CrazyGoatLady

Shaina, a thought just occurred to me. I wonder if you could make a split cross and modify it? Maybe split the top piece in half and forge weld at the top arc then shape out into an oval? Then spread out the bottom part? Hmm Fan out the the two side parts too. Anyway, I just wonder if that would work?

I remember dinosaurs. Not the Mama!

I love these. Especially the last one. I can just imagine the wisdom of that old man would be vast

That is very cool. I think it would be a very marketable item too. You must have put a lot of hours into that. Excellent work

Thanks Rojo. I had three pieces the same size. I think I'm going to cut the remaining two in half and get four hooks out of that. I know drive hooks are simple but anything that gives me practice in fundamentals and is usable is a good thing

Frosty, he has tons of questions and I try to answer as best as I can. I've decided it's a little difficult to forge and talk at the same time lol. Tommie asked me to make some drive hooks to put up in the animal shed he's building to hang buckets, halters etc. I set out to make 3 today, but I was a bit ambitious considering I'm working outside and it's in the 90s today. So I got one but I need to cut the pokey part (pintle maybe?) down and bend it a bit more. Didn't realize I had tapered it so long with sweat pouring into my eyes... but I think I'm getting a little better each time. I hope lol

I'm a little behind on all the great work y'all have been doing. And Rojo, great job of taking what would be to most, just an old useless bolt and giving it a second life as a useful tool. I would have never thought of that. Chad J., good for you for passing along the skills you have. My 11 year old nephew is extremely interested in watching me work at the anvil. I'm not highly skilled by any means, but I intend to teach him what I know and we will study the craft together

Ooo thank you George! I will definitely give it a watch That makes me think of a time a few years ago when I went outside one morning and found a donkey and a Haflinger grazing in my yard. We had no idea where they came from. We housed them with our goats for a couple of days and finally tracked down their owners down the road and around the curve for us. They came and she used her car to lead the horse back and my little granddaughter got to ride him to their house. She was only about 4 years old and the only time in her short life she got to ride. That's a sad, but good memory for me

I very much enjoy looking at these old photos. I've found photos and old film online of blacksmithing, ship building, construction, your name it. I love looking back at how strong hands and backs built this country. The whole world for that matter. Please keep these great snapshots of history coming

I was thinking the same thing about those big ole hammers Frosty. Isn't it amazing what people can make by hand? Most things I make I make are itty bitty lol. Great pictures Scott

The prices of propane have me thinking I'm going to build myself a charcoal forge or something to supplement. I dread taking my big tank back for a fill up

I'm happy for you! Maybe it won't take too much to get it ready for work. But it's a blank slate so you can fix it up however you want. When I got my Emerson brand new, I couldn't hardly take my eyes off it lol

Beastie looks killer Das. The mohawk is perfect to add to his ferociousness!

That's a great sounding memory Paul. I miss this old westerns sometimes

Ta-da! One wrought iron S hook. Not perfect, but not bad since I haven't made one in forever and it was fun playing with the wrought iron. I learned with this particular bunch that I have anyway, that it can be forged at a lower heat. But you can't wail on it and you have to work it quick and then back in the heat. If it's not hot enough, as has been said many times, it wants to come apart. This started as a fairly big piece of material and this is what I ended up with, so it reduces in mass by quite a bit. Fun stuff. Ihighly recommend if you haven't tried forging WI, do it if you can

Michael, that's awesome that you still have your first piece. The dragon looks way cool

Among other things, I was playing around with forging a little piece of the wrought iron wagon wheel I have. I started at a lower temperature and sure enough, it started splitting real quick. Just got it up to temp but had some technical difficulties so I'll get back at it after awhile and see about getting it good and hot and explore further. I've never forged WI before but it's a very cool experience

Jen, that looks like a great time was had by all. Have I ever told you how awesome you are?!

alexandr, just gorgeous TommyVee,I can't weld well at all lol. Your hooks look very nice. With those jigs, you'll be able to make a bunch and I hope you sell every one

It's over $3 a gallon here in North Texas. I'm not sure the exact price because I haven't bought any in a long time and I had a full tank. I'm dreading filling that sucker back up again though

Frosty, thank you. We went through 2 grinding wheels and dulled the hacksaw blade just trying to get a small piece cut off. Looks like a chisel it is to break it down. Thanks Irondragon. All you guys are the best!

George, I forgot to mention also that I read here on IFI about someone having a hard time cutting through WI with a hacksaw. We had the same problem. It chewed up a new saw blade. In fact, it was hard to cut with a grinder even. Sorry to talk about it so much, but I have yet to come across any here anywhere. Maybe Texas isn't rich in wrought iron. Just sucker rod

The wheel is pretty big. I don't have exact measurements and probably weighs 30- 40 lbs. ish?

I hope it is. As soon as I can, I'm going to heat some up. Those wrenches are cool. They LOOK like they want a second life as a pair of tongs!

Yes sir. I'm still not sure, but it had straight lines and a few bursts, but not many. The color was yellow, but not real bright