J W Bennett

George, One of these days we need to get together again and mangle some steel. Clinton, 3/4" round A36. 7" will give you a 15" rein more or less.

Thanks for the info Grant. Actually I believe I contributed to your retirement fund when I bought a KA75 and by the way I love it. But I enjoy making tongs now and then and I hate to buy what I have time to make. Like always I appreciate your input. John

I seem to forge in cycles, every once in awhile I get the notion to forge tongs. I had several styles I have been wanting for awhile for 1/4" - 1/2" round and square. I have also been forging alot of 1'4" flat stock lately. I forged these today. I didn't have any offset tongs at all so I forged two pair to see how I liked them. I am happy with the finished product.

I have made several into nice twisting wrenches from those but never thought of a bending fork. Thanks for the idea. John

Got around to counter weighting my #5, Man that's great..makes it a lot easier to use multiple dies and stock changes. I ran my cable straight up and then over to just behind the press then ran it down to the floor. With the Ram all the way up the weight just sits on the floor and takes the weight off of the trusses so they aren't loaded all the time. If the cable were to snap when in use the weight won't fall very far. Thanks for the idea Grant. I already had the adjustable handle but I believe I'll have to add the rotating grip.

Colleen, The tendrils are not as sharp as they could be. I live alone and Archie(My Puppy Pooch) stays out side and keeps me safe from saber tooth bunnies and wilderbeasts. I would not take offense to your observation, I appreciate and learn from others feedback. If I still had kids around I would not opt for a table with a glass top( The word "stitches" comes to mind:<)...). Thanks everyone for the kind words, John

Dave, The top bar is 1/2" x 2". It is held on by 1/2" blind rivets. The Tenons are 3/4" square. The slit 1 1/2" holes on top are purely ornamental. The bar was grooved first and then slit and drifted so the groove would follow the flow of the metal. George, I don't have any trouble staying busy these days:<) John

Rather long winded thread following the project from start to finish is located here http://www.shopfloortalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27956 If anyone is interested. John

Table is forged from 1 1/2" square Bar. Morning Glory's are forged from 3/4" round stock. Trumpet flowers are forged from 1/2" round. Hummingbirds are forged from 3/4" square stock. Fun project.

More pictures of the table

Started this coffee table Dec30th. Finished it yesterday. The table itself is traditional joinery with no welds. Glass top is to be ordered tomorrow.

I put this up last month. It's close to the hammers and the forge , at a good height to be out of the way but in easy reach and I am going to add another row soon. thought I'd share.

My niece on her wedding day with the bouquet I made for her. 6 roses wrapped in copper ribbon John

Thank you all for your feed back and kind words. I have been busy with commitments and hadn't had time to reply. I am having trouble finding the lights I want so I may have to make them. I am working on a coffee table design but it will probably have to wait for winter. Once again thanks for the kind and encouraging words. John

All Done but the lights

When I get it done I will post more pics. I forged 16 more leaves this evening and 8 more acorns. Bad creek - I cut the heads off of 3/8" lag bolts and welded them on the ends of the branches and then screwed them in the rafters.

. I am working on this pot rack for my kitchen. This was just fitting things together last night. Still has a ways to go

Thomas, The first clusters did not turn out well. I went back to square one and played with them until I got the look I wanted. Once again for all the help. John

First off thanks everyone for your replies and help. I finished the winerack last night here are some pictures. Thanks again, John

Backed up and took a long look at what I had. Used 3 diffirent sized balls and varied their depth in the sand. Turned out more realistic to my eye. Got the leaves cut formed and cleaned and the vines forged. Now down to the assembly. Pics soon. Thanks everyone for your help. John

Thomas, Thanks, that is how I have been trying to do it. I am having trouble getting the 2 sides to mate up and look decent without gaps. Thought there might be something I'm missing.

Looking for some help on welding up grape clusters from ball bearings. I'm just not happy with my results. Does anyone have a blueprint or a how to on a good method. Any help would be appreciated. John

Nudge, There is not enough room between the dies for tall tooling and I cannot do single hits with the Big Blu. Here is a picture of the railing I am making the mate too. The grooves are fullered every 8 inches. Plus now I can also make other dies for the fuller. Stan, You know your welcome to come play anytime. You having your hammer in this year? John

I got the tooling made to fuller the grooves in the 1 1/2" hot rolled stock to make foot and hand rails. Basically it's just a clamp on Gillutine with a stop to set the distance between each fullered groove. Tried it out today and it worked like a champ. The last railing took me and a striker the better part of a day. I fullered 2 feet more than we did today and did the whole thing in 1 1/2 hours. Money and time well spent. John

Thanks for the feedback, The owner of the establishment is very pleased with how it turned out. He has asked for quotes on 2 more projects. John