yves

The others have said it all : lovely elegant work. When you say its old work do you mean old like traditional or old like you made it a couple of years ago (not to quote Frosty)?

Here are the various larding needles used in France and in Nouvelle-France. Reference : Raymond Lecoq, Les Objets de la vie domestique, page 146.

Since I never played dungeons and dragons like some Frostys out there ... well, I'm not a dragon man. But the mushrooms. Ah! I used the mushroom design in a job a few years ago. Yours are more detailed and quite elegant, lively.

I have been using Borax hauled out by the 20 mule team. It works. It' cheap as SmoothBore said. Once in a while, I forge chain links. I forged one without Borax yesterday. A first for me. And it is cheaper.

In Brittany, I saw a fence and a grille on an old house that were perfectly kept. The iron work was more than a hundred years old. The lady of the house seeing that I was looking at her grille came out to find out what I was so curious about. She told me that the forged iron was there long before she was born and she was and probably still is (that was last year) an advanced 80 years old. The iron work was as healthy as she was. What got my attention besides the beauty of the lady's grille, was the neighbor's iron work. The lady told me that a man that came into new money, bought the house next to her's. Now this house had the same iron work. Because it was old and in need of some repairs, he decided to have it all torn down and replaced by a copy. The copy was not forged and of course, the similarity between his and the lady's iron work did not bear scrutiny. One of the details that gives the copy away is precisely the flats on the ends of the scrolls. The lady of the old house was quite disturbed with the cheap flash of money of her new neighbor. Especialy as she maintained that the iron work that was torn down was in as good a state as the one on her house.

Galvanized?

This pin is pounded in with a hammer. You cant push the pin out. And if you would have tried to, the guards would have heard you and would then have shortenend the chain between your manacles and your leg irons. Uncomfortable.

Dont bother Frosty, I have some for you. PM me for a price. No velvet though. They are reproductions from archeological finds in Louisbourg. I forged some for me to add to my (beginning and tehrefore small) collection of utensils and objects from the Nouvelle-France era.

The cider is a long way off (next year) we have to clean the barn, change some structure, insulate walls etc. There will also be some room for my "store" to show some of my forgings when people come. A big endeavor in fact. Lots of fun ahead.

Initials YC

In the sweet morning light, the new shutters to our cider making workshop. The collars are of medieval inspiration Detail of the collars : Forging the collars : The pin inserted in a punched hole in 3/4" bar were forge welded and driven in the door jamb. The top pintle is longer than the bottom ones to facilitate insertion. Waiting for some help to clinch the nails I forged. To hold the doors closed while I finish forging the hardware. By the way, the straps were folded and forge welded.

Yes, shipping does hurt. Apparently. With shipping, someone goes there to pick it up and bring it to my door step. Even with shipping, buying on line is cheap compared to the cost of fuel, the time involved (you do not forge when you "ship") in going in Montreal or any where else. For instance, I plan on buying an anvil for demos, something I could carry around. Wether I buy from Nimba Anvils or from Jymm Hoffman, shipping is cheaper than my going down there to get it (and I do not count the ticket and the judge you have to meet for driving at 61 in a 60 zone ...). So shop on line since it seems that "Online" carries what you need, close your eyes and press the button!

Gotcha! In fact, if I remember well, you have given plans for a gaz forge. Takeru is trying to build one and looking for equipment. Would you post or direct him to the post where you explain what to do for a gaz forge. I know zip about these things and cannot help him realy.

When I bought horses to pull, the horses pulled not me. When I hire someone for a job, I let him do the job I hired him for. In my woodshop, a student came from a school. I saw him putting his weight on a sander. I explained that if you buy a sander it is because you want the sander to sand. I do the same with my wire brushes, I let them brush. In fact listen to the motor of the grinder. It will slow down when you lean on the wire brush. Just let it roll. For zip blades, same thing, I let them do the cut.

Je travaille au charbon. Désolé, je ne connais pas les forges à gaz. Pour les matériaux réfractaires, il me semble que les commerçants de poêles à bois vendent des briques qui devraient faire l'affaire. Mais comme je dis, je n'y connais rien. Pour un régulateur, avez-vous parlé à des commerçants de propane justement? Il me semble qu'ils devraient pouvoir vous aider. À Belœil, il y a une compagnie, Soluquip, qui pourrait peut-être répondre à vos questions.

Il y a un vendeur de charbon à Montréal mais il n'y a pas de "undergound blacksmith store". Qu'estce que vous recherchez? Avez-vous commencé à forger? Qu'est-ce qui vous manque?

Did you mean "of course"?​

​You are right ... almost. I have been using a four inch chisel for my grooves. The only problem is that when my hand is not perfectly steady or my eye somewhat off, the groove is crooked for a long time...

I fill olive oil cans and other cans and just let the pieces drop in the sand. I find easily the small pieces I need. All my stee;l bars are stored standing, cut in 10 feet lenghts. The sand buckets are along the wall, grouped together. It works for me. By the way, I forge in a silo. This pic was taken when I began. There is a lot more steel there now.

​Pictures please. Possible?

From IFI http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/22769-show-me-your-twist/?hl=+cube +twist if you incise the four sides on their centre line, twist a known number of times, then flatten to square, incise again on these ‘new’ sides and reverse twist half the number of previous twists, and if arranged correctly will give a Pineapple twist or Diamond Twist effectThis post is from 2011. The pics are not there any more. They were usefull. Can they be revived?

I have not checked in a while. If I remember well, the wood cost me something like 475$ or 500$. It was perfect wood as you can see, very little white and straight, dry etc. The side planks were 2 inches thick more than 1-3/4" was left after dressing. The center boards were 1 inch. It is an oil finish easy to maintain. Looking at the pics though I believe the client ought to feed the table some oil ...

This is a table I made in 2012. The client finaly sent me pics. It can sit ten people comfortably, 8 feet long and something like 40 inches wide, I forgot. The tresle desing, inspired by Shaker woodwork frees the persons from the trouble of the legs. The dragonnfly silhouette design of the forged end supports, permits to sit people comfortably at the ends. It has been in use for 3 years and the client is still happy. The table in the woodwork shop just before leaving. In the client's appartment, folded. Open : The dragonfly silhouette. The folding system, upper and lower. Hinges. Link between the tresles and the top. The bolts linking the legs to the cross piece.

​You would fit better in a suitcase after defrosting ...

I agree with you Frosty, on all counts, especialy the part where you say it looks good . When I went to take the pics, a while after the installation, I questioned the client with regards to the upcurved finials and wether they still felt comfortable with them. They are happy with everything as is. But the danger is there, especialy clothing engaging in the small wing nuts at the top. As I said, the clients were warned at the beginning. The bottom finial is not a concern for me. You would almost have to do it on purpose to stick the bottom of your pants on it. But the danger is there. With regards to a top rail, the clients wanted the thing as is. There is something in the air, around our parts at least, with what could be called an "industrial look" sold to the people by such organisations as Pottery Barn. It seems to have drifted in from France which has been at it for quite a few years now : they reclaim old industrial furniture, doors etc., old wood on old steel structures. I even saw a prison door sliding on rails in a ritzy parisian appartment. (My source for this trend is the magazine "Art et Décoration" which, by the way, has been published for over 100 years.) It does make for an out of the ordinary handrail. To me it was a drawing exploring the possibilities of Uri Hofi's wing nuts I had then just discovered here on IFI (BP1037). To the client it was the design they chose. It was fun to make except for the anguish but luckily and especialy thanks to the story stick everything fell in place to a millimeter. And which is not to be disdained, there was a little profit. I have also used the wingnuts on a clothes dryer I made for myself and I posted here last winter. I like them. They are a great short cut and I like the way they look.