Chrispy

I like the foot idea. You asked for suggestions, how about parting the toes and rivetting to a ball bearing (or make your own ball). If using ball bearings, (impossible to drill unless annealed) chuck a few into your forge (Coke fired) just b4 turning it off to get them red hot. Then turn off for the evening. Next day recover the handfull of annealed balls from the extinguished fire, Whack with a hammer to creat a flat spot on opposing sides, centre punch and drill hole to suit rivet size. Rivet through the foot and into the ball for better appearance. Smooth off the bottom side of the ball to prevent marking furniture. Hopefully it might look similar to the ball and claw often seen carved into the legs of period furniture. Better still make the foot a Talon. Food for thought. Chris.

"Carpe diem" Translation :Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace . It is popularly translated as "seize the day". The general definition of carpe is "pick, pluck, pluck off, gather" as in plucking, although Horace uses the word in the sense of "enjoy, make use of, seize."

I generally upset stock by heating the small end section, cool the bit I want to stay un-upset then let it drop onto a steel plate on the floor. Same action as using a crow bar (Ausie talk) maybe you call them sinking bars .??? spearing them into the ground tends to offset them so they need lots of correcting as you go. Letting them drop from around knee height is generally adequate. Also rotating the stock 1/4 turn on each drop also helps to keep the alignment. Good luck. Cheers, Chris.

Thanks for all the advice, I'm going to give it a try to see what sort of finish I get. I have a few of what I thought where farriers files / rasps for horses hoofs. There is no handle, but 4 distinct different surfaces plus the edges, the cutting surfaces all face inwards, you need to rotate and or flip the rasp / file end for end to use all four surfaces. The only thing I know about shoeing horses is how to shoo them away. LOL

Great display, I like all three especially the first one. Similar reasons as Frosty. What protective coating will you be applying to this one? With a fence that looks this good, you will have to be careful... People will be dying to get into the cemetary.

You are rather talented goatman. What does the PW refer to re Chainsaw blades?

Divermike mentioned "Hot Rasping" in another thread. Ok Dale You have my attention (or anyone else for that matter). Do you care to elaborate a bit on this process? Is it just filing while the iron is hot or are you trying to achieve a particular finish. I generally get the pristine smoothness with my hammer, resulting in minor buffing with a wire wheel. Do you use a file or a rasp? Most interested cheers Chris

Bob, I know you have stated "reclaimed copper" I would suggest old hot water systems which have 0.8mm material thickness which is pretty flimsy, or electrical bus bar that is used in switch gear. U might be able to scrounge some from your electricity provider, that has a common size of around 6 mm x 50 mm (1/4" x 2") and up to 6 ft long. If you have difficulty sourcing the material, U might consider cold casting which uses a metal (copper, Bronze, stainless or even steel) powder which is added to the resin. It can then be sanded lightly to expose the metal particals to which a patina can be applied. It is not that much more expensive and difficult to determine if it is copper or a substitute. I used to do all my water feature and sculpture projects in copper sheet or tubing but gave it away as the fumes from buffing and polishing was getting the better of me.(breathing Problems) Always have plenty of ventilation and wear a dust mask as a precaution. I recovered ok and work mostly in iron or Cold casting for those special needs. look up Cold Casting on the net, you'll be overwhelmed. Food for thought. Chris.

for starters, check out this drilling and tapping chart to work out what size hole you need to drill to accommodate the tap you choose. http://www.sutton.com.au/uploads/downloads/Industrial_Products/Taps/TechnicalInfo/IPD05TapDrillSize_tap.pdf Any tap you buy should do the trick but P & N or Sutton Brands are by far the best and will last a lifetime if used correctly. Take care when drilling (use lots of coolant) to avoid work hardening and use ample cutting paste or fluid when tapping (Trefolex or similar). Work slowly and back off at the slightest resistance. Check out ebay for taps and die, they have reasonably good sets of about 100 taps / dies for around $100 AUD which includes the holding tools. P&N or sutton will set you back $30 AUD Each tap.

Get it to GLOW, all of the BITS. Then SORT it out with your hammer.

Looks pretty good, I like the idea of wheels in the workshop. You can easily relocate it when it gets in the xxxx way. Don't U just wish your shop was as big as Mark Asperys. Think of the possibilities.

Taps are expensive to replace. Go slow turn them in a bit approximately 1/4 turn then back em out til U hear a click where it sheers the thread swarf. then wind in a bit more. repeating the stups til you reach the desired depth. keep the tap very straight and use cutting oil / fluid or paste like Trefolex of similar. Post pics when U finish I'd love to see them. Chris

Really nice work. should look great all painted up. Looks like it will hold a lot of bills.

Good stuff, specially love the paint work.

great idea. I agree with azIRonSmithn about drawing down the ends and scrolling for a natural looking finish. Looks like thirsty work - all 3 botthes empty.... Hic! Chris

Nelson, U don't mess around when it comes to chandeliers. They look fantastic. I saw something similar in a winery TST Brandy at Mile End Australia - for the lamp shades they had cut the bases out of magnum size champagne bottles, recorked the bottles complete with lable seals and suspended them from the wheel. They had been wired to accommodate electric lights. I saw these 20 odd years ago - the building is now a private school and I have no idea of what became of the lights. Chris

Good first effort andgott. Today you learned something new. Today I learned that squid have 10 legs (tentacles) not eight like the octopus. I saw a similar squid somewhere on the net that had the Squid mounted in one corner of a mirror frame with the tentacles forming the square surrounding frame. Food for thought.... hey go for it. Chris.

Love your work john, good effort. Your right it helps the old bank account if you can make up some arty nic nacs from the scraps.

Good luck with the double pass through. Easier said than done. I recently passed 20 mm (3/4") round bar through another 20 mm round bar. Slitting and drifting into round bar at right angles by hand is hard enough but I had to get it through at varying angles and align with the other multiple pass throughs to complete the arcs. Never want to do that again. Must make a note to remind me never to accept a job like that again. Although it did pay well. Chris

Mike I usually draw my pattern out on a bench top, preferably the one I am working on. then I can use a measuring tool to work out the lengths of each piece of stock material I need to start off with. Then calculate how much I draw out and deduct that from the length. It also acts as a template to lay my worked piece over to ensure it is the required shape. Chris

Sweany, Congratulations on your commitment. Remember to post pics of your gift. Cheers Chrispy

John W, The rabbits down here are usually normal except around easter when they go beserk delivering chocolate eggs lol. Traps are banned now. They are small enough to set with 1 hand if your strong in the grip department. They worked fine but very cruel on the animal, usually breaking legs and often being dragged down the burrows resulting in a slow and painful death. (Makes it hard to deliver those chocky eggs with a trap on your foot too). Frosty, definately a springer, I made a few crocodiles with suspension coil springs that I flattened out under a fly press. Not so springy when its hot. Fat Pete not much goin on in this old head but I posted a few pics in the sculpture section of this forum - that might give you a clue (signed Clueless) lol. FP Nice chatting the other day (night here). Jedsdad Thanks for the comments. I also get a lot of inspiration from the blue prints. and various sections of the forum. Bentiron 1946 The cork is fine - I mentioned that he has never made a mess. besides I was trying to avoid someone (listening frosty) suggesting to shove a cork screw up his arrr bottom. Clever Idea though! I made a cat called Claude (clawed) similar to MacPherson. He is a Tom Cat as he has a couple of nuts welded back there somewhere. Thanks all, I appreciate the comments. Chris

Robert U might be onto something there. The spring Manufacturers refer to the diameter of spring material as "Wire" size. Although I think more a hybrid -a bitser (bits of this, bits of that). LOL Sloscheider thanks for the comments. Welder19, My mate is always sending me home with a boot load of junk for free. Last week 2 metres of 3 " hexagonal bar (solid) followed me home gratis. I felt obligated to make something for him as he never charges me. I service his trucks and fork lifts on occasions though. Get busy and make him a dog, copy Macpherson as he is not registered LOL

Thanks Dale, I'm Chris Fuller from Magill Sth Aust. I just started up my own business "Artistic Blacksmith Studio. Have not yet created a web site but will soon. Chris

I have a good friend who keeps me in supply of odd things as he owns a junk yard, so I thought I'd build him a Junk yard dog. It is called "MacPherson" as he was made from a MacPherson Strut among other things like a rabbit trap for his swinging jaw/teeth, trailer ball hitches for eyes, a dutch hoe for a head/face and an assortment of different feet (Character Building). He has a bottle of wine in his belly to encourage him to be kept indoors. He's proudly displayed in my mates lounge and gets a lot of praise from visitors. To date, he hasn't bitten a soul nor made a mess. The perfect pet LOL. Chris