FieryFurnace

That's the point Thomas! LOL It's a "blind rivet." Also, I would think you could hang some pots farther back around the arch. I would have moved it back some, but I was going for as proportionally similar to the book design as possible. I could have riveted the arch about an inch farther back without any problems, but hind-sight is 20-20! @ petere76: I think loss of stock dimension just behind the square corners is due to hammer blows placed too far back. This is easy to do when you are first getting the corner started. I end up with massive stock increase, because square corners are an upset technique. You should end up with stock increase that has to be forged back down to size. I'm not an expert on square corners and have only done a few. (I avoid it whenver possible! LOL) I could be totally off!

Indeed! Instead of technique and skill though, I was thinking of frustration and hair pulling. Comes to the same thing though, right? :D The corners took me four or five heats a piece. I always end up fighting square corners. No inside cracks though.......they are smooth as can be.

Thanks for the comments. A Heritage in Iron is the book that the design was found in. My client bought me the book some time ago. I like the way square corners look and they look better in the book than they do on my version. I don't particularly like forging square corners though. The square corners, to my knowledge, do not serve any purpose. Just a visual thing I think. I certainly agree about the end. I'd rather have a hook or something to position a pot on, instead of the flat end. Once again, though, I'm stuck with the design in the book. My client wants the end altered. :( He said something about a diamond shape on the end. I didn't see that shape on the end in the book, but I'll have to look again. Should be fun getting the hole thing in the forge and moving it around. I do have enough mass on the end to make that alteration though.....I think. ;) Also, the picture makes it look like the whole horizontal arm is slanted upward. That is just positioning, as the horizontal arm is level. Thanks for the complements as regards the work.

One of my clients asked me to make this crane for him based off of a crane in a book I have. It's the same design as what was in the book, but I had to guess at material size and make the entire crane to his size specifications. The upright bar is 3/4-inch round with 5/8-inch tennons. The top part of the bar is slightly tapered from 3/4-inch to 5/8-inch round so that it fits in the top pintel without being a noticable size reduction. The rivets are slit and drift to half inch, and I made the rivets from 1/2-inch round. The twisted bar and the horizontal bar are both 5/8-inch square. Since taking Brian Brazeal's class I'd much rather have done his style of square corners (Haberman bend is what he calls it,) but the client wanted the regular square corners. The part of the horizontal bar that goes over the upright bar was slit and drifted to 3/4-inch round. There is a blind, 3/16-inch rivet there. The twist was done in three separate heats, and then a couple more heats were used to get things evened out. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. It is a little tighter at one end than the other, but it is not too much of a difference. The curved bar was a bit of a pain. I would have prefered the top rivet to have been about an inch farther back than it is. Once again, I cannot claim the design, as it isn't mine. I took the overall design out of a book and customized it to my client's size specifications. 32-inches long 22-inches tall 10 hours including mistakes! :D (I messed up the first curved bar and had to start over about 30 minutes into it.) Anyway, thoughts????

Like I've said before, my jobs are always on a much smaller scale, but the "not enough time" factor is still there. Ok! I understand! That's pretty slick about using the stop on the bottom die as an edge stop. That's a simple solution but I wonder how long it would have taken me to figure it out if I had to do some lines like that! LOL I need to make a chisel for the upper die on my air hammer. I had to do a square bar twist with chisel lines down each side. The lines were about 24 inches long on all four sides. With my current tool inventory I had to use my little tiny chasing chisel to get the line started and then use a handheld cold chisel and hammer. (All done cold.) It took longer than it would have to put in a different top die and do it under the power hammer. :) Thanks for sharing the process! It's taught me quite a bit so far!

Brian Brazeal with no competition for first place! Brian's classes are technique, not project classes so you spend 100% of your one-on-one class learning new things. His techniques are different from anything I've seen, faster than anything I've seen, more effective than anything I've seen, and are less tiring than anything I've seen. (Or done!) I took a seven day class from him several weeks back, and I think it is safe to say that, after implementing the techniques he taught me, my work production has doubled. If I could, I'd buy a house next to his! A long time ago someone on the forum said "Brian Brazeal is the best technical smith in the country." He was right!

Reynolds: If you remount it up in the ceiling you could use a chain handle so that it would give a bit when you run into it! :D marcusb: Tanning hides isn't THAT hard. I've done coon and deer hides. Seems like a thick cow hide would be easier. I always leave the hair on, which probably makes things simpler too. (I suppose that wouldn't matter too much, and a hair on bellows would look pretty neat! LOL) It takes time and room, but isn't that hard.

Doing shows a lot, you'll get odds and ends that turn up. I was at a show this past weekend and a guy came up and said he had a big bellows (like a 7 footer.) Said the first $100 would take it home. I'd love to have one but I don't have the floor space and the ceiling isn't tall enough to hang it up there. That's not something to worry about until you get a covered forge or a shop. They are bulky and I would HIGHLY suggest using one before buying one. I didn't really like the one I used once. Hand crank or electric is so much more compact, and I like the way they work better. They do occasionally turn up. I've got a friend up here that has one for sale for (I think) $500. You just have to keep a continuous eye out on craigs and the local adds on ebay for one.

I am enjoying this thread imensely and have learned much! PLEASE keep posting the info and pictures! I love the twisting contraption...seems like it would work a lot better than direct contact with the vise. I also like the way you handled the slit and drift. (I am supposing that the "slit and drift on the diamond" thread was in reference to this project.) I like the twists on either side to get the slit and drift area on the flat. The transition is great, and eliminates the need for the diamond slit. The idea of the diamond slit and drift is neat, but I haven't seen any really clean, really attractive examples. One question about the power hammer grooving. I see you have a stop mounted on the power hammer but it doesn't seem to be doing anything in the grooving process. I suppose it is just left over from a previous heat. There is no stop as far as I can tell, for the chisel depth. Do you have that much control with the hammer? I've used a large Saymak and the 115 Big Blue, and they have pretty good control. Even my JY Kinyon air hammer has a decent amount of control. I don't know about using it for even grooving. So is there not a stop, you simply have enough control and confidence to groove without a stop? Just wondering.

I'll begin in May!

Nice looking tools! If I've got you right, the slitter punch is on top, the opener in the middle, and the drift on the bottom. Why is the drift a single direction taper? I've used that style before, but it seems to me a double taper drift is easier to use as you just drive it all of the way instead of having to flip the stock over and tapping the drift out. Also seems like you'd have to regrind the working end of the drift sometimes. I'd also love to see some pictures of the results these tools give you on a regular basis. Post them here! It would be good to have a reference point as to what tools and methods give you what results.

Yeah that'd be nice! I like the stainless beer kegs too. Right now all I have is a 7 gallon galvinized feed pan. :(

I couldn't agree more, only I do use caution about crediting someone before I know that I am doing justice to their teaching. I personally wouldn't want a student to come and learn something from me, then show a video where he butchers the technique, and then credit me with the technique. Then, anyone watching the video, thinks that I'm some sorry blacksmith teaching improper technique. If I post a video showing a technique I learned from Brian and I execute the technique improperly and credit Brian in the video, then in the eyes of the viewer, Brian's technique is flawed. In actuallity it's my fault, but Brian gets credited for a sorry technique. I credit everyone I've learned from or been inspired by over the years.

The axle was forged to shap, and the ground down smooth. No lathe, no machining. The key wedge holds it firmly to the anvil so there is no wobble. An edge of the anvil tool is in order for both of my anvils. A small quench tank next to the anvil will serve the purpose of a water can.

I edited the info in the description box below the video. In the future I'll put it on the video because if most viewers are like me, the don't read the descriptions. :D The only reason I didn't put that information in the video is I didn't want to say "THIS IS BRIAN BRAZEAL'S TECHNIQUE" and you come on and say "WHAT??? that's not how I did it!" LOL I am trying to work to implement the techniques I learned from you and to do them correctly.

Yeah I did! There isn't enough overhang though. I'd have to grind past 90 degrees to get a sharp corner.

Maybe this will be of some help to beginners. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7jJX_fZbm8&feature=g-all-lik&context=G2c9d7f7FAAAAAAAABAA

Uhhh didn't mean to come off as sarcastic there boys! Sorry! Well it's finished except for paint. I added a tool holder to the far side of the anvil. Eight or more short tools go in here and there is a place on either side to put hardy tools. What's neat about it is I can put my small handled tools in these too. Here is the tool holder on the near side. This holds the longer hand tools lower down so that they are out of the way. My wire brushes (brass and steel) go on either side of this holder. Near side! Far side! I also tried dressing up my old trenton anvil a bit. The edges are worn down pretty good though, so it was hard to get sharp edges. I've got good forging radius edges but not really any good hard edges. And finally here is the one-piece key-wedge cone mandrel I made the other day. The horn on this anvil doesn't go down really small, so I use the cone mandrel for when I need a small horn. It's made from race car axle and works good.

The combination of a treadle and power hammer would be a good idea for the serious hobbiest. Doing it to this particular hammer might not be the greatest idea in the world. This hammer is designed specifically for ultra smooth function for TONS of light repeat blows used in chasing and reppousee. When you start adding pivot points, points of contacts, attachments, and weight, you are going to decrease the function of the hammer as a chasing hammer. If you aren't looking for a chasing hammer, no problem. I've not bailed out on the BP or anything, I have just not had time to do it right. It's a lot of measurements, a lot of drawings, a lot of pictures, and a lot of writing. I've been really busy in the shop, and also been working a little part time at the local saw mill to help them out. I'll get to it!

I don't normally work on Sundays at all. I'm at church in the morning and evening and pretty much take a break on Sunday afternoon. However I've only got three days to forge this week before my first show and I've got to get some stuff made. This afternoon I spent about an hour and finished up the stand. It can hold three hammers, two wire brushes, two hardy tools, at least 16 hand tools, and at least eight pairs of tongs. It is very compact and very portable. The total footprint of the stand is about 14 inches square. I probably won't have time to get it painted before this next weekend. Pictures later!

The weight isn't really an issue...maybe 150 pounds or so all total without the tools in it. It can unbolt in a matter of a few seconds though. Portability, and compactness was the goal. Welds and corners will be ground down for safety and for a good finish look. The scale build up in the pipes is a good point, but a total of two minutes to unbolt the anvil, invert the stand, and reattach the anvil every six months, isn't too bad. The placement of the legs and bracing was done so that my legs cleared all hard objects. The legs on the working side of the anvil go straight down in one plane, and angle out in the other plane. This allows me to "belly up" to the anvil without hitting anything. The placement of the hand tool pipes on the near side of the anvil is so that they can be reached and identified easily. The placement of that tool holder is between my legs when I am in my normal work stance.

I built this today for demonstrations. It holds the anvil more securely than my last stand, via a screw down clamp system. I've got places to hold hammers, hand tools, and tongs. I still have to add a few more pipes for hand tools and a few for hardy tools. Pretty compact little stand and very stout and very stable. I also put tabs on the feet so that I can put large staples in the ground over the tabs whenever I'm not on concrete or gravel.

I've shown this anvil on this thread before but I thought this was a worthy picture. My 280 pound Fisher anvil crowned with my 4.5 pound Brian Brazeal hammer that I forged with Brian a few weeks ago.

I'm not really sure where to put this, so I hope this is ok, as I suppose it is a general blacksmithing topic. There is a small Civil War reenactment being held in Westmoreland Tn. May 4th-6th of this year. The coordinator wanted me to come and demo but it's at least two hours from me, and would cost me too much to go. If someone local wanted to do a little demoing for school kids and such, that would be great. The lady's name is Deloris Garrison and her email address is westmorelandexpo@gmail.com . Shoot her an email if you are interested in doing some demonstrations for her Civil War event.

I try to always keep safety in mind. I've done quite a bit of demoing in the public and particularly to school kids, many of whom are the height of my anvil. That teaches you to be safe and be aware. I do slip up occasionaly, but safety glasses are required in my shop and ear plugs recommended. I always wear plugs. After four visits to the eye doctor to get stuff removed from my eye (3 out of the four with safety glasses equiped with sideshields on,) I have purchases some full goggles that I always wear when grinding. To me, doing what you love in an unsafe manner is an awfully dumb way to go blind or loose your hearing. The steel is car axle. No tempering, just let it air harden. You don't want your hardy hard. Thanks for the compliments everyone! "Trip" it won't be the last time either! LOL