Zeroclick

This pile of horseshoes came home with me today. Got a few projects in mind for them already.

That looks so good, getting some major workshop envy.

Luke

So no forging tonight but had a lump hammer that came off its handle a week ago which was fun. 

So one of the faces had been distorted with use, so thought I would make a broad cross pein. I am pretty happy with it overall.

Cheers,

Luke 

Really enjoyed this series like always can't wait to see what you've got planned next.

Cheers,

Luke

On 2017-6-17 at 5:32 AM, Frosty said:

Yeah, getting rings like that even and smooth isn't as easy as you'd think. Try modeling the ring with wire on a long tapered alignment , prick punch, spud wrench or bull pins are excellent, or pick a piece of rd. rod the dia you like. If you use the prick punch use a sharpie or something to mark the dia. you want.

Mark where you want the center of the loop away from the ends. Heat it and wrap it around the mandrel till the ends cross, in line facing opposite directions. Heat it up, drop it on the mandrel and twist the ends till the finial is right. 

Another method than using the mandrel is to place the ring in the vise with the ends up and twist it. 

It really just takes practice and if you don't do this for a while rust grows quickly though some folk just have a knack. I have to work at it to get rings right.

Hit the garage, yard, etc. sales with an eye out for punches, chisels, Allan wrenches, etc. A little sweet talking and you can usually get them thrown in on another sale or buy them all for not much. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks Frosty I'll give both of those techniques a go.

13 hours ago, Frosty said:

Not a bad fob. What don't you like about the eye? What's it's size?

Frosty The Lucky.

Thank you, the bit I don't like is on the right I think it has too sharp a bend making a bit more oval.

I haven't got exact measurements but end to end it is about 6 inches, I started with 12mm square.

10 hours ago, littleblacksmith said:

When I do key fobs like that, to get the eye nicely formed (yours is), I just drop in a drift. Also, I find it best when the fob is no longer than a key, it just seems to be more comfortable. Your veining looks better than my first few, but that comes with time. Good wrap.

                                                                                     Littleblacksmith 

Thank you

I do need to get the size down a fair bit. I need to find a good piece of material to make a drift.

My next project is to make a thin profile fuller to widen the veins a little bit and make them more obvious.

I made this leaf key fob, I am pretty happy with how it came out but feel I need to work on my eye forming more. 

Hi Brazer,

I am so sorry to hear that this happened to you. It may be worth keeping hold of your stuff for now with physiotherapy you may be able to regain some of your mobility. My Grandad had 3 strokes and 2 heart attacks and always got told he wouldn't get back to normal but managed it everytime doctors really don't know everything.

And it may be possible for you to forge I have seen on YouTube a young boy who only has the use of one arm and he is forging it will be awkward but it is still possible.

I hope things improve for you.

Best wishes,

Zeroclick 

Thanks Smoggy and Ausfire.

1 hour ago, ausfire said:

Maybe the hook ones would benefit from a bit of a Swan neck

I will try that they are going to get used a lot.

10 hours ago, Smoggy said:

They should do nicely, HD tent pegs are a good use for rebar.

Well that's what I thought I have got a pile of old rebar and this just seemed ideal.

I made some heavy duty tent pegs for the local Scout group they have a gazebo that blows away in the slightest breeze. They are made from 10mm and have about 300mm to stake in.

12 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

I didn't know Redcar Racecourse boot sale was still running, it was always one of the better ones......I'll pencil that one in......cheers.

 

Yeh it is a good one there is also a good one at York auction house it is a good one and worth the bit of travel. The one at Bridlington is really good it can take you all day to even get round.

Thank you I will do a spark test on it and post results.

15 hours ago, Smoggy said:

There's not a lot of them around here in the north east either Stephen, last car boot I went to was in Stratford upon Avon.....with ID!

There is always strawberry field outside Bridlington. Or Redcar racecourse is usually decent.

Cool I will give it a try when I get back in the forge. I mean from what I read about rebar it would seem odd for it to be wrought. But with it being war time I thought it may have been takenfor the effort.

That is a really cool haul.

So I have been working this scrap metal it is rebar that was in a WW2 tank factory and when I was working it is noticed an odd texture under a top layer of metal. I have not worked with wrought or seen it so wondered what people thought about this.

Thanks,

Zeroclick 

Got these pieces from one of our clients. The box section is about a meter long with 6mm walls and the plate for the base is 8mm with a 4mm for the top plate.

I am going to make it into a bench grinder stand and fill the box section with sand to muffle the vibration.

5 hours ago, rockstar.esq said:

I wiki'd Malton and it looks like a beautiful place to live.  I saw that the River Derwent flows through Malton.  Again, according to wiki, Derwent means "Belonging to the forest of the oak trees".  That calls a very pretty image to my mind.

Thanks Rockstar it really is beautiful we have the moors not far away and the beach is only 15 mins away. I didn't know that about the name Derwent, that really is cool.

I really do see what you mean about tieing the name to the local area. But me and my wide do have a the dream of making a success of the forge and her crafts business and moving up to the Highlands  eventually which is one of my main reasons behind the name.

So based on the feedback here I have gone with Hand & Anvil, I have ordered a touchmark based on the sketch I sent through but with a 2D anvil.

I can't wait to get it it will be 25 mm by 10.8 mm.

Thanks,

Zeroclick

1 hour ago, Smoggy said:

Hand and Anvil or as we say here in Yorkshire  'and an' anvil rolls nicely of the tongue in the local dialects.

Nothing says you can't use two touch (makers) marks in conunction which has long been a practiced convention in other trades.....ie a hand and an anvil! (could be two seperate punches or one combined punch)

Thanks Smoggy, to be fair everything sounds pretty awesome in the Yorkshire dialect.

I hadn't thought about using two seperate touchmarks but I like that idea.

1 hour ago, Scrambler82 said:

Your placard should have the "Hand & Anvil" part should be arched and the "Forge" placed under the arch with a hand in between the two lines.

I do like that design for a sign on my workshop.

Hi Rockstar,

I do agree with the points you make, I have decided to remove the word forge from the name based on the points made and when I did some more test searches on google. Also I did search malton ironworks which brought up two other local blacksmiths and also a number of the local steel companies that operate in the area. Where as hand & anvil brought up two larger forging companies that operate nation wide.

What I was going to do was work with the google SEO to make sure that my brand name would be associated with the Malton area, whilst keeping the brand as something recognised anywhere in the country. As Malton itself is one of those places where you have to tell people which cities are closest so they can place it.

8 minutes ago, GRiley904 said:

I like it. I've been putting thought into this as well. I want to move in to selling my forgings to support the hobby and i feel a name is important when making that transition. In my thought process; my first name is George witch rhymes with forge and my middle name witch i prefer to go by is Riley. So the simple short and sweet name i came up with is Forge Riley's . i think it's somewhat clever and the friends that i have shared that with seem to like it so I'll give it a go and see if it works for me. I hope I'm not hijacking your topic, i was hoping to show my thought process in naming my forge if it's any help. You have a solid name for your forge, i can see myself buying hand and anvil products.

Riley

Hi George,

I really like that name it makes me chuckle which means people will remember it.

7 minutes ago, littleblacksmith said:

shouldn't be too much scale, your not forging it!

                                                                                                            Littleblacksmith

I did do a sketch but it felt that the scale just didn't look right. I will try a better sketch and let you guys judge.

9 minutes ago, C-1ToolSteel said:

I like it too. You may consider making it just "Hand and Anvil" without the "Forge", as "Anvil" already gets the point across.

That is a really good point I suppose to keep things short I would go for just hand and anvil, makes it easier for social media.

8 minutes ago, rockstar.esq said:

"Malton Ironworks  - made by hand"  tells people where you are, what you do, and doesn't confuse non-blacksmith customers.

I did think about something with a really local link but then thought if I need to move for any reason then the name would lose meaning.

I also did a quick sketch of a touchmark I might use.

Thanks Frosty.

I'm glad you like it, I like the motto could make a funny t-shirt for demos and fairs.