Chapter 31: Repair Assistant
The guards took the large bronze pushrod to Thorin's forge, where the dwarf had a pair of saw horses set up, along with what looked like a hydraulic jack on rollers. Dominic had never seen anything like it before, but after inspecting it for a second, he could understand what the dwarf was thinking.
Once the shaft was placed over the fire to heat, the dwarf took out a box full of rollers and a gear-driven wheel that would roll the whole contraption down the length of the shaft, bending it back into shape as the contraption passed down the length.
That was the real advantage of being a full-time smith for a merchant. You could make up specialty tools like this and jigs for commonly broken parts that the vehicles used. It was so much more efficient than working from a travel forge with makeshift stands and a string line to tell you when the rod was actually straight.
Dominic hopped up and worked the bellows on the forge, keeping the heat up as the Dwarf prepared everything for the task at hand.
Fortunately, his forge was an enchanted one, and the thick bronze was glowing hot in a matter of minutes, ready to be transferred.
"One, two, three, lift. There we go, just settle it in the rack and I will get the roll press set up. Have you ever used one? I know Pops is old school and doesn't use jigs and cheats to make his tools." Thorin asked.
"Nope, but I get the concept. With the eyes of the shaft in the jig to keep the length right, you'll roll it back to shape." Dominic replied.
"Close. You will be the one to roll it straight, and I will keep the heat on it and hammer out the stress points so we don't have to put as much work into getting it finished."
That was something that Dominic hadn't practised at all, and it was a fine art form to even recognize where the stress points were. But as he started to roll down the pushrod, adjusting the pressure with one hand while he moved the gears driving the rollers with the other, Thorin's tapping and the resultant change in the tone when he got to a stressed point, told him that it was not going to be a short process.