mitch4ging Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Man, some nice openers lately! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANGRYANVIL Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Ok i tried out some new techniques today on my Angry Openers. I went with a twisted rubix and a hole style opener. With some more practice i will get better at it. Thanks Black Frog for your tutorial on YouTube for the opener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Nomad- glad you liked it, I'm gonna borrow your skull idea in the near future. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I found an old horse drawn implement which had been out in the open for some time. I think it's a scarifier of some kind (?) and it has straight tines about 6 inches long. It had long since fallen to pieces. Here's a picture of it:I was thinking of what I might do with it and thought the tines would make interesting bottle openers. Some of them were in good condition like this one:And some that had been in contact with the ground were rusted almost to extinction. Some of the bars also had suffered from a countless years in the weather:It seems to me that the heavy pitting on the worn away times and bars was quite attractive in a weird way. I mean you just couldn't replicate the texture that a hundred years of weather has created. So I reckoned that with minimal effort I could make a bottle opener with some character and a sense of history. Anyway, I cut off the two pieces in the pictures above and made the openers below. Compared to some I've seen, these might be a bit plain and not to everyone's taste, but I like them. They feel good in the hand and I'm pleased the scrap dealer didn't get them: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 You were right, Ausfire. You just couldn't duplicate that look, no matter how hard you tried. Excellent openers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch4ging Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Awsome! Very unique. Good thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Those teeth are often 1095, or other straight high carbon steel. They will start sparking and be ruined faster than mild steel too. The straight high carbon steel also might explain the heavy pitting since high carbon low alloy rusts so fast... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadeyeb Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 This is my second bottle opener works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 BTW the piece of farm equipment is a harrow used for breaking up clods after you plow a field. “The toad beneath the harrow knows / Exactly where each tooth-point goes; Rudyard Kipling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Thomas - harrows. Thanks for that. I have been wrongly calling them scarifier points. I have made quite a few botle openers from them now and I like the heavily pitted texture. I don't know anything about what steel it is, but I know it's not wrought iron. It doesn't split or fray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Wicks Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Mine isnt very pretty.... i had to improvise a punch to get the "tongue" to form and the hammering is pretty rough but i am still happy. I even made the tongs i used to forge it. Most importanly though it works. I made sure of that ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Nice work, Simon. You do realize that a proper function test means you have to apply it to a large variety of manufacturers to make sure it covers the spectrum, right? Opening six bottles from the same maker isn't a valid statistical sample to prove you have a good opener. Just trying to help. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Looks fine to me, Simon. You're a messy painter though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwilson645 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 After several attempts with different pieces of steel, I finally made a successful bottle opener. (testing was a success!!!!!)I did clean up the opening a touch with a file to remove a couple of sharp edges and went over it with a wire brush but it's "as forged" otherwise. This was a large horseshoe. Much larger than most I've seen so it has some heft to it but I like it. Also, if I use the other half of the horseshoe for another opener I then have right-handed and left-handed openers. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Good start Wilson. A little more time spent dressing up the ring next time, and it will be top notch. Try a light hammer, and light blows to smooth it up in the final stages. Do you have a good anvil horn, or a cone to slip the ring over while you dress it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Looks fine to me, Simon. You're a messy painter though. He just dabbles. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Josh, your bottle opener looks great. I have done a few with horse shoes now (it seems to be good metal) only I usually straighten them. Some I have polished to a mirror shine, but it seems many people prefer the straight-off-the-forge look. Try a brass brush while mildly hot (not red) which gives an attractive golden glow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwilson645 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Josh, your bottle opener looks great. I have done a few with horse shoes now (it seems to be good metal) only I usually straighten them. Some I have polished to a mirror shine, but it seems many people prefer the straight-off-the-forge look. Try a brass brush while mildly hot (not red) which gives an attractive golden glow. Thanks Aus. You are right on the metal. I had attempted openers before with some 5/16" square and just couldn't get it to stretch the hole right. It always cracked. I was told I wasn't getting it hot enough and that was what was causing it. Pulled this horseshoe out to give it a shot and made sure it was good and hot. It opened up nicely.I will give the brass brush a shot next time. I also want to do a high polish on one. Good start Wilson. A little more time spent dressing up the ring next time, and it will be top notch. Try a light hammer, and light blows to smooth it up in the final stages. Do you have a good anvil horn, or a cone to slip the ring over while you dress it up? I was not completely happy with the ring either. It's a small 50# anvil but has a good horn. I will bring out a smaller hammer next time and dress it a little better. The hole wasn't punched competely centered either which is something else to correct on the next one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Wicks Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Hehehehe, cheers guys :) Excuse the table, i tend to use it as a pallette when painting miniatures and yes i am extremely messy! It has been thouroughly tested with a wide range of beverages and has passed muster! I love jwilson's use of a horse shoe. I have several given to me by a colleague so i will have to try out making a bottle opener with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDW Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I just had to post a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momatt Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 After reading this great thread I tried a few. The rams head one will go to my nephew since he like rams heads and is also turning 21 next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Beautiful openers Lyle. No less than I'd expect from someone with your skills and experience. I love multi-taskers the fork and steak flipper are head slapper ideas to me, I should've thought of that! I'm thinking musicians will go nuts for the guitar opener just don't bill it as something a normal person would mistake for a tool to open guitars. <wink> Tell Brian Frosty says high for me please. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch4ging Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 LDW, the fork& steak flipper combo's...great idea!! Momatt, that came out good and beefy! Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Love the dog's head LDW. You know that you are now required to do a blueprint here...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Ditto. Let's see how you did that dog's head. Brilliant. Didn't know whether to post this here or in 'tools' , but since it relates directly to bottle openers I'll put it here. I was having some difficulty punching a neat lifting tab on the openers using a bob punch so I thought a small ball pein hammer head would do the trick. This hammer was annealed in the forge overnight and the handle allows good vision to get the tab centred. The handle is tight enough for good control but loose enough to avoid shock. I know you could get the same result with an ordinary bp hammer struck with a mallet, but this is a handy little tool, super-easy to make and works very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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