Blacksmiths, hammersmiths and forging press workers hammer and forge bars, rods, ingots and plates of iron, steel or other metals, and draw wire to make and repair various kinds of tools, metal articles, pieces of equipment, and agricultural and related implements.
Skill level:
Semi-skilled
Job Responsibilities
- Heating metal in forge furnaces and manufacturing and repairing articles by drawing, bending, cutting, hammering metal on an anvil, punching, shearing, joining and hardening or tempering
- Shaping heated metal into forgings on power hammers equipped with open dies
- Operating closed-die drop hammers to forge metal articles
- Operating a power-press machine equipped with closed dies to forge metal articles
- Drawing wire
- Reading work orders or blueprints to determine specified tolerances and sequences of operations for machine setup
- Measuring and inspecting machine parts to ensure conformity with product specifications
