in smithery, the beating or hammering iron upon an anvil, after having first made it red hot in the forge, in order to extend it into various forms, and fashion it into various works.

There are two ways of forging and hammering iron. The first is by the force of the hand, in which there are usually several persons employed, one turning the iron and likewise hammering, and the rest only hammering. The other way is by the force of a water-mill, which raises and works several huge hammers beyond the force of man, under which the workmen place large lumps or pieces of iron, which are sustained at one end by the anvils, and at the other by iron chains fastened to the ceiling of the forge. This last way of forging is only used in the largest works, as anchors for ships, which usually weigh several thousand pounds. For the lighter works a single man is sufficient to hold, heat, and turn with one hand, whilst he hammers with the other.