John B Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Course dates for the year, and some specific courses for the first part of the year have just been posted on Blacksmiths Guild Home The Roses/flowers course will include working copper and steel The firewelding course will cover the technique used in the various forge welding applications. Other courses will be posted for the latter ones when demand has been identified. If you have a specific skill / technique you would like to learn, then please pm me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 just had a look john - am def interested in both of those you mentioned ( they all look good ) the flowers and the firewelding.. will have to see if i can get to either /both of them! thanks for alerting us! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironic Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hi John, I'm curious about the 'Various Twists' course 6&7th March. Do you have any more content details? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Course content is student led. We have various samples showing the progression of developing twists on a single bar, and explain how it alters the twists appearance, students then try producing some of these for themselves, They learn the use and advantages or disadvantages of different styles of twisting bars, how to control the rate of twisting and correcting them to form an even twist. Straightening them without damaging the outer edges, How to use them to alter the appearance of a situation they are used in eg Firedogs or gate infil, use a left hand twist on one, and a right hand twist on the other. How you position these twists will give a different illusion when viewed in situ as they draw the eye in a particular direction, and how they also feel different when used as a handle on an item and so on. By positioning twists at different heights and spacings, you can give subtle patterns within a frame again creating an impression. We then move on to twisting multiple bars, split bars, combinations of materials and different sections. All these are done without the use of a powerhammer, thats a whole different ball park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironic Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Sounds V interesting. I'm a Brit living in Abuja, Nigeria running a 'wrought iron' fabrication workshop using Eisenkraft manual iron bending machines. The twisting machine can produce straight even twists on cold material up to 16mm square rods or 40mm x 5mm bars. The design content of the course sounds great, also curious about the 'multiple bars, split bars & combinations of materials' to see if we can do them with our machine. What's the procedure for booking a place on the course? Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted December 5, 2009 Author Share Posted December 5, 2009 (edited) Hi Peter, All details about booking on a course are on the Blacksmiths Guild Home website. You send me a cheque made out as requested, you book the relevant course, and you turn up. I would suggest we are not going to get all this information demonstrated and practiced in a two day course, however there may be other ways to tackle the situation. The information discussed at length is possible over the two days, a lot would depend on your absorption rate, experience and capability for note taking and then applying the techniques to your machinery. Can you produce cages on your machines? You should be able to reproduce the straight single bar twists without too much trouble on your machinery. Multiple bars are using different combinations of bar, eg squares with flats or rounds etc some of these these effects can be achieved using solid bars. Different materials are merely as said, using dissimilar metals I am attaching some pictures of some of the twists we cover, they are all very basic and simple, and follow on in sequence in a lot of instances. I hope they turn out OK as I have tried to enhance them so you see how they are developed. We only use basic tools when producing these, Forge, Anvil, Leg vice, Hammer, Centre punch, Hot set (Hot chisel/incising tool), Appropriate tongs, Twisting wrenches, Water dipper, Water tank/supply, Wood block and rawhide or wood mallet and a Wire brush, and a sacrificial plate for cutting through on the cage twist in solid bar to prevent damaging anvil face. Edited December 6, 2009 by John B added leg vice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironic Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 John, I'm frankly stunned that you can produce these designs using just the tools that you list. Especially the elongated cage -I guess you must split the solid bar (twice) then twist and use some kind of spacers to get the twists even? and the multistrand twists - got me scratching my head there! Must be very time consuming. Yep, straight single bar twists are very easy using our machine. Very easy to reproduce/repeat which is important for us (fences, window guards, gates etc) You can check out our machine at EISENKRAFT - BIEGEMASCHINEN it is the MT2/2. It has basket (ie twisted cage) making attachments, which requires welding 4 x 6mm rods together prior to twisting, but I've not been able to use it successfully - the rods keep snapping at the ends - even when heated. I'm trying to get some advice from the manufacturers on this. I'm going to try to arrange to come over for the course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 (edited) I am familiar with the type of design of those machines as it is common to many manufacturers, you shouldnt have any problems with cage twists on the machine, it sounds like a materials /welding problem you need to sort, probably how you are securing the ends of the four bars into the machine, if these are not secure, it will pop the welds on the ends The elongated cage does not use spacers, they are made just using the tools stated, I would think you should be able to produce something similar on your machine, which after all is only a version of a vise and twisting wrench (Forgot to list vice, but have added it since) These "machines" are really only basic blacksmithing concepts but engineered for ease of use (at a cost) For example your twisting machine, If you want repeatability on a length of twist you can just use a tube of a suitable diameter and required length, attached to a length bar, slid over the bar at the position required and the bar securein the vice at the base of the tube, and twisted using a wrench located against the top of a tube, You can do 16mm square cold, and you will get an even twist, it's only when you heat the bars to twist you can get irregularites. The 'machines' emulate (some of ) the appearance of wrought iron, and are merely modern adaptions of traditional tools, shears, punches, ring rollers, sets and snaps for rivets etc, it just makes it simple for people to make a living without having the necessary skills of a blacksmith. I am not knocking it, just stating facts, however what does happen in a lot of instances like yourself, people get interested in how it is done 'properly' and then they embark on a discovery journey. If you use a lot of the cages it is usually cheaper to buy them in as a finished imported component as they are factory made on motorised machines. However if you are a blacksmith, you are not limited by the machines capabilities. If you can arrange it, I would be more than pleased to see you on the course, it may be we can add a couple of days to it if you feel it would be worthwhile to you as you are coming so far. Edited December 6, 2009 by John B Extra info added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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