Mark Aspery

I'm with John B and the offset pins or hinge points. A hinge does not have to be inline with the hinge stile, it can be offset. I don't like outward opening gates as they are fraught with problems (with pedestrians and the like).

I think that this is the "ratio of like-triangles". If the bottom rail needs to lift 15 degrees, then the hinge pivot points need to be offset 15 degrees. Take an 8 foot wide gate that needs to lift 12 inches at the latch stile when open. The hinge pivot points are 4 feet apart to make this easy. Divide the run of the gate by the distance of the pivot pins 8 divided by 4 = 2
Divide the 12 inch lift by 2 to get 6. The hinges need to be 6 inches offset from one another - with the bottom hinge further up the hill.

Picture a bottom hinge that is further up the hill (drive in this case) than the gate. When the gate opens inwards, the hinge stile will be placed at an angle and so the gate will lift at the latch stile. Gravity will help close the gate. The top hinge hs to allow the hinge stile to move - so it needs to be a little lose.

You can do this on a smaller (pedestrian gate) to get a self closing gate. I have a photo somewhere, let me see if I can find it as it will probable show what is taking me an age to describe. Look for another posting...

This is also a nice way of getting a gate to recess into an alcove - such as an entryway to a church or public building. In this case both hinge pivot points are moved away from the hinge stile and into the alcove.

Thanks to all,
Luckily the bike was reasonably OK. Some minor damage to the plastic work and a bent/squashed rear aluminum pannier. The screen was broken at the base but otherwise OK. Clothing cut by EMS staff - which was a shame as some of it was quite nice. I get it back in the next week or two.
I'm doing well and will be back in the swing of things soon -
Cheers, Mark

So, I was surfing on YouTube and then I found this. Click the start button on both at the same time. Videos deleted by moderator. Both videos at minute 0:15 display the copywrite warning stating that the video can only be shown for home use only. Since this is a public forum, it is considered unauthorized. URLs added by mod. We can post the URL. Just add http/www. to the following The original youtube.com/watch?v=4Le4Rd7GB5A The copy youtube.com/watch?v=kGiI1hTgBDo&feature=related

Hello Technicus Joe,

The video in question is of Jim Austin making the axe.

I shot the video for Jim at his forge. I posted the video on my channel (Mark Aspery) and on the Hammer's Blow channel to give Jim advertising. I believe that at the end of the video it states something like...

"If you want a full length dvd of this, contact jim"


There is nothing nefarious about my postings on YouTube - it was seen as a win/win by both Jim and myself - and was by agreement.

My apologies if this has caused offense to anyone.

I see that a third posting on YouTube has been removed by the poster - or the title changed.

Thank you for looking after my interests.

You are doing great work with your own videos - keep it up.

Sorry, here are the pics.
The last pic, while not drifting across the corners shows the placement of the drift in the hole.

When I think about punching a bar, I think about the bar's stability. Flat bar is very stable - the surface doesn't distort much when the punch is driven home. Round bar is slightly less stable and square bar - held on the diamond is the least stable. That corner doesn't have enough mass to support the pressure of the punch.

So I upset the area to be punched a little and knock the corner down a bit to increase the landing area of my punch and therefore increase the available support.

For the diamond hole, my punch and my drift match in terms of width. A 1/2-inch square drift measures about 3/4-inch corner to corner. That's how long my slot punch is.

My drift is upset a little (to allow the hole to contract upon cooling) and is tapered across two corners.

The flat of the taper MUST be parallel to the corner to corner plane of the drift.

No need to open the hole (unless you want to). Support the stock in a bolster and drive the drift on through.

I can tell you all that no-one will be happier than I, when book III comes out.

it took him 2 heats on the video.

I've never made a bottom tool blank in less than three heats - typically, I like to create and dress the taper in one heat. The second heat is used to upset as much of the steel that I can in the heading tool. I work from both sides of the steel to offset the arc of the swing of the sledge. The third heat is used to dress the sides and then re-upset the tool in the heading block.

Why this method of construction?

I don't do this type of work everyday - not even every other day BUT, I do want to work efficiently with my hand hammer - regardless of stock size.
Developing a good hit with your hammer as well as a good eye and an understanding about how steel moves, goes a long way in increasing my productivity in a day and it also improves the look of my pieces.

With fewer blows and fewer heats the piece does not look overly heated or forged. It looks crisp and not tired.

It takes a given amount of energy to make a given item - this energy is divided between heat and effort - the more heat, the less effort required to make the steel move.

Where to forge on the anvil is another factor of efficiency.

A fuller in the hardy, the round edge off the anvil face or the bick (horn) all help divide the material lengthways (fullering) while minimizing the growth width-ways - which is something we don't want in a taper.

Each time I work at the anvil, I'm practicing - I want to get better - the heavy draw down is just another means of practice.

Let the hammer do the work - Kinetic energy = 1/2 x Mass x velocity (squared) which is just an easy way of looking at Force = mass x acceleration.
It's the speed of the hammer that does the work - you need a bit of mass to the hammer to give it momentum (punch), but work on the speed of the swing - not how many blows in a minute.

Cheers, M

Hi Mark, I have just been reviewing a copy of the book Swedish Blacksmithing which I understand is available in the USA, The blacksmith who provided the data for the book is a specialist in making axes and other edge tools and shows and explains making an axe although using mild steel and inserting a cutting edge, the technique is basically the one used with wrought iron.

Ref is Chapter 6 Making Axes page 113 and 114 specifically show the method. I could scan the pictures but there could be copyright problems, this link http://www.nielsen-norenforlag.se/index.php?Swedish-Blacksmithing should give some sense of the book, unfortunately it shows the pierce and drift method not the one you are looking for, plus some other useful information.

I am currently negotiating with the author to purchase a number of these books to sell to our members here in the UK, there are one or two minor errors, but I will issue an amendment sheet with them to clarify these areas.

Thanks John.
I have an article on making a viking axe written by a California smith. I wanted to augment his article with a couple of line drawings showing wrought iron made into an eye. Just simple drawings of the rights and wrongs of putting an eye in wrought.
I know I've got them somewhere in my book stack - but I cannot find them.
I want them for ABANA's hammer's Blow magazine so they have to be copyright free or pre 1920.

Vol 3 page 170 is what I came up with at Breakfast.

We saw Zombies Zombies Zombies at Bad Movie Night and I will be going to Church over lunch for the Ash Wednesday Service.

Thanks Tom.

Don't have pictures but as mentioned above bending around and welding was considered better and stronger than punching and drifting. IIRC "Practical Blacksmithing", Richardson, discusses this in making eyes for eyebolts...(written about 120 years ago)...

Tom,
Can you give me a volume and page number. I have an older copy of the book. Thanks.

Hello to all,
I'm looking for some images or photos of wrought iron used to form an eye, such as for a hammer or a hoe - both the right method(s) of going about it and the wrong.

I would use my hammer - and hammer the stock over a void such as the hardy hole or the like, it's pretty light stuff.
My only input is to mark the bar out with a marker every 1.5 inches or so that way you are not hitting the same spot more than anywhere else in the ring. Perhaps a couple of passes rather than one that may be too tight.

I did the same sort of thing as you describe, but I was frustrated when trying to fuller flat stock. I cannot remember what I was making, but I had to twist the stock to get into the jaws at the end of the spring fuller and I kept catching an edge on the bottom bar of the fuller. I know that I could have slipped the hot bar in further - but for some reason (again the job escapes me) that was precluded. I ended up going this way and it stuck. I didn't cant the end of the upper bar on my earlier models and that makes a lot of sense to me. I'll have to give it a go and report back. Thanks John.

OK I remember what happened. I had made a set of spring fullers with too small a gap between the arms and while prying open the arms i kept catching the end of the bottom arm. I cut about an inch away from the top bar and was able to go to work. The tool was sloppy in my hardy and if I didn't hold down the bottom arm while lifting the top arm, I would lift the whole tool out.

If you leave the top bar longer than the bottom bar (or cant/bend it upwards slightly) it is easier to place your workpiece between the arms, as you can then easily access the top bar to lift it enabling you to slide your workpiece into it prior to fullering it

I did the same sort of thing as you describe, but I was frustrated when trying to fuller flat stock. I cannot remember what I was making, but I had to twist the stock to get into the jaws at the end of the spring fuller and I kept catching an edge on the bottom bar of the fuller. I know that I could have slipped the hot bar in further - but for some reason (again the job escapes me) that was precluded. I ended up going this way and it stuck. I didn't cant the end of the upper bar on my earlier models and that makes a lot of sense to me. I'll have to give it a go and report back. Thanks John.

Great video Mark, as always! I'd like to take some of your classes. I got to participate in several classes when I was at the Ozark School of Blacksmithing, and it really is a great experience to be in a class situation where you get to try things you normally wouldn't in your daily routine.

Thanks for posting the link, Gerald.

I agree with you Brian. I try and take a class each year.
The YouTube video shows a ring with pass throughs at the end. This was a test piece to check the placement of the holes in relation to the circumference of the ring.
The real ring has to be passed through the square bar before it is welded. ;)

I see the granite guys use some white plastic strip but its not rigid enough for railing use...

So what do you do and what materials do you use?

Gerald posted the classes that Touchstone is offering this year.

I thought that I would show my class project on IFI as I had a couple of members take last years class .

We will spend the first couple of days making tools (as usual)
The third day will be a day of test pieces
The last two days are to produce the project and refine any tooling issues

Hope to see you there.

Excellent! I've been waiting for this one. After I took his class, I made a set of Ram's head fire place tools. Sold them fifteen minutes after I set up my table at the craft show. I've gotten both the bear's and Lynx DVD's. Well worth the money. Actually, for what you get, the price is very good. Darryl is so good at what he does.

He'll be teaching animal heads at Touchstone in June.

Gerald,
Is Darryl doing a demo in June at Touchstone?
I know that he talked about it, but I don't see it listed.

Darryl Nelson is putting out a new DVD - Forging the Ram's Head
I contact Darryl using the e-mail address below.

firemtforge@hotmail.com

Ram's Head cover low dpi.pdf

Mike,
I like it! A bit more creative than my efforts. Well done.

I'll have to give it a go.

Has anyone here ever practiced the flat-filing et al. exercises such as those listed in Weyger's Complete Modern Blacksmith? I understand that at one time, a metal worker coming out of a trade or engineering school had to be able to fashion a square hole in the exact middle of a square plate and produce a square bar that could slide through the hole with no light showing (and apparently, this was a test for employment for certain Ford Motor Company employees). A co-worker of mine who got her E.E. degree in India says that this is still a part of the curriculum there. I am sure you professional smiths have better things to do with your time, but has anyone else tried to do this?

Thanks,
Rob

My first apprentice project (not work that had to go out of the door) was to make six chisels - two of each type, Cape, Gouge and Diamond bit (one each for surface work and deep work) and then chisel a 1 inch cube void in a piece of 2 x 2 mild steel (true mild not hot rolled)

This got my forging of chisels in line - beefed up my heat treatment and then gave me a couple of weeks of fun filled evenings - with scratches from a skating chisel meaning a "start again lad".
I am just about getting the use of my thumb back now 30+ years later.

We then had to file a 1 inch cube from a piece of round bar - and you've guessed it, the cube had to fit into the void in the 2 x 2.

I think another question would be:
"Do you still use the skills?"

I know that I use some of them; typically for intersecting scroll work (French style), inlaid shoulders for tenons and cutting square holes in plate.

The cube was checked with an engineers square and machinists block for square - all six sides.

What height does anybody use for their swage block? I am experimenting at different heights before I finally make my stand and would value any input from the experienced members.

I have my stand so that the swage block (whether it is laying on its side or on its edge) is anvil height.
It is mounted somewhere near the anvil (although movable) so that I can use it as a support for long bars.

I use a hole in the side of the swage block for making my top/bottom tools and being at anvil height allows me to sledge and upset steel into the swage block.

I used wood for the stand as it is both quieter and safer (won't nip your fingers as you change orientation of the block on the stand) than steel.

Can anyone out there walk me through the basics of drilling steel on an angle?
Making infill panels for a stairway- it seems no end of obstacles to drilling accurate, consistent holes on about a 34 deg. angle- wish I could just punch em!
My drill press is set for the angle, but getting it to actually drill in the right place without wandering to the side is baffling...
Thanks for any suggestions!
Andy G.

I would drill a square bar on end as deep as you can go and then cut slices of the bar at the angle you desire. The hole will now be at the desired angle in the slice when the slice is held horizontally.

Hope this helps.

I am going to make a couple of things for the wife to go in the bathroom. One thing will be a towel rack. I do not have any experiance in finishes. I read about finishes for damp environments, but they related to outside. This is a small bathroom and everything sweats when taking a shower. She wants a dark brown or black finish. I could just clear coat with something. Ok to the question:

Do I need to worry about rust? What finish will not rub off with towels rubbing over the bar? Will a clear coat wear off?

I know I could just paint them, but I was wondering if I could do something better?

Thanks.

I have used 'Mop & glow' for your kitchen floor from the local supermarket with good results. If it gets scratched just re- apply over the scratch and the 'Mop & Glow will repair itself.

Dave,
Good to see you here.