tzonoqua

Now, I would say those are "Monster Tongs! :)

Thanks, Neil, and thanks, Beth.

The petals are all forged individually from 20mm x 3mm flat- textured, chiselled and formed, chiselled with a blunt chisel into the ends a couple of times to give the little "divot"- the centre is a squashed ball that has been punched for the texture. The petals are MIG'd to the back of the centre. Each flower head took about two and a half hours! The leaves were made from 50x5mm flat and 30x3mm flat for the smaller ones, they took a lot of time too- I've been a bit religious about recording my time in the workshop- and both daisies took about 14 hours work so that would be 7 hours each (of course that's with breaks!!. I have today added one more leaf on each of them to sturdy up the base so they don't wobble as much! Now comes the puzzle of how to price them for the exhibition... :)

another note- the company may not even realize that your picture is on their website, it would have most likely been the web designer- who should know better than to "borrow" images, but bear this in mind when contacting them.

Sneak preview of some work for an upcoming exhibiton... :)

Yes, they should have asked, or at the very least given you a photo credit but maybe find solace that "imitation is flattery". I'd email them and ask for some renumeration for using your photo- and maybe get some free coke/ tools out of the deal?? :)

I'm still amazed by work like this and in awe of the amount of time they must have taken to produce- today I was at my workshop and spent 5 hours on four leaves... and they are nowhere near the standard of these, of course they're also not to a "pattern" but I march on happily and blindly

I've got one (or maybe even two) of those "leafing hammers" I never actually knew what they were for or what they were called, but I've used them a lot for shaping.

Great sequence - very helpful for me right now as I'm making some daisy leaves and it's great to see what solutions come about by others for different shapes!!

And John, I swear I've learned more about blacksmithing techniques from reading the cosira books than I did in my degree :)

That is a very elegant scroll! Welcome back to the heat :)

At present I only run a gas forge, but in my last workshop, which I occupied for two years, I had a swan gas forge and also a very big stone built coal forge. Even with the coal forge roaring, it could never even begin to heat the space like the gas forge did.

I think it boils down to informed choices.

I have weighed up the risks in my workshop and the most dangerous tool I own is my bench grinder/wirewheel. Wearing gloves while operating this tool would be foolish.
I always wear glasses or goggles, sometimes a full face sheild, eye protection goes without question. I wear gloves often for forging, but not always, usually not on my hammering hand, depending upon what I'm doing. I wear T-shirts a lot, and even sleeveless tops sometimes, but often I'll wear longsleeve tops. But I do wear a leather apron. Yes, I've been burned, but it's a calculated risk that I'm willing to take. And following "good practice in the workplace' goes a long way to preventing accidents as well.

The level of PPE you wear often depends on the task at hand, your personal preferences, and I don't think there is one size fits all in this situation, bar eye protection of some sort.
:rolleyes:

Great present Dennis!

If you already have propane bottles, then makes sense to go with oxy/propane, saves the hassle and cost of renting bottles of acetylene. There's ongoing debates on which is better for heating/cutting, but you definitely won't be able to weld with oxy/propane. I have previously used oxy/acetylene, but when I moved workshops I decided to not bother renting the acetylene anymore and bought a Murex Saffire oxy/propane set. I find that it takes a bit more time to get going when cutting, but otherwise it works for me.

Try your local welding supplier, they'll be able to advise.

Hope that helps

Colleen

Thanks! This anvil came from a retired smith near Inverness. I don't know who made it or even how much it weighs but he told me it's about 4 1/2CWT- It was very rusty when I got it-the sides are deeply pitted, so no markings that I can see. It's well worn but it does the job!

By round piece, you mean the pipe that sits on top? It is in a hardy hole, this anvil has two hardy holes. It is a bit of pipe with a piece of square stock welded on the inside- I use it for making flowers, used to use the "hole" in the pipe for forming the flowers into- now I have a swage block with a better circle in it, but I still use this piece of pipe to form the petals over, and it also doubles as a former for making a "vase" to put the flowers in.

-Colleen

I have a motorcycle chain that is nailed to the opposite side of the stump on which my anvil is mounted. On the end of the chain is a metal square - which acts as a "stirrup". Anything that needs holding down on the anvil, the chain is lain across it, my foot then goes in the "stirrup" and the pressure holds the piece on the anvil in place. When not in use is pushed out of the way, or slung on the other side. This method is very simple, versatile and extremely handy! Apologies for the quality of the first photo, as it's cut from the background of another.

Absolutely stunning!!!

These are very, very nice!!!! Wish I could do that, but I've never even attempted pattern welding!!

On a side note, you are probably aware (as you mentioned plating/coating the nickel version) but I'll mention it as others may not be, but jewellery containing nickel has some pretty precise regulations in the uk (and probably best avoided in anything that will have contact with skin).

Again, nice work!

Looks lovely, bet it's a nice material to work.

So do I Dave, the enthusiasm over here for a forge in is underwhelming it seems

Not that it may mean much, but would love to come for a wonderful weekend of firey frolics, but there is something like a thousand mile round journey that stands in the way. It may be a small island, (a reference my Essex lad of a partner takes minor offence to... ) -but it's not that small!

Beautiful work. That should be around for a while! :)

Well, I'm afraid I wasn't adventurous with my finish- I stuck to what I know- clear enamel. I just ran a fine flap disc over them to bring out some highlights, then clearcoated them. I just ran out of time to experiment! (yes, I know what a pathetic excuse!)
Here's some pics from the exhibition, unfortunately taken on the cloudy day when I set up- the Saturday I was too busy yacking and schmoozing and drinking the gratis wine that I didn't take pics in the sunshine, then when I went back today to restock my small flowers that had sold out, the sun was shining on the snowdrops, but my camera ran out of battery!! :angry:

Dave,
" I make pretty good on my dinner bells as it is!" I am sure you do! So add another dollar or two onto the price, customers will hardly notice and at the end of the day it all adds up for you!!! Selling out is one of those "indicators" of being able to raise your prices, is all.

I love the heart shaped stand for the flower, it's really sweet! I sell tons of flowers, ones for the garden, ( no stand- you can just spike into the earth) -and I find that women are usually the ones that hold the purse strings, so if you can make stuff to appeal to the fairer sex, then you'll be laughing!

and yes, I always make sure that I have a centrepiece or two on the table, you know you're most likely not going to sell it, but it gets attention and lets customers know that it's not just hooks and dinnerbells that you do!

Good luck!

Just a thought Dave, if you sold out of your dinner bells last time, then next time round you should probably raise the price a little. :)

Hi Adrian, Thanks, would love to see some more photos! I am planning to get to the BABA AGM, (Ratho is about 2.5 hr drive from here) but might only get to it for one day-would love to make it for the whole weekend, but it conflicts with some other family stuff... (maybe I can escape that!!!) Maybe I see you there!?

Very impressive!! Love the detail at the top, is it a flower or cone shape? How is that done, (hard to tell from the photo whether it's petals, or..)? Great colour too!

Extraordinary work!