To make a small rod of this class, it is not necessary to produce a solid head; the semicircular recess for the brass may be easily formed in the ends of the rod by broad fullers; and the rod-cap also, may be conveniently and separately forged with its recess for the other brass.

When it is needful to forge the rod in one piece solid with the two caps, a lump of iron is required for each head or end, and another piece for the intermediate, three pieces in all; two welds are therefore made in the mid-portion.

By selecting a piece for the middle, and welding it to the two heads in this manner, the drawing down of a large mass of metal is avoided; an important consideration with makers who may have small steam-hammers instead of large ones.

But if the rod is to be short, two pieces, instead of three, are sufficient; the drawing down for a short rod being comparatively small. The width and thickness of the lumps or bars selected for a short rod being about the same as the thickness and width of the intended heads, upsetting will be avoided; and by this method only one joint is required, which will be near the middle of the rod.

In Fig. 148 a connecting-rod is represented having a solid fork-piece, which is intended to be bored to produce the fork-gap, instead of forging it upon the anvil.

To make the fork-end, one piece of iron is used that is equal in width and thickness to the greatest thickness and width of the fork-end when forged. A porter is welded to the end intended for the intermediate part of the rod; and the forging commences by forming the two hollows or recesses shown by R. These are made by broad top and bottom steam-hammer fullers being driven from two opposite sides. The next reduction consists in drawing down a portion of the intermediate until its thickness is about the same as the thickness of the work at the bottom of the two hollows first made.

After a part of the mid-portion is thus reduced, the work is placed at right angles to its former position, and fullers are again driven in, to form two other hollows shown in the Figure by J J, which indicate the junction of the fork-end with the intermediate.

The fullers, being thus repeatedly driven into the work while in two positions at right angles to each other, produce the desired shape of the fork-end, and also the two curves J J. The thick lump remaining for the intermediate is then reduced to its intended thickness.

Another mode of making a solid fork-end consists in placing and welding two bars together as in Fig. 152, a convenient method for using small bars. Each of these pieces is first attached to a porter, then separately heated to welding, and welded by a steam-hammer or by angular-gap tools. During the welding, care is necessary to thoroughly weld the work at the part intended to be the junction with the fork; to weld the whole of the fork-end is not needful, because of the intention to cut out the piece from the middle.

After being thus welded, one of the two porters is cut off, one being sufficient. By this one the work is handled during the shaping, which is effected by fullers being driven into the work while in two positions, at right angles to each other, as previously described.

A very strong sort of fork-end is made also by bending a straight bar and welding the two ends together ; the two ends, after being welded, constituting a part of the intermediate. Such a fork-end is represented by Fig. 151.

To forge the T-piece of the rod shown by Fig. 148, two bars may be welded together, as for the fork-end; or the T-end may be made of one piece, either by drawing down, a part of a large bar or by upsetting a portion of a smaller bar, as in Fig. 176. When both T-end and fork-end are forged, the two are united by means of a tongue-joint. During the preparation of the joint for welding, the tongue-piece is flattened or tapered on the two proper sides to cause the T-end to be nearly at right angles to the fork-end, when the work is welded together.

The rod being thus completed by welding, it is adjusted on a surface-table. The adjusting consists in twisting the mid-portion of the rod in order to make the T-end at right angles to the fork. The rod may be heated to redness, then fastened at one end to the table with bolts and plates, while the opposite end of the work receives a few sledge-hammer blows that drive down the end to its proper position. The convenient method is by fastening the fork-end tight to the table, and supporting the T-end by placing a few blocks under the intermediate part next the T. This T-part is then struck a few blows to make it parallel to the table. A rod of this character may be adjusted also by fixing with the steam on a steam-hammer anvil, and twisting the work with levers or hammering until adjustment is effected.