Shainarue

haha, I'm constantly shocking people by handling things others consider to be hot. Like a pan from the toaster oven. My boss is like, "let me get a pot holder" and when he turns back around, the pan is already out and set on the towel.

Hahaha! Very true. The fairly permanent bruise on my thigh from the anvil horn can attest to that!

Frosty said in another thread that I don't really need to worry about penetration since it's not structural so I'll try to get that lip and tool hangers added this weekend!

Funny, I did that already because I see you advise that so often. Seemed like I had rounded enough but I guess it doesn't look like it in the pic. I'd guess about 3/8" radius maybe. Yes, it is and has been for the last 4 years. Hammers, tongs, tools, etc all live inside the storage container just behind the anvil. I was standing against it to take that picture. Forge table, blower, vise, anvil are exposed to the elements of our varied Missouri weather. Nice!

I made a new anvil stand this weekend. Filled it with sand & oil. The ring is already deadened considerably but I'll eventually add silicone to further help with it. I'll also eventually be adding attachments for a tray swing, rings for hammers/tongs, cups for punches, etc. The stick welder is downhill from the anvil location and my little flux core welder probably won't be able to penetrate the 1/2" thick plate so anything I add will have to be on the column or somehow drilled/bolted. The base is currently anchored with RR spikes but I need to draw them out longer. Another task in the 'eventually' column, lol Anyway, I'm pleased with it.

I made a new anvil stand this weekend. Filled it with sand & oil. The ring is already deadened considerably but I'll eventually add silicone to further help with it. I'll also eventually be adding attachments for a tray swing, rings for hammers/tongs, cups for punches, etc. The stick welder is downhill from the anvil location and my little flux core welder probably won't be able to penetrate the 1/2" thick plate so anything I add will have to be on the column or somehow drilled/bolted. The base is currently anchored with RR spikes but I need to draw them out longer. Another task in the 'eventually' column, lol Anyway, I'm pleased with it.

Sorry, yes, I meant dual access. You assumed correct on all counts. I did consider weight of the square tube but figured if it was what worked then it would just be a more fixed in position forge, lol. 30lb sounds like the winner vessel. I started to look through Forges 101 and to be frank, it's overwhelming. For someone who struggles with retention, 99 pages is a lot to get through. That is where I got the 360cuft spec. I'm not worried about the actual build (burners, lining, etc) since it's a workshop led by someone I trust with decades of experience. I'll work out any other details with the instructor. Thank you Frosty for your helpful response!

Our club is offering a workshop this spring for building a gas forge. We only pay for materials and provide the vessel. The instructor is requesting that we email him with our plan so he can order the appropriate amount of materials and also so he can give feedback/revision suggestions if needed. I've already reached out and asked him if I could make something like the NC Whisper Deluxe but with added end doors as well. He said yes. So now I'm looking at possible vessels and deciding if I need single (<=360cuft) or dual burners. I'd love to be able to work on projects similar to the ABANA Curriculum Level II grill project using the gas forge. The problem I frequently run into is once I get a bar bent somewhere around 90-deg or a scroll larger than 3-4", it no longer fits into the gas forge and I have to switch over to using solid fuel. Thinking if I had a forge that could open on the side, I'd be able to continue working on those with gas. I'd also love to be able to keep that side door closed and use it front-to-back like most standard gas forges operate. Knowing those two things - do you think I can get away with a single-burner or do I need larger than 360cuft and dual burner? Vessel options I have on hand: 10" x 10" x 1/4" square tube (plenty of length) Kiln? gifted to me that I never got around to finishing (see pic) Scrap 30lb propane tank (approx 12.5" diameter x 20" tall) Balloon Time Helium tanks (approx 9.75" diameter x 15" tall) bed frames for angle iron if I were to make a vessel using framed up fire bricks with doors hinged directly to frame. Side-opening door would have to be the length of a brick for ease of converting... maybe? My backup option if the above doesn't pan out financially is to make a much smaller forge for doing things like icicle ornaments, punches, small hooks, etc which would use minimal gas compared to the Mr Volcano I currently use (also not huge but bigger than necessary for those littler things).

Projects I've been working on the past few weeks but I've been to busy to share! There were a few not pictured as well. Refinished a makeup vanity for my niece and did a felted painting for my mom. Super stressful but oh my gosh the excitement from those who received their gifts was so worth it! It's been a rough couple days emotionally so when they opened their gifts and had genuine excitement for what they saw, it about had me crying happy tears. It really was a great feeling. Tomorrow (Friday) I'll be helping my oldest nephew forge his own sword. That's what he wanted so I'm gonna do my best. A first for me but I'm sure we'll pull through! Lol I made a shovel for my dad. Started with a sawmill circular saw blade. Tough stuff! I didn't get a picture of it but here's a short clip of me testing it out. I also rammed it into the asphalt dirt a few times just to be extra sure, lol! The rag tied on the handle was too soak up the excess oil I had just treated it with. My youngest niece wanted her initial to hang on her wall. I used temper colors for the coloring and then sealed with clear coat. One of my nephews wanted this intersecting double zero as a wall hanging. He sent me a picture and I recreated from that. Brass brush on the top layer, blue temper color on the base layer. My youngest nephew wanted a wooden ornament with his initial carved on one side to look like a bubble and then the definition of the word 'moment' on the other side. I had to practice a bit on that one because I haven't done any wood burning since 1995! Then, not gift related. I had a few orders for the counter balancing stocking hangers. One customer sent me a picture of them in use which was wonderful to see

I'll preface this with saying I'm on a very short break so I didn't take the time to read the above responses. Apologies if I'm repeating something anyone else said already. My favorite way to try new things is to look at anything NOT blacksmithing. Woodwork, clay, glass, fiber. In my case, I'm usually searching for sculptural images so "woodwork sculpture images" for instance. Or unique variations of commonplace items, "unique twisted jewelry" or something like that would come up with all sorts of wearable jewelry made in all variety of mediums. Find one you like. Dissect the heck out of it. Try to figure out how you would do that with metal. Then try to figure out what techniques you need to learn to get there. I'm on the opposite spectrum from you. I'm new enough (4yrs) that I don't have the practice but I'm constantly pushing to do things I've never seen done before. I keep saying I'm going to take a few years to just PRACTICE. Pick a few of the techniques and get efficient and better at them. Then I see something shiny and new and that idea goes right out the window! I'm learning all sorts of things, but not sticking with any one technique long enough to really get good at it... I would suggest attempting to emulate those smiths whose work you aspire to. Pick a project and keep making that thing until you're satisfied. Then pick another project. You'll be learning/practicing various techniques and simultaneously getting the "eye" for the aesthetic you like.

I never knew this. I dunno if the rigidizer that came with my Me Volcano forge was silica based but if it was, it would explain why my coating chips off so easily! My forge is teetering on the edge of unsafe due to the amount of coating which has chipped off and not been repaired. Last year, I was going to do patch work. I kept putting it off. Now it really just needs completely redone.

Lee, that's happened to me in the past and I just clicked the 3 dots in the lower right corner of the video and downloaded. Then watched on my device.

I did slot & drift these - just with a smaller slot punch than I should have started with - and punching horizontal rather than vertical which was just a brain derp, I knew better. Another blacksmithing friend sent me a page from the Blacksmith's Cookbook after seeing my post, showing the ratios of starting slot to drifted hole. And after seeing that, all my memories came back of watching the Aspery videos a few years back covering drifting to size, lol

I tried recreating hook №310 from the book Hooked by Matt Jenkins of Cloverdale Forge. I decided on this hook only because it was the hook from November 5th, which was the day the Monthly Blacksmithing Challenge was announced on Facebook. I'm happy with the drifted/sized rings but I feel like the arms could have used a bit more refinement. I didn't notice how ugly they were till I saw the picture again, lol If I were to attempt this again, I would try a longer slot punch to start, which will maybe help me size the rings larger while maintaining outer mass. Here's a link to the original: https://cloverdaleforge.com/portfolio-items/hook-310-november-5/

Ted, those are all really nice hook racks! Tonight I worked on the trade item for tomorrow morning's club meeting. Theme was 'something made from a farming implement'. Awhile back, the hold fast I had, which was made from a hay rake tine, broke. It was the only think I could think of in my stash that would be considered a farming implement. I just had to find it! I had to search for over an hour but I found the broken hay rake tine and got my trade item (mostly) finished! This was my first time attempting a fire steel. I perused this forum and watched a few videos last night in preparation but I think I started with too short a length of the steel. It's kinda on the small side. It's currently annealing in a bucket of ash. I'll harden at the hammer in.

Hinges will be on the short side

I also recommend the book 'Hooked' for inspiration. Or if you don't have the funds for the book, you can browse through their Instagram page but you have to scroll WAY DOWN since he did it in 2016! Or just search hashtag #366hooks

It hasn't been mentioned nor (technically) accounted for - and I've picked brains with 3 different local smiths who have done multiple large gates. They gave me lots of info regarding hinge mounting but no mention of sag in regards to rise. One of them talked a little about potential for flex and suggested my design incorporate some elements that tie the upper corner to the lower opposite corner together. That's what the diagonal elements in the design are there. Another design (which he didn't choose) had the diagonal stretching from the highest upper point to the low opposite corner - which would have been even better for countering the flex. I'm with Gewoon - more info please! There is currently about a 3.5" gap between the two panels once hung - so any sagging won't impede on the function of the gate but visually, I'd like to keep it looking good, lol

I'm at the point in my gate project that I need to work at my friend's shop for the flat floor space to layout, adjust, then clean and weld. He's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so I took today off work and got started on laying out out and tweaking. Next weekend, I'll go over after he closes and try to get the last tweaks in. Then maybe another Monday off to weld it up. Then start the other frame. Lol

Melted, I love that idea to use a swing out arm! I need to think on that to see if it can work in one of my setups.

I've been fairly productive this week. I found a nice balance of working on the gate vs working on fun stuff. The winter ornaments heat quickly and are easy enough that I could work on those while the gate piece was heating. So I've made a little collection of ornaments. I've finished all the pieces for the gate. Here's just the frame pieces laid out. I was checking the fit of the top bars I had just finished shaping. Then today, I made an 1/8" monkey tool and trued up the hole on my 1/4" monkey tool then used them to clean up/upset the shoulders of the pieces with tenons. Ran out of oxygen in the torch setup so switched to using charcoal. A few of the tenons appear frighteningly close to easily breaking. Guess I'll just have to cross my fingers for those since I don't have more stock to remake. If needed, I will buy more but I'd rather not unless necessary. Tomorrow I'm hanging with a buddy at his shop to learn how to make a knife. I'll also be hauling all these pieces over there where they'll stay for the remainder of this project for layout, welding, and painting.

Good point. That seems obvious in retrospect, lol Just to clarify though, I wasn't filing to shape. I was just filing along the edges to sharpen. I didn't see any noticeable bulges or mushrooming. But it did shine up when I filed.

I would try the chimes personally before offering to make for anyone else. I am obsessed with wind chimes so I'll very likely do this one. Regarding the punching, I rounded the hanging end and tapered the other end. Flattened, then punched. I do have a bolster plate but couldn't find it, lol. And maybe the lack of bolster plate was the problem because it punched through the top just fine. It was when I flipped it to punch through the shadow that I had problems. I thought maybe the punch was dull so I filed it but still had the same issues. So yeah, bolster plate probably would have helped. I did work on the gate tonight but since I had to wait for the thicker bar stock to heat, I figured I would try these again in between heats. First batch was 3/4" x 1/8" x 4" long. Tonight's batch was 3/8" x 1/8" and I like them a lot better. I also doubled the length to 8". I drilled the holes. I don't have a punch small enough and didn't want to take the time to make one.

Frosty, I agree - a windchime with these elements in varying lengths does sound lovely. Chad, tapering, twisting AND punching! In fact, apparently my punch is subpar because the punching took nearly as long as the tapering/twisting, lol I need to focus on the gate again for a few sessions before I go back to a 'fun' project. So maybe this Saturday I'll try to make some more. I had some other sketches for hanging decorations that I also want to try out.

Not much but I knocked out a few hanging twisted ornaments on Friday. Posted them on my social media accounts and already have a buyer for 4 of them! These are about 4" long. Ashley thinks I should make double the length, tapered top AND bottom, and thinner. Thinner would be harder to taper but worth a shot. I'll look for thinner stock sometime this week. Saturday & Sunday was spent with the dog club laying a scent track for their Tracking Dog trials and then home to work on another burn for charcoal. I almost have all the logs left from the previous owners of our house cleared out! I think maybe 3-4 more batches and I'll be finished with that pile. And I'll be stocked with charcoal for a long while.