anvil

. Its doable but again causes other problems. And, in my opinion more serious to deal with. But first, heres a design concept to consider. Its called "Transitions". This is where changes begin and end. Take a simple taper, take say 9" of 1" round and taper it to a point 14" long. The transitions are where the taper starts and ends. The reason these are so important is these are the points that attract the eye. Back to your question. Lets use half square for this. Fold it once and you have 1/2"×1" with the parent stock on the side, not centered. No matter how many folds this is what you get. Every time you forge weld, you lose material on the half square at the transition. You also get the real possibility for cold shuts as well. They are dang hard to prevent because the inside edge will always be a rather sharp right angle. So now you need to forge this area to center the shaft onto the 1/2"×1". This increases the chance of a cold shut and further reduces the mass on the half square because when you forge a forge weld, it should be done at a yellow heat.. Now forge the 1/2"×1" to a fan shape. So now your transition looks thin and wispy and tends to be a weak spot. In this example, my preferred way would be to start with 1/2"×1" and taper it down to larger than 1/2" then scarf it with no upsetting. Then upset the half square as needed and scarf it and fw it. Now finish your taper between the two and refine it to taste. Another benefit is that how you do your two ends, 1/2"×3/4",1/2"×5/8/ etc will change the look of your transition, which means more variety in your finished product for no more extra time or material. My other choice, and the choice would be situational,not better, would be to start with 1/2"×1" and forge it from one piece. Hope this helps.

Thats very doable and I use a forgeweld in that situation quite often. Its a great time saver. In the top pics, last on the right, dont taper it quite so small. If this makes sense, Pic three(drawn out) should look like a longer version of pic 2. If the shaft is 5/8", then the end should be a bit bigger than 5/8". Then you dont have to upset it for the scarf, and will not get a wasp waist due to not enough material after forgewelding. If the vertical shaft is 3/8", then it will look as I described, but scaled to the 3/8" material. The purpose is to not draw it too small, then have to upset it back to what it was for a good scarf. Thats redundant and takes time. You did not show the scarf upset in your drawings. Im assuming you know you must add material to the scarf by upseting, or you will get a wasp waist due to lack of material. heres a pic that is as close as i can come to your project. The tendril and leaf are forge welded together, leaving enough material to forgeweld to the stem. no upset, just scarfed. the stem is upset and scarfed. this is a pic of the three pieces. A problem you may have is when you make the candle cup, it may stress your weld and break. So, its best to do this forging at good yellow heat, then reheat to a yellow and forge on. A bit safer way would be to forge the cup on the end of a long 5/8" bar, then cut it off long enough to keep the cup out of the fire and short enough to minimize drawing out when you forge weld it to the 3/8". This keeps the cup out of the heat, and minimizes both drawing out and forging on your forgeweld. theres a lot of little nuances, but this should cover most of the problems. Enjoy

I too would give a thumbs up on a tipi forge. At one time i was offered a tipi for my forge. I set the tipi up, then moved before setting up my shop. There was plenty of space. I believe it was about 14'-16' diameter. I did set the top a bit off center to give me a more vertical back "wall" thus more space. I dont think this would have affected the draw. It did create a more comfortable work space. But again, i did not give it a test.

There are no blacksmithing tools in your pics.

I watched your vid. I would say that depending how much time you have spent between hammer and anvil, your skill levels should be close. Basically to upset 10mm(i do best in fractions) for the candle cup is a lot of upsetting. Consider your candle is 1" diameter. This means you need the top edge to be at least 3" in length in order for the candle to fit. 10mm ~ 3/8"? I would start with at least half inch and most likely 5/8" to start with. This is plenty of material to make the candle cup. Then draw down to half or 3/8" for the verrical. Then taper enough to get the scroll at the bottom. If you do upset for the cup, its far easier to upset half inch a little than 3/8" a lot. Its a good project. Have fun.

a good adventure with a great finish!

I suspect you are pretty new to our craft. I suggest starting with larger stock and forge it to what you want Learning to draw out is one of the basics. I'd start there.

thanks, George. Good info. I should of picked up on that. I'm not familiar with sodium bisulfate. I have used sulfuric acid and a few dilutions of hydrochloric acid.

The locking wedge is a two direction taper. Both in thickness and width

yes, on baking soda another easy to obtain acid is muriatic acid. most hardware stores have it. Its used for many things

thoughts be with you

you are missing the locking wedge. Your spring may be deformed.In your first pic, that spring section above the bracket should be flush with the vertical leg. the bottom of the spring is "U" shaped and should be around the movable leg

Even plain vinegar will work. No matter what you use, make sure you neutralize the acid when done

Nice!

Beautiful!

Awesome! It doesn't look like anyone has mentioned it. Its a farrier pattern anvil. The deal sticking out to the right is for pulling clips on horse shoes.

I make my hot tools about 14". Still use a "localized quench" on the hand when needed. Cold work tools like chisels, center punches etc are about a hands length. I prefer not using tongs for these tools. Power hammer tools and treadle hammer tools are a different story.

I too prefer longer tools for hot work. I make them around 14". Cold work tools are usually about the length of my hand or so.

inspirational. Im getting ready for concrete. I got water in last month.

Most likely it was started around the 9th century, but Im not sure.I had an experience a few years ago. I was in Frankfort, Germany and met two brothers who were the 10th or 11th smiths to restore the screens for the Frankfort cathedral. There were 4. Each was about 15' high and 30-40' long. Over a 100 years the bottoms would rust away. The Church was very specific on how the restoration was done. They could use any techniques to remove the rusted parts, but when putting it together they were very specific and technique was primary. I put in a whopping 3 or 4 hours on a sunday before heading home.You can bet the church has all the documents needed for this restoration. Keep tuned, we are just at the beginning of this great adventure. Thanks, my Latin is weak and i couldnt remember the spelling from the Robin Williams movie.

Frosty, first an apology. Another gentleman pointed out that segment, so I too went back and looked at it. Its hard to tell, but he certainly detailed the outside edges with a side grinder and a dremmel. Hard to say on the teardrop. It appears he might have, or just tuned it up.Im just not sure. Check out 11:42 for this detail. Its certainly not how I would do it. The chisel he used, a teardrop tool and a half round bastard file or equivalent works wonders for this. And far quicker. Hope this covers the basics of the vid. Definitions. Again, sorry that you think Im forcing this on anyone. Not so. Simply stated this keeps it simple and prevents arguments and mindless debates, And Only Applies To Me. So heres the deal. Whats your definition of Blacksmith?Traditional Smith, either or? both? What is the emotion you feel when dealing with these terms,,, sitting by the fire, contemplating our craft, when not reacting to anyone else,,, just in your own personal moment? For me its simple. In my mind an image of someone between hammer and anvil beating hot iron, and the emotion it creates is passion, excitement and wonder watching this medium called iron move. How about you, or anyone else? I promise you that if you, or anyone does this I will remember and apply this to your responses. I will understand where you are coming from etc. I will completely accept it as valid and correct for you. It will never conflict with me or my views. Can you do that for my definition? accept it as a descriptor of me? Nothing more? Doesn't this approach show absolute respect for all? Does this not remove the endless and inane arguments from the discussion? Just a thought. If thats truely your definition,, straight from Websters, I accept that completely. But I just cant resist this,,, And for all who consider blacksmithing an anachronism of the past,,, a dead end. This is without one of those special moments in history. Carpe Deum! describes this moment. If i wasnt confronting a hip operation from the VA,,, someday ,,, VA soon. I'd have a ticket to Paris and I would be doing my best to become a part of the restoration of Notre Dam. Id be satisfied to be a hoddy for the stone masons! Or part of the crew that refaces the tools needed for tomorrow! And I may anyway! They may use contemporary techniques to update the structural components, but when they skin it, what you see will be no different than what the first person saw when he walked thru the doors some 1100 years ago. Anybody catch the French smiths on facebook that spent the last two years figuring out how the hinges for the entry doors for Notre Dam were made? These folks are going to be busy, and those hinges will be a minor part. So just what picture enters your mind on a quiet night, sitting by the fire, contemplating those who will be the "Smiths of Notre Dam"? Again, not forcing anything on anybody, but it fits my "definition" to a tee. Just a bunch of Traditional Smiths, hanging out betwixt hammer and anvil,,, beating hot iron.

Lol,, And there was that honda civic moment when the dozen 20' lengths of half square were strapped across the top and the front tie wire went "Sproing" . 4:30 pm, 3 lanes of freeway!!! And I got her reloaded and made it out of there and No Ticket! True proof that God does smile on fools and blacksmiths!!

Good reply, Frosty, and I can answer them. First, I did not finish a statement above. I was in a coffee shop awaiting a call to pick up my new generator, well, new to me. And that is i believe your critiques of this Smith are valid. Beyond safety and the music, you critiqued him correctly from the point of view of a machinist. Yup, he fails as he is definitely not a machinist,. Your next critique was as a tool and die maker. And again, you are right on the money. He fails as he is not a tool and die maker. He is a traditional smith specializing in architectural details including proper tooling from Gothic to Contemporary. We in the US have a far shorter history. So, an equivalent US smith might specialize in "Colonial hardware" or, in my neck of the woods, "Southwestern hardware", but rarely covering the whole gamut of art history for the blacksmith from Gothic to Contemporary. Trust me, this is no brag, Its my pathway and what I do. This doesnt mean Im a artist/fop throwing out meaningless garbage to snow the masses. If someone showed me a pic from the Gothic period, id be at a total loss as to what i was looking at. On the other hand if someone picked up a piece of forged iron rail he got in europe, and brought it to me to repair/restore, or reproduce, i could within reasonable bounds identify when it was made and have a pretty general idea as to what region it was from, create the needed tooling, and do the work. Thats where this wonderful craft has taken me, Its what I do. To put that to use here, I can make a few "assumptions" about this smith and his knowledge. But I'll qualify that because my books are packed, and I havent dealt with this in my shop in about 10 years. Hes prolly from northern Europe, possibly middle Europe and a good chance he is from Czechoslovakia. The piece he is making, Im pretty sure, is a Baroque style rosette. And that trivia ought to get me a cup of coffee in any coffee shop,,, or tossed out! It will, however line me out with work of this type. I am approved as a restoration blacksmith for a small city and am qualified to meet their requirements to keep the "Historical" classification on protected buildings, and was the "restoration" smith when the residence of the commander of the Air Force Academy became a historical site and was restored. And yes, Im danged proud of both of those accomplishments. That puzzled me as well at first. However, as I recall, there was actually no video footage showing him actually using these tools to detail the rosette, just a pic of a rosette with scratches on the surface, and the presence of a side grinder. He also showed the hot chisel ive spoken of, but not in use. For what its worth, that chisel is a dead giveaway to this being a baroque style rosette. You see, there is no way a side grinder and a dremmel could create that detail. He used basically two tools,,, that specialty hot chisel and a teardrop tool. Thats about it. The power tools remove material, while the teardrop tool will both make a depression and raise the edges of the depression in the vertical all around its shape,,, as is shown in his sample. So I believe he showed the grinder and scratches as a warning to not use them! I believe he showed the use of a C&C machine for these reasons as well. However the message in this case is that it is a good tool to use if you have the quantity per job to make it worthwhile . I believe Ive figured out why he did this and who this vid was made for. It was made to show his contemporaries who do this type of restoration how to come up with a basic limited production using common power tools in their shops. This is not a vid on "how to forge a rosette". Id bet dollars to donuts that he is not doing this vid to go into business mass producing this one rosette by the thousands for any consumer market,,, even tho you could do this. But if he were to do this, He better heed your critiques on tool and die making and machinist! Restoration work in Europe is the backbone of our craft. I got a great insight into this from a Frankfort smith. He said I have no idea how lucky I am to be in the US. You cant believe how tiring it is to get another Gothic piece or Baroque scroll! All he wanted was the time to create whatever he wanted! Sorry for my use of the word "prejudiced" concerning using C&C tech. I kinda did it to give me a a self imposed jab at almost not watching this because of its use. Thats as bad a reason for not watching as for the safety critiques and the poor music. So its well deserved and well taken by me! But to make it clear i have no problems with time saving tech. I have subbed work from others where the product was blanked out via C&C. However in my shop,,, back in the day,,, I would rather hire a couple of vets and teach them the basics to do this function under my eye and in my shop. To be clear, a "standard" job in my shop would have been ironing a whole house. This nearly always dealt with cabinetry and door hardware. I think my biggest job, by the number of doors, excluding cabinets, was around 10 doors or 30 strap hinges. Back then, for that size job C&C was not a time/economic saving. Best done in house. However if I'd ever got a "30" door house-90 straps- I would have checked out this option without a doubt. Thus tools used is situational. Thanks for reading my definition of "traditional smith". I pretty clearly stated, or tried to make clear that this is specifically for me. It applies to no one else, nor will I ever expect anyone else to accept it as valid for any reason. Nor will I ever "assume" that when this term is used by others, it has anything to do with my definition.However, specifically between you and me in any conversation, At least you will understand what I mean and have a clue where im coming from when i use those terms. Hopefully that will help keep a conversation from drifting off topic into the morass and muck of "What is a Traditional Smith?" You know such statements as "Why, any smith from the past would add a torch and welder to his tools asap!". Or "If you are a traditional smith you can only use wrought iron, no power hammer, and a cast iron forge is out",,, on and on with the silliness. You will have a clue as to my meaning. So thanks, as usual, for your input. Hope I answered your questions to your satisfaction. Im really glad I watched this vid and I got a lot out of it. I most likely wont do any closed die work, but its very cool to see where other smiths are taking this great craft. But I'll never say never.

lol, I was going to mention that, I too did that with a bloody Honda civic!

ok, guys, first things first. That be my definition of "Traditional Smith" Long ago I got tired of the endless debates and miles of verbiage. None of which actually solved any problems. So I came up with my own definition. It most likely won't solve anything either... So I looked at just what blacksmiths across time have in common. As best I can see, that's a single human being standing between a hammer and an anvil beating hot iron. There are no qualifications to this. Any hammer, any anvil, any forge, your choice of heat and any tooling of your choice. Anything else only defines the time, region, or technology used to put that man between a hammer and an anvil to be able to beat hot iron. History is a wonderful thing, and to study any history is a pleasure. However all history does is define the time and tech used to fulfill my definition. I hope you will see from my definition, no one in this craft is limited by anything. It's all person choice. As to the rest, I see a lucky man,who had a father who passed on much. In this case, much to do with machinist and from that a strong critique of his closed die setup. I suspect you are correct on all counts. I suggest one thing. check his hand forged pattern and look at the closed die finished pieces. I suspect if 100 of each were in a rail, most of us would be hard pressed to tell them apart. And this, I'm sure was his intent. That's the point I wanted to make. It's obvious to me that the smith has an excellent grasp of the tooling and techniques that were used commonly from the Gothic era to Contemporary, as defined by art history and as this history is applied to our craft covered by this this timeline. In truth, since I have only a little experience with commercial closed gie techniques and far less as a machinist, I would prolly have far harsher critiques applied to me than you apply to him. Concerning other things you mentioned, I'm at a loss. You mentioned stock removal to achieve the 3 dimensional aspect. That's not an option. In fact I would do it exactly as he did, by moving material, not removing material. And, definitely I would use similar tooling. That's the reason I recognized his hot chisel and suggested you check out the working end. He did not use that hot chisel to remove material, only to move it. Generally speaking, machinists remove material, blacksmiths move material. The heavier the material, the heavier the tooling and hammer. Heavier stock just gives a more Intense product! Here's a simple example,, a rosette. Basically No stock removal to detail the rosette. A half round file/stock removal was used to refine the profile. I think this was made from 3/16" or 1/4". I've done similar from 3/8" and 1/2". And I'm not "showing off", just "showing" an example,,, So basically we are looking at this video from two different views. Mine coming from a strong background of traditional architectural iron. Thomas, I added this quote with the hope's you would read my definition above. At the very least, you will better understand my meaning of "Traditional Smith". I have no Intent of this definition being worth anything to anyone other than personal to me. I am not, in fact cherry picking anything, nor, with this definition, am I attempting to replicate anything other than that one concept that we all blacksmiths have in common across time.