CurlyGeorge

Well, went to the camp for the weekend, and delivered the chandelier. He was really happy with it. But the only candles that he could come up with was 3" diameter candles. The drip pan was only 4". Needless to say that he had some interesting patterns of melted candle hanging from some of the drip pans. He hung it over a fairly large table, so no one got dripped on. But he's gonna look for some smaller diameter candles.

John, ya should have just went ahead and came over to the Honey Bee Festival. Man, that was a lot of pics lost. I am sorry to hear that. Take care, my friend.

Harold, Kathy and I are sending prayers for you and your wife, from Illinois. We wish you both the best of luck. George

your serial # shows that your anvil was "born" in 1894, according to Anvils in America. :)

I like it. What size cable did you use? Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

I use a rubber hammer?!! :ph34r:

Harold, I too hit a big slump, this summer. We had to move my parents into a nursing home, and make several trips to Ohio to get everything ready to sell. It flat wore me out. When I did have time to forge, it was so stinking hot that I just didn't have it in me to do it. Now that the weather is starting to cool off, I have picked it up again and have started "feeling like forging", again. I think as we get older, we just need a break, occasionally. :)

Awhile back, my wife came out to the shop and saw me concentrating on a project, trying to figure my next step. Not long after that, she saw this sign at a small hammer-in and decided that I needed it. So it's now hanging near my shop forge. She thought that it was "cute". Just gotta love our gals :D

Be my guest, Mitch. Thank you. :)

I make a lot of RR spike knives and always tell the folks that buy them that they are more of a novelty knife than anything, because they don't hold a very good edge. I do my final quench in oil. But it's still not very tough. :)

Dang. Phil and Dave were faster on the button than I was. :D

Josh, honesty is always the best answer. Tell your grandfather that, although you are gaining skills as a blacksmith, you just don't feel that you have the skill, yet, to do a good job on a sword. Explain to him that you would have to do a correct heat treatment on the blade, after you get the sword forged and that it takes a lot of learning to get to that point. If you explain it to him, I'm sure that he will understand and probably appreciate your honesty. Good luck. :)

Wow, John. That is a sharp looking piece. Can't wait to see the finish. Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

OK. Here's the finished project. I ended up using steel drip pans and slipped them down over the pins and welded them on. Mark, I tried to test for the balance. I laid a candle on 3 of the cup, on one side of the chandelier, and left the 3 on the other side without a candle. It didn't seem to tip very much at all. It is pretty heavy and I think that probably made the difference. Thanks for all the comments.

I agree that the man had a plan before he started. He had it together and didn't waste a lot of time trying to decide his next step. I also agree with Grant that it was a lot better than watching the whole thing in real time. Good demo, IMO. :)

Those are really nice crosses. I love the different heat colors. Thanks for sharing. :)

That's a thought, Mark. This is the first one like this that I've made. I'll let the guy know to watch for that. I had problems with the copper cups. I was going to solder them onto the bottom of the pins. I drilled a hole in each cup, cleaned each pin down to bare metal and still couldn't get the solder to take. I think that I just don't have the right equipment to do the job correctly. So I made drip pans out of black sheet metal. Tomorrow I will weld them onto the pins. :)

I use a fagot weld to double the mass on the end of 5/16" square stock when making eating spoons. I was having the same problem until I started bringing it back to weld temp and laying it on its side and hammering there. Now, I can do it all in one heat. No seams left on them, now. I guess it just took a lot of practice, for me. Hope that helps. :)

Thank you, Beth. The customer wanted to be able to hang it or set it on the table. I have enjoyed this project and have also learned a few things along the way. I may take those lessons and make another one with some minor changes. :)

Stan, I think that this one has to go to the customer. I may try making another one using some small scrolls for the legs. But I'm running out of time before my next demo and have to build up a little stock. Thanks for the offer to "test" it, though. :D

I say good job. Glad to see one of the young folks making projects. Looks great and I'll bet Grandma certainly liked ti. Thanks for sharing.

Ed, prayers still coming from up north. Kathy and I wish you folks, and especially Bella, the very best.

(Light bulb lighting up) Yes it would!! GREAT idea. Thanks. :)

I could have riveted a scroll under each top scroll. The reason that I didn't is..............I had a Senior moment and didn't think of that. That is a really good idea and I will definitely remember that one. Thank you for the suggestion.

I have a customer wants me to make a 6 candle chandelier, that will also work setting on a table. This is what we came up with. I used 1" X 1/8" flat strap and scrolled the ends. Since it has three straps, stacked one on top of the other, I had to offset each scroll/leg so that it would set firmly on a table. This is the way it turned out. The center rod is riveted on the bottom. Tomorrow, I will make the candle spikes and the 2 1/2" copper drip pans. I also made a long S hook to use to hang it from. I think it is turning out pretty good, so far. :)Comments or suggestions?