petere76

Nice job on the finish, good presentation. Forge on and have fun out there. Peter

Treadles are handy for stamping. Controlled, heavy single hits. Peter

You can learn just as well with found tools as with tools you make. The process is what you are looking for in regard learning. The product is just an added bonus. I have hammers that I made and hammers I bought , they all work well. I like them all. Making hammers is heavy forging and you should be trained in the process. Think steel selection, mass estimation so you get the desired weight, design, controlled punching also making the punch the drift and the fullers. The whole subset of tooling that supports the production process is part of the learning curve. If you sat down and decided to do the whole hammer process you would make a slew of tooling. Check out all the tools Brian Produces for his hammer classes. When we estimate commission jobs, we have a shop time allotment for tool and jig production. I took a tooling course when I started out and it proved invaluable. Understanding practical Metallurgy and heat treating is something you will always rely on. Like a carpenter knows his wood the blacksmith knows the steel. Good luck to you in your journey. Peter.

Humphrey, Its ironic how an industry that was capable of making all manner of useful tooling, orchestrating an unrivaled industrial revolution and winning two World Wars of gruesome proportion was in the end sold out by the next generation for its scrap value. I'm reminded of the quote from the movie Wall Street, "greed is good", truly a sad commentary. Peter

Wind dancer, Heat wave today, it was above 0F. I grabbed some pics in the shop of a spring style texture tool. I had to make a bunch of leaves that were to be integrated into grills. The texturing was turning out inconsistent. I made a spring tool for the PH out of the outer spline of a front wheel drive transmission to wheel connection. Like a lot of my tooling I found the raw materials at my favorite repair shop junk pile. Once you cut out the spline, segment it and then flatten it out some so you can accommodate different diameters. You don't need the full circle, just use two comfortable segments. At this point you can also grind and dress the splines so as to create a more natural random form as opposed to a stamped symmetrical pattern. Make sure to taper the ends so you don't create shoulders. The splines are hardened, so mount to a mild steel backing plate or else you will chew up the hammer dies. The leaf blank shown was run through the die set and then hammer finished a little. The square end is so it could be welded into the grill and then dressed to size where it joined a larger branch. The dies made the job a whole lot easier for us. I found that if you go easy on the texturing (don't pound it to death) you will get a more subtle surface finish as opposed to deep (rough) gouging. Photos attached. Peter

In residential codes, they treat the overhead differently than the vertical bulkheads. Assuming that the upper portion of the space is exposed to a greater heat in a fire. As a suggestion, use the (code) recommended thickness of Sheetrock on the walls and overhead. To protect the walls close to the action, sheath the areas with galvanized roofing steel. The sparks and other debris just bounce off. We use this design in our shop and it works great. Peter

From the Mountains of Western Maine, in the United States of America to all my blacksmithing brothers, HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014. All the best to you and yours this coming year, Peter

Tug, I use the belt grinder regularly. Take down wooden handles to a more rectangular profile that I like to use. Dress all manner of tooling. Dress hammer faces that may have caught a few errant dings. Polishing and deburing. I use the platen and table to properly square long pieces. In our shop we have along and short table and the both see a lot of use. Either of the wheels can be positioned to radius or chamfer curved or flat surfaces. The speed varients (step pulleys or VFD) offer a lot of control on how fast or slow things happen. The uses are only limited to your imagination and available belts. I built our 2x72 belt grinder in order to save a few bucks and it's turned out to be one of the most versatile tools in the shop. I used to clamp a portable belt sander to the bench, it worked but....it produced some scary moments with skined knuckles and pieces flying. You had to be very careful and obviously it had limitations. Happy New Year, Peter

Black water, The frame is basically designed as as two layer arrangement. The outer frame is heavy and the backing frame can be lighter gauge. The wire should be flat to start. Lay it out and softly take out any kinks or bends on a flat layout table. Spend time doing this because it is very difficult to do once everything is assembled. Lay out the screen on the completed frame assembly. Tack one corner and stretch the screen taught in the longer of the two dimensions, keep the grid aligned, don't let it go off square. We use a couple sheet metal vice grips and (gently) lever against the frame edge. You don't have to use a lot of force, don't distort the screen. Once that running edge is tacked and secure, if you have any overhang, cut it clean. Start the same process in the other direction, keep it square. Tack as required along the frame while keeping the screen taught. A tack pattern of 2 inches works well. Note, don't bend the frame to stretch the screen, keep the frame flat. When completed the screen to frame assembly has to lie flat cold, otherwise it will bow and look bent and you will not be pleased. Complete the assembly by adding the backing pieces, rivet, screw or plug weld. If you are using screws, drill and fit everything before the screen is in place. On the frame, make sure you have done all the finishing and grinding before you get the screen in the process because it is easy to screw up the screen with grinders and wire wheels. Once assembled I usually sandwich the assembly with cardboard and plywood so the screen doesn't not get dented or otherwise distorted before installation. If it sounds overtly protective, believe me it's easier than having to replace an already assembled screen. Suggested reading, Fireplace Accessories, Schiffer press. Lots of good ideas and a pictorial on one smiths assembly technique. I have used a lot of ideas I saw in this publication. Happy New Year, Peter

Ridgeway, In Maine they drained an old stone quarry and on the lowest level they found a, wooden forge. The forge was portable, with handles designed for a two man carry. The quarries used all sorts of tooling that required dressing and repair. The smiths along with their portable forges were the answer, they worked on site. The sand packed wooden framework as cheap and efficient. I don't recall the details on the fire pot. You are certainly heading in the right direction. Peter

The guidelines for stationary tools, laths, mills and drill presses, is rigidity and alignment. Lacking either can and will get you seriously injured. In the words of a crusty USMC aviation machinest, nothing hurts worse than pain. Common errors I see are folks that don't adequately secure pieces in drill presses. The piece comes lose and starts to swing at whatever the chuck speed is. If you are near this swinging menace and it catches you, it will cause damage. Be safe out there. Peter

The sun is setting in the very Iced over Mountains of a Western Maine, a beautiful albeit cold end to a wonderful Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to all and peace on earth. Peter Jon, Merry Christmas to you and yours too. Peter

Frank,, Nice work,on the spike Lillie's. In re your aviator, I saw a similar style hitch cover for sale at a craft fare booth in Jack London Square. Was that your booth? Merry Christmas from Maine. Peter

Mike, Looks like a combo draw/flat die like you would make for a round anvil hammer like the Spencer tire hammers. Would obviously have to match up to that bolt pattern. Hit it with a file and see if it's hardened. Most of the Spencer hammers have two bolt holes but anyone could make a 4 bolt pattern easy enough. Have you have a good holiday and Merry Christmas. Peter

Crazy I, The media options we have today are a gold mine of visual inspiration and technical how to. I have computer files full of what I call iron ideas, i.e. pics culled from various web sites. I have noticed that some smiths are more artistically focused while others are more mechanically driven. Art form vs. structural function if you will. Both heat and move metal but they appear to be attracted to different callings. As a kid in NYC I was always attracted to the intricacy of the iron work on buildings and in the parks. This was way before I picked up a hammer to forge. The inspiration, in my case and for whatever unknown reason, was planted early on. As is the case with us humans we usually follow the heart. In support of that theory, I am still today drawn to the historic and contemporary architectural elements that I see in cities that I visit. Gates in Europe and grates on doors in San Francisco, door knockers and hardware, it all still intrigues me. Conversely, botanical elements, not so much of a draw. Everyone makes leaves but I have seen some folks makes the whole tree, and it looks real. Myself, I am more focused on function and joinery. England is full of unbelievable examples of flawlessly seamless and functional Iron work. I am always in awe when I see some of the work in the English cities. Inspiration has as much to do with you as it does with what you see or where you see it. All the best on your quest. Merry Christmas, Peter

Mike, Assuming you don't want to buy liability, injury, etc insurance, look at the wording on what is called a "hold harmless agreement". Essentially, this is a waver of responsibility for you the operator of the facility agreed to (signed) by students, vendors or visitors. Those signing agree not to pursue any action against the operator of the facility because of injury to that individual because they were on the premises. Also, you state law will stipulate some of what us deemed the responsibility of the operator. If the building us not inspected and it collapses the owner is still responsible in some but not all states. Do the research for where you live. Peter

Storm, You certainly do fine work. I particularly like the one piece design, subdued non reflective finish and the poly scales. Your pieces reflect function and utility. Peter

Reitenger, Education is always where you find it. Sometimes we get schooled through circumstance, good and bad. Seeing as how you have the choice as to when and where, try a few different venues. The west coast group offers a large number of small get togethers that are well attended and reasonable in cost. There are many skilled smiths in the southern states. Clay Spencer, to name one, is from Alabama and he teaches at the Campbell school. He has an admirable skill level with anything iron, he is ingenious in his approach and he is a joy to know. The New England school of metalwork in Maine is highly regarded, they teach both technical industrial welding and a variety of task specific blacksmithing and blade work classes. Dereck Glazier is a master smith and a fantastic teacher. His classes sell out in short order. In the summer months they bring in guest smiths from all over. Watch their web site for updates. I believe all the regions of the US have great resources for learning and many seasoned smiths willing to share their knowledge. The ironworkers trade was traditionally taught in house through apprenticeship programs. You slaved away for a master smith and he taught you the how-to, introduced you around and then you made your was as a journeyman. Frequently the job came with room and board and minimal pay. The european programs were somewhat more structured and until this day they offer master smith certs. Fact is most of the professional ironworkers and machinists in Europe do all their training in house. It may be 2013 but they still utilize a modernized version of apprenticeship systems. I was in attendance as a company rep at a manufacturer of cranes in Austria, the Lieber Group. They start their apprentices out in High School. At 18 they do 2 years in the Austrian military and then they return to work their way up in the company. Most do come back and they stay for life with one outfit. As you can see this master to trainee approach has merit. Good luck to you. Peter

Kam3, Vinegar, soak the pieces in plain old white vinegar. Leave overnight and the scale will fall off with some soft scrubbing. Rinse with soapy water when finished. Then you can prime, paint or otherwise finish the piece. You can also set up a DC circuit and a salt bath, using a battery charger. Thus works great on heavily rusted pieces and old tooling you want to clean up. Just google electrolisis and pick the process that will work best for your situation. Peter

Humphreymachine, That happens all the time. On thick stock you have to limit contact to one or two heavy blows, then cool and repeat. Also, watch for and limit any twisting. That unit you have is still a good tool, just reforge it into whatever cutting tool you might want. Peter

We rebuilt a few beat up buckets on excavators. The first order of business was replacing the missing and deformed plate structure, then we hard faced the cropped and inserted areas. Hard facing reduces wear on the existing components, its not really the base metal. I guess you could make the whole thing out of chromemolly for durability but it would be extraordinarily expensive. Peter

Gents, Made this for a new home that is being completed in time for Christmas. Colonial style door knocker/ 9 in LOA/ 3 in backplate/@5in bail/ blackened (hot) oil finish. Photos attached show pre assembly and finished. Made several of these in slightly different configurations this year. This last one was the largest of the series. I found the larger the door the wider the back plate. Narrow does not balance well with a wide backdrop. Most of the others were for standard commercial raised panel christian style doors and I used 2.5 in backplates. Merry Christmas. Peter

Owen, Thanks for teaching others the trade and sharing your skills. Judging from the product and the looks of accomplishment your mission was accomplished. Merry Christmas. Peter

Jkmas, W&O wholesales feature all manner of valves, pipe and fittings for industrial applications. You can specify the place of manufacture of most products. Most industrial valves for industry come with specification sheets and testing supportive documentation. Ask for made in the USA if it's not obvious. Other Internet and 800 number options would include McMaster Carr, Granger and Mariners annual. The list goes on so just Google search any of these companies and you will get more info than you need. Peter

Old and Rusty, You are so correct on the observation that much of our country has embraced welfare nation as a viable job option. It's flat out wrong and as either a business or a Social model it is unsustainable. More takers than makers, just can't work. Before I was trained to be an engineer, a wise man told me that "the future belonged to those willing to get their hands dirty". He was right then and it applies now, a lesson our own welfare nation and their supporters should learn, before it's too late. Blacksmiths and other iron trade workers have always made their way under their own power, been self motivated and capatilized on engunity and hard work. The future for those of like mind still appears prominising. All the best to my iron working and self sufficient brethren. Peter