Buffalo

Nice snake with great form! My wife would kill me if I tried that in the coop! Good one Frosty! Hemp seed : ) your killin me!

Wow! This is really nice! The lily pad looks very realistic and your frog is really well done. Thank you for the progression picture as well, it is fun to see this come to life! Did you use hand punches or a press or power hammer to forge that little guy?

That is a great client! I really enjoy your work, and your style, and they must as well. The pictures of all the brackets lined up across your table are really cool! Great Job!

Pretty cool! Eye punches would be nice, but you have the shape right on. I don't like snakes and the silhouette gave me the shivers!

I love this! Life will find a way! Done taller these would make awsome pickets for a railing. Did you make the giant tongs to hold the 2"?

I think that you are on the right track with a piece of hardwood covered with thick leather. I made wooden dyes to texture copper in the air hammer. Usually I would use a steel top dye with a wood bottom dye. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Thank you for all of the nice comments, I appreciate them. This was a good project, as it made me step up my game a bit, and make some needed tooling. Now i'm going to make a power hammer and a press top priorities! I proved that I could do larger work by hand in a two car garage, now Im going to work toward not having to do it the hard way!

I do a lot of plasma cutting and I like to use a wire wheel for slag clean up and rolloc type 2'"  flap disks and small cutoff wheels in a dye grinder, If the cutout are large, I'll even use a grinding stone that has been wore down to almost unusable in an angle grinder. I prefer to use flat surfaces instead of round ones (burs) in most cases.

This is great! I like the simple look. Very subtle and well made! btw pig sty forge is a clever name!

Some guys have all the luck!

i really like this idea, and you are executing it very well! I think that this would make great silverware handles. How long did the last piece take you?

Looks great, the leg detail is nice in such a simple piece, adds a little pizzaz! I also include the scale with most of my pieces, my customers really want it to look handmade, not like in times past where people wanted things to look factory perfect. keep up the good work!

I finally was able to quit my day job (forging and building furniture) and start a business forging and building furniture with a talented friend of mine. Our first commission was to build a dining table based on a coffee table that we had just completed for a gallery.  Since I had just given up my access to a big blue 110 and use of a well equipped, large shop, We started by building a large forge to heat the 1/2 by 3 I dreamed of using, and then a spring swage to texture the stock.  After a couple of weeks we actually started the build. While I was forging the legs my partner glued up the 4x9x10 reclaimed oak we had acquired. I finished the legs and he ended up welding on a ranch for a couple of weeks, so I finished up the sanding and epoxy fill on the table top and applied a finish. We managed to display it in a local art in the park before the delivery, then installed it in the very excited customers beautiful home. I am going  to attach some build photos to this. I know that its not all iron, but the wood pics were part of the process.The last photo is of this table with its inspiration, the Crazy Woman Coffee Table. I look forward to your feedback

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Your table is great! I really like your take on the dragonfly! I always say that the more time I have the nicer the end result is. Thanks for sharing!

Your table looks great! Looks like the start of a product line to me!

Wow! you nailed it!

That is a beautiful railing! You are doing some great work over in Montana! That is surely enough hand cutting to make your eyes a little buggy at the end of the day. : P I agree with Frosty that you are making the most of the tools available to you. Great Job!

Nice work!
I really like the wraps. You have a talent for sure!

Wow, I'm sure your getting sick of all the praise ;), but your attention to detail is incredible! Great concept and amazing workmanship! Thanks for sharing all these pics and info, I'm sure you have inspired many folks with them. P.S any shop looks great with a nice acorn table!

Gotta have tunes, turn on Pandora first thing in the a.m. We listen to just about everything, metal, rap,bluegrass, country, blues, Sinatra, depends on what we are doing. The volume starts out pretty low, but by the end of the day is cranked up! Ear plugs are a must!

See everyone there! I will be in this afternoon. Getting excited : )

Good stuff! The ants are just awsome. Thanks for the inspiration.

When making chandeliers or vanity lights with fairly tight curves, using 1/2/ or 3/4 id pipe, I heat the pipe in a gas forge then bend the curves on a jig. I use a piece of pipe approximately the size of the inside of the curve and a pin welded to a square of plate. The key to a smooth bend is to pull on the pipe as you wrap it around the jig. It is pretty simple, and allows easy repitition.

She sure is a beauty! I would take her to the prom just as she is!:D

I was using a 5 gal galvanized bucket. One morning in December, the windchill was was around -45, and I thought forging sounded toasty. I found my slack tub sitting on its domed bottom, seams blown apart. I had never seen ice take any path but the easiest, yet even with an open top, the ice went down and pushed the bottom out of the bucket about a foot. I am now without a permanant solution, using watever plastic bucket is handy. I bought the last bucket, against my cheap ways, and am not paying for another. I will keep my eyes out for a good solution.
You all give such different perspectives on this and every topic, what a great forum!