Hi Paul,
Your bowl is simply gorgeous! Excuse my ignorance, but what do you do to keep the wooden forming block from catching on fire with the red hot steel you beat on it? Incidentally, you`re probably the right blacksmith to ask this question: could a cooking pot be forged the same way, and would the mild steel used be appropiate for cooking, say once the pot`s been cured? Any input will be appreciated. Nelson.

G'day Bob,
The edge decoration is all hand filed using only two files. I love the combination of copper and steel, they work very well together and copper is so easy to work with. Take a look at my website (http://sefiiraforge.com.au) and you can see a couple more bowls with copper elements.

Cheers,
Paul

Paul,

During the comment string someone mentioned the the edge finish was file work. Was it actually file work? I only ask because you didn't mention that in your description. The edge work combined with the copper "dressing" makes this work truely unique and great piece of work. Thanks for sharing it.

Bob

Edited March 26, 200917 yr by Quang0

G'day Nelson,

There's plenty of smoke and fire when I'm sinking a bowl alright, the flames only kick up once you stop hammering. They're no real problem anyway, since I'm already hanging onto the bowl with tongs.
I can see no difference in using a MS pot for cooking with than using a steel wok. Once it's seasoned you should be fine. Plus, who isn't lacking iron in their diet these days!

Paul

Hi Paul,
Your bowl is simply gorgeous! Excuse my ignorance, but what do you do to keep the wooden forming block from catching on fire with the red hot steel you beat on it? Incidentally, you`re probably the right blacksmith to ask this question: could a cooking pot be forged the same way, and would the mild steel used be appropiate for cooking, say once the pot`s been cured? Any input will be appreciated. Nelson.

Paul,

Ditto to all of the compliments above, and beautiful work on your website as well.

While we are here, would you elaborate on the "raising" process just a bit?

I am familiar with "sinking" from doing spoons an ladles... in a wood stump, as well.

I have never (intentionally) raised a piece on a stake. I would like to know more about what is going on with that.

Thanks,

Don

Beautiful work Quang, and my hat's off to you for the cause for which it was made! I don't want you to teach a bowl making class her, (unless you wish ) but I'm curious about how you start a bowl from flat. I read that you sunk it on a wood block, (I've done some leaves that way) but do you start from the center and work out or start from the rim and work in?

Thanks,
Scott "Dodge" Scheer

Firstly, thanks to everyone for their comments, it actually means a lot when people who work with iron appreciate your work. Understanding what goes into the work is something that is very difficult to convey to the outsider.
I

I have seen some very good work done in sheet material by panel beaters using puckering irons and the shrinking techniques and books on repousse such as Moving Metal by Adolph Steins explain the processes very well in copper etc.

Thanks for the post Paul. You've answered my question but unfortunately raised more . Really, just one. When you say you hammer the flutes to shrink the diameter, you also say you can "with sufficient time and patience, forge the material back over its outer diameter". Do these flutes then become material that is forge welded together or simply compressed into adjacent material?

Thanks again, and a "drop of red" always seems to help my writing skills! Can't speak for the readers though :D

Hmmm, Maybe I didn't explain it as well as I could have, the material isn't so much forged back over itself, but up and over to create a smaller opening than the outer diameter, it is as you said, compressed into the material next to it, thus thickening it. see attached bowl. also made from 10mm plate, but I thinned the edge a little (to 6mm) to make it easier to shrink.
Does that make sense?

Cheers,
Paul

OK, That makes perfect sense and exactly how I was imagining it. Thanks again Paul! And that is another beauty!! :)

Hi Paul,
Although I`ve never done any forged bowls, it sounds very atractive trying,..some day. My closest guess is that it requires a lot of skill and hammering to achieve such nice bowls. Just curiosity about this last bowl you posted, how long did it take to complete it? My ignorant guess: 6 days ?? Thanks for bowling tips too. Nelson.

Forging a bowl uses the kind of skill that comes with practice, just like any other forging technique, once learned it must be practiced and perfected.
The last posted bowl was completed in about two and a half days, from cutting the blank to as you see it here. It took a bit longer than a standard bowl of that size (280mm or 11" dia.) as I had to roll the edge in and that took some doing. Again, all done by hand, sinking and raising techniques.

Cheers,
Paul

Hi Paul,
Although I`ve never done any forged bowls, it sounds very atractive trying,..some day. My closest guess is that it requires a lot of skill and hammering to achieve such nice bowls. Just curiosity about this last bowl you posted, how long did it take to complete it? My ignorant guess: 6 days ?? Thanks for bowling tips too. Nelson.

Edited April 7, 200917 yr by Quang0
typos

Beautifull work Paul.

Do you have any photo's of the step by step process of the file work?

To be perfectly honest John, it's not worth getting the camera out!
It is one of those techniques that is heavily reliant on accuracy and layout. The filing is done with 2 files only. A round one ( I used a chainsaw file) and a triangle file. The file size is dependent on the stock size for the visual weight.
It's a matter of marking out your notches on each side (I use a fine paint marker), then filing with the round until the desired depth is reached, then using the triangle to cut in at opposing angles and then blend them together in the middle. Does that make sense?

Paul

It is starting to make more sense now. I haven't tried that effect, but really like how it looks.

You do great work, thanks for sharing.

John

Cool. there's loads of different patterns out there, and I'm sure loads more yet to be made, it's just a matter of experimenting and playing with shapes.

OMFG thats beautiful. I remember doing a copper bowl at collage, out of 2mm sheet and that was a tedious task. Let alone 10mm MS ,Well done

Paul gorgeous work.

I like the rim work too... also the rivets are very nice! Did you make the rivets from scratch (i.e. wire or rod).

BTW it seems like the kind of piece that is thirsty for a nice rack/holder/mounting.

Thanks guys, With the right tooling, it's not as tedious as you may immediately think. Yes, I make the rivets by hand, from the ones on the second bowl are from two different sized copper wire that was annealed then headed in a spring-type heading bolster then cut to size and headed in the job.

Cheers,
Paul

Well done, Paul. Elegant, rustic, substantial, organic, skillful and inspiring.

Steve.

Inspiring.

Yeah, they are cool and special. I hope they can help you to raise more money.