26 replies to this topic

[Phil Krankowski]

Honestly the use of a fuller did not occur to me (nor that fullering across the anvil was the real process). If a fuller is used, the metal can be "twisted" as it is shaped at that area and the need to upset in the ribbon of metal would be reduced to simply controlling spread as it is drawn out.

The way I made the clay model bothered me a bit as it seemed like too much work to upset in then twist a small section and flatten it out again. No I did not illustrate that step. Heck, I did not illustrate a bunch of smaller steps!

I will have a look at that website. Thank you for your insight as well.

Phil

[John B]

pkrankow, on 10 March 2010 - 12:14 PM, said:

Honestly the use of a fuller did not occur to me (nor that fullering across the anvil was the real process). If a fuller is used, the metal can be "twisted" as it is shaped at that area and the need to upset in the ribbon of metal would be reduced to simply controlling spread as it is drawn out.

The way I made the clay model bothered me a bit as it seemed like too much work to upset in then twist a small section and flatten it out again. No I did not illustrate that step. Heck, I did not illustrate a bunch of smaller steps!

I will have a look at that website. Thank you for your insight as well.

Phil

You are welcome Phil, I did not want to appear patronising, you did a great job with sorting out one way it could be done. Full marks for that

[Sam Thompson]

I've just noticed two volume OED gives a definition for 'fuller' that is an excellent description of a swage; still, nobody's perfect.

[Phil Krankowski]

Went shopping today and bought a couple of different candles

"federal" style candles measure .865 at the base and .850 at the top, so a 7/8 (.875) mandrel may be better.

I measured three tapers too, and came up with .890, .900, and .860 at the fattest part of the base. All three candles were less than .875 (7/8) within an inch of the fattest part.

I bought a pack of Coleman Emergency candles, and without the tin cup they come with they measure slightly oval, 1.200 to 1.230. I believe they are made in a clam shell mold as there are signs of a parting line running the length of them.

UCO candle lantern candles also were rather oval, measuring 1.175 to 1.210

The UCO and Coleman candles would probably fit nicely if a 1 1/4 mandrel was used.

Phil

[John B]

Candles tend to vary each time they are purchased, one way to overcome the need to search for candles that fit into a particular nozzle or socket, is to make a "Candle iron"

Sounds technical, but all it is is a nozzle or socket made to the same form as the candleholder being made, this is then mounted onto a handle and looks something like a candle snuffer,

Then you just warm the "Candle iron" in any suitable way (It does not have to be very hot, merely warm enough to melt wax) and insert your candle end into it, the warm 'Candle iron' will then mould the end of the candle to be a perfect fit to be used in the candle holder you have made, nothing worse than a droopy candle to make the holder look wonky.

An extra bonus you can 'give' to the client, or sell them one. Just warn them the candlegrease will drop through, so don't use it over anything likely to be damaged.

[Phil Krankowski]

I gave a go at this, and I was getting great results, then it broke. I learned that drawing the holder part out as a square was much much faster and simplified things a bunch.

When I bent it over to an angle to start forging the the holder flat, it must have cracked because when I flattened against the shank it cracked.

I flattened the rest and tried forming as a learning exercise, and it went well, but I rolled the spring upside down!

1/2 x 1 is lots of stock, 3/8 x 1 like Brian Brazeal used would likely be plenty. Brian also proved that welding does make sense in his "welded bundle" thread.

I found that instead of half face blows to shoulder the extra stock for the coil, I cut it with the hardy till near 1/4 inch was left, then drew it down. Lots easier. Bending the lump out of the way and using the hardy to cut the rest would likely work well too. I'll try that next time.

Some ugly pictures. If it hadn't broke I would have spent some more care getting it uniform, and could have reversed the coil by tightening a little and passing it through itself.

I'll give this a try again. It was fun, and educational.

Phil

Attached Files

•  candle_holder 001.jpg   261.16K   64 downloads
•  candle_holder 003.jpg   303.96K   91 downloads
•  candle_holder 002.jpg   323.48K   71 downloads

[John B]

Just to update on this thread, Thanks to Phil for his posting, it has proved to be a good honest blacksmithing piece.

At the Devon County Show, we have various competition classes, including 3 live forging competitions, one of which is 'Make an item to a sample in a time specified' and this piece seemed and proved to be an excellent choice, simple and functional.

Seven people responded to the challenge, all made an excellent job of it, making the judges job extremely difficult.

The material supplied was 20mm x 10mm x 150mm long, and the time allowed 75 minutes (one and a quarter hours)

A couple of the pieces will be on display at this coming weekends iForgein at Westpoint, a demo could be put on if anyone would like to see how it can be done. The times taken ranged from 50 minutes to the maximum allowed. The original sample (the first one) I made took 65 minutes, hence the time allowed of 75 minutes.

All who participated enjoyed the challenge and felt it a worthwhile experience.

Attached Files

•  Devon County Show 2010 193.jpg   292.48K   80 downloads
•  Devon County Show 2010 188.jpg   284.34K   83 downloads