Focalforge

I'm trying to figure out how to make a frog gig from a single piece of steel, Leaf Spring, for example. I have some ideas, but I'm curious if anyone has any experience on the topic. Jamison I attatched a picture of an idea that I had. I just needs to have four tongs instead.

Well, my elbow is nearly healed... however, my forge is put away because I'm building a bed for my daughter, and it was in the way. So, it will be about a month or so before I get it put back together Oh well.

Thanks for the advice Phil and Dan. I didn't put it in the original post, but I have consulted my physician about my arm. That's where I got the time frame for recovory. My post was, more or less, intended to inform new Blacksmiths that form is important because, untill you develope good muscle strength and memory, an injury is something that can come on quick and take a long time to heal. FocalForge

So, Two months ago, I needed a bunch of hooks for hanging some stuff up, Spades, rakes... that sort of thing. So I fired up my forge, cut a few 3/8" steel rods into lengths to make a dozen hooks and went after it. Two months later, I'm still in a lot of pain if I move my hammer arm the wrong way. Additionally, I'm looking at another month before I'll be able to use my arm in a hobby that I’ve grown to love and am chomping at the bit to get back into. Now, I'm the type of person that enjoys figuring things out. It's what I do for a living. So naturally, I started analyzing everything surrounding my injury, so I could figure out how it happened, and in the future prevent it from happening again. It didn’t take long. My conclusion is that several bad choices, on my part, led me to my current condition. One, I was in a hurry and decided to use a heavier hammer than I’m used to, so that I could work the metal faster. Two, when my arm started to get tired, instead of switching to a lighter hammer or taking a break, I pushed through. Three, while pushing through, my arm grew even more tired, and while concentrating on hitting the metal where I needed to, I forgot to keep my swings in form, resulting in a severally sprained/pulled muscle. From what I understand, the proper form for swinging a hammer is as follows: Elbow near your side, Shoulders back, with most of the swinging movement in the elbow, not the shoulder or wrist. This keeps your hammer, elbow and shoulder in a plane that runs perpendicular from a plane formed by your two shoulders. The muscles being used in this form primarily include your triceps for swinging the hammer to its target, and biceps for lifting the hammer up from where your rebound stops to the top of the arc of your swing. I let my form go, by letting my elbow extend away from my body, which put strain on muscle groups that aren’t designed for extended activity, like forging. Instead of using my biceps and triceps, I was using my rotator cuff for powering the hammer down to its target, and my deltoid, in my shoulder, and my extensor muscles, in my forearm for lifting to the top of my arc. Both my rotator cuff and deltoid in my hammer arm were sore for a few days after, but my extensor muscle and associated tendons are what I pulled. Commonly this is known as tennis elbow. I just wanted to tell my story so that someone can learn from it and not go through the same irritation. FocalForge

Hello, I just wanted to say hello and introduce my self, as I'm new to the forum. Back in November, I was cooking dinner and had the thought to get into blacksmithing. My inspiration was frankly a set of forged kitchen knives that I've had for years and would eventually like to expand. That night at dinner, I told my wife that I was thinking about getting into Blacksmithing. She placatingly said “sure honey,” unaware that I was quite serious. Well 3 months later, I've acquired an Anvil, ~130lbs Vulcan A&H, 3 hammers, a set of wolfjaw tongs and built my forge. Over the last 3 months, I've also set up some goals. The first major project that I would like to complete is a wrought iron stand/post for my mailbox I would like to start on it sometime in the next 6months or so, but it really depends on how my skill level progresses. I also plan on making my own kitchen knives, understanding that it will take several years, or more, to build up the skill and experience to make something that is both functional and looks good. To build my skill up, I plan on making as many tools as I can. I know I can probably buy them for cheaper than I can make them, counting labor, but since I don't have an experienced blacksmith to learn from hands on, I think I will learn more about the trade by making a lot of these things my self. Here are a few pictures of my forge. The shell is made from an old SS beer keg. I used 3 inches of 2600 degree rated ceramic wool covered in a heat reflective clay. Plistex I think, I picked it up form Larry Zoeller. The interior of the forge is ~ 7.5” in diameter, and 20 inches long. The inside volume is close to 900CI. I'm using 2 reil burners, and was originally concerned with getting to forge welding temp, but I've since verified that I can. I think the reason is because I'm both at sea level, and in a rain forest. The O2 level is higher here compared to a non rainforest environment. Anyway, let me know what you all think.

2 questions, What size bell reducer are you using? It should be a 2-3/4 with the tips. and did you solder/braze the joint between the pipe and tip? Jamison

Hello, I just started Blacksmithing on Sunday. I decided to go with a propane forge, and just got it finished, again on Sunday. I was worried that my forge wouldn't forge weld, so I looked up more on how to do it, broke out my flux a piece of 3/8 mild steel rod and made a ring and completed my first forge weld. While I was heating up the ring for welding, I notice that when the steel got white hot, the surface seemed to boil. I'm guessing that this is some form of oxidation, but I'm not sure. Any help would be appreciated. Jamison