I. EARLY HISTORY OF METAL AND WIRE
Until the period from 8,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C., known as the Neolithic
Revolution, man spent every waking moment searching and hunting food for survival. During
this period, with the Ice Age over, he began establishing settlements, domesticating
animals, and growing crops. More important, he found time to study his surroundings and do
some serious thinking.
The results of this "liberation of the human
imagination" brought about the development of spinning, weaving, pot making, and the
invention of the mud brick for construction purposes. Artifacts found, dating back to this
period, prove that native metals were discovered also. These metals include gold, lead,
copper, iron, and silver.
The first deliberate use of metal is unrecorded. But from the
study of early day archaeological sites scientists can speculate how metal might have been
discovered and put to use by man.
Gold was probably the first metal discovered as it was
attractive and pure in quality no matter what form it was contained within. It could be
pounded into thin sheets and cut into narrow strips with a flint chisel and a hammer
stone. These strips could be further pounded into rounded wires and smoothed for use in
jewelry and woven into fine cloth.
In fact, the earliest known written reference to wire
manufacture says, "And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into
wires, to work it… in the fine linen." This description is contained in the Book
of Exodus, chapter 39.
The low melting point of lead probably contributed to the
theory that this metal was discovered when a campfire was built on an outcropping of
Galena, or by placing chunks of Galena around a hot campfire.
Since the smelting temperature of copper, iron, and silver is
much higher than can be produced in a campfire, scientists theorized these metals were
probably discovered in the pot baking kilns while firing clay pots. The pot makers could
have been trying to decorate their pots with the bright colored ores when the combinations
of heat and ingredients combined to make metal. These kilns, though crude and made from
clay, were enclosed and were equipped with draft control devices making it possible to
achieve the high temperatures needed to smelt the metals. Charcoal, from the hard wood of
the native Arcadia Tree, made an excellent fuel for the kilns.
During the period from 3,000 B.C. to 400 A.D. the
"science of metallurgy" was born. Simply put, the science is any process, which
turns raw ore into a usable metal form. Another definition says, "The science which
deals with the preparation of the metal and the adaptation to the uses for which they were
intended." To understand the science of metallurgy requires degrees in Natural
Philosophy, including both Physics and Chemistry.
Metal in any form is made from minerals taken from the earth.
There are some 800 varieties of known minerals all containing multiple chemical compounds
in their makeup. The minerals become "ore" when one or more of the elements can
be extracted with profit. There are several natural iron bearing minerals but only the
iron oxides are a factor in producing iron and steel.
Metallurgy or the making of metal is equally dependent on
five basic materials. These are ore, fuel, flux, air, and water. The failure of any one of
these components would stop metal production.
With the above facts in mind, it is amazing the development
of metals moved ahead in this crude environment of tools and knowledge.
The period of 3,000 B.C. to 400 A.D. saw the native metals
developed but with little improvement made in the manufacture of wire. The "slit and
hammer" method remained dominant. Towards the last of the period, some
experimentation in wire drawing was conducted with die plates made from stone containing
small holes to draw the wire through for sizing.
From 400 A.D. to 1100 A.D. metallurgy and wire drawing spread
around the world but little progress was made in quality and quantity. Wire was still
pulled by hand or by lunging. Slowly, various devices were invented to pull the wire.
Among these were winches, swings, ratchets, and the use of gravity.
Wire drawing required a lot of energy. This requirement could
be lessened with lubricant. All types of lubricants were tried with little success. In
1632 the needle-makers, who had developed steel wire, accidentally discovered that human
urination applied to the wire left a coating that lubricated the wire and helped smooth
the surface. It also helped prevent rusting. The use of this lubricant in wire drawing
lasted well into the 19th century when a hot lime bath took its place.
The 17th century brought the use of the waterwheel
to wire drawing. The wire draw-bench now incorporated crankshafts, tappets, hind spring
bars, and bell crank levers. All innovations increased the output of wire but tong marks
and splice irregularities still required much hand filing and sanding before the finished
product could be sold.
In 1769 the invention of the steam engine eliminated all
physical wire pulling and most water wheel drawing of wire. Rollers installed both to pull
the wire and smooth the irregularities made the wire more consistent in quality and easier
to manufacture.
No matter how sophisticated the wire drawing machinery
became, wire breakage was a constant problem. The crude varied mixtures of ingredients
into the crucibles, and poor control of heat, air, and water produced inconsistent quality
in the metals.
This poor quality of metal caused added labor to drawing,
splicing, reeling, and replacing the final product because of quality defects. In spite of
these problems, smooth wire tonnage increased steadily as demand for wire cable, telegraph
wire, and other uses grew. Restrained by crude processes and poor quality metal, producers
were operating at peak capacity yet producing an inferior product. Something new and
innovative was needed to increase production and improve quality.
