01tundra

Yep, I cheated :D

Made a new sign bracket for our booth today -

Amazing stuff!
01Tundra: Looks like you're using recycled steel there. Nice. I like the delicate wrap on the handle end.
Petere 76: Great. The basketweave handle and integrated loop is very effective.
Foundryman: First one I've seen with a rivetted hook - nice idea for those of us whose welding skill is suspect. Nice how you have combined the steel with brass and wood. The reverse twists look good too.
Eric: A very classy looking fire set. Many hours of forge work there. The loop and cut worked well for you.
Terrific to see these photos. Thanks for sharing your creative ideas.

 

I used new steel, that was my first attempt at texturing metal with a cheap hammer that I welded random beads onto.

Here's the only one I've ever made, not nearly as nice as the others here.

This one was made while I was attending the local greenhorn class  -

Any advice on how to make a dishing stump? I was thinking about getting one of those chainsaw blades for an angle grinder and using that to make a hollow. If anyone has made one, an average timetable would be awesome as well

I start by drawing out the size circle I want on the top of the stump with a sharpie marker, then use a drill bit and follow the pattern on the inside of my marks (maybe 1/4" inside) and very shallow.  Then I drill another ring inside that slightly deeper and so on.  I put a wrap of electrical tape on my bit at my maximum desired depth for the center of the bowl to use as a rudementry depth gauge.

I then use a wood chisel and hammer to remove material between all the drilled holes.  I keep working a little at a time.  Once I get the bowl shaped like I want, I use a ball peen hammer and lightly hammer the wood smooth inside the bowl, then I burn the bowl with a torch and hammer more.  I repeat until I have a smooth bowl shape.  For my small bowls (usually around 3-1/2" dia) it takes me about an hour or so to make.

Been using this same technique on several stumps and it works well.  I will forge a stap for my next stump to put around the top to hopefully reduce checking.

I also now have a cast bowl that I use on some projects -

Not sure how far you're willing to drive, but there is a guy that always has several anvils for sell on Craigslist out of Ashville, NC.  May be worth the road trip, make a weekend of it and check out the scenery, it's a nice area to visit.

The spring on my swage always likes to break about midway through texturing my last piece........

You can come off as somewhat grouchy and a slight smart alec at times, but since I have a similar demeanor (and thick skin) I can see that it's just your way of making people think about their questions and helping them answer their own questions. 

Even though you've given me grief at times, you've also been very helpful and I respect that greatly. 

Carry on sir B)

Now it's time to start filling it up with stuff.

 

What are you going to do for a stock rack?  Are you going to sink your anvil stump or just set it on top of the pavers?

 

Very jealous!

We're still working all those details out.  At first it's going to serve as the workshop for my wife's part of our work.

I can't afford the downtime required to move the entire smithy at the moment, so that's going to come a little later.  Once it does get moved, a few pavers are getting pulled in various spots and concrete footers installed for equipment mounting.  Still hoping to be able to afford a power hammer someday.......but the shop construction kind of depleted the funds for that for a while.

The wood stove isn't going to be installed afterall, due to insurance reasons and space requirements.

Sorry if I missed it, what is your flooring made of? Beautiful shop, it's a very well executed plan.

They are 18"x24" Allen Cassay Ashland pavers from Lowe's. 

Got our sign hung and the floor finished this weekend, it's getting close to being finished.

Finially got it dried in yesterday, next step is to install the pavers for the floor -

Well.....unfortunately I ended up cheating in every possible way to build the strap hinges (plasma cutter, mig welder, drill press), but they are built and they work.  So it's mostly a mental defeat.

I had every intention to forge these in their entirety, but I didn't have it in me to do this many hinges of this size by hand.  Forging the barrels was enough of a challenge for me, but they ended up fitting the pins very clean & tight.  The jig I built for the hardy worked well.  This is the first time I've ever used a 4 lb sledge hammer on the anvil, sure glad I had it handy :D

These started as hot rolled bar stock at 3" x 1/4" x 60" each.  I folded the centerline of the barrel at 13" from the end, which yielded approximately a 48" long strap hinge.  I welded the flap back to the hinge and then heated and hammered the weld.  I also tacked the edges close the the barrel and at the midway point on each side to ensure they wouldn't separate under weight.   So they're a fake, but a strong fake at least.  I feel slightly better than ordering a set of hinges from Lowe's, so I suppose that's a win of sorts......

The doors swing smoothly and there was no real detectable sag once hung (which surprised me).  I'm now working on handles, latch, and cane pin assemblies.

Got the pintles finished up today. 

Going to start making the straps tomorrow.

A-36 steel has a yield strength of around 36,000 psi and a tensile strength of around 60,000 psi.  How heavy are those doors?  1.25" diameter hinge pins are WAY overkill.  Blacksmiths from before the dawn of time have made pintles around 3/8" to 5/8" in diameter, or up to 3/4" or 1" (or a little more) in wrought iron for castle gates made of HEAVY timbers.   It's ok if you really want to learn how to work big stock, have at it, I'm just suggesting that you can save yourself a ton of effort.  What is the crushing strength of the timber you will be screwing the pintle into?

Maybe 250# each - 8' tall x 6' wide each.

I'm sure it's overkill, suppose I wanted to make a statement with them :D

The pintle pins will be welded to 5"x5"x1/4" plates that are sandwiched & through-bolted to the 6x6 posts with four 3/8" bolts per plate.

I got the doors started, waiting on my metal to arrive so I can forge the strap hinges.

These doors are pretty heavy so I'm going to go a little overkill and step up to three 48" long x 3" wide x 1/4" thick strap hinges per door with 1-1/4" diameter hinge pins. 

Good observation Vaughn.  I've been meaning to clean that mess up for a while and now it's more important than ever.  On the left side is actually the timbers I was planning on using for the shop, but thankfully Frosty talked me out of it and convinced me to use pressure-treated wood for the posts.  Those are just stacked there until I can start building the wood shed with them.

I'm going to build a wood shed up the hill as soon as I complete this project and do some major clean up around the shop.  And you're absolutely correct, my firewood stays wet there as it is and it will be even worse now that the shop is up.

Got the windows installed, Cedar shaker shingles put up on each end, and finished up all the trim work. Next step is to build the doors and forge the strap hinges -

Got a little more siding installed today, hopefully I can get the windows put in tomorrow.

Thanks guys.

The roof trusses are about 9-1/2' clear at the posts and right at 11-1/2' clear in the center.  The peak of the roof is a little over 15' high.

Got started on the siding today, it's starting to look like something now :).

Got the wall purlins, windows frames, and roof finished on the shop yesterday. Next step is Cedar tongue & groove for the porch ceiling and the Poplar board & batten siding.....it's slowly getting there :D !

Got the final truss set yesterday for the front porch.

Can't really see it in this picture, but since the porch truss will be the least supported I welded up the center bolt holes in the top plate (that were in the joint) and added two back, one on each framing member at the top.

Got 4 of the five trusses set this weekend.

Next step is to set the cedar front porch posts and then the final truss.

There were two 225+ lb guys climbing all over the trusses and it didn't even phase them, they are extremely rigid.  And that was with only one side of purlins installed and the through bolts also haven't been installed yet. 

I've done hand forged Christmas ornaments for years. Down here making chilis and painting them bright red or green is a good project. For small ones I forge down the tubular legs from a junked bag chair.

My parents are pretty well off so handmade is a great way to give them something that they don't already have 5 of.

I was wondering why you were so quite last time I was up there...Dave we're friend, you can tell me if I'm getting on your nerves :D .