John Galt

On 2/2/2016 at 8:47 PM, JHCC said:

By the way, a coupe is a car, a coup is a revolution, and a coop is a building for chickens.

Har!! Beat me to it!!

Black Frog . .  that's pretty cold. I've seen it -29 here in Central New Yorkistan . . .

I have been doing some forging when it gets out of the teens and it's not too windy . . I move my forge just outside my shed, anvil and vice just inside . . . been  working on squaring round stock and making some wall hooks with a twist. These are about 5" long, made from 5/16 round.

15 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Have you tried forge brazing for the horizontal nails mounted in a mortise? I find it a better look than arc welding.

That is my goal eventually, I just starting at this "blacksmithing" alchemic esoteric and arcane voodoo pseudo-science stuff a few months ago. Before I try Forge Brazing i would like to try brazing with torches . . . I have a great set of torches with all the tips that was given to me by my awesome neighbor. But I have no tanks or hoses and being retired, sometimes cashola is short. Meanwhile I use my MIG welder.

33 minutes ago, MrDarkNebulah said:

Very nice. Sorry im so ignorant, but how do you go about making the cross? Ive seen a few made out of railraod spike as well, and it seems as if they were split. That along with the fact its called a split cross seems to say that, but i cant see how you'dgo about doing it.

I usually start with antique forged nails. All sizes, but I prefer the 6" - 10" spikes.Then, depending on the nail, I may draw it out a little and put a more pleasing taper to it. Some crosses I actually pierce the vertical nail with the horizontal nail then tack weld it on the backside. Some I weld the horizontal to the sides of the vertical . . . using the top half of nails I have cut. Then I put a head on the leftover ends and use then to make smaller crosses out of.

I also distress the nails to make them look much older, some times by actually burning the steel. I may also try an acid etch at some point. But usually by putting them through this while at orange to yellow heat:

I like that idea with the sand! This is the one I made from 4x4 treated wood I had laying around.

Thanks for all the kind and wise-guy comments corrosive process . .  LOL! good one.

It's not a secret, I learned how to do it here on this great forum.

Here are a few crosses I did a few months ago . .  I will post up some pics of this new batch when I finish them up . .

2 minutes ago, ausfire said:

No gloating intended! 35 Celsius and high humidity would be just as uncomfortable forging as your near freezing temps! 

LOL! I actually thrive in the heat and humidity . .  better than most up here. The winter months are very difficult for me . .  it gets below 20 degrees F and I pretty much shut down. BTW . .  I would give up a testicle to visit Orstraylia.

1 minute ago, ausfire said:

It was in the 30s here today too ... Celsius.

Har!!! Go ahead . .  gloat. We are tougher up here in the NE of North America . . .

Well, it was actually in the 30's today . . . No excuse to NOT fire up the forge . . . Beating on red/orange/yellow hot steel with a 24 oz hammer will warm me up after a short while anyway.

So I like to make Crosses out of antique forged nails. I have a bucket full of 200 year old Wrought Iron forged/cut 6" spikes . . . I like to ~tweak~ them to look older. So I put them in the forge, get them Orange to Yellow hot and draw them out longer. And then via a secret process . . make them look like ancient Roman forged nails . . .

It got all the way up to 32 Degrees Fahrenheit here today. No excuse to not fire up the forge , ,  banging on orange/yellow steel will warm me up soon anyway!!! LOL!

Well I had a couple ""S" hooks I made a few weeks ago . . . so, based on a suggestion from a member here . ."metalmangler" . . just add a flat , , two sides. So I put a couple S hooks in the forge and flatted the section between the curves . .  I need to try this as a first step before tapering/drawing and making the curve . .  thinking it will be better. . . . anywho, this is what I banged out this afternoon . . not perfect . . but I ascribe that to my anal retentive Engineering personality . .  yes, I was toilet trained at the end of a shotgun . .  ;/

20 hours ago, Borntoolate said:

Nice post.  Awesome replies.   NIce reply backs.   Nice challenges and counterpoints...   Sweet!   This is why this website is so awesome!!!

Yes!!

On 12/29/2015 at 4:34 PM, Frosty said:

Unless you're the buyer of course.

Seriously, it's better to overcharge than undercharge. I won't go into the value of "bragging rights" part but if folk don't tell you it's too expensive now and then you're not charging enough. Folk who win every bid never stay in business very long, then again neither do folk who never win a bid.

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, what is a fair price for something like this? I posted these pics on my FB and have had several inquiries. I checked E(vil)Bay and saw similar S hooks for $12 a pair plus shipping . . .

On 12/28/2015 at 5:17 PM, Borntoolate said:

USe the round to make square stock...  or...   I love octagon.   THis also provides a fully hand forged product.   Forged 100% over the entire surface.   it's great practice too.   And at 1/4" and 5/16" you are not going to kill your arm.

Sir, that is my plan for the next batch . . . Thanks!!

On 12/28/2015 at 4:10 PM, Frosty said:

Nice job John, well done.

I close the finial scrolls to avoid snagging on things too.

Smaller overall and they'll look more robust. Scaling the finished piece to the stock can have a real aesthetic affect.

Working wise, Depending on what's being hung is how they'll hang in use. Force takes the most direct route so an S hook hung on something it will swing from and carrying something that can swing as well will hang from the longest possible dimension. If a coat is hung from the end of the hook it will cant forward a bit, forcing the bottom hook back and the shaft will appear more out of true.

You can also take into account what it's going to be used for. Hanging a lantern IN a barn might mean making a hook that will hold the lantern away from a wall or well below a beam. A beam hook's top hook might be formed to fit the beam snugly enough it won't swing.

These aren't so much critique of your work but ideas and factors sometimes worth consideration. Depending on if you want to sell a product it can't hurt to have specialty versions for folk with need.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thank you Sir! One of the things my Gramps taught me was to recognize the voice of experience and wisdom and then to LISTEN to it!

On 12/28/2015 at 0:02 PM, ThomasPowers said:

I close my counterbends too.  How are you finishing them to prevent rust?

Sir, I have Beeswax, Linseed Oil, and Turpentine. I have to make up a batch of Blackmith Goop . .  I will be referencing th Alchemy subforum for the recipe over the next few days . .

On 12/28/2015 at 7:38 AM, John McPherson said:

A trick to making them a little more rigid if used for hanging heavy items is to slightly flatten the loops, as is often done for earring hooks.

I would second closing the scrolls on the end, to avoid catching small items.

Excellent idea, makes perfect Engineering sense also

Beautiful work!! How did you finish the bottom part to get that brass/gold look?

Thank you for the kind replies. I am an Engineer (it's a curse) by trade and education so I am pretty anal about anything I put my hand to. But, in my older years I have definitely mellowed.  I was pretty pleased with the results and am glad that you all agree I have a crapload of 1/4" and 5/16" round so I will be making a lot more of these. I do not have any square stock in that size range. I will be shopping around for some. But I guess I could put a square to the round stock . .  hmmm.

Thanks again for the kind remarks for my efforts!!

I am an aspiring Blacksmith here in Central New Yorkistan . . .

Been away from the forge for a couple months while I was adding a 24' 2 story addition to my workshop . .  I paint cars, build hot rods and recently . . . . learning the craft of Blacksmithing.  Got tired of working in the cold rain today on the addition and decided to fire up the forge. I made four 6 inch "S" hooks. Started with 12 inch lengths of 5/16" round. Please let me know what I can do to improve these.

Thank you Sir!! I have a metric crapload of 1/4" and 5/16" round . .  I will be making a few of these.

Quint . . Welcome from a fellow New Yorker (Chairman Cuomo's People's Republik of New Yorkistan) . . Who'd a thunk that there was one civilized person down there in that morass of a city . . ? I am also a n00b, but I live in the sticks of Central New Yorkistan (Near Utica) and can pretty much do what I want . . . plus I have good, God fearing Patriotic, Conservative American neighbors. We live and let live up here.

I am a retired Electrical/Telecomm Engineer . . . I spent 3 years on a NYC Comms project (DoITT) in the 5 boroughs back about 6-8 years ago. .  On Monday I drove 1.5 hours to Albany, caught the train to NYC . . came back Friday night or Sat AM . . worst 3 years of my life . . .

Welcome again!

As soon as I saw your name I was going to post "Who is John Galt"  but I see that I got beat to it.  Best book written.  When I moved to North Georgia I named our road Galt's Gulch.

I have t-shirts that say, "Atlas Shrugged, now in the non fiction section."

I like you already WayneCo . .  me and Mrs. Galt are taking a very hard look at TN. Would be great to breath free air once again . .

How can I get one of those T-Shirts?

Very beautiful setup and Im glad to see people have ingenuity to create such beautiful pieces of art even if others don't see it that way. Keep on the easy work, it only gets more fun!

Thank you so much Aaron! Forge on Dude!!

Thanks Frosty! Yes I do like puns . .

Bob S . . living in the Great American Redoubt . . I woulda figgered you to be a big fan of "Atlas Shrugged" . .  Jus' Sayin' . . .

"Well done John, nice texturing die. Next time weld the shank to one end so the die is over the center of the anvil. The increased depth of rebound will make it more efficient and quieter even."

Thank you for that good advice Frosty. I think I will modify it as such!!  I will also weld a handle to the top die, those pins don't do much to keep it in the neighborhood . . . . My PW anvil has awesome rebound . .

146 lbs picked it up locally for $300

I like the way you think Shamus

They were requests Beammeupscotty

Thanks Bill in Oregon.

I think I am still the n00b here

I have been making and selling a few crosses using some 6" and 7" forged nails I got a while back. A couple of the nails were severely distressed (pitted) so I used them for my first effort. After final burnishing with a wire wheel and application of bees wax I liked the look so much I needed a way to mimic that pitted look on nails that were not distressed. That was when I came upon a post (I think it was here) that was just the ticket.

I took two pieces of 1x2 mild steel bar and splatter-crappy-welded one face on each with my MIG welder w/o gas . . this was easy because no one has ever accused me of being a welder . .

Then I welded some 2" or so pieces of rod to help keep the top piece in the neighborhood while beating on it . . The square for the Hardy Hole was made out of a piece of round stock I had laying around, I this it was a shaft because it definitely was tough . . put a square taper on it then pounded it into the hardy then welded to the bar stock.

Took me about 2 hours.

you are welcome!