Randy

I don't know of any where locally except the library.I don't recall seeing any forged work inside the Noviate except the outside gates.

Attached is the way I've seen them done and have done them. You make a pin. This drops in a hole in the upright. The pin drops lower than the top of the hole and then the edge of the hole is punched over the pin to hold that in place. Then the drip pan slides over the pin and the edge of the sholder of the pin is punched down over the pan to hold it in place. This can have the spike to hold the candle holder or not. I've even worked on gates from the early 1800's that had blind rivets like this to hold scrolls to the bars.

Forget the pipe or round stock. The old smiths didn't weld up another tool every time they did a simple job. That's what the horn is for. Just don't bend the hook over the horn perpendicular to the face. The bend is made 90 degrees from the point along the outside curve where you start bending. Then it won't twist. Do you have "A Blacksmithing Primer"? It's all in there.

You don't need to change the type of end, just practice drawing out a tapered point. Move the hammer to the far side of the anvil when doing it. Not in the middle of the face. The far edge allows you to draw out a real sharp point. Remember any time you are drawing out do it square. If you want it round then you do it square, otagon and then round.

You're doing good just keep doing them.

That would be a lot of work to get the tenon that small from the vertical piece to hold the cup. There are ways to make either a force fit rivet that just goes into a blind hole or you can use machine bolts and screw the cups on. These can be flat head screws so they are not seen, and you can super glue the threads so it doesn't come loose, or they can be made from hex heads and actually forge the head into a spike to hold the candle in place.

Bigred, I don't know how different one burner looks from another on the outside. Steve turns the inside on a lathe so even the size of the tube is right on. No mig tips here. Here's mine not long after I got it, but it was one of the prototypes and the construction is different now. I have mine is a freon tank.

I did a piece years ago with a small piece of melted glass puddled right into the iron. Annealed both pieces for hours and on the way to a show the whole top of the glass still cracked right off. So then I experimented with plastic instead of glass. Not quite the same look but in some cases will work and takes a lot of the problems a way that you have with glass. So you can use sheet plastic, which you can still form or you can buy plastic beads that you melt into a form. Sure have a ton of colors, too.

Glad you got a hold of him. Steve has one of the best burners out there. For an atmostpheric burner it is the hottest one I've ever used and I have no problem with using it under different conditions Iike I have with other ones. It works great with different pressures, door open, door closed, even as a burner with a flare out in the open. Plus for all the machining he does on them they are priced reasonably. He makes a great burner and a great forge!

I suck at electric welding, but forge welding is just fun. I'm good enough with the stick to tack things in place and then forge weld them up. I wouldn't say best welds ever, but here's a couple of recent ones.

This is an arrowhead making tool for the hardie hole.

Wrapped 4 pieces around the center post to make the tenon and forge welded.



Forged out shape of upper part with beginnings of the horn and cut off.



Tack welded in two corners and jump welded to bottom piece.



Finished shaping horn and riveted on some L6 for the cut off piece.



There's also the "forge welded hammer" I did in the "Members Projects" section that is all forge welded together from pieces. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/25909-forge-welded-hammer/

The more you do the easier it gets.

There are finishes, even clear ones, that hold up to uv and other external conditions very well. Seems too that a lot of them are water based and made for metal. Permalac is supposed to be excellent, though expensive, but if it gets the job done and you don't have to repaint the item that saves you time and money. I'm testing one now http://www.eastwood....SRCCODE=1SE0756 I forged out a pineapple texture on a piece if sheet metal and only wire wheeled it before painting it with KBS DiamondFinish ClearCoat. I hung it on the sunny side of my shop back in November and it looks as good as the first day. I had also used Por-15, also an automotive paint for restorations and it has held up for over 9 years, plus this is totally out in the open and it was painted over aluminum foil, on the Hershey Kisses. This picture was in 2010, but last summer it looked just as good. BTW, the color paint finish is also a waterbased paint.

The reason those jobs pay the big bucks is due to the danger involved, not just the skills required.

Like Beth said find what you love and go from there. I recently bought a new t-shirt that says, "When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Blacksmith!"

I sometimes use a large plastic trash can with lid that you find at the Home Depot, Lowes, Ollies and the like, to take the trash to the curb. For items that large I use swimming pool clorine instead of vinegar. It's cheaper. It comes in small pellets or cakes. The granular type disolves easier. Leave the item in for about 8 hours and it's clean. I wash it off and use dish detergent to neutralize and clean it. I then wire wheel with a cup brush to bring the finish from dull to shiney and then clear spray with laquer. 2 light coats is better than one heavy one. There are now some new spray paints that hold up well outside. Check the other posts on clear coat paints on IFI for that info. I hope this helps.

I wonder why I find swage blocks with v swages, but have never found an old bottom or top swage for the anvil that was a "v", only rounded ones?

Here's one company that laser cuts business cards from metal. http://metalcards.com/

I remember Grant Sarver had a metal one. Said it stayed on top of the card pile to hold the others down.

But Colleen, if I hadn't watched it I wouldn't have gotten such words of wisdom from such a guru! :D

Maybe it's just a spoof and they want to locate all of the female smiths. A stalker???

I'm kidding!!!

In England, in the chain making factories, the ladies made all chain that was 3/8" round and under. This was all by hand and they did this until 1968!

Oh, and we can't forget Elizabeth Brimm, known for her pillows and ladies clothing in iron.

http://www.abana.org/resources/galleries/members/ebrim.shtml

Being a Southern gal she says her mom told her it isn't lady like to be a blacksmith, so she wears a pearl necklace when she hammers.

I'd be surprised if the "jelly roll" process was used just due to how the metal would work under the hammer. Seems like you could have a problem with air gaps and places that would want to open up as the metal keeps pushing around instead of just into its self. (That's why they put the jelly in. It fills up the spaces.) Kind of like when you weld a collar on a bar. It wants to work its way around the bar so it needs an open end so you can work towards that. Does that make any sense?

Not sure where this belongs, but the closest thing we've had to it was in the Member Projects like in Jake's "Of Shoes,and Ships,and Sealing Wax ..." where we really got into how this work affects us. Where our work comes from and why it means so much to us. It kind of struck me last night in watching "American Idol". Yea, I know, we get inspiration from everywhere. Anyway, Steven Tyler was consoling and encouraging a contestant who was crying because he was accepted and Steven says, I had to rewind it several times to make sure I heard it right… ”We’re just bozo’s on the bus until we find a way to express ourselves! And for us singing is that way." Boy, did that hit a chord with me. And for us smithing is the way... Please chime in!

Where are the other heads on the horns? Just kidding! Very nice job! Really turned out great. Don't your eyes hurt? Amazing what one can do if you put your mind to it.

Yea, Deloy was quite the bird. He did some amazing stuff. Here's more about him: http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/24709-the-passing-of-a-blacksmith-deloy-larson/page__hl__deloy__fromsearch__1

What a bozo! Here's a few great women smiths (besides the ones on IFI) :

http://dragonflyforge.ca/becky.html

http://www.colleendupon.co.uk/Colleen_du_Pon_Artist_Blacksmith.html

http://www.lucysandysclarke.com/ http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23395932-shes-hot-the-blonde-blacksmith.do

http://womenwhodesignthewest.wordpress.com/2010-exhibitors/maegan-crowley-blacksmith/

http://www.bellaironworks.com/

http://architecturetourist.blogspot.com/2011/07/copper-bronze-and-steel-corrina-sephora.html

http://www.melissacole.co.uk/

That's just a few I know of and Wow! what work they do!

I agree with Colleen, eventhough I didn't do that myself as I didn't know any better when I came up with my business name. It does depend on how you expect people to find you and in doing what kind of work. Therefore your name and artist, or blacksmith, or metalworker or whatever you want to be known as. Plus if you don't use your own name you need to file a ficticious name with your state which can run around $80 or so depending on where you are. Something to think about.

Why not from solid? Might be easier.

Looking good! Maybe try working with your barrel hood turned at 90 degrees from where it is now. Put it on the left side. That way you can slide your metal straight into your forge and long pieces will pass the hood instead of hitting it. Anxious to see what you'll be making!

Nice job! Amazing what can be done with a ram's head. I've done a lot with twisted horns. One twisted one way the other the opposite.

You were talking about ones in 1/4" stock, check these out. They were done by Deloy Larson of Utah. He passed away this past November, but look what he was capable of! Yea, the one is on the end of a welding rod, without breaking off the flux! Amazing!

That's right, it IS simple. Just follow the steps in my earlier post and that's it.