or three nail holes are inserted at this stage). 

 The inside of the shoe is formed at the second heat, and the 

 fireman may then try the shoe on the foot. As the subsequent 

 welding of the two parts of the ' bar ' drives apart the heels by 

 half an inch or more, the shoe must at this stage be somewhat 

 narrow at the back. A third heat is required for welding the 

 two parts of the ' bar,' and a fourth or even a fifth may be 

 required for fully fitting out the shoe and stamping the last 

 nail holes, especially if the foot be much broken or otherwise 

 defective. Altogether the making of a bar-shoe is a very 

 excellent test of the fireman's skill and judgment. 



4. Varieties of Shoes. 

 A great number of varieties of shoes can be distinguished 



