beth

wow basher - thats more like it!!! beautiful!

wow basher - beautiful!

dan you make me laugh! which is why i was hoping you would succeed where i failed :) and offer perspective (?!) - but it actually does your heed in doesnt it? yeah blackersmith is mr evans..

pugman i think your wasting your time trying to define something that hopefully will be continually changing... just show them the work - let them think up a title. ? the best things in life simply cannot be standardised - and i cant understand why we would look for that - only limits yourself surely??

moi aussi :)

being a blacksmith or anything else is not about ticking things off a list and then you hit the jackpot, in a prescribed place, its about (like anything else worth doing) being fully engaged in an intelligent thoughtful process, where you do the best you can, to learn the way for you to proceed effectively. maybe its a state of mind mahhhhn!

id like to know why the keeness to be in a box... the labels titles them and us stuff, why we think it matters... it gets very tribal and xclusive, would be better to talk about specifics in general terms, so for instance - i saw the butt and the most obvious thing i would say is why make that from steel? yes technically competant, but there are other things to consider, i dont know if im alert enough to be able to muster up the intelligence for this debate today though!!! which i think is an Important and interesting one.. come on alan, your good with words.....

dan p you should - thats where it gets interesting in my oppinion - its probably all been said but the grey areas still concern me! having said that, the cigarette thing is obviously important too though...... you must APPLy yourself....

thats very cool to make that in one piece :) how pleasing! what does it sound like? i know you cant really tell me in words ! but does it ring out and resonate a little, or stop dead. is it high pitched? its great :)

i love that too :) it looks very pleasing and sweet and useable - what more could you want? :) like the wood addition - not so hot to hold?..

thats great! i think i might actually make one of them... might make me look after it better...

hey yung buck theyre not rough at all - i particularly think the third one is sweet. :) its good to try different proportions and positioning in the hooks, like chichi said, they seem to work better with the curl facing outwards, but you can easily do that. i would play around with different fixing methods, but also twisting or marking sections of the straight youre using. there are loads of different types of hooks people made on here which you can look at for ideas. also maybe you can work on getting that top elbow where the hook starts to go down a nice good sharp rectangle, so that the hook hangs flush to the timber. if indeed that is what you prefer! whatever - keep doing them!!

he absolutely is an accomplished smith and a most wonderful human being :)! and the forum is more dull without him ... im in contact with him, and he is doing fine, he is on other work at the moment, all kinds of clever things, so thats probably why he is not posting. i'll tell him you were asking :)!!

hey jk :) that looks very groovy so large! - takes on the appearance of a weapon or something on that scale... nice one :)

here you are frosty - just came across these and thought of you - probably no good by now, you done it i expect :) but maybe of some future use :)

matei i really enjoyed that one - it is full of good character the way you have worked it. youve had a really light but visually strong touch - the area of the face is great it reminds me of little elbows and arms the soft way the corners have. really lovely :)

tubbe thats really nice - ive not used many collars myself - we learn as we go, but yours look great, and your scrolls are very pretty in my oppinion :) nice one :)

john i said its easier and quicker for ME to mig weld and grind than ME to forge weld, not for someone who can forge weld! i too think ryan should stick to forge weld, if you read what i said :)

lovely macbruce - the leaves are looking sweet ! :)

hi ryan - i dont think you should get one !! i had mig and o/a before i got into blacksmithing, and use them both alot, and although i do exactly as someone just said, where i often reheat and texture a weld, having them can STOP me using more traditional methods, i would love to be able to forge weld properly, but its easier and quicker to use the mig or the gas... so i do (this is going to change!!) its cool to do both - but if i could do one or the other really well, it would be your skills every time!! borrow when you need it is my oppinion :) a welder may cramp your style............

blackwater thats a wicked idea!! i really like your leaves they are tactile and beautiful - she is going to love that... i would really like to make something like that - my family is pretty huge though, might not look as elegant! :)

yeah colleen - the things ive seen clear coated look a bit dodgey - but im not sure what they have used.. they dont seem that strong.. i have had things powder coated, and its only personal preference but i cant stand it on forged detail, its like wrapping it in rubber or something.!! very tough, and great for plain or simple looking non textured work, but not for detail.. personally, i love rust, but it just dont last long enough! the panel is about 3 and half ft by 3 or something - and yes the school seemed pleased, which is good. there is another gate in the church next door that needs re doing which i hope i will get the chance to quote for - its an ancient little place, and there is a yew tree by the current gate that is nearly 1000 years old :) that stuff gets me very happy`!!

i think GOR has the correct attitude - very zen . love the one your with ;)

thankyou all for having a look - and your comments, the whole finish thing is a bit of a dilemma, does that clear laquer really stand up to outside? i would love to leave the metal raw... and bentiron have no fear, the 4 inch thing is all ok on the gate - and the tendrils have all been softened, and tucked right away, nothing sharp so there are no health and safety nightmares waiting to happen :) there are little children round the panel, so i did take extra care. woody - the rebel stance is hard to relax :)

its what makes this particular world go round daniel - the wonderful souls in this world who pass on their knowledge freely and happily - go for it - i for one will keep watching! :)