yves

Ironman, Thanks for your reply. The bronze rods are part of what is left from the blacksmith shop of my client's father who died more than 20 years ago. He had had these rods for quite a while if I rely on the tubes' sticker's style. I do not have more info than what I have quoted in the first post. I am still in the beginning of the design process and I have another involved job to finish prior to giving this one all my attention. If and when I do integrate these rods in the design, I'll let you and all of you who gave me answers know what I propose to the client. Thanks again.

Thanks for the answers. I'll explain to the client that he will only have 34 rods left ...

A client wants me to integrate 36 (1/4 inch diameter, 36 inches long) bronze welding rods which are covered in a flux in the design of a balustrade as a decoration. The label on the tubes reads as follows : I have two questions and a request : Can someone tell me from the label quoted if this bronze can be forged. I have no experience with bronze but read here that some bronzes cannot and others cannot easily be forged. If this bronze can be forged, how does one get rid of the flux? If this bronze can be forged, please give indications on the forging process : color of the heat and what type of reaction to expect or forged cold and annealed. I have been through most of the appropriate topics I believe, but I'm still left with these questions. If there are answers already on here, please point to them. Thanks, Yves

Black Frog, I have a choice between : And the winner is ... This IS a winner, This will be a winner. This is lovely. A lot of work. good, passionate work. I never thought you would take it that far. I am glad you did. Brings a smile in this never ending, bitter winter. You do have the last word here. By the way, CH 1 win on the road. Black Hawks ... well ... they got the Blues ... Again congratulations on beautifull work. Yves

Black Frog, You might avoid an accusation of posting political material on IFI, if you forge a bottle opener with the famous "CH" of the winners of most Stanley Cups in the history of hockey and supplier of oh so many players of team Canada, winner of the gold medal this year and others ... PM me for my address ...

There are also quite a few in Plummer's Colonial Wrought Iron.

Small interesting commission : a support for potted plants in a home. Over all dimensions were given : 26" wide, 24" high and 17" deep. The rest was up to me.

To operate the fan, a foot pedal. Pic is taken from the Angele website.

Yes, 50% ahead of work and then no, not COD. I deliver the work when the money is in my bank account. This means that I deliver one week or so after I received a cheque for the balance. Of course the client agrees to this before we begin. For small objects, like 2 fire pokers someone asked me last week, I forge them, send a pic of the objects and demand payment by Paypal at the same time. The objects are sent when the money is in my bank account which is 3 to 5 days after transfer from Paypal to my bank account.

From all this, am I to understand that we will have to continue putting up with Thomas Powers' knowledge, frequent wit and occasional angers?

John B As you said, the subject matter of my first post has been well covered and I am satisfied. I'll heat up the forge tomorrow and give it a go. Thanks John B and everyone else.

John B, Thanks for chipping in this confirmation. Would you recommend drilling the holes or forging them in order to get the swelling which would become a form of upsetting?

Biggundoctor, The steel used was cheap (but new) mild steel flat bar 1/8" x 1/2". I bent them in the vise with a hammer. The corners were sharp (some still are). There were no nicks except the center punch mark in the middle of the bar. There was virtualy no weight on them, maybe 3 pounds. Like I said when I started the thread, my worry is about the stress I would put on 1/4" x 1/2" flat bar with a long half twist. I have a commission for a balustrade and I want to be on the safe side when I give some movement to a long "leaf blade" much like those of cattails when the steel is cold. Having has the steel snap on me in what I now see as extreme conditions (90º bent, sharp), I was worried that in the long run, something might happen to the long blades because of the strresses cold twisting (not bending) would have built up in the steel.

SmoothBore, Thank you for taking the time and making this matter crystal clear. I will try it. You got me thinking that this technique of the punched hole and a "tenon" through it and laid on the other side could be used to hold the pieces in place to forge weld them. So could a rivet. Never tried this, forge welding rivited pieces together. Again, thanks.

The steel snapped when I bent it 90 degrees. I was worried if I twisted it that something might happen. In fact, I understand that if I bend 90 degrees or whatever I'm looking for trouble. If I twist a bar lightly, nothing would happen.

HWooldridge, Thank you. I only did this once for a set of hooks for my booth when I go at fairs and such. A few snapped. The other reason I asked was because I planned on giving extra movement to small flat bars forged in the shape of long leafs bendind in the wind. From the answers I get here, I'll heat the flats. What I liked about twisting cold was that you have the same "heat" all along the bar/twist and that I did not have to light the forge. I got the idea of twisting cold in Schwartzkof when he explains that to forge gate hooks, " a skilled worker will make the twist cold first". That's on page 61. I'll take no chances and heat the bars. Again thanks.

Thanks jmccustomknives. Loud and clear and confirms my doubts.

I bent some hooks 1/8" x 1/2" flat at 90 degrees, cold. In use, some of them broke, just snapped. Does it make sense to heat after bending cold to "normalize", relieve the stresses cold bending produces? Can this unhealthy cold bent steel be heated to health? Thanks

Smoothbore, I cant visualise the procedure you are offering. I will have the same problem as SoCalDave in the coming week and I would like to understand clearly. Even if I do not understand, it seems to be an interestibg alternative. Would you please elaborate a little. Thanks, Yves

Forging of a Byscaine trade axe by Mathieu Colette at Les Forges de Montréal. Very good quality video.

To hang spits on in order to roast meat.

beth, Please, do not show your bus anymore. It triggers in me an unbearable feeling of jealousy. I thought I was not like that ...

Bealer was enthousiastic and communicated this enthousiasm to others and enough of these that he was one of the architects of the resurrection of the blacksmith in the USA if I am not mistaken. His book is interesting and has the virtue of giving an insight into the vast world of the blaksmith. Is it sufficient? For one who wants to learn technniques, there are of course better books. If one develops a special interest in a period or in a type of objects one has to go somewhere else. I have read Bealer often when I started. It carried me over to the next set of questions answered by others. I believe it did for me the job Bealer had set out for himself.

I have done research all my adult life. I enjoy the research, the looking for, the journey that brings me to a bit of knowledge, whatever that would be. I enjoy it probably because I know how to do it and also know that you find more than what you are looking for when you do that. To me blacksmithing is not only in hammering hot steel. It is also in the building of some knowledge. Researching here and making notes is part of that like my reading my books on period kitchen implements. Not every one enjoys researching a subject like I do. That's allright. Some are lazy. That's OK. Some are in a hurry. I understand that. Do the lazy make me impatient? Sometimes yes, sometimes not. When I feel impatient, I go to another thread. When I do not feel impatient, I read the thread. And when I feel realy good, I might offer an answer if I have one. I do not believe that any amount of organisation of this site will change people. Some like researching and do it, some do not, some know how, some do not. Would rules change anything? Nah! Rules might bring some to researching, but what would it do for those who do not know how, have no interest in doing that and for those who are in a hurry? Turn them away? We do not want to turn away a member. IFI is there, people use it as they can. But always, they are interested. Let those who are not impatient with the 100th version of the same question add to the hundreds of answers to that question or point to where the answers are given. Let the others like me, most of the time, get impatient, swear maybe against the lazy and just go to another thread.

I split mine on the hardy. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" ...