ausfire

I am amazed what those 3D printers can do. Friend of mine at work (Brasso) has one, and he made this cool little key ring holder for the forge. Anyone else done this 3D thing, and are there any applications for our art? The possibilities for casting perhaps?

Forged another longhorn poker. I usually forge the puller on the end of the poker on the left at right angles to the bull's head. That gives the poker a right-handed use. With this one I folded the head without lining up the point and it has the tang on the poker end vertical when held. I could easily have made a twist in the shaft to align it in the usual way, but it seems to be perfectly usable in that position. It only takes a small rotation of the wrist to have the puller on either side. OK, so what do you guys do? Do your fire pokers have the piece that you fire weld back on the left, right, upright or what? Sorry about the poor photo. Bit hard to get the depth of field along the poker, but you get the idea.

Great octopus, Das. Gotta find some of those big cap nuts. And the key chain is simple but stylish. Another pic for the inspirations file. And Alexandr, your work is just so classy. That staircase and rail is an engineering and blacksmithing masterpiece.

Fires and now cyclones. We had a wild night with Cyclone Owen before it headed out to the Gulf. Now it's turning round, intensifying and coming back to Qld. If the forecast track is right, graynomad, we are in for another battering here and you can expect some heavy rain as far down as Bundy. That should quench your fires and get some greenery up. I see the media are calling it a Zombie Cyclone (back from the dead). Typical media hype.

Well, the above pic was a few weeks ago and the blade has now been etched in Ferric Chloride. I'm quite happy with the pattern. Now a handle is required:

Nice work on the tree, Das. The twisted and textured trunk is spectacular.

Thanks for the update. That is a crummy anvil and I want to see a good result here.

Yes, boys and swords, knives, daggers, spears, armour … my question was rhetorical, more of an observation really. There was one little girl who, on inspecting my scrap art, asked why I always make nasty things like snakes, scorpions and spiders. I made her a butterfly.

Nice opener. I call this twist a spaghetti twist. Very comfortable for bottle openers. Would your heat treat make any difference to mild steel??

That is very cool. Nicely done, sir.

Yeah, but keep one to make one of these:

So sorry to hear this. Condolences to Dave's family. I learned a lot from his posts.

What a nice digression from blacksmithing for a moment. Let's call that last pic the Great Iron Nebula. Thanks for the spectacular photos.

Not wishing to pry … but what's on the other end? Maybe a split chisel type foot for nail pulling? Nice job anyway.

Keep us informed, Barry. That just isn't right. Hope the company comes good with a new one.

Yes they would. The three in the first picture got sold, so I did a couple more for today's demo. It was suggested that they would make good handles for swords. Perhaps that's an idea … decorative only though in mild steel. I imagine it would be hard to keep the blade straight. Why is it boys always want you to make swords?

Neat bit of engineering there, Ted. I like the idea of the wrap-around soft jaws on your vice, too. And BTW, that shop is much too clean!!

That is some haul mate. Those old wrenches would make great twisting bars with a bit welded on. And that augur bit in the plastic is worth more than you paid for the whole lot. I hear Melbourne is having a bit of a heat wave at present. Well that garage sale bonanza should ease the pain!

Frosty, sorry to hear about Buffy. We know how much pets mean to us. Our lovely ragdoll cat was taken by snake bite a few years ago and my wife still misses her. Some cats just do that to you. Like Buffy.

Thanks tk. I've done many hundreds of these heads (and rams) now and have then down too about 25 mins in 10mm square. You get faster as you refine the process and have the stuff ready. I would like to do a video demo of these but don't have the wherewithal.

Wow. Sounds like a bit of a drama cutting that thing. The pig is looking good.

Well, this didn't follow me home - it's been there all the time. A lightning strike blew up our bore pump so this pressure tank became redundant when a new set up was fitted. I could make it into a scrap art pig. However, I am wondering if it could be used to make a tumbler for small forged pieces. Has anyone made a tumbler, and could this work? Should be easy enough to set up with a slow motor, geared down. Any advice would be welcome. Collie for size comparison.

Just picked up on this one. If you're still reading Mark, all the best for the future. Your blacksmithing skills are remarkable and we will miss your inspirational posts. Keep safe.

Interesting. So there was a bit of skulduggery going on in the anvil business way back then!

Been doing a few more of those full twists in 10mm bar. These longhorn pokers seem to have good balance and are comfortable in the hand. I like the heavier handles.