jake pogrebinsky

Dave,you did great,boss,right on!You're thinking,experimenting,wiorking at it,one simply cannot do better than that! I've a couple of suggestions for you to try-they're by NO means an improvement on what you do.Not at ALL. Just something that you may try,if you've an hour or two to spare. So,again,something not Instead of what you do,but rather As Well as the way that you're learning to do it! Slit the opening first(lengh of slit=1/2 of perimeter of slitter which is = perimeter of tenon).Make and use what here they call Brian B.'s type slitter for that. Straighten the slit stock back to even size,and upset the slitted area in the vise(wouldn't believe how easy this actually is(as well as all else described here) ) The upset slit will become a small,round hole(that's when to stop the upsetting). Forge a sq.tapered drift,small enough on the end to go into that small,round,upset slit. Drift it sq.,in whatever orientation(diagonal or prallel to the axis of stock),to the size that your tenon is.You'll like it! Oh,yeah,forgot the best part!After drifting square,your sq.hole will be trapezoidal from taper of drift.Flatten it nice and level. Place over your hardy hole small side of pyramidal secton UP. Now,you got your header for your tenon shoulders! By heating your roughly pre-formed tenon(forge over your(nicely radiused anvil edge)And,if it's your lucky day,and you get a nice local heat on tenon plus a little lengh of stock,you'll even get a sexy upset at base of tenoned stock I just noticed that above,John has posted the Right way.This here,you can term the Daft,but Potentially Glorious!(It's of the Character Building variety) :)

Dave,that is an improvement.You know,it's actually quite easy-just find what type of tasks one(the customer,presumably) needs the poker for. I find it useful to drag the wood towards me.That requires a sharp point at a 90 deg to the axis(+a tiny bit,towards you). Also,it's nice to rifle through the old ashes for a possible live amber.That's very like raking,and for that what you've forged is handy. Sometimes,flipping the log over another is useful,ditto,what you have will work for that. There may be other views on that,and THAT's what should,in a perfect world,determine the poker shape(and that of the handle,too).

P.S. A word about the tenon/mortice:A tenon,(like a rivet which it is in principle(in this case)),is a parallelogram. A mortice,through which it'll be rivetted,is NOT.It,like many forged orifices,is a trapezoid,with it's slope off of vertical about 1:7 That is,roughly,what the bevel of most punches,drifts,and corresponding to them headers,is.The reason for it is twofold: 1.The release.Parallel-sided drift would be very difficult to dislodge.Parallel-sided bolster/header would also be hard to get the part headed to get out of. 2.In a rivetted joint(some of these),the strengh doesn't come from the head,but from the upset that fills the trapezoidal mortice.It's a cone with a wide end outward,the flare of which the male part should upset into. It doesn't have to be that way,but it's handy,since many tools need to be tapered anyhoo,as for the reason #1.But if employed so,it's of course important to keep track of which end is which. Also,on a different issue:The precision that i work to,usually,is about +/- 1/8".It's kind of sad,as in my past life as a framer i've worked to a 1/16" on a much larger object such as the whole house...However,that seems what i'm good for,while i can't come any closer,at least.It works OK. But that is what i measure,cut,or draw/upset to,in all cases.

Ok,many(all?)of my struggles/failures in this job are attributable to a lack of foresight,and subsequent planning. The reasons for it are many and sundry,and mostly fall outside of the scope of our inquiry But here are a few things that illustrate how it can,and SHOULD be done: The plan is on the rusty flat plate,in soapstone.It is 1:1,a complete outline of what i need. I've my stock in approx.the right basic shape,and my plan is made.I start at one end,forging an upset for a cleft-weld that i plan on making(now we know that i've failed at actually accomplishing it,however,it WAS planned logically.The drawn-out sharp tips at the top of the scarf were specifically to help me start that weld-to reach into the fire,without disturbing the 3 parts or the heat surrounding them,and to pinch-weld those sharp points to the main,central part. Like we all know,the weld has failed.I knew it right away by how it felt pinching those.They actually held together a couple of different times enough for me to've lifted the entire construct out of the fire(that's the idea of a pinch-weld,to allow one to handle the parts being welded as One unit).But the bond was weak,something was wrong,and a hammer-blow or two later the parts fell apart. In any case,this is as far as i work that one end before reversing the pieces. Now,switched to the other end,i cut the stock off,leaving enough extra for the tenons that'll need to be forged on that end. This material is a fibrous WI,so that the direction of fibres is important.They need to follow the tenon,thus the bend. Both pieces are worked together,in the same fire,one after another,repeating the blows administered to each.They're a simple shape,and could've(SHOULD'VE)been made smooth and regular.But most importantly-identical. At this point i had to interrupt the process,and make a bolster-plade and a drift,for the proposed tenons.As John points out in a neighboring thread,it's EASIER to fit a TENON to a MORTICE,then vice versa.So here i make sure that my mortising drift is made,use it to form the bolster,and shape the tenons using that future mortice shape. The parallel lines on the sketch are the uprights,for which i'm building a diagonal knee-braces.So all the dimentions are critical,and i'm beginning to work closer to the drawing. And that's basically,it.Another picture showing that i'm as close as i needed to be. But,possibly,John may comment on what else one could have done,to gain,and to maintain,the greatest degree of control of the process.

John,thank you,you're very kind to've gone through how the entire sequence should have been arranged,and you're absolutely right!(The word "Patronising" cannot possibly apply here,other than in it's most benign meaning).This is all about learning,and all of us here are VERY lucky to have great advice freely,kindly granted to us here,again,it's a priviledge!. You're absolutely right about the Order of Sequencing.It's very,crucially important,or one steps on one's own tail all the time.With smaller/heavier parts,and especially ones toward the ends,where they can be added on later,doubly so! Right after sequencing,the schedule of all joinery should be established,the necessary tooling for it made,and tested,on similar stock size of same material.(Yesterday i had to drop everything to make a bolster-plate for the tenons that i was making,as the size/shape of them only developed during the process.That was bad and wrong,it should of been in the plan,and all ready to go). I'm basically repeating,reiterating what you've said,John.For my own benefit,and for those that may be reading this.And while at it,there's another thing that is important,that i'd love to repeat here,though it's acsiomatic to you,John: When making ANY part of ANY project,have it come out smooth and even,with no hammer-marks visible.It is a sign of being in CONTROL.If you're not in complete control,it can,and will,come out in other aspects of the job,such as planning,finishing,or all in between. John would tell you this,coming as he does from classical tradition.I've come to this coming from no tradition at all.It's an important point upon which all forging paths converge. The more i learn,the more i realise the importance of,seemingly,trite truisms.Don't do as i do,don't learn the hard way,it's heartless-hard! I excercise SOME controlled forging,i'll try to post a series of photos of a fairly controlled sequence here in a minute.Some day i MAY get good enough to gain control of the WHOLE of the project. So,one of the points here is to not undertake a job that greatly exceeds your ability.If you can't keep it under control,back up,practice some more on the level that you CAN control. Amen to all that John said,and thanks.

Well!It was a battle royal!And i lost it... I suspected that i might get stubborn,and it did.Just would not stick to the other stuff.To itself-all you want,to anything else-no. So,i got stubborn.Pretty soon,we all were stubborn,and it still wasn't happening. So i tried to trick it,and riveted it.But,the unplanned/riveted scarfs looked awful. So then i welded the whole mess! And now it looks even more awful! That steel may be entirely carbonless...It's melting temperature is it's MELTING temp,it doesn't burn,like all the decent steel!As you can see from the photos,we went there,into liquidus,for a little bit! It was IT's fault-all it had to do was to weld,and i wouldn't have been so mean to it! Tomorrow i may forge a new part(s),or forge the molten mess into Art,or any number of other options. Still another cross-piece to make,but this one may be all riveted and morticed John,i didn't want to do this,didn't think that it was a good joint,but wasn't not sure what other joint may've been better(nothing would've stuck anyway,this thing was a b...d (this is spoken by a masochist who've burned the Cr out of leafsprings to weld them in...)Hey,this is a cool expression-to burn the Cr out of X,a sight more creative than Sh ). I actually couldn't even think of a good mechanical joint,either,that's why i've tried something that silly.

Just finishing a quick lunch here,and after reading your post,am (naturally )wishing that i'd have spoken up about it BEFORE! But i'm all scraved-up,now,and there's no turning back (I'll remember to compare notes in the future,as that idea of yours would've saved me quite a bit of forging already,and an unknown as yet quantity of misery in the next couple of hours But,like a great man said:"Only the blue sky,and the green grass,are forever...It is a GOOD day to die!" :P

Thomas,thank you,that last few was VERY well put. The Cleanliness (as in the Atmosphere)is all to often left out of equasion(overcome by other factors,exactly as you mean by "max..."). Bad Creek Blacksmith,good job,and i'm very happy for you! What i've said has nothing to do with anything,please disregard it,AS long as your welds are happening.IF,however,something is inesplicably not sticking,then it's time to refer to that conspect of Thomas's,as it has it ALL in there.

Hey,it worked,all of a sudden.O.k.,here's the deal(i'm posting this at least in part for John,as we often discuss issues for which i fail to provide the particulars.So here are some details about my process). The stock for this stage of process(the Gothic project).I've not tried this chain before.It's more corroded than other stuff i have(i'll use it to blame the weld failures on). Here's the stock that it made.Note how some of the imperfections are still there(and more,possibly,will show up from inside later): After a funky,skewed upset,the end is hot-split in a crude,quick-and-dirty,upsetting matrix: The split is further widened/shaped with a set-tool: Now,this is the proposed weld,to an upright of one of the candlesticks.The trouble is that it'll have to be simultaneously from both sides,wings-like. To attempt to keep it symmetrical,will try to weld in that same matrix in the vise. Speaking of texture-as-forged:The last few months i'm on the diet of spruce charcoal.I get this wood out of the river,it's driftwood.Some of it has been floating a long time,all of it-grew on the banks of the Muddy Yukon.The glacial silt content in the river is intense-very muddy water.The air,too,is full of air-born silt.So,i suppose,is the wood itself. The silt is glacial,and mostli cilicate in it's nature(i suppose,not being a geologist). Anyway,here's a photo of a clinker that it makes after 3-4 welds.I usually clean out at these intervals(i do use borax liberally,which,i believe,contributes to the clinker in some mysterious way): Cheers,all!

Thank all of you good folks for the support,most humbly.All of your offers of help have,in fact,already been accepted-i've been getting ready for this since i've gotten the letter of acceptance,in May,and each and every one of you has helped in this process so very much... In a way,i'm glad that there'll be few of you that can make it to the event:For one,i'm not sure how well i can put it all verbally,and will possibly embarass myself in that process,and as for the 2-day showdown in the museum...The time has been so short,woefully so,what can one guy possibly make in this short period,to make a statement on behalf of 5000+years of quality ironwork?! So that whole scene may also turn quite embarassing... My own "style" is a specific one,and not for everyone.And,this will not be the right sort of event to make a pitch for the World's history of Forging Tradition,as,in effect,it's nothing but a Christmas Bazaar,albeit with pretensions. It's possible that i may come across some venues by means of which to continue the missionary work in the future.There is a large(-ish),State-sponsored gallery,that does a few fairly responsible,juried shows a year.As Alaska is really all one small town,everyone knows each other,i do know quite a few people involved,and may try to set something up for the future. But the biggest obstacles to anything of this sort are these same,oh-so-human qualities that interfere with everything valid since the dawn of time:"Laziness and Stupidity" Combined with an overwhelming degree of Ignorance,they're the dominant traits in all Alaskan institutions,private and public,but the State-supported ones-especially! Unfortunately,Ironwork is so time,energy,and all other resource-demanding,that traditionally,only the very mightiest institutions were behind it's advancement.Like John so astutely interprets the socio-economics of forging,above,it was largely bankrolled by the Aristocracy,often,on behalf of the Church.There're actually two important reasons for that:Money,of course,to make-up that resousce-intensiveness,but also the Divine as the inspiration.Such is the nature of human psychology,we'll go far to get rich,but put even more effort into something when inspired by the Intangible The "aristocracy",the wealthy,have always been slaves to the fashion of the day.They,generally,didn't really act independently of each other,but more like a group,reacting to whatever was the current stimulus.In Alaska,currently,the've the most vulgar tastes imaginable,and re-educating them is a Herculean chore much like mucking out them infamous stables. The Church,not having built any cathedrals for a long time now,is going broke in Alaska,trying to pay off all the molestation lawsuites,and cannot represent much of a hope for a crusader on behalf of an Iron Renaissance... Where's the werewithal to keep the tradition of forging alive to come from,then?That is the question... But,i digress...I'll try to upload a couple shots of a funky variety of a cleft-weld that i'm going to attempt here,as soon as i get off my duff.And,in the future,will try to stay closer to the subject of metalwork,as i tend to wonder too far out when thinking of things that are too far outside my usual scope... P.S.Nope,the photos won't fly today.Probably for the best,will try to post the made weld,IF it sticks. The VERY best of forging to everyone!!!

Hi,Harold,good morning!(And,good mornings' work ). I'd venture an opinion that the two,the mechanised and the manual work methods,are apples and oranges.So that your question,as stated,would be almost impossible to answer OBJECTIVELY. Then,to complicate an already IMMENSELY complex issue,there're the hybrides of the two-as in some ancient PH's,and multiple strikers.As well as the hand-tools sneaking in in between all the CNC's and stuff! And,as a death-knell to all objectivity,there's a fact(to me,it's a Fact,though it can,and will,be argued) that the Tools and the Methods actually determine the design particulars. Historically,or on the macro-level,such as those German fully-automated ironworker machines(or whatever one calls them),but also on the micro-,subjective level,as in:I've got a MiG,so that i'll go ahead and do it this way... So,i,personally,am at a total loss in re.to your question,but,i like what's been done so far on the project,ans LOVE that 45 deg.anvil in your PH!!!That's mighty cool :)

Wonderful,John.That bundled element is interesting in any number of ways...I especially like those side-branches,where the leaf/blade shape is scrolled.It reflects my preference in iron-forging,where the iron structure determines the shape.So i really like all details that were Forged,rather than shaped "artificially"(that was one disappointing aspect of that fork,scrolling the ends not by a hammer,but with scrolling pliers). Jeremy,i'm not sure if that fork would look good in PW.One thing about PW in general is that it's so dependent on material removal.I may be wrong,but would it not be strange-looking if you didn't grind/polish all the surfaces equally?And the darn thing has so many nooks and crannies...But,as i write this,i started wondering if it wouldn't look really good with some faces patterned and polished,and the rest oxydised and black...The contrast can possibly be very dramatic and appealing! Etched WI is a contravertial issue for me:I dislike most of it that i've seen,as far as the aesthetic intent goes.What i mean is that people have a tendency to use it as a way to indicate "old".They go overboard,etching the whole thing,and it just makes it look "weird",to me.The only thing more vulgar is burning wood with a torch with the similar intent,it never fails to give the object that unique "Salvation Army Thriftstore" flavor! However,the IDEA of etched WI is very appealing.Afterall,i love to see the grain in iron,when it's visible.Old marine hardware,anchors especially,tend to look very cool!!! Yeah,there MAY be a way to do a fork in etched WI that would be beautiful,i can see how it CAN be! John,unfortunately,as they say,"no rest for the wicked",i see no hybernation in my nearest future... In 6 weeks i've an epic battle with the Public coming up.I'm going up to Fairbanks(a city of about 80 000 people,second largest in Alaska),to make a public appeal on behalf of (classy) Ironwork.I'll have a table at the Alaskan Artisans Expo 2011,at the museum of the U.of Alaska Fairbanks(UAF),and will have printed posters,segments of film running on a computer screen,and my crapulous ironwork spread out.The Message(-s) will be:THIS is IRON(some facts/samples of iron).THIS is the process of Plastic Deformation of former(film + some tools laying about).ALL THIS,is what you,people,are NOT going to have,and very soon,too. UNBURY your heads out of the pile of plastic crap,and look about you,for it'll be a GREAT loss,to all of us,if you'll let it go the way of all flesh... Oh,yeah,a few days before that,i'll also do an hour of lecture at the UAF Anthropology dept. Colloquium(an open mike),as the scientists want to know what was it that i was mumbling and grumbling about for these last few years. The subject matter is entirely up to me,and i'm still having a tough time deciding what would be best to talk to them about.I must make up my mind soon,as i need to prepare the Powepoint presentation,that i'll need help with,et c.,et c. All that,very likely,will be my last hurrah as far as trying to lead that horse to water,AND make him drink.I've been working at iron for over a decade now,am hopelessly in love with it,and,because of that,i'd rather not forge at all than cheapen the entire ironworking heritage by producing awful cheap imitations of what Forged Iron is SUPPOSED to look like. Depending on the oucome,i may re-open a shop space in Fairbanks that i used to lease from a good friend several years back,to continue the Quixotic battle there,for a while,OR,just vanish back into the woods,from whence my vain ambition to bring classy ironwork to the public has lured me.I feel old,tired,and worn down,and don't really care one way or another. (There may be some gray areas in between,like doing a circuit around the bush villages teaching the Indian kids how to re-temper trap-springs or the like,but sucking-up to the wealthy for a chance to forge what I believe must be forged will come to a crashing halt,unless our contract with them will undergo Radical revision). As far as this thread,i'll be out of contact while in Fairbanks,where i'll spend a couple of months minding my friends' house for them,while they take their aged parents on a vacation.Ironically,their house has no internet coverage(high hills interfere),and going to the neighborhood Pub to use the internet is contingent on the state of the roads,mechanical issues with the vehicle,and gas for it. So,you guys will have to keep this crazy thread going!Or not! :)

Good Lord,John,there's enough there,in these pictures,to study for a couple of years...I can see a whole course in something like the journeyman's level blacksmithing based on any one of these elements...(Plus,all sorts of general structural knowledge as well). Yes,John,those are what i'm talking about,in principle.In actuality,i was thinking of something a level(so to speak)smaller,say like the legs supporting a large free-standing chandelier in a cathedral.But yes,this is it.I can,and will,stare at these a good long while... On the matter of surface you're,of course,right-it's a function of the heating and hammering sequence.That's why something like one's patience do have a lot to do with it. But also planning,as some details,like the inside of a scroll or the like,may not allow tool access after some stage of forming,and would end up looking different from the rest. And in that particular instance,i believe,in the inaccessible spots,is where the difference between the actual alloys may manifest.For an example,this one type of WI that i have bleeds molten slag at almost all,but the lowest temperature,coating much of the surface in glassy coating. But,yes,it's largely the technique that one uses(or knows that one SHOULD be using). John,as usual,i'm sincerely grateful for all the information that you provide.There's no way that i can expect you setting down everything,all that it'd take years to learn in a journeymanship,but every little bit helps a great deal. And again,as far as the material removal,the more i think about it the more comes to mind.There's a tremendously talented smith in Wisconsin,Tom Latane(JK just had the luck to attend a to-do involving him,among others),who specialises in many restoration/re-creation technoques of the past.Looking at the photos of his work space,files and chisels are very prominent. The file has existed as long as the forge,or very nearly,afterall...

Jeremy,you ask a TOUGH question...See,unlike our collegues across the pond(who can go pay a visit to Chris Topp),we only get our WI from totally diverse,unpredictable in ALL respects sources. As far as "will it always..." i'd say a cautios yes,kinda/sorta,in MY experience,anyway. But,as far as getting to try to control it with forging temp(John brings up some valid info immed.after your post),i'd say NO,as there's likely to be so much uncertainty in our batches of WI that we can't even really any longer use the very term."Old Mild Steel" would be as descriptive,and more to the point,unfortunately. So,the only sensible thing that i can recommend is:1.Get "WI" ANY chance you get.2.Test it,for a number of issues(texture incl.).3.Make notes,and keep it together as a stash of N quantity,and try not to fritter it away on small things,as some project may come along requiring close to that amount,and you'd NEVER match a given batch. John,your information is ALWAYS priceless.I find things in there that you'd be surprised are there! No,you're not a historian,you're something much better-a Blacksmith! If only the historians paid half as much attention to details... This few paragraphs are particularly rich,thank you so ever much for taking the time. Actually,i've learned to always pay attention to the things that you say.Your help on the Gothic project was immense(i'm resuming the work on it now). Couple of days ago you wrote a short note on material removal,it REALLY makes one think.I did,and came up with some very valuable progress on a few things that i've been mulling over for quite a while now. I also,inevitably,have come up with more questions... (It's an Elephant Child Syndrome-the Insat'ble Curiosity! ). By any chance,are you familiar with a situation where the arched legs of something are braced on the inside,with a gothic-like arch,like so: These arches,were they commonly welded?Rivetted?Of course,i'm just asking in the very general way. And,in particular,that cross inside the ring-do you think that it was pierced by some hot process,or milled out?(That's what your removal info brought up in my mind).Or is it welded up? It looks much like a section of a quatrefoil,and i've tried a while back to pierce it hot-turned into a sloppy mess... I am (kinda)sorry about bugging you so much,i just can't help it...Also,i know that you're not very fond of us saying what a treasure of knowledge you are(What is a Latin term for the fobia of being ausphyxiated by ones own halo? ). But,let's be fair here;many of those that did,supposedly,wear one,came by it very honestly,to say the least.The ones that i've read about,like St.Teresa of Avila,have worked their ever-loving butts off,for their halo! :ph34r:

Very true,Jeremy,roger all that. Here's another puzzlement:Different kinds of steel tend to want to have a different range of textures of their own. I'm in a habit of examining forgings very closely(if the photo quality permits),as each and every blow mark tells a story of how it was forged. Sam Yellin's stuff,as a rule,has an INCREDIBLE presision of hammer-mark placement.It makes a considerable difference in how the stuff ends up looking. Lately,forging predominantly these few kinds of WI i've noticed that it's surface,unless carefully flatted/smoothed with a deliberate,stiff blow,is rather pitted.Noticebly more so than mild.Here's a shot of it,right,and store-fresh 1018,on he left. Next photo is a section with a couple of smooth facets: When flatted,it's actually smoother than mild. Now,one must work VERY deliberately,in order to end up with a smooth finish on this WI.In fact,the project will have to be engineered for that in advance. But it,the texture alone,can,and often does,put one in mind of something "rustic". It does do that to my mind certainly,thus,since that is my material of choice at this time,it actually governs my choice of projects. As always,a random-ish thought,and any and all reflections on the matter would be most welcome.

Thanks a LOT,John.If i may,i'd like to rattle on for a bit about some things that were going through my mind as i was forging this. Initially,this design came to my attn.labeled "Roasting fork,French,18th cent.",which made me think a number of things,such as : Who was likely to use something like this?A private individual,for their own or their family dinner?Or a servant or a cook,in a wealthier person's household? Was oxide finish acceptable in a kitchen(especially something that was used mainly for greasy meat?Or,like the objects of the interior,it designated a poorer person,the wealthy tending more toward whitesmithed objects,along with the servants to maintain the polished finish? If it was a common,cheaper,household utensil,how was the smith capable of producing something that elaborate,was he so fast as to be able to crank it out rapidly(if so,how rapidly?(it took about 7 hours for me))? And so on,basically,the ins and outs of the exact provenance of this object,the shape,the finish,the allowable and the shortcuts,all that governed the process of producing it.For it all is rooted in something. Similar to the saw-tooth trammel that i played with a while back-to my great surprise,hot-cutting the teeth did the trick for it's mechanics,no further finishing was necessary.What that made me assume(and i may be way off),is that the design was so polished and streamlined by generations of smith/user interaction,that like a pebble in the stream of industrial history,had all the jagged edges smoothed down... Similarly,what requirements on either the craftsman's side or the end user's have engendered the features of these forks? (I'm truly mad,as the simple word "rustic" does indeed have all these connotations for me).

Beth,that's awfully kind of you to say all that,thank you! It feels FANTASTIC,sho'nuff,to've banged out a fairly decent chunk of iron,yep.That's the idea here,and the final product is important,as a last brick in a building,it has it's definite place,(just as a first one,and all others in between! ). BUT( ),here's something of an absolutely,astronomically greater value: Our communication here. I'm stating the obvious(as usual),but please indulge me here:By (skillfully) using this incredible,abstract tool,the internet,we're accomplishing an utterly concrete purpose. That is the REAL magic here. A given chunk of iron is dandy enough,but it'll most likely just end up peacefully rusting someplace quiet. The potential usefullness,the beauty,the utility of information that produced that chunk of iron is INCALCULABLE. If anything we say here contributes even one thousandth of a part towards increasing someone's confidence in a given forging technique,then we've really succeeded. We've then done justice to this incredible invention,this psychedelic device,the internet! (And i can already vouch for a tremendous,concrete help that i personally have derived from it,which makes me want to see it happen to everyone else even more!). Of course,Glenn is the first person that we all owe our thanks to,for all that. Thanks,Glenn,so very much! Thanks also for the translation link.Earlier in this thread there was also another good link for that,posted by Lucas.It's a neat system,that,almost unimaginably so,(for an old fart like myself). My trouble here is,however,that between my skills with electronics,and the speed of my strictly satellite connection,there's precious little that i can do(without spending days and weeks solely at the computer). My reality here is tough,in so many ways.After my stint as a gas-pump attendant was over,i wanted to jump right back into forging.The trouble is,that that job stole valuable time not only from the forge,but from my very livelyhood in general,and the winter preparations had not even began for me... So,for a couple of spastic days,i tried to organise the homestead for the inevitable winter season,and yesterday,for the first time in 5-6 weeks,have allowed myself some forge time. This morning i woke to this: Now,whatever tools have ended up still on the ground,will hybernate there in peace till spring.It's a GIANT relief,and that's why i'm celebrating by sitting here at the computer so late in the morning It's all over now,all's right with the Universe,and even my hands are finally back to their natural state(fishing,especially,makes for disgusting state that one's hands are in...)

Now,Jeremy,you know only too well that all this became possible thanks primarily to your research.That was,once again,extremely decent of you to dig all this up,and send it,thanks yet again! Also,Beth,John,and everyone participating here,i get a tremendous amount of motivation out of your friendship,it somehow is quite different to work thusly,continuously sharing the particulars of the process,and i seem to be getting a great benefit from it,and am humbly thankful. As you all know by now,i'm a sort of a kamikazi craftsman,a blacksmith-monk,my entire reality is dedicated to the forge.As such,i've much more time and resources to throw at it,vs the rest of you,who actually also live your lives as human beings,having families,jobs,responsibilities other than metalwork. So,Jeremy,i feel slightly guilty,but just couldn't resist,and that xxxx schedule of an upcoming show is breathing down my neck... Sorry about the long,confused preface.Yes,i agree most heartily-it IS a most ELEGANT way of deforming iron,indeed.Also,it was the first time ever that i actually followed a detailed plan,and that made it very easy!It's altogether an uncomplicated process,and very gratifying in it's controllability!I'd love to practice it some more,maybe design a trivet,or a grill around that base element/principle. It's interesting how different we are,in our approach to forging:I've done no measuring whatever,other than keeping it all symmetrical.Thus,i've ended up with a sloppier look that i like a bit less than Jeremy's,who of course has carefully proceeded to measure and to proportion everything. In part because of that i've also have fallen quite short of the elegant proportions of the originals,especially where they have the central element smaller than the top,and the top one nicely elongated:I've failed to gain good control of bending those parts,and ended up with a wider,more sprawling,heart-shapes. I'd still say that overall it was an easy job,but also very challenging in some aspects,and bending was where i found myself struggling the hardest. Petere76(May i call you Peter?),thank you,what you say is MOST interesting.As you can see,we've an interesting,communal sort of a research project going here,an inquiry into what makes the iron forging classy,if you will. Please,any and all elaboration on what you've brought up above,would be so welcome! From what i understand there's a couple of textbooks in German on ornamental work that date back to the mid-1800-s,and are technically explicit.Have you ever seen them,by chance? My own knowledge of specifically German forgework is,most regretably,nil...

Beth,darn it,i'm sorry...I had to do this,having bothered Jeremy and all of youse about the info for this,and other reasons. The good thing about it is that we're now working with the SAME material,these are these same links.NOW,we'll know just what is going on with your forge,as at least one important variable is no longer! Plus,you've a date with the Oracle backing everything up yet,if we still fail to troubleshoot this over the internet. We WILL have you welding,for i swore a terrible oath,consulted all the local shamans,but,most importantly, the Oracle is with us! :ph34r:

Thank you,sir.40 hours is still a very hefty chunk of one's time,but hardly surprising,considering how much needs to be done in a project that elaborate,and of this scope. It was also interesting to read your recommendation that the glass not go over 600F.Good to know,thank you.

Well,now that it lost my long-winded post that was in leu of process photos,it suddenly decided to cooperate! I'm not trusting it,though,and will send this.Can explain some of the pictures if someone would like me to,maybe by editing the post.

Hey guys!Just wrote and lost a long and verbose post,and am too wiped out to re-write right now,will try again in the morning! :)

He has indeed,m'dear,but earlier in the summer.Now,getting ready for the big move South,he's in the best of his plumage.The ruffled,untidy sort of a look is from it being early in the morning,(not unlike some of us,he just didn't get enough coffee in 'im yet). Correction:In the post above i meant a Snowy owl,of course.Boreal owl is tiny,smaller than my hand.(And makes a call that's an Exact match for the back-up signal on construction machinery(but that's not why it's my favorite owl ))

Dave,that's a perfectly legible technical sketch,maybe better than it needs to be. I hope that it would be ok with you to use this thread to ask John this one question that i've mulled over for a while now... John,horizontal or vertical,how DOES one go about morticing a tenon without distorting it's parameters?Is there a "classical" move to accomplish just that,a bulge-less pass-through? Thanks in advance.

Why,Beth,a proper Englishwoman such as yourself,mounted atop a bucket?!How unseemleah! There's a principle difference between the level that the tools are mounted at.The machinists vise,for example,is set at exactly the elbow height,for the proper motion necessary for flat-filing to take place. Martial arts-like,the Stance,in all trades' actions,is crucially important. If one is ever lucky enough to come across a post-vise minus it's post(to amputate one is a Mortal Sin,but worse things are known to've been done...),an incredibly handy tool can be made: A mount can be forged for it that,instead of one that mounts to a flat bench,as is normal,has a hook with a downward-pointing part of it shaped to go into the hardy hole. Such a vise is picked up and quickly dropped onto the anvil,there secure from turning and all other wasteful motions,and THEN,all sorts of beating upon it can take place.With the hammer-arm properly extended at the end of the stroke. Afterwards,it's just easily lifts out,of course. I've dreamed of such a device for years,but absolutely cannot geld any of my 3 post-vises... :blink: