December 20, 201312 yr Black Frog, you need to do a tutorial on how you make those. I was playing around in the forge this evening and must be missing some key move.... I did find out that a great way to recycle old tongs that can't be saved is to use the rivet hole as a starting point for making a bottle opener. I don't know where I got these mangled old tongs, but they couldn't be saved so I cut the good metal off and was left with the jaw and boss..... and I said, "Hey doesn't that look like the start of a bottle opener?!?!" Two hours later, I'm trying to salvage the piece. Turns out the jaw was wrought iron with a weld that want to delaminate on me. Still, I have another chunk o' scrap and ain't giving up. I'll posts pics when I get done.
December 20, 201312 yr Black Frog, you really need to do a tutorial on how to make those. I was playing around in the forge this evening and must be missing some key move.... I would be happy to do a pictorial on how I do these, but I would feel a bit sheepish about doing it. I think I'm quite a hack compared to most here. I think there are a few key aspects in getting them to turn out like this. I spent many hours tinkering with many variations before I ended up with this final design, and getting the right approach to repeatably reproduce it. I'll be doing several more of these in the next week or so, I'll try to snap some pics as I go and do a little write-up for them. I'm glad you like them, thanks! :)
December 20, 201312 yr Neither the photos or the openers are indicative of hack-ness. I'm sure a lot of us are looking forward to seeing the trick of the trade, so to speak.... or am I gonna have to mangle a few more feet of iron? :)
December 20, 201312 yr HWHII really like your chile openers . Are they painted ? enamelled ? Is the opener head formed by slitting or wrapping and welding? cheers
December 20, 201312 yr This is the only picture I have of a bottle opener I've made. Made many other types but this is the easiest.
December 20, 201312 yr here is a batch of wizard head openers I did some time ago, for Christmas orders. And some fork beetles.
December 21, 201312 yr Hey Divermike is there a closeup of the fork beetles you could show? Cute little critters are fun to do. I'm enjoying every ones pictures, thinking I need to get camera/computer literate soon. Rashelle
December 21, 201312 yr I made a bunch of bottle openers recently with the idea of selling them for Xmas. I did sell some but they quickly became an end in themselves as I enjoyed experimenting with different styles and decorations. These ended up being my favorites: And a close up: The information on how to do a Rubik's twist came from this forum. The one on the right is a modification of my own design, as far as I know.
December 21, 201312 yr I made a bunch of bottle openers recently with the idea of selling them for Xmas. I did sell some but they quickly became an end in themselves as I enjoyed experimenting with different styles and decorations. I really like how some of these look somewhat like a skeleton key. Good work! -Crazy Ivan
December 21, 201312 yr HWHII really like your chile openers . Are they painted ? enamelled ? Is the opener head formed by slitting or wrapping and welding? cheers The patina is 3 coats of red machinist lay out die with a clear coat of laquer. The openers on theses are bent and welded. You could slit and drift them, but I like them this way as I texture the round stock to make it look more like a stem of a chilie pepper.
December 21, 201312 yr senft i like all 3 of those. Very well done Thanks! It's amazing how many variations of these things there are. And as simple as they may seem sometimes they really take a lot of fooling with....
December 21, 201312 yr i was motivated to try a few of my own. Pretty plain & not worthy, BUT, they work! performance validated on actual bottles of dark bitter beer.
December 21, 201312 yr from beammeupscotty: my own design, as far as I know. I like yours better. I'm guessing it's chiseled & twisted? do you file the pyramids?
December 21, 201312 yr i was motivated to try a few of my own. Pretty plain & not worthy, BUT, they work! performance validated on actual bottles of dark bitter beer. IMG_01741.JPG They look great
December 21, 201312 yr from beammeupscotty: my own design, as far as I know. I like yours better. I'm guessing it's chiseled & twisted? do you file the pyramids? Yes,hacksaw,chisled,hacksawed again to form cubes, filed with a triangle file then twisted.
December 22, 201312 yr Some fine, innovative opener designs here, many now saved for later imitation/sincere flattery of the originals When I first started out I made some massive openers, as suited to bashing in the stave of a beer keg as pop the top on a bottle. Railroad spikes for some train enthusiasts are just as heavy half inch stock really does make a beefy opener but stepping down to 1/4 x 3/4, with some Brazeal style horsehead embelishment so I'm finally making some openers that won't injure a foot when dropped.
December 22, 201312 yr Some fine, innovative opener designs here, many now saved for later imitation/sincere flattery of the originals When I first started out I made some massive openers, as suited to bashing in the stave of a beer keg as pop the top on a bottle. DSCN3297.JPG Railroad spikes for some train enthusiasts are just as heavy DSCN3474.JPG half inch stock really does make a beefy openerDSCN3539.JPGimage0039.jpg but stepping down to 1/4 x 3/4, with some Brazeal style horsehead embelishmentHorseheads.jpg so I'm finally making some openers that won't injure a foot when dropped. I rather like those horse head openers. They have a sort of Picasso-like stylization of a horse going on.
December 22, 201312 yr Yes,hacksaw,chisled,hacksawed again to form cubes, filed with a triangle file then twisted. I am very curious about the price you can sell them at. What you describe is a lenghty procedure. How much time? What price? I like these very much. Details like these realy add value (artistic and monetary) to a simple piece of steel.
December 22, 201312 yr I would think a slitting disk on an angle grinder or cutoff tool would get you there a lot quicker?
December 22, 201312 yr couple oldies. Hand made openers and a nice six pack brings smiles to almost anybody that I know. cool work everyone
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