P. Bedard

Hey all.
Just finished this little wall-mounted candelabra and thought I'd share.
Very quick project, start to finish was about 2 hours.
I wanted something with sort of a "castle" sort of look to it. Hence the chains.



And with lit candles added;


I'm thinking of adding a two armed hook at the top to replace the two simple nails in the wall. That will probably look a lot nicer than it does now.

One of the comments is very good though, why WOULD anyone bother to "dribble" their hammer on the anvil?
It seems to me that the anvil is a tool face, just like the hammer is. And one never hits two tool faces together, do they?
I have yet to hear a single, good explanation as to why some blacksmiths do that.

My wife and I are going to Italy, (Venice, Rome, and Tuscany), Munich, Germany and Paris, France in September. Does anyone know of blacksmith shops I might visit when I'm at these cities? I would love to visit some shop while I'm there along with seeing some of the blacksmith history of Europe. I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this subject, but any help would be appreciated.

Dave

Has anyone else here ever used 29/9 dissimilar electrodes for repairing anvil faces?
Two of mine got that treatment and they were, literally, brought back from the dead.
I highly recommend them. No heating the anvil first. Get a welder who knows what he's doing though.

Thanks very much for the comments guys, I very much appreciate it (and thankfully, my wife appreciated the candelabra...)
I have a few more photos of things I made recently here on my Photobucket page;
http://s133.photobucket.com/home/Blacksmith42

Well, this is hard for me folks so bear with me... I started when I was 19, just small time stuff you know. I made a forge from an old cast iron water heater and an electric fan. I used to run it on charcoal briquettes back then.
I had one anvil back then, a 75 pounder..
But then, it got a bit out of hand, 4 forges and 3 anvils now. Dozens of hardie tools, hammers, punches and other miscellaneous gew-gaws.
I just don't know when to quit. I tried, I really did, but next thing I knew, I was back in the shop, heating a piece and working long into the night to get it "just right".
Well, I don't have to tell you fellas that do I?
Glad to have guys like you to talk about this with. And maybe, swap tools after the meeting?

Since I cannot figure out how to get more photos on my gallery here, I hosted these on Photobucket.

First a Candelabra for my wife;


And a bracket to hold up said Candelabra;


A roasting fork with a bit of filework on it;


There are others but I don't want to eat up too much space here. If someone would be so kind as to tell me how to get these pics on my gallery, I would be much obliged.

Looks to be in fairly good shape, if a little rusty. And that's not a problem unless it's rusted right through.
It does look like it needs a new firebox, unless the one in the photo is just really dirty.
Do you have a blower and a tuyere for it?

Hey there.
Society minimum for helmets is 16ga. So when sinking your 12ga parts of it, not all, will thin out to close to 14ga. Still well within society rules. Of course you are work-hardening it too, so, even though it will thin out to 14ga, it will be at least as strong as 12!

If you want to lose less thickness, sink it hot (using a steel form and a lead hammer).
If you are able to raise a helmet bowl, then that's even better though you have to anneal your steel after a few passes. Hot raising is yet another method and gives very good results once you're used to it.
Good luck!

Found at an auction by my wife's uncle for $20.00.
I guess it had that look that told most people "stay away, I am dirty and broken" I guess that's why it went so cheap. An hour or so of clean up and oiling and voila!
Other than a bit of rust on the legs, it's is great shape!
http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/17620


Here is the blower, it was encrusted in dirt/oil and cleaned up very quickly. It made a fairly angry noise at first, but after oiling/greasing the gears, it runs smooth and quiet now.
http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/17621


So, the lesson here is, you never know when you might find a gem of a buy!

I would be very careful with the "good rap" on cast iron. You may end up with several bits.

Well I just got back from my first trip out there (only a 10 minute drive) with the 5, 5gallon buckets I'm using to transport the stuff.
It looks good but the proof will be in the pudding.
5 buckets of coal. - Blacksmith Photo Gallery
That's the first of it.
And here is a really big chunk that I found in the pile.
coal_002 - Blacksmith Photo Gallery

Recently while working, I discovered a fairly large amount of coal in a boiler room. The owner said I could take it all as they have no need of it. There is about a Yard of it down there.
It's been there for 50+ years. It's dry and hard and when fractured, is as shiny as glass. I'm thinking Anthracite here.
Now, will sitting that long in a dry environment affect it at all?

So, what do you all think? Should I get it?
He wants $300.00 for the whole she-bang but I can probably get it for $150.00 or $200.00.

Thanks very much!
I'm very much a fan of the Yellin workshop and everyone who worked (and works) there.
That clinches it, I'm getting a couple of years worth now!

Nice Hastae you made there.
Though it really should have a pin to attach it to the shaft. I've made dozens of Pila and Hastae heads and EVERY socketed and tanged roman weapon has holes for a nail or bronze pin to secure it to the wooden shaft.

I hope no one minds, but I saw this website the other day;
The Art of the Blacksmith; Illustrated & Explained
And was wondering if anyone has seen the publication. If so, how was it? Worth the money?
I was thinking of getting 8 issues to cut down on cost and shipping.
Just looking for informed reviews before I spend money on them.
Thanks!

Hey all.
I've just finished setting up my shop (took longer than I had hoped) and my first commission is a candelabra with lilies between the candle cups. I have a pattern for a basic calla lilly but I wanted to try something more challenging. Does anyone have or know of a good pattern for a day lily, or tiger lily?
It would be much appreciated.

I know the feeling. It's especially great when other craftsmen come to ask you to make X or Y for them, knowing yours will be of FAR better quality than anything they can get in a store. That goes double for items, like wood turners tools that they need custom made (like a bowl chisel) that they can't get anywhere else.
Great feeling.
Spike

Hey another Canadian!
Nice to see you on. *waves from Winnipeg*

Robert is correct, ferric chloride (which is a corrosive salt, **not an acid**) is used with good results to bring out the patterns in pattern welded steel.
I have heard some people get good results with Muriatic acid but I cannot attest to that myself.

Just be prepared for a LOT more heats.
That's what we did at -20 centigrade. It means that something that should take about 20 minutes now takes about 90 but at least you get some work done.

They used to be available here;
Downloadable Blacksmithing Books link is 404
But the link no longer works. It takes you to a different British gov site.
Dang it all....

Sam,
Sadly, no. That the exact same book I bought 15 years ago for about $25.00
And I haven't seen the other two volumes anywhere. I can only imagine what some of these book sellers would want for them.
That's why a PDF would be so great to have.
The search continues...