John B Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Some pictures from this weekends course Some were incorporated into log rollers, forks and shovels, others just kept as samples, sorry for picture quality and forgot to get pictures of finished articles, busy concentrating on the twists and answering questions, making teas etc. All the students did well, and we even had a gent from the other side of the pond visiting and taking part, look forward to seeing more from over there in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisG Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 very sweet twists! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Looks good John, I particularly like the eighth one, it’s quite unusual. I’ve seen it used before, but don’t have a clue how to do one. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Like all 'smithing, you should be able to tell by what you see. As a generalisation, you can only do one thing at a time, and only heat a workable length of the material, (and if it goes wrong, leave it in the fire and destroy the evidence, or, clean it up and call it art, there is always an option) The top one in the picture is actually wrong in the fact that the third and fourth twists were mistakenly made in the same direction instead of the opposite direction, an easy mistake to make, particularly on a first attempt as they all were. To make the twist incise a line near to the edge on two opposite sides of the bar as long as you wish to make the twisted section, heat, place vertical in vice and make a 1/4 twist at a short length above the vice jaw, (use a spacer under the twisting bar to give regularity/repeatability) remove and reheat next section, (you can use the depth of the vice jaw as a length gauge/spacer for the flat portion) replace the hot bar vertical in the jaws, use the spacer and put in a 1/4 twist in the opposite direction, Just repeat for the rest of the length, then clean up and finish. Using the same technique, try it again, but this time use 1/2 twists. See pictures for the finished effect. Or you could capitalise on and learn from the mistake and use it as a seperate twist in its own right, just keep 1/4 twisting in the same direction for yet another version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 really nice twists john - looks like a productive learning weekend! i like them all but i have never seen the diamond kinda scored in one bout the fifth one along.. . what you said about smithing that you can work out how its made by looking carefully - i love that dont you?:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 The fifth one along is something I know under two names. Pineapple twist or Dragonscale twist. I really like them, they're a four way twist hammered back to square, incised four ways again then twisted in the opposite direction. If memory serves you count the number of twists in the first direction then go half that number back? Last time I did one I just did it by eye, when the diamonds lined up I stopped. ;P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I just had a go with some plasticine and it all makes sense now. Now, where do I get a pair of these all seeing smithing eyes, and how much will they cost me ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 The fifth one along is something I know under two names. Pineapple twist or Dragonscale twist. I really like them, they're a four way twist hammered back to square, incised four ways again then twisted in the opposite direction. If memory serves you count the number of twists in the first direction then go half that number back? Last time I did one I just did it by eye, when the diamonds lined up I stopped. ;P Missed a bit there Ian, you incise all the four sides on their centre line, twist a known number of times, then flatten back to square, incise again on these ‘new’ sides and reverse twist half the number of previous twists, and if arranged correctly, it will give a Pineapple twist or Diamond Twist effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 mad! and very wonderful! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Sorry John, I wasn't clear what I meant by a four way twist hammered back to flat. As you rightly say four cuts down the centre of the bar, twist a set number of times, flatten back to square, four new incisions down the new centres, then twist back in the opposite direction half the first number. I could have made one faster than trying to explain myself properly. LOL I helped a student (Manni) make a dragon door knocker that had a tapering pineapple twist for the body and tail. Fun but quite challenging to make it look right. here's the link: http://www.iforgeiron.com/index.php?app=gallery&module=images§ion=viewimage&img=25319 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 thats a really hard thing to explain in words! nice dragon with the pineapple twist.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted March 13, 2010 Author Share Posted March 13, 2010 Sorry John, I wasn't clear what I meant by a four way twist hammered back to flat. As you rightly say four cuts down the centre of the bar, twist a set number of times, flatten back to square, four new incisions down the new centres, then twist back in the opposite direction half the first number. I could have made one faster than trying to explain myself properly. LOL I helped a student (Manni) make a dragon door knocker that had a tapering pineapple twist for the body and tail. Fun but quite challenging to make it look right. here's the link: http://www.iforgeiron.com/index.php?app=gallery&module=images§ion=viewimage&img=25319 There are a lot of things you can make quicker than trying to explain them Ian, If I do a full length tapered twist for the body/tail, I find the worst bit is if you try and loop the tail round on itself, them diamonds don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 John, thanks for showing the pictures of the twists. Just looking at them taught me some things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 There are a lot of things you can make quicker than trying to explain them Ian, If I do a full length tapered twist for the body/tail, I find the worst bit is if you try and loop the tail round on itself, them diamonds don't like it. Agreed mate, they have a tendency to try and warp/move so you lose the nice straight lines from the chisel. Thinking on it, would putting a twist into the tail as you looped it round on itself help? I'm thinking that your stretching the outside and compressing the inside so a twist might let you keep the lines in order by off setting that. I've got a dead clear image of what I mean in me head and can't explain it properly > Might just have to make one and try it for myself to see whether I'm talking claptrap or not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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