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groovy jk ! :) very sculptural . love where the bottom piece meets the plate underneath .

randy its all brilliant - those pressed bits look amazing what a cool process youve got sorted for making it all. also LOVE those chains.....beautiful! respect! :)

that is absolutely Breathtaking!!!! what a fabulous job, it looks gorgeous! those wheel arches are fantastic, it all looks fantastic.... i cant make the links work for the process - this is the first ive seen of this project - i will try again when the connection is faster... wonderful wonderful project! :)

mac thats incredible!!!! thats how we do it - im going to do exactly the same thing. i even have some tape like that..... :) such a fabulous technique..

giles it sounds like your having a total nightmare with these blocks, what a shame... im at a bit of a loss as to why, so i cant really offer any advice on the solution... i would dearly love my block, and i suppose adding another 50 quid will have to be... but i understand also if you want to back out of the whole agreement if its turning into a monster that has his hands round your throat as you sleep ;) i know how these things can be. if your the anxious type it may well not be worth it! i am in contact with an iron foundry about some sculpture so if you liek i will ask them what they think - its a contact i have literally only just made, and i have no idea what the standard or really, what they will do. they have agreed in principle to do some small sculptures for me. i will email them and see if they have any advice if you like? im SURE however, that im not the best person to get this thing resolved, things in my life tend to get worse rather than get resolved :) its a kind of pattern id rather not involve the wider community in!!! :) but if you like i can try, i feel like this should have gone smoother for you - annoying that its been such a ball ache... how many did you get done to your satisfaction in the end?

ten hammers - absolutley right :) born too late - i understand what a burr is, but what particular significance were you meaning? ... thanks for answering that old post! :)

:) woody yeah the amusement is a big factor :)!!

an amusing, but pointless argument. :) everyones physiology is entirely different, the stress and strains on different parts of their body, length of limbs, mobility of joints, size of hand to hammer ratio, any number of variables, plus left handed ness and right handed, right brain dominated or left - the proof of good or bad technique is always, in the work :) injurys aside, if we are on about smoothness or other accomplishments in the work, then show us the work and then we can judge! :)

ah! scrapz! its beautiful - really wonderful! love how youve managed to keep movement in the tail, it looks drawn, lovely and loose! also particularly drawn to the mane and cheeks, the planes on the cheeks, the head is fantastic, it all is :) briliant. looks like you had a really absorbing time creating this :)

quite - what else Could you do? the perfect angles sound scarey... i suppose you have to go the extra mile on restoration work. it looks flippin great anyway. nice one dan. p.

thomas - thats juts about it i reckon! if they dont like you the game is up :) talking of the book being a weapon i was just on a speed awareness police course where i was told a road atlas on the back seat had decapitated the driver in an accident at ...cant remember speed.. surprisingly low though. not exactly a weapon, but an example of a book doing some proper damage.... sory loneforge, total nonsense on your thread! lovely dagger :)

hi kurgen - thats all very good advice above, its hard when you can see in your minds eye something you want to make, i do it all the time! but have to really THINK how to achieve it, in my experience it is just that, experience, and trying it out again and again. a good place to start is a visual idea, then, trying to use the language of blacksmithing and of the material, what it likes to do and what it doesnt like to do, you can piece together a way to do it by trial and error. as time goes on the process get much simpler, because you have more and more answers in your head for various problems you find yourself encountering. you can get advice on here for actual pieces your trying to make, so like someone suggested, post a clay version and ways to skin a cat will come pouring in! you might choose to use a mixture of all the advice, that bit is up to you. good luck and post something in clay for us to see!! i use plasticine (beter than clay as it wont dry you can leave it all over the place) a lot becasue i am an idiot at maths, so if i need to know how long a piece of stock i need to do various things with, i do it all in clay first, the same diameter as what i want to use, then i hit it and move it how im going to once im into the metal, and its a very good way of working lengths and volume out in a concrete way. go for it :)

hey javi - welcome to the forum :) im surprised you say that the craft is almost gone in spain? :( you have a big responsibility to bring it back in fashion then! look forward to seeing your work :)

what kind of shape wooden mallet do you use mark? sounds interesting but doesnt it just smoke and burn the whole time... or is the mallet soaking wet?

thanks for that. but youd be better off calling it a knife if you were carrying it somewhere you shouldnt. .? . ;)

the lead wont have actually Stuck though will it? it will just grip on where its cast to fit and sneak in under little bits surely? i have found lead releases from any plaster things i have made for it, although yes you do have to make sure its DRY or you will get lead splattered allover yourself, thus the goggles facemask etc bla bla bla. lead is definately a friend though it is amazing stuff. you just have to not eat it or breath it or anything. it looks and feels Grrrreat :) i really like that you bothered to do that process :0

dan thats very cool :) i love the process, and indeed the material. great pictures, that has given me a lot of ideas. thats blimmin great to see that is :)

lovely - i like the shape of that - how do you define a dagger from a knife? mac - whats Shick? :ph34r:

giles good news - dont worry about the hurry factor, it will take as long as it takes - this aint your full time job ( yet :) ) am very much looking forward to getting mine though :) infact was thinking about it today randomluy. regarding the children, you have my sympathies, i am three deep here, and it is pure work in the early stages isnt it! hang in there! ( and dont have any more! )

george - nobody said an artist HAS to shock, i just think to be shocked is sometimes useful and not to be feared. (what is "shocked" anyway - if there are moral overtones, this is about something entirely different) you dont need to look at it if you dont like it, plenty of artists work is about beauty and that stuff, you can look at and enjoy that. and what you find shocking i or someone else might not. also, nobody said anything about rights, least of all me., and i find your language of "rights" and "authority" completely bizar... i am sad to say as well, that i am shocked at your insulting and patronising attitude towards a lot of people who use this site who are happy and fulfilled as artists. randy i totally apologise for the thread that started off so mellow getting so off topic (in not a nice way) and for any part i played in that! love and peace IFI - live and let live :)

thats wicked sam! love how you decorated it - and the bending fork/tool holder and tray its all very cute and the anvil looks a treasure :) i ook forward to seeing your cool and mechanical anchor device... what/who is/are safety sally and what is she/they keeping that you dont want ? :)... i just really want to know that...

andrew - i LOVE the idea that your mount will remind us of a carousel :) you are totally forgiven for that! really interesting hearing you talk in this thread about your work, i find any kind of creative work exhilarating at times, but also tiring mentally, and i can totally see why you need to switch off from your all consuming work after 4 or 5 hours! i like the idea of him being at an angle too, very dynamic :) am relieved he wont be painted black i have to say, and the description of your scrap artifacts warms my heart :) thats perfect :) keep up the inspiring creative genius, a pleasure to watch.

how lovely you made that for your wife! :) its going to be beautiful with vines on - dont let it cover the pretty scrolls though....

thats looking something serious now ppp..... nice one :)

yes woody your right - on the wall of the pub is better than nothing (scrap) - they are hopefully waiting for a new useful home sometime in the future :) the tools are DEFINATELY art themselves!!! which is why this stuff is so closely linked and interwoven - there aint no separating it Bozo's!! :) and as for the art thing, its meant to be subjective innit ? :) how boring would it be if we all liked the same thing....