Randy

Dave, the other way to go if the bar is short enough is to have a plate with holes in it. But with that you'll have to hammer the bar into the plate. I have drilled out monkey tools with a hand drill. Just start with a small hole first and keep increasing the size until you are to the size you want. With the tool clamped in the vise you can keep it pretty straight.

I agree with Glenn. Also do some studying of the tools and process. Buy some blacksmith books and learn from others instead of reinventing the wheel or guessing at what will work. Books have plans for building a good forge and what to use for an anvil. It will make your process so much easier. Happy Hammering!

Right on, but what is a corkscrew trivet? Are the legs corkscrews?

Process looks great, but proportions mean a lot. I'd like to see it per drawing. Looks just like a piece in Sonn's, Early American Wrought Iron. Hook looks good and well done!

Beth knows what she's talking about. Either "grab" it by leaning it on your belly or by holding it with the "v" made of your upper thigh bending. That depends on the height of your anvil and the length of your stock.

Excellent idea, Larry. It's good for them to see the influence he has had on us and our craft. Thanks!

One of the best books on freehand drawing is The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards. Available almost every where. They also have 5 day classes based on the book. Do a google. I'm an AutoCad drafter and it is great for technical drawings, but to get the drawing done in the first place this is the way to go. Plus AutoCad takes a long time to learn. Several members of the Guild of Metal Smiths took this course and then turned their line drawings into grilles with the lines being bar stock. Amazing and even they were surprised at what they had accomplished as they couldn't draw at all the week before. Here's an example by David Mariette.

Back to the holes. So what did you do? Pulled from the outside???

Thank you all! Good information here! Now let's add another side to this post: What is it that you or someone you know specialize in and how has it worked out? Any other details would be interesting, too.

Great job! Good design, nice clean lines, expertly accomplished! Good finishing done, too. Now that you accomplished that you can move on to the next big challenge for you. Keep up the good work!

It's basicly rough, but useable. Seems like you have some welding skills. When you do want to fix her up some I just use a flap disc on a angle grinder and smooth it up. Cut back any areas that are hanging over the edge. The horn shape is very good, just all banged up. Flap disc it, too. If you want to work on the edges I just use a stick welder and mild steel rods to fill in the gaps and rounded edges. Then flap disc them to shape. Better welders than me will use a high carbon rod, but as long as you are using hot metal it will last a long time. If it does round off later then you know how to fix it. Also it's good to have sharp edges all the way around except for near the cut off table. There it's handy to go back about 2-1/2" to 3" with a 1/4" to 3/8" radius. Even the sharp edges should be like 1/64" or less radius, not cutting sharp. Good score! Happy hammering!

I'm still in shock. I keep expecting him to answer the next post. What has been lost can not be measured. Where will this knowledge come from now? I am deeply saddened. Blessings to him and his family and appreciation for all he has shared with us for all of these years.

Wow! Wicked! Great sequence! That explains everything. Thanks, Michael!

A good wish for a lot of work, but he still won't burn it out.

No problem and thanks. The patent issue is an important one. I'm not interested in making timascus or ti-lam, but just curious to what was involved as most of what is done in forging of ti has to be done with out forge welding. Most of the pieces I've made had to be out of one piece or pieces assembled with wrapping or typical assembly techniques with out welding. Looks like this new process won't help there, but very interesting any way.

Any one know how to make timascus?

I've asked smiths how are you making scrolls? They say, with scroll jigs. I ask, who made the jig? You can't make a good jig unless you can make a good scroll. The "trick" to getting that negative space to gradually open up is this: first your bending of the scroll is done over the edge of the anvil like Brian shows in the early photos. Notice that when you start it is a short heat and the piece is not far over the edge. The next heat is a little longer and the piece sticks a little farther over the edge. Following heats are each longer than the one before and you have more material over the edge of the anvil. This is what makes the progression of the negative space gradually opening. It takes practice but you can do it. It also helps to get either a good drawing of this type of scroll or a photo of a snails shell and draw it free hand. Try to do it in one motion of the hand. I like to use chalk as then I can erase it and do it again. Just draw a bunch of them until they are starting to look like what you want your scrolls to look like. Remember to focus on the negative space. Once this image is implanted in your brain the connection is made to do it three dimensionally in metal.

I tried to add these photos last time but my sizes were off. The one of the snail so you can see the type of spiral I was referring to. One showing the more gradual opening spiral and a pile of ones I did for an old fence in NYC being restored to show the equal spacing.

Usually I don't like the golden mean or Archimedes spiral/scroll as it opens up too fast, but there are no set rules. I generally look at the negative space. This space should gradually open as the scroll grows. Like a snails' shell. There are occasions where the negative space stays the same. The gap is equal. That seems to be an easier scroll to make but learning the other way will gain more vision and control for the smith, besides looking better in my opinion. The other part of scroll making is learning all of the different forged ends.

So why not forge with your press? I have a 60 ton and I do a lot of forging with it. I just made up quick change fullering dies and other shapes for what I want to do. If you want a great air hammer look at this one: http://www.ironkisshammers.com/power_hammer_features.php One of the best out there.

Besides what has already been mentioned, one of the most comfortable floors I had was concrete, but the building was facing south and built into a hill side like a bank barn. Being in the ground like this kept the floor at 55 degrees so warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I never got tired from standing on it, besides the obvious benefits of a smooth concrete floor. If you can't do that arrangement there are insulations for under the concrete that will help. I should add that you should figure where you want power hammer foundations, post vises and the like and put them in before the floor is poured. Just easier. A bathroom is also a requirement if away from your home. Besides figuring where your equipment will go also plan on open space for layout of items if needed. Have fun in your new shop!

Just to keep the business going I've had to take whatever came in the door. Gates, grilles, entranceways, wall hooks, business card holders, letter openers, restorations, lighting, colonial, contemporary, etc., etc. That doesn't near cover it. Seldom have I done two things twice. It's been a great way to learn a lot, but keeping the jobs coming in is another story. Back in the '70's when I only did colonial restoration work I had a fairly steady work flow. The more I changed and diverified the less work that came in. When in rough times I've called a lot of fellow smiths and talked to them about how they make money. What am I doing wrong? Usually in a room of people if you start talking about money the room gets real quiet fast. Luckily my friends in the forging world were happy to share with me. Through this and my own observations it looks to me like the ones that are the most successful are the ones that are specializing. Not just in being a blacksmith or artist-blacksmith, but also in what they make. They "only" make gates, rails and fencing, or they "only" make hardware, or they "only" make weaponry, or ... I know one shop that "only" does shutter hardware. Another that does arrowheads, another that specializes in Celtic ironwork. Or they have a style that they specialize in. I use only in quotes as of course they take something else if it comes in, but mainly have a reputation for whatever they're specializing in. My problem in knowing this is finding my niche. Since I've done so many different things I don't have a known style or look to my work. At times I thought I had found what "it" was and something happened that it fell through. I am heading in a specific area now, but it takes time to put all of the pieces together. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and how this affects your business.

I agree with Stormcrow. The control is amazing form light hits to heavy hits. I have a Nazel 1B and although it's the smallest one they made it does the job for me. Nice that it's all self contained even though it's noisier that way. Do you have a press? I'm constantly impressed on what it can do in forging.

Michael, you've made quite a few of these skulls. Do you have a project that you are making them for?

Thanks. The texture is just from heating and hammering. I spent a lot of time rounding up the top of the skull and hammering in the 3 sided tenon for the jaw. Michael, you actually cut out a part of the material for the back of the jaw? Thanks for the drawing. That helps. Were you using pieces already cut off instead of attached to a bar? I'll use the press for forging out the jaw (tenon) and maybe rounding up the top of the head. Unless I simplify the shape and not try to get it more life like.