Imagine being the US Army sergeant in charge of the detail building this hot shot furnace in the early 1840's, and realizing that one of the holes drilled for the purpose of threading a tie rod through the structure was too close to the firebox, conflicting with the iron star, technically known as an anchor plate. Surely you would have screamed at, and threatened bodily harm to, the private who had drilled this hole, and then ordered him to shear off one of the star's points. Poor Private Taylor would have to spend his evening chipping away at an iron star, while all of his buddies were back in their barracks, playing video games.