Firegirl

Hi! Welcome

LOL! Absolutely :p If I can get my smithy built sometime this century! I hope everyone here has been well. Like I said before...I Missed You Guys!!!!

Hello All! I used to be on the forum...oh, 7 or 8 years ago. Life has changed a lot for me, but I am soon ready to get back in the fire. I missed you all!!!!

I have one neighbor who thinks our forge is cool and stops by just to see what we are working on. I have several others who are cranky about it but I'm not breaking any rules or laws so they have to live with it. Besides, now that the strip mall behind my house if finished complete with liquor store and smoke shop you can't hear my hammer over the loud music in all the loitering cars :)

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm gonna practice for a few days and get back to you :)

Hi Everybody, I am making a table (pictures when it's finished) and I'm having trouble avoiding cold shuts on the tenons. I only have hand tools, an anvil, and a swage block...no nifty toys or power tools. Any suggestions????? Thanks :)

Those are AMAZING!!!!! I would love to see process pics (if it won't give away any secrets The features are so expressive...very very very impressive!!!!!!

I find, as a lady blacksmith, I get more disbelief that a girl would want to be a blacksmith than any real interest in what I do. My favorite is when I'm setting up my demo space and moving my anvil (175#) and some guy wants to know if I need help. Most of them FREAK when they couldn't budge the anvil and I can pick it up and carry it no problem! I love all the questions at a demo show because they are rarely the "Why is this so expensive?" type and more about the work. But I agree about the "free babysitting" aspect. I tell parents that unsupervised children will be given to the fairies.

My Forge is Frost Fire Forge & Studio...Our last name is Frost we play with fire...and I am even making a steel and aluminum "frost fire" sculpture for our trademark (also doubles as a sign holder for events:)...But I like Burr Oak Forge and think it would make a fine name for ya!

Well Fellas, I'm almost done with the sculpture! I welded the steel pieces with the ARC and I have an industrial strength product from Devcon called 2-Ton Transparent Epoxy...The last of it is curing now and seems to be doing just fine. The glue even held up to the piece being dropped before it was fully cured I should be able to post a picture by the end of the day. Thanks for all your help, I'm gonna keep it in mind for the NEXT project I do with modern techniques...

I try REALLY hard to do my smithing in the oldest fashioned way I can as a Reniassance re-enacter...but when the bundle for the forge weld won't stay put long enough to get welded in the fire, well then the ARC welder is now the oldest fashioned way I have available It's all a matter of perspective!

Explosive Welding??? Sounds Dangerous...Please tell me this is a joke!!! Anyway, if Glenn could maybe give me the name of that industrial adhesive he mentioned, I think I'll try his method...although I am going to order that Super Alloy welding rod from the website Dodge suggested and play with it later...I'll let you all know how it turns out :)

Thanks for the help guys...It's a sculpture piece, and if I have to I'll use a cold connect method, but since I'm welding the steel part anyway, I was trying to be consistent.

Hi Guys. I need to weld or braise aluminum to plate steel. It does not need to be a structural support, it just has to stay in an upright position. I have an Arc Welder and an O/A setup...which would you recommend? Thanks :D

It might be easier to answer your questions if we had a sketch of your project, but here goes... 1. Gauge should be based on how much weight and use item will bear...18 or better I would say. 2. Simple bends in copper are fine without annealing so long as the copper didn't start at full hard. 3. The metal will tell you when it wants to be annealed. 4. I'd need to see the design before I could help with the glass question...sorry. Also, you may consider more traditional joinery and save the brazing for only the most important architectural and stress bearing points. A lot of old lanterns have decorative rivet work. Can't wait to see some pictures Good Luck!

Sounds like you had a great time!

Well, I'm not allowed to wear one, but I must say...I LOVE guys who can pull off wearing a kilt!!! And I am one of the official kilt checkers at the Renfaire :)

Thanks for all the ideas guys...Rio does carry bronze, but only for casting and I prefer to forge things, better feel for the piece that way. I have series of figures in mind that I am going to try (elemental spirits) if I can find (and afford!) the materials. I've got quote requests in for all the other suppliers...

Anybody seen Kingdom of Heaven? Talk about having too many irons in the fire!!!!

I've worked with some brass, the bowl pictured in my avatar is brass actually, and you have to heat to red, let cool to pink and then quench, and re-anneal A LOT! It's much more brittle than copper. But depending on the size of the pipe, could be cut into sections and made into nice bracelets or small vases. Have fun :)

I only use forge welding in my shop...not from any adherance to a "traditional" approach or anything, I just can't afford the welder I want yet :)

Get the books done by Steve Midgett on Making Mokume...he's one of the best.

I'm not a pro, and I don't have a power hammer, but I've made bowl from slug of solid copper bar (but mine was square). Lots of annealing!!!!!!! You could also chisel and twist it into cool designes as a stand for something else. just remember anneal more often than you think you have to!!!!! keep the bar hanging around where you can see it and I bet you get an "aha" and next thing you know you'll be posting pictures :)

Bike, Hike, Like, Lake, Bake, Rake, Make, Take, Tame, Lame, Dame, Came...Ok, I have to quit now, I feel like Dr. Suess!!!!!