BackyardBlacksmithin

So I was recently asked to come up with something for a local charity. They would like a Christmas tree topper to be on their tree used to raise money for the local boys and girls club. So my idea is to do either a 4 or 9 bar basket twist out of 1/4 inch square bar with the center bar if I do the 9 bar, ends just being a 1 inch spacer to keep everything lined up correctly. Forge weld the ends together, with one end being just a simple point. The other end however is where I'm hoping what I'm thinking will work out right. If I can leave say a 4 or 5 inch section of bar at the bottom to forge weld together, draw out flat and roll it over into a socket similar to the ones used for spear points and arrow heads. And use that to go over the top of the tree. That would give it a roughly 4 inch deep socket when I'm finished. After that is done I can twist and un-twist like your normal basket twist...

So my question is does anybody see something I don't with this? I'm hoping its not going to be to heavy by the time I'm done with it.  I want to give it a go here in a few days and see what happens.

Anybody got any ideas for a tree topper? I have recently been asked to make a tree topper for a local charity auction and am kind of struggling with what to make... I was thinking a 6 or so inch long 1/4 inch square bar basket twist with a point at one end but not sure how to make it attach properly to the tree... Any ideas?

Anybody got any good vases made out of steel pipe? I have seen one or two and like the idea but still not sure where to start with making them.

I will def build a nicer hood once I can move to a spot that I can have a permanent area to smith, but for now with my overcrowded garage and limited work space I think this will be just the ticket to avoid coming in the house covered in soot and pissing off the girlfriend....

The vise actually works quite well. If im doing some heavy twisting or something like that sometimes I have to put my foot on the rim and lean into it a bit but other than that I really like it. Everything in my shop has to be mobile so I can have a permanent spot for any of my tools.

Awesome glad it worked for you. I was a bit apprehensive when I made mine but I was very surprised how well it worked. Especially considering how easy it was to make.

Hello all, I have been trying to find a good way to display my roses for some time now. I've been looking around on here but I cant find many pictures of vases or wall mounts etc. I'm thinking of a nice wood backer with the rose held out in front of it somehow but I still have not come up with anything that im happy with. Or a nice vase that you could display on a table or something.

So figured I could start a thread specifically for how to display your flowers/roses, show me what ya got!

Thanks everybody, the only problem with it so far is that its kinda top heavy and if you get a decently strong gust of wind it wants to fall over. So I think I'm going to have to rig something to hold it down to the table. I have some small diameter cable laying around so maybe rig it with a spring and some eye bolts to the table or side rail of the forge.

Sam: here is a better picture of my vise. Its an old semi-truck brake drum, some heavy plate on the bottom welded to some I beam and more plate on the top. Since the picture was taken I have added a lip around the top plate to keep tools from rolling off, and some hammer loops on the sides.

Its about as ugly as you can get but dang it sure beats breathing all that coal smoke!

So I was working on designing a side draft hood for my mobile forge and came up with this. I spend under $2 on the bucket and aluminum duct, cut a big hole in the bucket and cut out an opening in the side and here you go. It just sits on the table and you can fine tune its location to whatever you like. Even used the piece I cut out as a sort of adjustable overhang. And I gotta say it works really well. So all you out there that are in my position of limited time money and resources here is an idea for you.

Jerome Werth: No I don't mind at all.. And funny you mention if the world ends kind of scenario. I had a buddy at work last week who knows I do a lot of smithing tell me that if the world ever comes to a screeching stop I'm going to be a real popular guy.... Seems like nobody in todays society can really fix or make or do anything for themselves if it doesn't involve their Ipad or cell phone. Especially people of my generation. I'm 27 and I know people I work with that you would have to show which end of a hammer to hold on to much less what to do with it.....

The other day I was down at the gas station getting my 40# propane cylinders filled and the kid working there asked if I was having a BBQ... After telling him no and that I was a blacksmith he just looked at me like a monkey doing a math problem and asked what that was. So I explaned the whole hammer and anvil, metal working thing.... The blank stare continued so I just said forget it and fill my cylinders please.....  

I don't have that option unfortunately....  I have a very limited work area, I have used it a lot so far and just stepping on the base provides all the stability I need for what I usually work on. Once I move and get a shop area where I can have a permanent smithing area I will mount it down.

I like it, I think I will do like frosty mentioned and add a rim around the edge to keep stuff from rolling off. Maybe add a hammer rack and a tong rack and a few hooks on the I beam part to hold maybe some files or twisting wrench or something. I got lucky and the lug holes on the semi brake drum fit the leg perfectly so it sits where it was meant to. Should work great for demo's not to mention it will be my regular use vise. I'm just really happy to not have to rely on my goofy little hardy hole mounted vise anymore....

Just finished building my new vise mount, all done but paint. Love how it turned out, very stable but you can tilt it up on edge and roll it around or put it on a hand truck no problem. I may add a hammer or tong loop off the side or something to hold other tools still but have not decided quite yet.

Ok so I think I will just try to reshape it cold and if that doesn't work like I want I will just heat it and reshape it and normalize it and see how that does. Thanks for the help

hmm... I guess i need to figure out what type of steel the spring thats in it is.

I have a vise I just bought that is overall in great shape, but the spring only opens the vise to about a half inch then it stops. I want to re-heat the spring and re adjust it to open the vise farther but will I need to heat treat the spring when I'm done? And if so how far do I draw the temper down to?

maybe after I'm done with them I can send them out for chrome plating too ha! And I have a bad back as it is, don't need to make it any worse...

Do you have a picture of that? is it on a pivot horizontally on the top of the piece of plate?

Thats not a bad idea either... Yes that would be quite the job but then again, all of us on this forum are not always know for taking the easy way out ;) That would be a great conversation piece when im using the forge at demo's too.

Ya I saw a few of those type of wheels at the scrap yard last time I was there, might have to go back and get them....

Hmm..... not a bad idea. Never thought to make my own wheels. Now where would I get some weldable bushings/hubs?

Thanks everybody, i do think Im going to replace the wheels or at least the wheel bearings. There a but rougher than I initially thought... Its heavy enough that I think the old lawn mower wheels and bearings are not quite enough. And im also going to add a plate on the bottom to hold the bucket to catch the ashes and also put a bit more weight toward the front end. Its a little too balanced on the wheels, wants to flip back when your pushing it around.