myloh67

Cheers Rokshasa, inspiring signature you have there!

Cheers for the comments folks, keep her lit! as they say round here.

Forged bronze maquette of full scaled work on oak, 2.4meters high in total. Proposed commission fingers crossed. Parent material 2" bronze round solid bar. Ball is a different kettle of fish;)

Some work from a while back, wanted to share:)

I have heard from folk of smiths using their power hammer to shuck the shell off a hard boiled egg at lunchtimes..if you wear a watch beware of the smith who eats boiled eggs for lunch:D

Very nice to see that result from smith and striker, i am sure the full scale piece will look very tasty indeed provided you guys in Roscommon get some proper breakfasts before ye get going. I cant make it to Cootehill this time round but look forward to meeting up with your self and Sebastian in the near future. M

Has a maritime nautical seaweed effect. Nice. Texturing on wider section from powerhammer is quite an integral part of the piece which I think works well. Whats the size of the full scale work? M

Very tidy Grant, thanks for that. With square stock I would assume the use of a mandrel would be appropriate to avoid a twist ? Michael.

Peter Wright produced his patented anvils in Dudley England. The numbers on it depict its weight. reading from left to right 0=0cwts, 3=3x1/4 cwts, 6=6lbs. total 90lbs. These were made between 1830-1920 me thinks. I would agree with Frosty on the other tool.

I use this time to play, experiment and work on ideas that ive previously logged in the sketch book.

The bronze at the centre is my interpretation of a bird. The song of a bird in winter isnt a joyous one. Life and its cycles proves challanging to everthing and theres always hope. :)

No i dont have any photo of the verdegris of sometimes purple tones. I would think that any colour would eventually weaken as the zinc oxidises, hence it being temporary in nature, you could capture that with a laquer mind. Just to illustrate the tones i mentioned.

Try next time with larger stock say inch round and the same length of heat, its an easier operation due to the mass involved and the bar will not bend about on you so much. Apply the heat at one end of the bar whilst holding the bar with tongs and place in the hearth vertically. You will figure the process more relaxedley (not sure if thats a word) and in turn revert back to the more tricky sized sections.

I use T-wash which is an etch primer. I like it as a finish because you get away from a solid colour and introduce tone, more natural for sure. Large surfaces take on stone or lead qualities. The verdegris you refer to, i have seen and im quite sure that it is a quirk of a specific brand of T-wash. Which one i dont know. Make sure to rinse off with waterto nuetralise. :)

In public view exhibition, Botanic Gardens Dublin Ireland. Forged iron and bronze on bog oak

Where you work looks really good, I prefer your design of candle sconce to the businesses candle holder. Would Finish (scuse the pun) it nicely to make some hand made nails to suit. Been to Finland once in Feb way back, reindeer pizza, nuutairvi, spelled incorrectly of course. Nice people Fins, mad and nice I liked it there. Anyway nails decorative nails, Brass finish ..everyone to there own. I prefer boiled linseed oil, applied at black heat, so the oil lights up a little.:)

Thank you folks for your input. Forging in itself is quite a physical excercise, i have attended some tai chi classes myself in the past and realised the benefits. Might give that another go, start off with the swage block as a base and gradually progress to the top of the leg vice., Yoga ..yes another possibility, imagine being supple ..my god! On the whole sports have very positive effects on us, through team work, fitness, setting personal challanges and achieving them, good for the head good for the body. The majority of smiths i know are not sporting folk, at the end of the day its just a generalization of mine to think "smiths and sport ...nah.." Cheers M

Naked Anvil Quoted:.. "XYZ was doing these for $2.00 each for the last twenty years, how come you want $10.00"? "Why don't you have them do it"? "They're out of business". "Well I intend to stay in business, $10.00"! This perception is the key to taking a stand for yourself and your business. Educating the customer and being truthful with yourself isnt easy, remain focused and think of the future as opposed the short term. Dont forget about the quantity of mass produced low quality work available to the masses. What we are about emanates from something personal, and that comes at YOUR price!

Just out of curiosity, when it comes to sport, me myself personally doesnt have much time for this kind of thing. Is this the general consensis of the smith....if so why might that be ? Thoughts!

Excellent times! When it comes to little chiselers like yours and mine taking an interest.. well... where ends the possibilities?

Tis definately fine views from outside an inside the workshop there. Must post some of the visual delights from my forge door here. Will take some photos in the morning. Michael

Nice looking job there, im in the process of installing my tools in a new space also. I assume that at this point no matter how much consideration you put into the placement of tools, only time will tell and by working in the space were certain items should be positioned. Leg vices are very usefull and even moreso if you can work all the way around them. You were talking about a mobile leg vice. I have it in mind to attach the leg vice frames (made from 4" box and welded onto 1/2" plate) to the floor via 4 bolts. I will use 4 number 5/8 bolts and drill 4 number 1 1/4" holes into concrete. I will then drill through 1" round and hollow out to accomodate 5/8 thread and resin them into the floor flush to coinside with the holes on the plate of the leg vice stand. The end result allows you to move your vice from its position without any threaded bar coming out of the floor (tripping hazard). If you countersink the holes in the base plate you can use countersink allen key bolts which then keep the elements that you have resined into the ground free from dirt when you remove your vice. Hope this is of use Michael.:)

Great stuff loks really good!! I also like your apron length when at the hammer covers all exposed flesh. Well done with the hammer. Michael

Glenn ...explain the visual grin please..are you implying that it should be chiseled.. any suggestions would be gratefully recieved.. by the way humour is fine also..give me the goods Glenn ..gimme the goods i can sense your harbouring Michael

I would like to have a detailed stamp made to hot punch as a identification mark on the work. A couple, various sizes from stock 1/2" square and upward. I thought spark erosion would be an appropriate process of manufacture ?.. Any suggestions and what material would suit. Cheers and thanks Michael