Gayle Brooks

love this! good job!

love it!

@FieryFurnace In relation to what Dragon Forge LTD does this was a small job. This table had its challenges and at one point the whole thing has racked on me and was turning into abstract art. I hope I didn't portray this as a simple project, because it wasn't. At times some of these small projects are like family...you love to seem them arrive...happy to seem them go! @ Danger Dillon Not sure where the design really originated from. I had a week off of work and brought the client into the studio and we started to design it. I knew I was trying to focus on something simple and appealing. The smaller shelf inside the table appeared in the 11th hour when I saw there was actually room for such a thing. I had tried to get some brass straps and collars in there, but he declined the idea.

love it!

@FieryFurnace Most of the side jobs I get are small and have to be able to remove it quickly if I need to make room for the larger project. So no I dont typically transfer to the table and yes I have to be careful not to trash my full scale paper layout. Work around this would to paint some Masonite and transfer / mount the layout on that. Then you can store it and leave the work area available. In this situation I knew what my radius for the legs were and bent them to that measurement. I could take my material measurements off of the drawing and get to forging. Everything else was done cold for tweeking and adjusting. When the table went 3d and I stood it up, my layout on paper was now a reference and my job now was to finish it so its function was that of a table. Though I might in-vision what it will look like when it is done, I am always in awww when its nearing complete. The importance of that drawing and layout is so important, in that you can visualize and for see any issues before you really get working. Good questions and thanks again :)

Share a small side coffee table project 24" wide x 44" long and 16" tall. Bad boy weighs 67 lbs Link to work in progress pics: http://isolatedreality.com/featured-articles/hand-forged-coffee-table-garbduthmak/

top shot of the first bowl above This is pretty much as simple as I can get

some latest ideas

thanks! :)

The holes were slit and drifted and I filed them to finish the fitting since it has a radius in the bar.

nice!

well if you are reading this topic and really have no idea what to do for a website and are discourage when you see the word "code," look into wordpress. Its a "blog setup" but there are templates that you can use and make a nice presentation --as there are for many other types of sites. When you hear blog you probably thing online journal. Which it can be very easily. It also can be setup like a portfolio that helps get the point across to your clients. In the end you work does the talking and with minimal knowledge about code, wordpress is pretty appealing. With that said, if you can use Microsoft Word, you can use wordpress. Knowing how to edit and create code is always a plus. Though in 2011 is not always necessary. Again I am talking to those whom are looking into a website with the budget and skills they have available. I understand what that is like. I watched my dads website get built and, in my opinion, was distractingly tacky and made the branding of the business a chore when I took over. Here are some examples of wordpress sites that I did / modified a template: Links removed as it sends traffic to another site. Hope it helps and give a direction so you to can build your portfolio and get more work.

thats great! good job!

nice! love it

Not bad for an old guy! just kiddin macbruce, I like em

I loved the wars! And thank you jawno for the nice compliment! view from the timberline lodge This is the demo of the rock getting drifted. http://youtu.be/GeuR9vabEEM

heres a video of the blacksmith wars one night http://youtu.be/MOdl9pz6nM4

I went and had a great time. Posted some videos and pics on facebook, Ill have to figure out how to upload em here. Loved watching the blacksmith wars

Yeah that smoosh was a little gift. I was forging them way to flat, which also made them harder to sink since they cracked easier. Keeping some of the mazz available made it more simple and easier to move. The candle holders were my practice pieces for the catacombs picture frame: I didnt have the heart to throw them out.

Been playing around with the chain some more. I havent uploaded these to my site yet. And some candle holders

Enjoy! Forged out of some heavy duty chain

Really is up to you. A cone mandrel could also be helpful in a circle, as well as, a jig that is already round and mounted and can fit to a vise and/or table. Personally, and is just my opinion, I would spend the money on an anvil that didn't have the "extras" that the farrier anvils seem to have. I have a peddinghause that I have really grown to forging on. Here is a link to one: http://piehtool.com/contents/en-us/d1330.html Hope it helps

Thanks! Depends on the material and what I want to do with it. It ranges from a swedge block and hammer, hydraulic press, sometimes going the other direction and forming over a dome instead of sinking the material into a void. To answer you question about tooling it is typically: Swedge block and a hand tool that has a very broad face. Allows me to strike it, sink the material and not leave much of a mark on the bowl. The hydraulic press typically is a 1 1/2" wide shaft on the press with a steel "donut" like shape sitting on the bottom. Placing the flat plate ontop of it and sinking it with the shaft. You get more of a "v" shape than a round inside. And the other way is to weld pieces over a dome, a concept I had heard from Susan Madesci on how she fabs her stuff together.

got my reservations and ready to rock!

go fishing!