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I Forge Iron

swedefiddle

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    Victoria, B.C. Canada
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    CanIRON. I have been to every CanIRON event (except Quebec) and I co-ordinated CanIRON VI & XI.
    I have a very bad habit of racing automobiles on frozen lakes, 5 time BC champion, 3 Canadian Championships, 2 World Challenge championships. I'm just a beginner.

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    Victoria, B.C. Canada

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  1. Good Morning Bored, The wonderful world of Hooks is absolutely open to interpretation. Nobody sees the same way or procedure the same. What I teach is, when you draw out the tapered square for the part that is driven into the wood, I give them a half turn counter-clockwise (when hot). This makes a right hand thread. They will not fall out, regardless what you hang on them. Enjoy your Journey. Neil
  2. Good Morning, mni Welcome to our world. The best Teacher is to pay attention to our "OOPS" and learn what the material is telling us. There is no failure, if you are learning. I learned from Tom Clark (RIP) to take the time and set up the blank with a small square, center punch and either 2 or 3 small drilled holes. Jennifer has a video here about a Handled Cold Cut she just made. She didn't predrill and she shows how to correct for an uncentered hole. She also shows how to create an oval Handle Hole by punching the hole with a Round Punch and then ................. 'watch the Video'. Enjoy the Journey, there is no Destination but it all matters!!! Neil
  3. Good Morning Jerry, Actually, I never opened what was posted, to see what someone was maybe saying. Thanks for the reminder. I am teaching a Class right now and one of the Topics I try to stress is how to not get bitten by Fish Lips. It is a simple sequence, at the very start. Neil
  4. Good Morning, To curtail Fish Lips, you need a special kind of Hook (LOL). Actually, Forge a very short taper on the end of the Bar, FIRST. This will allow the outer layers to stretch/draw out and you can clean up the end at the very end, with a File or ???? When you Forge, the effort of the blows moves the surface material first. When you use a Press, the effort goes to the center of your material to move the material. It is just a matter of fact of where/how deep the effort is moving the material. Neil
  5. Good Morning, When you are drawing the taper or square, turn clockwise, back to center, turn counter-clockwise. Our natural reflex is to suck up on the Tongs when striking, going back and forth keeps the twist straight. Yes, it is just a little thing but is adds up. Neil
  6. Good Morning Smith, Welcome to IforgeIron. There are folks on here from everywhere. If you put your locale in your avatar, there may be someone close to you. A friend of mine was making a lot of fence pickets with 1/2" square. he was twisting them by hand. slide a piece of 3/4 pipe over the twist section. hold in a vice, use a crescent wrench to twist. COLD. The twist is always even. Most of us have started with a large Forge, like what you are talking about. Most of us have the same Forge sitting in the corner. It doesn't have to be that large of a diameter to be long. I had a job to Hammer finish 3/4" solid square, 10ft long. 130 pieces. I made a brick Forge, 1 brick high, 2 bricks wide, 5 bricks long. I was heating over 3 feet at a time. I had a 1 3/4" burner pointed in one end. 3 bars at a time in a rotation. 10 feet in 3 heat sections, ended up over 11 feet. Good Luck with your design. The size of the soup can isn't critical, it just holds the insulation. You can make ceramic buttons {like a drawer pull) that are held to the soup can with a piece of wire (drill a hole through for the wire. the wire doesn't get hot), this holds the soft insulation in place, for a long Forge. Just a thought. Neil
  7. Good Morning, Welcome, You didn't put your area of 'Shadow Making' in your avatar. If we knew what area you call home, I'm sure there is someone near you that can help you. There are lots of stories about 'Breaker Bits' being an 'S' series of steel. Most Breaker Bits are 1045 to 1060, a medium carbon Steel. A Breaker Bit will be good material for what it sounds like you are trying to do. Neil
  8. Good Morning, Lary There are some very knowledgeable members of the North West Blacksmith Association, who live near you. Contact www.blacksmith.org and ask who else lives in the Gorge. I know of at least one who has his own Blacksmith School. You are missing a couple of basic steps. Neil
  9. Good Morning Taylor Talk to John, he makes the best Fire-pots/Tuyere. It is not cheap, but you won't need another one, in your lifetime. You live in the same town as the best Blacksmith Tools. Neil
  10. Good Morning Taylor, Look up and go and visit John Newman, in Hamilton. Newman Forge and Pattern. John will connect you to Ontario Artists Blacksmith Association. There are a bunch of people very close to you. Don't be shy, they are regular people. Neil
  11. Good Morning Nat, Don't be afraid of sitting on a stool, to support some of your body weight. Whatever it takes to be comfortable. You can use a Garbage can/container filled with sand. Use a piece of plywood on top the sand, to sit your Anvil on. Adjust the sand below the plywood to raise or lower your Anvil, until you are at a comfortable working height. Keep it Simple. Neil
  12. Good Morning E.Eye Rare, is always the case, if you don't have an Anvil. After you have a couple and stop looking, they will find you. Just like 'Magic'. "I have this Anvil in the basement, would you like it?"............ Your Brooks, is made in England, they shipped them anywhere anyone asked. They are a good name and a good product. Enjoy the Journey!! Neil
  13. Good Morning, I bought some compound pivot Pliers This past summer. They are awesome at snipping, with less hand force. The Law of the Lever, Yes!!!! We all have tried to make Honey out of something else , sometimes it turns into what the Dog left behind, sometimes you succeed. If you don't try, you never know. Don't stop trying something. The Skoool of Larningg is never far away. Neil
  14. Good Morning, Contact the North West Blacksmith Association, blacksmith.org There are quite a few older members in Oregon. Good Luck, If you come up against a road block, send me a PM and I will ask. Neil
  15. Good Mourning, A kids scribbler works great. Make lots of drawings/sketches. Squeeze a flat ruler between the pages, it won't fall out, unless you drop it. Some people NEED detailed drawing to move forward. Some people make things and make a sketch after they have started. The finished project is in the brain, reverse the steps to the beginning and begin. Alter as needed, subject to........... If you don't enjoy what you are doing, Do something else. If you don't enjoy your design, Change it. Does it Sing or Swim? Who cares. Just make stuff...... Neil
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