• Traditional and new metalworking equipment help you make ornamental scrolls.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Ornamental iron scrolls are created by heating up a piece of metal and twisting it into different shapes. This twisting is typically done by forcing the metal around an anvil. While you can do this by hand, equipment is also available for this work, but it is more expensive that simply working the metal using a forge, tongs and an anvil.
  
  

Scroll Bender

• This machine is for industry professionals and iron design shops that need to bend and shape a large amount of metal scrolls. Generally, these benders have an area to twist pickets, which add a circular indentation along the entire length of the picket, or you can use a set of three gears to roll flat pieces of metal, which causes the metal to have wide curls or scrolls. When operating this equipment, always use gloves and goggles since the metal can cut you, and the machine can expel tiny bits of metal as you work.
  
  

Forge

• A forge is similar to an open fire pit except that it has indentations on either side. These indentations allow you to lay the metal over the fire, which heats the metal and makes it softer and more pliable. You can heat up the metal generally two ways. You can lay it directly into the fire, and leave it there until you are ready to work with it, or you can rotate the metal over the forge using a pair of tongs. Either way, you need good tongs to hold and bend the metal.
  
  

Tongs

• The two main types of tongs are vice grips and wolf jaw. The vice grips are for general handling and bending of the metal scrolls, and these tongs generally have a wide mouth and shallow teeth. The shallow teeth help you hold onto the metal. The wolf jaw tongs have a longer mouth, and it has bumps along the length of it that help you grip and twist the metal, especially in conjunction with a hammer.
  
  

Anvil

• The anvil is a necessary tool when working with any type of metal, and it is the surface on which you strike your metal with the hammer. Basically, an anvil is a solid block of metal with a flat top. As you strike the metal, the vibrations are transferred to the object on which you are working and not the anvil. The edge of the anvil is smaller, which allows you to wrap the soft metal around this section. Generally, anvils are made of steel.