Chinobi

Ah nuts, conference signup is going to be pricy? >.<

I'll second Adams Forge, bout a 100 mike trip for you but worth the effort, 60 miles for me, been making the trip at least monthly for the last year. Look forward to running into you somewhere :)

And welcome aboard as well!

It would be a separate service.  use google to find the approximate location, then the county assessors office website to find the overall area and determine what book to look in and subsequently what page and parcel number.  from there I think it would be a search of public records.

have you skimmed the area with google earth/maps satellite view?  the aerial photography has a lot of detail but its too much area to pan through randomly but if you have a guess at a starting point you would probably be able to identify a large (presumably?) structure and compare notes. once you have identified the general area you should be able to pull the parcel maps and the ownership records.  definitely second doublechecking ownership for legal purposes!

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looks like stone to me, pretty difficult to say for sure though.

this guy, Denis Frechette of The Ironwork Shop:

I'll second Fergusson, he's got a pretty good section on the bonding process in there. I don't recall if Midgett discussed it in greater detail or not (so probably not) but I will try to remember to check when I get home.

Now I gotta go look up Tylecote =\

Take a picture of it from straight on and print it out reduced. Or trace it onto paper and reduce with a photocopier.

There are some really detailed YouTube videos on designing scrolls by hand on paper but the creators name escapes me. Look up 'scroll jig' on here via google: "scroll jig site:IForgeIron.com" without the quotes.

does the museum happen to have some kind of gift shop wherein I could purchase a (real) fisher anvil to use? :ph34r:

Thanks Vaughn, I figured that could be an issue with long rivet shanks.

SteveG, you ARE going to post pics of the whole finished product, right? :-D

Thanks John, that's what I figured would be the best way to go about it.  gotta sit down and really digest the entirety of that thread after work, looks like some really great info there :)

general question regarding the riveted approach, why open up the scroll or otherwise modify it to make enough space for a hammer swing in order to work it from the scroll side?  why not start with a pre-headed rivet, put it through the hole from the scroll side (provided of course there is enough clearance to get the shank through, maybe tweak the scroll a tad to make that happen) and hammer form the opposite rivet head on the back of the mounting plate while bracing the piece with the corner of the heel, or tip of the horn, or a bickern with a divot for the rivet head to sit in?  seems like that would be simpler than opening and closing an already finished scroll.

Pretty slick :) nice twist and good graceful curves on it.

If I may offer comments I would start the twist a little farther away from where the hook will be hammered on to drive the spike into the beam. Right now the twist will get damaged and flattened by hammering the spike in. You might have difficulty hammering it in because the spike ends in a largish curve, which makes directing hammer blows into the spike harder.

I'm also curious if the environment they will live in is windy or not because the low point where the lantern rests seems very gentle and a stiff wind might be sufficient to push the lantern out of it.

I think the recipient will be very impressed and grateful that you thought of them and gave them a hand made gift. Maybe they will give you some good fruits and veggies in trade :) draw up a sketch for a sign and bracket for their stand as well, maybe you can get a commission out of it too ;)

Boy I'm slow posting from my phone XD

you could use the heart shape as the tail end of just about any hand tool instead of a ball end or a little scroll or whatnot.  if its a closed heart it would double as a hanging loop, and if designed correctly could even serve as a bottle opener  :ph34r:

iv seen some really fantastic roses from steel and copper from members here and elsewhere, those by themselves, or in a metal vase of your own construction, or wrapped around the edge of a picture frame, accent on an incense holder (uses are endless) have an element of romance without the 'direct approach' of the heart shape.  we used to make tissue paper flowers for a church event and hit them with a spray of perfume (or rosewater, or rose scent, i cant remember), you could do something similar by hiding a little piece of felt that is impregnated with a scented oil. (small piece, subtle oil, you dont want a floral grenade)

you can make some really neat candle holders with pierced copper or twisted/patterned wires around a glass cup.  let the candle light silhouette the decoration as a dark element, or let the decoration mask most of it and allow the light through the open spaces as a light element.  bonus points for colored glass incorporation, chunks of green and red can be wire wrapped and made into a mosaic rose. (jeez why didnt i think of this sooner! i might try this myself....)

if you have the time and facilities you could try a project that would foster romance rather than represent it, like a set of andirons (if you have a fireplace) or an outdoor fire pit (if you have a suitable outdoor area) to encourage an evening by the fire, or fire tools if you already have a good working fireplace.

does your significant other have any hobbies that require any special tooling?  a set of nice of handmade [whatevers] would encourage them to think of you whenever said tools are used.

dont limit yourself to tools, appliances and large items either, theres a whole other realm of gift ideas in jewelry as well.

food for thought, hopefully you find something tasty and spice it up to your needs :)

the sand will migrate between the stones if you only layer stone and then finish filling with sand(or any other fine particle).  Vaughn is correct, put down some stones, fill with sand, vibrate/rod it to get the sand into the voids beneath and between the stones, next course of stone, sand, blah blah.

you should be just fine with that torch.  sand the ends of the wires very well beforehand and try to limit how much you touch them with your hands afterwards (wash your hands with non moisturizing unscented soap, or wear latex gloves if you really need to get up into it), clean metal is a must for solder to flow with the least amount of trouble, and flux is your friend.  look up basket twists and cable Damascus for more tips and tricks for cleaning and managing twisted strand type projects if you are so inclined.  make sure you end up with one of the copper wires as the core strand too, no sense putting silver where it wont be seen :P

if you use iron binding wire to keep the ends together while you solder them make VERY sure you get it all off and file out any bits that may have gotten soldered in accidently.  when you pickle sterling and iron is introduced into the mix it will electroplate a fine layer of copper onto all the exposed silver, basically turning them a light pink color that then has to be sanded or buffed off.  not so bad on a flat or simple project, but a colossal pain on twisted wire!

good luck :)

If there is still enough meat left on the struck ends after cutting and grinding off the mushrooming you might be able to get some more life out of it if you use a brass hammer when striking them, softer hammer faces will take the deformation rather than the tool.

Alloy specific unfortunately, I'll let the HT veterans get in on that part, I just wanted to flesh out the background information beforehand.

yes, you need to heat treat it, if by 'flatten' you mean hot forged to a chisel profile then you have completely removed any work hardening that may have been present.  if you also annealed (by the correct usage of the term) the tool then you have just made it the softest it can be, which is not going to work very well as a hot cut.  you will need to harden it again, I don't think normalizing will do anything beneficial at this point.  you will not likely notice any discernible work hardening on a hot cut.

if your 'flatten' process did not involve hot forging prior to grinding then we probably just figured out why they are cracking :)

pics will help, alloy (if known or assumed) will also help.  by 'striking point' do you mean the face that you put up against the work piece(typically the business end), or the face that you are striking with your other hammer (struck end)?  what is the face geometry of the hammer (flat, curved, narrow, angled, butcher)? are you striking it with a softened or brass/lead hammer or a tool steel hammer?  should you choose to grind the crack out you need to be VERY certain that you have gotten it all out or it will continue to propagate and you will still have a stick grenade.  you say this is a problem with set hammerS, is this happening on more than one tool?  if so, what is the source of the tooling, and if hand forged what information on the hardening and tempering processes used do you have?  aged doesn't typically phase metal tools unless it has been exposed to the elements or abused in a past life (wooden handles, on the other hand, should be replaced if they are old and seem like they are rotted out).

sorry to respond with only more questions, but without more information those will be the only responses you will get, condensed into one convenient post to save space :)

sifted through google images for a bit to find a picture of them.  There is a different, more drop-forged looking, variety at Adams Forge that I neglected to take a picture of in the past :(

is this what you are referring to Admanfrd?

happy to help :) the collar is indeed only a restraint and will not resist rotation in any way, if the piece only has two contact points you will need to go with the weld, or maybe drill a blind hole in both sides and install a close fitting shear pin prior to attaching the collar to provide restraint.  either way you have the right idea, now post a picture of the whole ensemble so we can see what you are up to!

U shaped decorative collar that rivets on either side of the scroll? I don't have ready access to welding hear so I tend to lean towards non welded solutions :)

There are shears with hardie shanks on the lower lever. Without pics it's impossible to day exactly what's what, but the class of tool is not imaginary :)

As to their usage; they are usually metal shears for bigger or tougher stock. The anvil provides a heavy solid support for you to lean into when cutting. If the action is really tight they might just need some TLC

were it my project (either one) I would be concerned about one of those wire ends getting bumped loose and then starting to snag on clothing or hair if they were not somehow merged or controlled.  you could get a copper pipe end cap and install them on the ends, or make one from some copper (or brass/silver/nickel) sheet and solder it to the end.

I would advise against heating the collection to red or showing color and forging, that's usually a recipe for cracked sterling silver.

you can always abuse the lower melting point of the brass to suit your ends.  leave the brass wires a little longer than the rest and fold them back onto the outside of the main coil, maybe wrap them around the end to promote better coverage.  flux it up pretty heavily and heat the end as locally as you can with the intent to melt the brass into the twisted coil without heating so far up as to melt out the brass wires away from the immediate end.  once that has cooled to black you could try forging it down, or just cool, pickle, rinse well and file the ends to whatever shape and polish pleases you.

humor me, how wide is your total 7 wire twist?  I keep thinking its bigger than it is but I just drew it out on the computer and its only about 1/4" diameter (using 12 gauge = 0.08" dia), does that about match what you have?

I gotta ask what you are attempting to utilize the melting for.  iv done this with less wires, I think it was 1 copper 1 brass(both 12 gauge) and a much thinner pair of pre-twisted nickel in the groove between them.  I melted the ends together to keep it from unraveling and give it a uniform-ish mass at the ends that could be polished smooth.  im not sure your mapp torch will be able to fuse the ends of that much mass, mine has had trouble getting 4x12 gauge copper's to fuse, so 7 might be ambitious.  if you have some extra wire substitute your silver for copper and do a test piece with 2 brass/5 copper and see if you can get that to work, doesn't need to be full length either, 4 or 5 inches should probably be long enough to behave similarly to the real deal.

conversely, you could silver solder the ends together, rather than attempting to fuse them (if indeed that's what you intend).  or go back over it with, say, 18-20 gauge wire of whatever metal you prefer and to a wire wrapped end.

provide a little more detail as to the process you are shooting for and we will be able to provide much better suggestions with less speculation :)

looks like an interesting (if heavy!) project.  look up Mokume Gane and use that to make the matching rings and earrings, gift ideas for the next 2 or 3 years!  you can make mokume with wire as well if you are so inclined, loooot of options with mixed metals :)

Good luck!