Gergely Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Thank you, Aus! These are made of very fine grain WI, it usually forges almost like old mild steel. I do forge them at higher heat and stop it in time. The only problem I face sometimes is when the stock has some greater inner delamination - like the line showing at pic1. It can mean defection that is not worth repairing. But like in this case it's not always fatal. Yeah, I sell these, people like to hear about the old harrow story. My "business name" refers also to recycling, so I do keep telling these stories over and over and over... I'm thinking about labels attached to items, but people tend to not read signs and writings around here. Bests: Gergely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 8 minutes ago, Gergely said: people tend to not read signs and writings around here. Oh, there too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 JHCC - Oh, yes. And even the ones with all the education! Craft fair dialogue: C: -What these things are? Me: - These are key fobs with the signs of our old runic alphabet on them. (Showing the writing at the board.) C: - Ooh! I see. So these mean something? Me: - Yes. These mean the letters of the old alphabet. C: - Ooh, I see! Is there any system in these if want to find one? Child standing nearby: - Yes, dad/mom, there are the letters of the alphabet... I don't blame anyone though, there are so much to see in the world... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Out of the mouths of babes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 "This is the rune of Finding, it helps prevent your keys from getting lost; it of course costs more...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TastefullyPeenedIronWorks Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Yep, the ol' rail spike makes a good bottle opener. I see you have the pointy bit of the head down. Fits the hand better that way, but if given a choice I find most folks want the head the other way. The decoration marks look good, but I thought the lifting tab seems a bit small. Still, if they open bottles that's the main thing! The tab on the second photo looks a bit rough. What are you using to forge them. The ball end of a small ball peen hammer works well. On 2/14/2018 at 10:16 AM, Gergely said: ... but people tend to not read signs and writings around here. For the benefit of latecomers to demos (and to avoid repeating myself) I have a chalkboard near the forge where I write what the current project is. Plain as day and prominently displayed, but I still get "What are you making?" Smile and point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TastefullyPeenedIronWorks Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Thanks Ausfire! The lifting tabs come out a good amount, I thinks it’s my photography skills that are really lacking. As I have been taught, quality control is critical, at least six beers per opener...I believe that’s right. I haven’t done much with making decorative markings, honestly, it could be a bit crisper and more controlled in the marking of the iron. These guys are almost pure iron, they forge down so much easier than the spring steel I normally work. In regards to what I use, I am what some might call a “gaser.” I start with upsetting my pointy ends, I know, it’s a bit of extra work but I find the transitions from neck to head seem to look nicer and the flow looks more uniform when I do so. After the upset, I use the ball of a 4#, courtesy of CrazyIvan, to mushroom those guys down. Been playing with some oval shaped pill punches to punch those eyes, saves a ton of time in drifting that hole. To isolate the material for the lifting tab I am using the end of a round punch. Honestly, I hadn’t considered a tiny ball peen for the job. Very thoughtful idea, sir! The one in the second photo does not look terribly pretty, I concur. I had considered forging the opposite end of the spike down, I live within about 45min of the Reading RR, they might be a little on the heavy side but I have trouble keeping them in stock. Hey, make what sells, lol. Thank you for your kind words of wisdom and advice, I like the idea of a chalk board for the days work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I've done quite a lot of rail spike openers but thought I would try one with a cube twist handle. Worked out OK, but the cubes were a little sharp on the hand. A quick brush with an aggressive wire wheel solved that. I was going to brass this one but decided to leave it bright. The other spike was going to be an opener too, but it's wrought iron so I backed away from that idea and made a wall hook instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TastefullyPeenedIronWorks Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Those rock! What’s going on with the punches holes in the hanger? Did you use the ball peen first and than hot punch? Drill? The cube twist might be slightly beyond me at this point, but I’ll try it soon enough. I imagine, were you not to have even, smooth lines in the cuts, it would be a nightmare to file clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Yes, I use a ball peen to swell the area for the holes and then either drill or punch the holes. I usually punch holes on the ones for sale but I drilled this one as it was a quick job to get a hanger for my shop apron. With the cube twist (some call it a stairway twist) I smooth the edges of the stock with a flap disc first, but it still needs a bit of smoothing out after the twisting pops up the cubes. The cube twists are not hard to do and maybe you should give it a try. Make sure you make the cuts along the stock deep enough to make the cubes prominent. Be careful not to cross the lines when you cut the opposing corners to make the cubes. And most importantly (as with any twists) make sure you have an even heat all the way along the section to be twisted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerald Boggs Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 On 1/11/2018 at 8:19 AM, Zeroclick said: JustAnotherViking - well I will just have to suffer for my art Gerald Boggs - That looks really cool I like the handle, what steel did you use? Sorry for the delay, I don't always have the cookies on and didn't see that you had posted. 4140 is what I used. Not sure what would be best, it's what I had on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebeaux Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 This is my second kayak opener. I did this one out of flat bar, but the third one I did out of 3/4" round bar came out even better. I sold it before I remembered to take a picture, oops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Do a big one where the sitting position is the opener. Looks good, I have some kayaker friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebeaux Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I considered that, but to get the proportion right it would end up being a heavy opener. I did 4 more today out of 3/4" round bar, two of them work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Finally finished up this wrought iron one, semi-randomly textured with a ball-end punch under the treadle hammer. (Also a leaf.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajajoaquin Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 I really like that leaf. Most leaves have a center spine, but yours doesn’t. Can you share more details on it (in a separate thread if people get offended at the thread creep) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 I may do a separate post at some point, but for now, I’ll say this: the way I like to do leaves is with a center ridge rather than a central vein. I do this by beveling each side with a cross peen. The ridge is formed by the intersection of the tops of those bevels, and the peening creates a nice rippled texture. There’s a certain element of naturalistic randomness to it that I find pleasing to the eye, much more than the mechanical rigidity of chiseled veins. Here’s another example of what I mean: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 On 3/7/2018 at 4:03 PM, bebeaux said: I considered that, but to get the proportion right it would end up being a heavy opener. I did 4 more today out of 3/4" round bar, two of them work well. Nice opener design..... but I really like that ruler! I've been hunting for a short ruler like that, but all the ones I can find either have too fine a gradation or have metric as well. A 6"x1" rule that's broken down to eighths on one side and sixteenths on the other -- ooh, would that be nice to have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerMonkey Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I made a simple bottle opener from a spike for a friend from Canada. He is always going on about maple syrup so I added a can opener to the other end. Finished with carnuba wax. For the can opener I forged the end to the desired thickness and point, then drifted a hole through it. I then took an old allen wrench and mig welded it in the hole and zipped it off, ground it smooth, then forged the shape for the tab (lever??) and bent the point down. Unfortunately the weld on the underside has some voids... ugh. But, both ends of the opener function well. I mailed it off to him yesterday. I hope he likes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebeaux Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 9 hours ago, VaughnT said: Nice opener design..... but I really like that ruler! I've been hunting for a short ruler like that, but all the ones I can find either have too fine a gradation or have metric as well. A 6"x1" rule that's broken down to eighths on one side and sixteenths on the other -- ooh, would that be nice to have! It's just a 6" rule with a 4R graduation. Eighths and sixteenths on one side, 32nds and 64ths on the other. FleaBay has some Starrett rules for around $15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah k Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Made this as a gift this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 That's neat, reminds me of a neck tie. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabumi Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Here's my first bottle opener that works, the hole is a little small for my tastes but it was made from rusty scrap that wasn't useful for much else so it's good in my book. Out of the 3 bottles I opened with it only 1 had to be pried twice. I cleaned it up with an angle grinder and smoothed it out with 500grit sandpaper. I got the color from leaving it on my wood stove overnight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 On 4/9/2018 at 7:27 PM, Jonah k said: Made this as a gift this weekend. Looks great Jonah. sort of mid century modern look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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