Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 10

After having lunch with the bread and soup Richel brought, Illia took the laundry out of the fully spun washing machine and dragged it to the backyard.

She brought a stepping stool to hang the laundry on the clothesline the Factory Manager had made by welding pipes. Climbing onto it, she hung the wet work clothes and secured them with clothespins.

“Anyone there?”

While Illia was hanging the laundry, someone entered the backyard, and Illia peeked down and stepped off the stool.

“Welcome.”

The visitor was startled and stepped back when a small child suddenly appeared.

Illia cautiously observed the visitor.

He was a sturdy man with a large build. His head was bald, but he had a thick beard to compensate. Although he had a large build, he wasn’t very tall.

Illia realized that the visitor was a dwarf.

“Hmm… Is the workshop owner here?”

“He’s inside the factory. Should I call him?”

“No. I’ll go in and talk to him.”

The dwarf headed towards the back door, and Illia quickly ran into the factory and towards the Factory Manager who was examining a sharpened blade.

“We have a visitor!”

At Illia’s shout, the Factory Manager put down the blade and looked in that direction. Spotting the dwarf, he walked over.

“Ah. What brings you here?”

The dwarf, who had been looking around, spotted the Factory Manager and spoke.

“Ah! You’re the workshop owner! I’ve come to place an order.”

“An order… Let’s go inside first.”

The dwarf took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it.

The drawing on the paper was of a giant hammer.

“A hammer. A sledgehammer.”

“I work at the quarry outside the city, you see. Since the stone is granite, a very hard stone, the hammers we use to break the stones break easily. The chisels too. Then I heard that this workshop makes very sturdy tools, so I came here.”

The Factory Manager looked at the dwarf’s design, spread the paper out, and started writing things down with a pencil.

“My goodness… I’ve never seen such a huge hammer before. Are you sure the measurements are correct? It’s too big.”

“It has to be that size. A normal one would be too small.”

“Hmm… So how many?”

“Just make one first, and I’ll try it out. If it’s good, I’ll order more.”

“A sample then.”

The Factory Manager and the dwarf discussed the price, came to an agreement, and the dwarf paid.

After the dwarf left, Channing, who was making a cup, approached.

“How big is the hammer?”

“The hammer head alone is 15 by 15 by 30.”

“Millimeters?”

“Do you think it’s millimeters? Centimeters (cm). If I haven’t converted the units incorrectly. The handle is 1 meter 30 centimeters. Are those dwarves planning to swing a sledgehammer as tall as themselves…”

Channing examined the note the dwarf had left. The note had the size written in the numbers and units used in Polchis.

Channing thought that the numbers written were indeed very large.

“It’s definitely big…”

“He also wants the handle to be very thick. I’ve never seen such a crude hammer in my life.”

The Factory Manager walked over to where the angle irons were piled up and started examining them.

“Let’s see… Here it is. Channing! Come and help me!”

At the Factory Manager’s call, Channing hurriedly ran over, and the Factory Manager pointed to the largest angle iron in the corner, covered in dust.

“We need to take this out.”

“Wow… How many years has this been sitting here?”

“I don’t know. I only kept one because I thought I’d never need this size. I didn’t know I’d actually have to use it. Listen carefully.”

The Factory Manager and Channing put their hands under the huge angle iron and tried to lift it.

“Ugh… It’s no use. Let go!”

Channing and the Factory Manager, who were struggling and groaning, let go.

“Come to think of it, this weighs about 170kg. A person can’t lift this.”

“I’ll bring the hoist.”

Channing quickly ran and pressed the switch to operate the hoist (Hoist, 기중기), and the Factory Manager, watching him, stopped the hoist with a hand gesture.

“Wait a minute! Bring it here!”

The Factory Manager stopped Channing and ran across the factory to one side, and Channing moved the hoist in that direction.

It wasn’t difficult to move the hoist, a crane hanging from the ceiling.

The Factory Manager, who had lowered the hoist upon reaching the corner, hung something there.

It was a square, box-like object with a sturdy hook attached to the top and a lever-type handle on the side that could be raised and lowered.

“What is that?”

“This? A magnet. It’s called a lifting magnet.”

“What’s a magnet?”

The Factory Manager, who was connecting the hoist’s hook to the lifting magnet, looked at Channing.

“I guess you don’t have magnets either. I’ll explain it to you later while we work. Now, slightly raise the hoist and let’s go back to where we were.”

Channing tilted his head slightly and carefully moved the hoist. Since an object was hanging, it shouldn’t be lifted too high, so he had to move it about 50cm above the floor.

As a result, Channing had to pay more attention, maneuvering between the machines.

When they arrived back at the angle iron, the Factory Manager pulled the lifting magnet and placed it on top of the angle iron.

“A magnet, you see, is an object that sticks to iron. It has the power to attract iron. This is an incredibly strong magnet. It can lift and move up to 300kg. It’s something I rarely use, but I’ll have to use it this time.”

The Factory Manager placed the lifting magnet on the angle iron and turned the lever in the opposite direction, then gestured for Channing to lift the hoist.

As Channing operated the switch and lifted the hoist, the angle iron followed, rising upwards.

“Wow! It’s coming up without any ropes or anything?”

“I told you. Iron sticks to iron.”

At the Factory Manager’s words, Channing came closer and started examining it from all angles.

“Isn’t it funny?”

“Huh? What’s funny?”

“Iron sticking to iron… Never mind. Let’s move it.”

The Factory Manager answered Channing’s question and walked ahead, and Channing followed behind with a puzzled expression, moving the angle iron.

“Okay. Put it down around there. Wait a minute.”

The Factory Manager then brought a circular saw. It was a cutter that used a high-speed rotating circular blade to cut metal.

After placing the cutter on the floor and connecting the power, the Factory Manager carefully inserted the angle iron, still hanging from the hoist, into the cutter and measured the length with a tape measure.

After roughly wiping off the oil on the surface with a glove, the Factory Manager marked the cutting point with a marker.

After securing the angle iron in the cutter by turning the handle, the Factory Manager transferred cutting oil from the cutting oil container into a plastic bottle and then punched a hole in the bottle cap with an awl.

Handing the bottle to Channing, the Factory Manager turned on the cutter switch.

“Spray it little by little.”

“Yes, yes… Whoa! It’s splashing!”

The Factory Manager carefully lowered the cutter, and as the cutting oil started splashing everywhere, Channing was startled.

The Factory Manager lowered the cutter to cut, then slightly raised it and cut again, repeating the process. Since it was difficult to cut it all at once, he was cutting it little by little.

Meanwhile, Channing carefully sprayed cutting oil on the cutting area.

After a considerable amount of time and effort, the angle iron finally split.

“Whew… My hands are shaking.”

“Now that it’s cut, it’s really huge. Phew.”

“Take the remaining piece back and bring the hoist and magnet. This weighs over 50kg.”

Following the Factory Manager’s instructions, Channing went to fetch the hoist, and the Factory Manager wiped the sweat from his forehead with his glove.

Someone tugged at the Factory Manager’s sleeve.

“Oh? Illia. What’s wrong?”

When the Factory Manager asked, Illia held out a small cup with her tiny hand.

It was filled with cold water.

The Factory Manager smiled at Illia.

“Thank you.”

Illia smiled back when the Factory Manager smiled at her.

The Factory Manager reached out to pat her head but, realizing his gloves weren’t very clean, he just lightly patted Illia’s shoulder with his fingertips.

“I brought it.”

“Oh. Thanks. Drink some water and then get back to work.”

“Ah. Thank you, Illia.”

Illia said as she handed him the cup, and Channing smiled and took it.

The Factory Manager then attached the lifting magnet, lifted the iron with the hoist, and carefully secured it to the milling machine.

After drilling a hole for the handle, shaping the sides into an octagon, he removed the metal with the hoist and placed it on the floor.

“We need to heat treat it, so bring the oxygen torch.”

Channing brought the oxygen torch, and the Factory Manager lit it and started heating the tip of the hammer head. It was the part that would directly impact the object when the hammer was used.

Since the hammer was so large, it took a long time to heat just the tip red-hot.

Once he confirmed that it was sufficiently heated, the Factory Manager poured water on it. With a sizzling sound, steam billowed up.

“Whoa!”

“Whew. Now, the other side.”

The Factory Manager inserted a long metal rod into the hammer’s hole and flipped it over so the other side faced up, then repeated the same process.

“Channing! Grind down the sharp edges with the hand grinder.”

“Got it.”

The Factory Manager went to the corner and examined the steel pipes. He was looking for a pipe that was strong and suitable for the handle.

Among the various steel pipes, the Factory Manager chose a heat-treated steel pipe.

Although it was an expensive pipe, he thought it was necessary for a hammer of that weight, so he dragged the pipe over, secured it to the cutter, and cut it to the appropriate length.

“I’ve finished grinding.”

“Oh. Good. Then let’s get started.”

The Factory Manager tried inserting the steel pipe into the hammer head. Since he had made the hole with some leeway, it slid in and out easily.

After removing the pipe, he cut a tire tube and wrapped the tube bar around the pipe a few times before inserting it back into the hole. This time, it was tight and wouldn’t go in properly.

“Channing. Stand on top of the hammer.”

The Factory Manager brought a work sledgehammer and struck the steel pipe hard.

“Whoa!”

Channing staggered from the sudden impact. Once he regained his balance, the Factory Manager struck the hammer again.

After several more strikes, the pipe finally went all the way through the hammer head.

“My legs are shaking. Haha.”

“Channing. Heat the protruding part red-hot with the torch.”

“Got it.”

Channing lit the oxygen torch and heated the protruding part red-hot. After confirming that it was heated enough, the Factory Manager stood on the hammer head and struck it relentlessly with the sledgehammer.

“Whoa! You scared me!”

Channing was startled by the sudden action, but the Factory Manager continued to strike the hammer without a care.

Once the heated metal cooled, the top of the steel pipe had spread out, covering the top of the hammer head.

“Whew… Hammering after so long is tiring.”

“You should have let me do it. You’re getting old.”

“Would you have flattened it this neatly if I had left it to you? Forget it. Wrap the tube bar around the handle down there. Then we’re done.”

The Factory Manager took out a cigarette and lit it, tapping his lower back with his hand.

“Are you tired?”

Illia, who was watching from the side, asked, and the Factory Manager smiled and nodded, squatting down on the floor.

“Ah. I guess I’m getting old. I’m not what I used to be. If we get a large order, I’ll have to make Channing do it.”

While the Factory Manager was smoking, Illia came over and started massaging his shoulders.

“Hahahaha!”

“Ah? Is it ticklish?”

“No. It’s very refreshing.”

The Factory Manager shook his head and smiled.

Illia smiled brightly and started massaging his shoulders with more force.

The Factory Manager smiled and put out his cigarette.