Alaskan Gothic #...(forgot...)

[jake pogrebinsky]

Well,another long-ish project is drawing to a close.A 6-candle hanging job,commissioned by a gentleman from Anchorage(muscling in on your turf there,Frosty).

The concept is to suspend 6 candles up in the air,to achieve it by means of forging,and to make it appear so,as well.The setting,when installed,will be suspention under a 16' clear span(on a system of pulleys to lower et c.),over a very massive cherry-wood table.The owner keeps bees,and makes his own candles,and the irregularity of those was taken into the design considerations.As well as the hoped-for drips and runs(though real wax does the minimum of that,unfortunately).
All in all,the irregularity of the hand-forging was the focus(as is usual for THIS forge).The plan beforehand was minimal,leaving lots of room for the shape to be dictated by the way the iron itself choosing to act.Having said that must admit that i've worked even sloppier than usual,and many individual details came out more crapulously than intended,technically.Was i a perfectionist,i'd re-do much detail,but alas,i'm not,so out the door it'll go,after some final adjustments + a hot douche of waste motor oil.

Even though the technical shortcomings are glaring i still hold that the FORGED object must needs be shaped according to the way that the hot iron distorts,first and foremost.THEN there needs to be the COMPETENT execution of FORGING processes.Thus,between the plasticity of iron and the joinery the assorted sketching/hypothetical "design" et c.,has very little room in forged work.But this is just my deranged view,and even i fail repeatedly to live up to it.Such is life.

Anyhoo,this is around 3' by 2,the material is mostly 1 1/2" dia.round obtained from an old anchor chain.Some 1018 hr scrap.100lbs of propane + 150 of store-boughten,Poca coal down the hatch.The photos are not the best,but are just to provide an idea.

[Dillon Sculpture]

Nice piece, I would try an get some better photos before you let that one go.

[Don A]

Very nice, indeed.

And while you're at it, try to get some pics of the installation. It sounds very interesting.

Roughly how heavy is it?

Good work.

Don

[jake pogrebinsky]

Thanks,guys.

Michael,i'm sure that you,of all people,are aware that work like this does not make any economic sense.So,i've let my record-keeping go(i've a better quality work out there that i have no photos of at all).
I'll take a couple more after the oil,just for s...ts and giggles.
(That's a primary reason why i bother producing stuff like that,as well as posting it here).

Don,the installation is about 600(roadless)miles away from me,so that i won't be present.MAYBE,the client will eventually send some,but usually people forget.

The weight is somewhere under 40#,i'd say.Not too scary to dangle there,but would take some thought supporting.

[K. Bryan Morgan]

That is one nice piece of work there. Very gothic in its styling. What type of finish are you going to use on it?

When will you be coming down to Fairbanks? I still haven't started radiusing the edges of the anvil. It's just too cold to work in the shop for me yet.

[jake pogrebinsky]

Darn,Bryan,my scene here is so confused that i still don't know if/when i'd be able to hit the road-system.Married to my dumb sleddogs,it's like being any other kind of farmer,very tough to get away.I'll let you know immediately if it were to work out.

Glad to hear that your progress is slow,and systematic.No sense to rush things,spring's almost here anyway.
What sort of access do you have to a mech.bansaw or a shop-saw?In case i get completely dysfunctional here,and can't size the stock for you,i'll send some chunkier stuff.WI is dead-soft,and if you can cut off a short/fat piece you can easily draw it out by hand,it's actually surprisingly pleasant.But with any luck will try to run it out for you.

[ThomasPowers]

I like it! But it looks much more Art Nouveau than Gothic to me what with the curved and free form lines.

[Paul42`]

One of a kind, never to be duplicated = priceless. I like it!

[jake pogrebinsky]

Thank you,Thomas,you're absolutely right!Well,actually,with my education i couldn't possibly work in any specific style,and so use the term "gothic"in jest.

It actually would be very neat to learn the particulars of a given historic ironworking tradition,classed and objectified by some bright brain.Or to even just see some detailed pictures of the joinery.

Something like the late Ms Meilach's books(not that i've actually seen any,but did hear tell),on some of the old European styles.

[Bentiron1946]

.....home, home with the deranged, where the hammer and anvil clang..... Dang that is some nice looking forge work, I like that a lot! Nice texture and shape, a real winner of a candle stick. B)

[K. Bryan Morgan]

I understand Jake not a problem. If worse comes to worse, after break up I may be able to make a road trip to you. It is deffinatly an option. Or, you can mail me whatever you like to. Lots of possibilities. No worries on this end. I am going to get a chop saw and can use a cut off blade in it. That will work just fine. I've done it before cutting steel for construction. And this was the hard c-channel stuff used for comercial buldings. So if it will work for that, it will work just fine on wrought. Just let me know what your schedule looks like and I'll make arraingements on my end. I could always use my hot cut hatchet head in the vise hardy thingamajig. It does get the job done.

[jake pogrebinsky]

Thanks,Bentiron,yes,derangement is a wonderful force,very useful in forging in particular!

Bryan,sounds great.Do come down,if ever you get a chance.Motoring,the trip back up-river will be very gas-intensive(and it's $6/gal here now),but possibly still worth it.Static trip,canoe/kayak/raft would only take 5-6 days,and the Yukon is a class-0.0000 river,you could ride a log down comfortably.The rig is cheap to barge back up,unless it's small enough to fly back with you.Air freight back-haul from here is not bad,$1/lb the last i heard,so that's also an option.The trip down is neat,beautiful country,and many different kinds of it,too...