Shainarue

Doc said I did really well at cleaning it up and keeping it shut. It was already closing up so just glue - no stitches - although he said I would have gotten stitches if I'd gone yesterday. I've been very accident prone all my life so I'm very good at taking care of wounds. No matter how much it hurts to do so, I flush it with cold water / soapy water / then more water until it is clean. (NEVER hydrogen peroxide or alcohol - contrary to popular belief - because they indiscriminately kill even the good stuff that helps the healing process.) Then I pack it with neosporine and wrap it with a bandage. If I bleed through the bandage within an hour, then off to urgent care I go. But otherwise I just change it twice a day and reclean/redress and keep an eye on it for any increased inflammation or streaks (another immediate doctor sign). My dad had cellulitis just last summer and he had no idea where he got the scratch from that started it all. He ended up in a hospital in some other state because it all happened after they'd left for a road trip with the grandkids. He waited much longer than you did and required an ambulance to roll him out of the hotel because he couldn't stand up. The drs said he got there just in time.

Worked on a stand for the Porta-band. Added epoxy to hold the plate and clamped. Should be ready to cut the stock for my door knocker tomorrow evening. Won't be doing any hammering though since I sliced into the thumb on my hammering hand pretty good with the cutoff wheel. Doh! Ashley wants me to go to the Dr tomorrow to have it looked at, which I think is a waste of $40 but it will give her peace of mind which is worth more than money.

I had shin and back pain from improper arch supports (specifically recommended by Dr, no less) and someone suggested I try the zero drop minimalist shoes. Seemed a total 180 from what I was *supposed* to do but I figured it was worth a try. Ordered a pair of Xero shoes on clearance 3 years ago, decided I'd wear them for a few months to make my decision. I've never looked back and no more pain. It's insane. What I wear now, I can't find anymore. They are wool with a thin rubber sole. I can feel the cracks and bumps in the ground below me. So what I'm looking for are a leather version of that. They don't seem to exist in stores. I've found a few online but I need to check the return policy before I buy so I can send back if they aren't what I want.

Dagnabit, I busted a rivet hole again! I think I'm gonna take a short break from these. I learned a few lessons but don't have any more stock to work with. Next pair will start with thicker stock, have offset jaws, and a wider boss. I'll also pay better attention at keeping each handle as even as possible. Picking up some 3/4 square stock tomorrow for the door knocker and will get more than I need so I'll have it when I'm ready to try these again. I have a welding lesson with my brother next Saturday and I'm bringing both of the busted tong handles with me as one of the things to work on other than scrap.

If I'm understanding correctly, you're not asking specifically how things might be forged using blacksmithing techniques but just in a very basic and general sense asking how metal is turned into useable objects of any kind (tables or buildings) - just like how wood is turned into boxes or houses. There are also a variety of different kinds of metals (eg: softer, soft, medium, hard, harder) and different ways to cut (snip, chisel, saw, torch, laser, etc) and attach them together (tack, rivet, screw, weld, braze, etc). If no CNC machine to cut a shape, most people will use a saw of some sort - whether that's hand operated or electric - same concept. The shape of the metal comes from a metal manufacturer of some sort - just like the shape of wood comes from a sawmill or some variety thereof. So if you want to make a skillet, you start with a thinner plate of metal instead of a big thick piece - just like if you wanted to make a cabinet you would start with a thinner sheet of wood instead of starting with a big thick piece. Of course it's *possible* to start with the big thick piece in either scenario - but starting with something closer to what you want in the end product (like Glenn said) saves time and effort.

Others have already answered but I'll tack on to suggest you might be able to straighten that plate by putting it in the vice and squeezing it straight. Depends on how thick it is and what kind of steel. Like Frosty, I use a piece of mild steel for my cutting plate - although mine is only 1/4" (6-7mm).

Welcome Bug! I look forward to following your journey. I'm also a beginner and this forum is full of insanely supportive & helpful people so you found the perfect place. I also started on a piece of railroad rail (on end, as George recommended above - it really does make a difference - and I used an angle grinder to carve a baby horn out of one side of the foot and a cutoff out of the other side of the foot. Also used the angle grinder to round up the edges a bit so they weren't so sharp. Left one side of the head section less rounded and one side more rounded. The webbing that goes down the middle was actually where I had the best rebound. It's only about an inch thick but I wasn't usually working on much thicker than 1/2 inch anyway. I mostly just used the webbing section for reducing or upsetting. I also had a chain to hold the work down when needed (punching, cutting, etc). One end of the chain was under the bottom of the rail end (which was in sand) and the remaining just hung out until I needed it - then I'd just swing it over the piece laying on the rail. Not as securely held as it could have been since my chain wasn't long enough to step on - but it worked for what I needed at that time. For punching, I had a piece of heavy square tubing that had holes in it - likely came from some sort of heavy duty adjustable stand or something - and laid that across the foot & head. Wasn't great but it worked. Would have been better if it had been secured down. My suggestion is to try to make another bottle opener as soon as possible - and try to figure out how to do it with what you have at your own smithy. It takes a bit of creativity to do things on a rail but it's 100% possible. Have fun!

I'll stick with the knocker plan I have for this one or else I'll get so caught up in looking at ideas that I'll never start, lol. But yes, send the group link please for future inspiration! I marked up on the tongs where the river will be and the diameter. It will be a 1/4" rivet. Width of the two bars together is just a touch over that and I had a scrap piece I could use to make the rivet.

I like the barrette Chad! The brackets look great on their space John. I had said before that I was going to drill the holes for the rivet in my tongs but today I got to wondering if that would remove too much stock and end up making that a weak point. So I'm going to punch them instead. I thought I'd do that tonight but caught a chill I couldn't shake so I decided to curl up in a blanket and watch Netflix with Ashley instead. Maybe tomorrow. I reread and rewatched stuff on these tongs, took different notes, and plan to try another pair after a few other projects. I also tumbled around the internet for a bit for ideas on door knockers, which is the trade item for the February BAM meeting and I really want to participate. I have a plan sketched out and playing with clay tonight.

JHCC I just love all the yarn shop stuff. Tonight I worked for just a few hours and got the one tong arm remade. Planning to drill for rivet tomorrow night, and probably cut the rivet stock to size. Also made a small S hook (no pic). I plan to make one at the end of each session until I have 4, to use with the hanging hood I intend to use for the indoor forge exhaust setup.

Looks like maybe 3 different porch stair railings? If so, I really love the idea of the tree one.

He did seem to like it. Inspected it for a good while and then asked if I made it. I said yes and he nodded his head, lol

I used 3/8 square 2.5" long. Cut A 1", Cut B 1.75". Cut a bit off the top when my punch went awry, maybe half inch or so. I knew I wanted texture, I was already using the ball peen hammer on the rest so I just flipped it around to texture. I like how it turned out as well.

Made my first split cross, made as a keychain to give to my dad for Christmas (we just celebrated yesterday). Just as simple as everyone assured me it would be. Hardest part was getting the cuts without a bandsaw. Longest part was all the fiddling to get it just right.

First I found Michael Cochran's post with his welded stand. Looked like a good beginner welding project for me, just have to make a trip to the scrap yard. Then I saw your post and I'm like, winner winner chicken dinner! I love that it doesn't add much extra weight so I can carry it outside or downstairs without much effort. I won't be installing electrical outlets. What's the purpose of those anyway? I assume the band saw plugs into the outlet and then the electrical outlet plugs into a wall or extension cord. Why the hopscotch? I also won't be using a zip tie for the trigger. Probably a hose clamp or spring clamp. I purchased the Bauer portable band saw and foot switch today. Won't have any shop time to work on this stand till next week though.

You got me so excited to go etching stuff, I spent my down time at work looking for old car battery chargers until I happened upon an Instructible where someone used an old computer power source. My dad has a pile of old computers and said he'd give me one to play with. I also have a friend with a cricut and she said she'd print a few sheets for me if I sent her the file. So I'll be tinkering with that over winter!

Welcome to the active side John! (ie: not the lurker side, lol) I love that etching. Was it freehand?

Thanks for that advice George! I wouldn't have known to check for that. I'm more in the $100 range currently, so I'm looking at used and taking my chances.

That guy has so many cool figurines using just a block. I had a bunch saved for when I have a better way to cut into metal. I tried using a hacksaw and it went wonky and was just awful, lol. Trying the angle grinder with cutoff wheel tonight. Keeping an eye on the online farm auctions around here for a bandsaw in my price range.

Off topic in this thread, lol, but I've also been attached by ground bees. I unknowingly ran over a ground nest while pushing an aerator. I left that thing running in the middle of the yard and ran for my danged life for the hose. Tripped over my own feet and slid a good 5 feet with my face in the grass. Made it to the hose and just doused myself and stood still until I saw no more bees around. Then stood there and stared at the still running aerator in the middle of the yard wondering how in the heck I was gonna get it turned off and moved out of that area. Apparently, if you wait long enough, the bees move on to somewhere else because after about 30 minutes I didn't see any more bees and quickly turned it off then ran away and watched for another long while before I got brave enough to move it, lol I've also been chased by a flock of geese and been swarmed by red ants. Mother nature's little loved ones sure have a vendetta against me, lol

For the game design stuff - it's worked out for me and I've been happy for what I'm getting. I think for blacksmithing, I'll probably fall into the gifting category for most everything unless strangers/acquaintances start approaching me - at which point I'll likely just look on Etsy or Marketplace and get a ballpark of what others are charging and try to charge accordingly based on how my stuff looks comparatively. I don't think I'll be ready to use a one-size-fits-all algorithm for many years. I just don't have the hours to practice. Point-in-case: those shawl pins I did. By far the most beautiful and well made stuff I've done to date. Every single one was given as a gift. One I even paid money to ship to someone who offered to pay! LOL (to be fair though, she gifted me my first anvil in the form of a railroad rail so I felt it was deserved)

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to seeing some of your projects.

Anvil, your response is in line with what my thinking was when I was approached to design an online card game for someone willing to pay me. They asked what my rate would be (thankfully over email so they couldn't see the deer-in-headlights response, lol) and I went combing the internet & asking other friends who had their own business how to figure this out. The overwhelming response was exactly as you've experienced. I really wanted to get this gig, so I didn't want to overprice - but I also knew it would take me much longer to work on it because I'd have to learn as I went. Ultimately, I received the best advice from a random article that hit my feed thanks to the algorithm of my searches (big brother for the win! lol). Anyway, basically, the article was all about how independent contractors should try out the method of "Pay what you want" and see how it fares in comparison with their standard rates. The general conclusion being that others appreciate and value your work more than you do. I figured I had nothing to lose. The worst that could happen is they give such a low offer that I know it's not worth it. So I went for it and accepted their offer - and then tracked the time it took me to work on it and used that as a guideline for the next time (which turned out to be a LOT more time than I expected it to be, lol). I had warned them that I could eventually come up with my own pricing structure and that I was offering the 'pay what you want' option because I didn't have a baseline yet. He just approached me again this year and I threw out some ballpark numbers based on how much work I knew I'd need for the stuff I already knew how to do. So overall, I feel like this method worked - at least for programming - but I'd think it would work for commission based projects too.

Nice hall tree Billy! Mothman, I think the pan looks good - especially knowing it's your first. FWIW, I can't see where the weld might have been.

Welcome from NW Missouri. Looking forward to seeing your work!