Borntoolate Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 BTL you are going the hard way... I've done that too! Try slitting and then opening the slit to make the hole! Also, once you can work on the horn it's easier to draw out the thicker areas than to try to get an even stretch! If the hole gets a bit overlarge you can always flatten the outside edge as much as needed! Yeah, I know. :o( I just have not made be an appropriate size slitting tool. I need to do that! I guess I could use some of my store bought chisels... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 well it started out as a horse ended up as a bottle opener Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 Got a huge blister on my trigger finger making this travesty, but I wanted to show it just to remind folks that you can salvage a lot of the "mistakes" if you just set them aside for awhile and cogitate on the matter. This opener started out as something completely different (not sure what I was thinking originally) and has been sitting in the trash heap for a few months. Yesterday, I looked at it and saw a potential opener in it. Of course, my original vision for an opener didn't work like I was hoping, and I spent a little too much time with her in the fire, hence the chewed up surface texture. In the end, though, I got to play around with my new swing-arm guillotine tool a bit and learn more about this @&*%! propane forge (I swear I'm going back to coal just as soon as I can manage it!) So, if you find yourself getting tired and frustrated with something that's not working out like you wanted, don't hesitate to put it aside. Take a break and soon enough the muse will speak to you. Mine did and I got a quick n dirty bottle opener, and yes, I tested it six times to make sure it functions properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Here's a few newer ones. Gifts for close friends who are fanatics of certain car brands, names and year stamped on the backs. Both are about 6" long ballpark, and made from one piece of steel. These two were not a purely forging process, some power tooling was involved with these as well. I'm not a forging purist when it comes to obtaining the desired results of the design in mind. A little flame temper color on the first one around the opener eye.... That's a #70 carb jet for the 70th birthday of a lifelong hot-rodder. Fun part is that next year for his 71st birthday he can unscrew this one and install a #71 jet. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Dang are those nice, Frog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinculo Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I like 'em Black frog. Very cool idea with the jet. No doubt it will mean alot to the lucky septuagenarian grease monkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheftjcook Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Those are really nice, Black Frog!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Thanks! Here's one more, just finished up for a Blackhawk's fan: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yves Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Black Frog, You might avoid an accusation of posting political material on IFI, if you forge a bottle opener with the famous "CH" of the winners of most Stanley Cups in the history of hockey and supplier of oh so many players of team Canada, winner of the gold medal this year and others ... PM me for my address ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Hi Black Frog, Those are beautiful pieces! I love this feather shaped one! How did you do the texture? Fullering maybe? And the colouring: do you polish/wirebrush it ready and then use torch on it? Thanks and best wishes, keep on this awesome work! Gergely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Yves, Give me a few days, I think I have you covered.... ;) Gergely, The feather one is the easiest one to do. This one is about 7" long, I had some 3/4" square stock, about 3.75" long ( ? guessing) and forged it from that. The center vane and outer feather texture are simply a couple different fullering tools I made. Can never have too many different sized fullering tools. I actually started with a size down and didn't quite like the results so I "re-fullered" with the next size up and that is what you see. I got the idea from Brian Brazeal's crane wing. You can search the site and see his method for forging his crane wing. The coloing takes some practice and familiarity to get it right. It has to be thoroughly wire brushed, and CLEAN. The better the wire brushing and cleanliness, the better the colors will show. You have to use the appropriate torch/tip/heat to get the desired pattern as well. Once you do a few hundred of them, you can get pretty good at it. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Once you do a few hundred of them, you can get pretty good at it. ;) Yeah, that's the one I like to hear! :D Thank you very much for the helping answer. I am getting an oxyacetilane gear soon, so practicing will be on the list. Bests to you! Gergely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Gergely, I don't want to sidetrack this thread with non-bottle-opener items, but just to show another example of ways to make feather-like components without getting into too much work and minute detail on the piece. On these four feathers, I used three different sized fullering tools to make the outer feather textures and two different fullering tools for the center vanes. The outer two feathers the larger tools, the middle two feathers a size down from that. Also can vary the angle at which the fullering tool is applied. I was hoping this gives a little variance of the feathers within the cluster so they don't all look the same. This was an earlier experiment for making feather components, in these I left more "rib" between each fullering indentation. (Sorry Yves for the transgression of the subject matter of this example).... I made the mistake of not thoroughly cleaning each feather before I had them together in the cluster. You can see where the color "grabs" better where the cleaner parts are. The colors shown in the pics may also depend on your computer monitor, the camera used, editing software, ect... O/A may be too much heat too fast for thinner/smaller parts. All my openers (and these feathers) are done with smaller MAPP gas and butane torches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 A technique I've had good luck using to do fine(ish) temper coloring is just a largish piece of heated steel. It takes a little practice to get right, some things want to be laid or touched by an edge, some a point, some on a flat. I've also done progressive tempers on blades that way but not being a blade guy it's probably not such a good blade technique, despite what Bealer said. It makes pretty though. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Black Frog: Nice feathers, thank you for the picture! I sent you a PM. Thanks Frosty for the idea. I try it while there's no torch in the shop. Greetings Gergely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Black Frog, those openers are awesome. The high polish and temper colors are fantastic. I think that may be a Chevvie bowtie shape in your first photo. (I have a vintage Chev). The carby jet is a great idea to personalise this piece. Congratulations on your ingenuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Blythin Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 For those of you who make a lot of bottle openers (and many of them are beautifully done by the way); I'm wondering - are there certain critical measurements in the working end? i.e. the 'lip' that grabs the bottom edge of the cap should be a particular size, and it should be 'x' distance from the part that rests on the top of the cap? I've only made a few openers, they're not really my area of interest, but have been asked to make one on occasion. Mine have been a bit 'hit and miss' as to how well they function. They've all worked, but some seem to take a bit more effort, or want to slip off. Cheers, Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan C Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I keep an unopened beer (which isn't a twist off) nearby which I can quickly test against after quenching the opener. I don't actually open the bottle, just verify that it's going to grab the cap properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Forging openers can be trickier than it seems! Just because it will 'grab' the cap isn't the end of the story. I've seen lots of forged bottle openers that can easily chip/crack the glass off the top of the bottle when popping the cap. I learned that on my own when watching someone use one of my earlier openers. I thought I had it forged decently, and checked it on an unopened bottle to see if it would grab the cap. The person using my opener for the first time went at it rather fast and forcefully- it took the entire top glass rim off the bottle! Cracked glass is a big no-no when making a bottle opener. The thickness of the cap tab, the distance between the cap tab and the outer rim, the shape of the rim can all come into play to make an opener that doesn't crack glass. In my opinion there's a "sweet spot" balance between size, shape, and thickness of the opener. It's not just the distance between the cap tab and rim.... If the rim is oblong vs round, that can make a difference. If the cap tab and rim are not on the same plane, that can make a difference. If the edge of the cap tab is very thin vs. thick, that can make a difference too. And you have to make sure the opener works on all types of bottles if you're selling it or giving as a gift. Lots of times people will use your nicely forged opener for twist-offs too. There's a row of bottles with chipped glass rims in my shop. I use them all the time as references for sizing/testing, until they get too beatup and then replaced with newer ones. Darn the luck I have to drink the beer so that I have new sacrificial testers. :) .....lots of variables in making a nicely functional opener that does not chip or crack glass off the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Here's two of the bottle openers I make, I also make others but these are the only ones I have pics of. The dragon is a railroad spike. I don't have a power hammer so its not one I make to sell.(i'd be very broke if I had to make and sell these) I make a few for really good friends only. The chiles come in all different sizes and those sell pretty well. I really like HWHII's red color on his chiles but I decided long ago the opener needed something that look more like a stem so i abandoned the oval opener. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Very cool openers Mr. Fudd sir. I don't know which I like best the dragon, hard not to like a good dragon, or the chiles. Lots of potential either way. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 The railway spike dragon is very clever. It must have taken a long time to draw the spike out to that length. I have tried to draw them out but it's hard going. I do a bit more with each forging session. Somewhere I saw a posting with a picture of objects made from railway spikes - I think it was done by Kootenay Forge, Canada. If anyone knows where to find the posting I would like another look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I have a little flyer I attach to each chile when I sell them- Makes the sales easier- New Variety of NM Chile – Corrales Extra Hard (co-RAL-es X-tra Haaard) Our own hand forged variety of chile, sure to be a once in a lifetime experience! Epicurious review: (Minus 92pts.) A somewhat heavy, and rugged treat, Sure to quell the appetite of even the most seasoned chile aficionado! Lightly coal smoked aroma with a distinctly metallic aftertaste. If consumed it is highly recommended that an appointment with the dentist is prescheduled and possibly an ambulance standing by for a rapid sojourn to the emergency room! Tips for usage: Special events such as; Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday, Grand Opening of a New Six-pack, etc. Desert Dawg Art (Forge) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastRonin Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Fatfudd Posted Today, 06:44 AM I have a little flyer I attach to each chile when I sell them- Makes the sales easier- New Variety of NM Chile – Corrales Extra Hard (co-RAL-es X-tra Haaard) Our own hand forged variety of chile, sure to be a once in a lifetime experience! Epicurious review: (Minus 92pts.) A somewhat heavy, and rugged treat, Sure to quell the appetite of even the most seasoned chile aficionado! Lightly coal smoked aroma with a distinctly metallic aftertaste. If consumed it is highly recommended that an appointment with the dentist is prescheduled and possibly an ambulance standing by for a rapid sojourn to the emergency room! Tips for usage: Special events such as; Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday, Grand Opening of a New Six-pack, etc. Desert Dawg Art (Forge) LOL! Love the flyer almost more than the chiles themselves. Awesome work on both types.I really like the dragon... and the almost Texas Longhorn look of his horns. Took me going to the second pic to see how it worked to open bottles though...lol at my self. Kept looking at the horns and head to see how it could grab the cap. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan C Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Both openers are amazing Fatfudd. What type of stock do you use for the chiles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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