Greenbeast

Thanks very much, definitely very helpful and i'm not too stubborn to fail to listen to sage advice being offered.

I'm planning to do another identical one very shortly to build on these tips and also improved speed of working

Thankyou :)

You already have four feet and five arms,

Two to the rear and one to the front will work, but make sure they are well spread outside the perimeter of where the tools hang, or they can topple easily, and the look can also depend on which tool goes where.

Still a nice job though, and a lot to be learnt from it.

Thanks for showing and offering it for comments (I think thats what you did although its not in the critique section)

There is only 4 arms and 4 feet
Yes i did want comments, but felt the critique section may have been more brutal :D

Lovely work there Greenbeast. Really unique design! I like the nice, smooth flowing lines of the piece.

The finish looks great as well. Did you just wire wheel it, then coat with beeswax?
I may have to steal the finish for a poker I made recently.

Input from the more experienced members is helping me as well as you too.

Did you use a swage block to form the shovel, or free form it? I was wondering about this in work today!

Thanks, Literally just wheeled it, no wax.

I free formed it, my first time too! I put the flat face of one of my ball pein hammers into my hardy hole to give me a ball to work the corners over.
:)

Very nice set, clean, well formed and proportioned.

Aside from three feet I have only one suggestion and it may not matter. The hooks on the stand are points, blunt but still pointing straight outwards. A person could fall against one or knock it over on a foot. I don't think they'd do much damage, still. A small finial scroll would solve my one concern such as it is.

Thank you for posting the pics, they and the comments are good conversation.

Frosty The Lucky.

Yes, you are quite right, and i just looked back at my original sketch and it includes finial scrolls :(

Man, this place opens your eyes to your failings that's for sure!! :rolleyes:

:)

Yes this is something that was pointed out to me yesterday by my step-dad. I guess i wasn't sure it three legs would work with the four arms

Smart stand John!

I appreciate your input John

You're completely right, and i've just noticed the stand's twist is the wrong way round also :(

The reason for the full twists is that i forged the reins, jaws and hinge area first and then twisted, i'm sure you can guess the rest......
The annoying thing is that they're the second pair i made for this project too :blink:

Thanks
It's just been wirewheeled :)
That took a while on it's own!

Just knocked this up for a customer:











:rolleyes:

Nice item. definitely the sort of thing i wish i'd made!

Yes it is down to practice, lots of small taps and adjustments with even heat.

It's certainly easiest to get it right first time than to have to adjust a deformed scroll.

obviously you must be aware of the noise by now, it's certainly a big consideration when it comes to location and neighbours.
I felt i couldn't carry on long at home, it seemed it wouldn't be long before i got complaints.

Yes, your name is definitely an option. i quite like interesting names as opposed to just a person's name.

How about Garden's End Forge?

I was averse to using the location of my first premises (a pig farm) in the business name in case i moved, then i realised it would not matter, it would be a good story if/when i do move off the farm.

Where is your forge located? It looked like it was in a garden with a shed, is that right or am i mis-remembering/interpreting

Nice idea, not seen that before

One simple thing I found useful was to slide a reasonably close fitting tube over the bar cut to the length of the twist you want to make, immediately after you have positioned your lower mark in the vice then you will get repeatable lengths, it helps keep the twisted section straight, and it also helps retain heat as it shrouds the bar from open air. (I had a selection of different legth and diameter tubes in a box reserved for this purpose)

Nice suggestion!

I think i saw this piece in your portfolio last year, those copper clouds really work well

Oh and a brief tip on tapering, you don't need to quarter turn the stock in your hand/tongs, arrange a grip so you can just turn it 90 degrees back and forth, you might find that easier and quicker

All those times i saw you punch that mark in and i never realised it was O B, :lol:

I think the gold mark is seriously stylish

fair enough

Make sure you're only making tools you actually need, i've not needed a cold cut yet, so i haven't made one

Oh man, this place is just a fountain of inspiration.

Nice work. I will buy some suitably sized steel in my next order...

Nice, it's fluke connections like this that make up the rich tapestry that is the history and trade of blacksmithing

Tempted to sack off rugby on Saturday, so I can get an extra day in at the forge.

Ha i know what i'd be doing and it doesn't involve any sweaty men. (well apart from myself)

Tom, i made my first hot cut by hammering out an old hammer head to shape and welding it to a mild steel shank to fit my hardy hole.