Dan C

I've been practicing making a corkscrew with the horn and the step of the anvil. I'll take some pictures next time to show the progression. There's also this informative post http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/13708-forging-the-corkscrew/

That is an AWESOME video, thanks for posting Frosty! Just goes to show you what the most important tool of all is, YOUR BRAIN!

You're right though, it did misshape the circular end of the wrench and in the end the forge weld didn't stick so I resorted to arc welding. I think in this situation as John suggested, brazing would be the better option for reasons already mentioned and also because the metals are both unknowns. This weekend I'll make another one and then post pics.

Beautiful work! I'd be interested in knowing more about the processes you used in making the knife, if you have time. Did you anneal it first then grind off the teeth, stock removal, forge the profile, how you heat treated it, etc. I ask because I have a large stock of old files & rasps that I just started playing with. I picked one of the smaller files, hot cut & forged the tip, then annealed it. I ground the bevels & edge yesterday and will heat treat it in the next few days. Dan

Ugh, green with envy. It'd look a lot better in my garage! Very nice!!!

It really gets down to the artist's perception. At my skill level the easiest thing is to do would be to use the arc welder, but as Frosty said you want things to be unusual and unique, and that is a selling point. Yes, I like the sale and it funds my other hobbies, but then I could go back to doing tree work and probably make more if that was the only issue, this is way more fun! When someone buys my work there's redemption there. It says someone else likes what I've done and they like it enough to pay a price more than a similar mass produced object. At my level, forge welding holds a mystique, as did arc welding back when I was first learning how. Now I think of it as another tool in my tool box, hopefully someday I'll feel the same about forge welding. Brazing the two pieces would be unique and I would want traces seen of the brass from the front. As I have some brass rod left from another project I'm going to put it to good use. btw, Beautiful scroll work up above, amazing that they were brazed. Thanks for sharing! Dan

I think you're right about brazing as a better option in this situation. Sometimes, at least for me, it's easy to forget all the tools that are at your disposal. Here's a link to the initial thread. http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/33332-giveaway-items/

Frosty well stated the reasons I'd rather use forge welding vs. arc. Ideally for this I'd be using a MIG or TIG, if I had one. The arc welder works well as long as you either grind or hide the weld. I am not able to forge weld consistently yet, but that doesn't keep me from trying. I won't get better at it by avoiding it. Even though this thread is titled giveaway items, ultimately for me is what I can sell. Do people really need what I'm selling? Maybe if it's a gardening tool that will likely never break and can be passed on to their kids, but the bottle openers & card holders are a novelty that sell because of the mystique associated with blacksmithing. I get many of my sells by telling people of the process of forging the object so they know it's unique and was not mass produced. If I can add to the mystique of the object by showing how it was forge welded vs. electric, to me that's a selling point. Dan

There's a 145lb Trenton listed on CL in Marble Falls for $400. Looks pretty good from the pics.

Thanks Knots, that picture is exactly what I needed! FYI, I based my quench tank on what you did with the propane tank. How many gallons does that one hold? http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/16859-oil-quenching-container/#entry210050

Here's the quench tank I made this weekend from a steel 70 dive tank and some scrap metal I had lying around. The inside thickness of the tank was at least 3/16", which was thick enough to weld on with a 220 arc welder. I didn't have any issues burning thru or the welds not sticking. As all dive tanks are galvanized I did the welding outside with a cross wind and a large fan on high to ensure any fumes blew away from me. This should hold at least 3 gallons, maybe a little more, I only had 2 gallons of used motor oil on hand which filled it slightly less than 2/3rd's. I still need to fabricate a dipper or steel net to rest on the bottom to lift things out with. Dan

Welcome to the group! You're about an hour up the road from me, I live in Round Rock. I've been smithing for about 8 months now. I've burned up a few knives, which were then turned into bottle openers. I make mostly openers, gardening tools and knives when asked to do so. Sounds like you've made an excellent start and well on your way! Dan

I saw a 2x72 belt grinder a guy had built which used mostly roller skate wheels. I need to get that guy to send me some pics as I need to make one of those.

True, it was more a test to see if the ice quench was too hard and if tempering was needed. Not enough carbon in it to make it brittle hard.

submitting the pictures

I've sold many of my openers at work, though one friend hasn't bought one as he has one of these on his key chain. The part that opens twist offs is tapered btw in order to open different sized caps. I also sell my spike openers to painters as one style works also well for opening and hammering shut paint cans. Seems the site or my network is having trouble uploading pictures right now. I try sending them later.

The 1st heat I clamp the open end of the wrench in the vise at an angle in order to rest a RR spike or chunk of steel under it. The wrenches in the picture above would all be upside down at this point. One or two taps with a small hammer moves what will be the upper jaw down in this position for clearance on the bottle cap. Then I hammer what is to be the lower jaw down & in until I get the right distance to the upper jaw. I keep an unopened beer close by when making these and check that the jaws will grab the cap before removing it from the vise. There's usually enough heat left to do any straightening if necessary. Then I take a 2nd heat to do the twist, clean off the scale and dunk it in water. I use a pneumatic wire wheel to clean them a little, but leave the patina look and then clear coat. I can do about 6-8 of these in an hour. Most pawn shops have tons of cheap wrenches they are just trying to get rid of. I can usually pick them up for 25-50 cents each. Yes the card holder is a single bend bolt. This one was arc welded from the back, I need to work on forge welding.

Definitely target your audience. Maybe something like this for the secretary or search the forum. S hooks are always nice. Very useful & easy to make. http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/28956-close-up-pendent/ Here's my proof from today that what Frosty has said works! At Home Depot I was looking to see if they carried wooden hammer handles, I've been asked to forge a spike into a small axe. Anyway they didn't so I passed thru the rental dept. and noticed the bucket w/ all the jack hammer bits wasn't there. Previously they sold them for $5 each. I asked what happened to it since I recently made the ones I had into hardy tools and the guy said it was outside as they'd cleaned up. When I said what I use them for the blacksmith "mystique" struck a cord and he gave me two of them. When I gave him one of my wrench bottle openers as a thank you (cost me 50 cents & 5 minutes maybe to make) he said to take what I wanted and that they'd have more in a few weeks and to check back. Not to be too greedy, but here was what I could reasonably carry. More hardy tools soon! Then I stopped at a pawn shop, found a bunch of old chisels, a pry bar & punches that I'll reforge. When I go to check out I try to determine which counter person is going to give me the better deal. A young teenager or young woman typically does give me a lower price, but never be afraid to leave your collection at the counter and walk. Dan

How about a horseshoe forged into a heart for the secretary which could be used as a picture frame? These wrench bottle openers are fast and easy to make, I gave one to the rental guy at Home Depot and he let me have all these jack hammer bits for free. Said to come back in a couple of weeks when they have even more. Usually I've had to pay $5, which is a great deal as is. Here's also a biz card holder made from a wrench & bolt. I try to target the business or shop that I'm going to. Something made out of a wrench or tool goes off better at an auto parts or home improvement store.

I've started keeping something small like an opener that I forged in my pocket with my wallet. It forces me when I pay for something to pull it out first when paying for something. Most of the time it goes unnoticed, but there's been many occasion where it's either gotten a sale or at least some interest. The majority of the time I go for a soft sale, putting it out there and then giving information if asked for. The exception is when I'm at a store and they try to sell me something additional to what I'm purchasing. I figure if they can try to push something on me I can return the favor.

charcoal

As Thomas & others suggested, check out an HVAC company and get a small furnace blower or squirrel cage. They put out an insane amount of air and based on the amount of resistance will increase the speed in which it blows. Full speed it burns intense and can go thru coal quickly & burn up metal. Here's my current setup, about as simple as it gets, no airgate or dimmer switch required. These pictures don't show it, but I now have a foot switch (former life it was a Christmas tree light switch) so I can leave it at the same speed and turn it off & on by stepping on it. One of the nicest things about this is how quiet it is. I like having my kids or friends join me in the shop and being able to have a conversation. When I was using an air compressor that wasn't the case. Dan

When I make RR knives or letter openers out of HC spikes, I quench in ice water and do not do any tempering afterwards. I've tested them by hammering the blade into wood and then twisting it side to side to remove. Haven't had a blade or edge break yet. I don't know how that would work for rebar, but you might try it on a test piece.

Find out if there's a local railyard nearby. I live near one, but searched online and found someone in charge to email. When I asked explained what I was doing and asked if they had a piece of RR track I could buy, they gave me a section for free, as well as a ton of spikes. Later I made them a couple of bottle openers and took a cold six pack of beer to say thanks. And yes, they gave me more spikes that time as well. FYI, I keep the email as a record, just in case the question ever comes up. The spikes make cool novelty items, but also see if you can get some of the spring clips as supposedly these are 1095. Dan

Those are some great samples, thanks for putting them out there!