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I Forge Iron

Forging a Crane


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thanks brian for sharing I have noticed that the hores head and the crain head all revolve around the same method you use to make tongs. Great skill set for one to learn


Exactly, Francis Cole. I've been talking about this since I first got around other blacksmiths. When doing free handed forging on an avil with just your hammer, near and far sided half-hammer faced blows with a fullering or rounding hammer are your best choice of dies to isolate, move, and make abrupt divisions in the material. Most all of my work, when working alone, employs half-hammer faced blows or partial-hammer faced blows in a numer of different forms. You create smaller surfaces of contact with your material which delivers more pounds per square inch and moves the material more. and the material stays hot longer with less contact with your hammer and anvil.

Thanks, everyone for your comments. I hope you all try these techniques out like DickL has. You all should see Lyles, LDW, work since he's tried these techniques and understands them. The world will be a better place with more blacksmiths.
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Brian I still have the artical you did for anvil mag a few years ago. We need to get you down to SW florida to do some demo's


Hi Francis,
Would be happy to do it, Send karen an email at brianbrazealblacksmith@gmail.com, she takes care of my scheduling and stuff. She will also give you my cell number. Sounds great.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Brian, thanks for all the ideas. That is some beautiful work !! Hope the folks living close by realize the opourtunity they have at hand. I have so many different things to try that you have posted I'm not sure I'll ever get through them. I call it the Brian Brazeal Challenge :)

Thanks again,
Dick

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Well Brian..

I am not happy about my wing... I was going off what you posted on the NWBA site so I didnt have the photo break down of the wing... looking at it here I think I could have another go... I ended up with wings that where too long and not fullered to the point of that nice scallop you show.

Anyway here are my first two go's Im going to try again soon...

post-2750-006105900 1288365536_thumb.jpg

post-2750-042995300 1288365548_thumb.jpg

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Beautiful! The amazing thing Brian, is that you make it look so simple that I feel like even I have a shot at making them.
BTW, folks, a group of cranes is called a sedge or siege, according to the Audubon Society (I suppose they should know...) :D



I'll get the serious nonsense out of the way first.

Once again another beautiful example of making steel or iron do what you want Brian! I really like the way it's plasticity is displayed and the playful nature of the presentations are wonderful.

A SEDGE of cranes eh? I suppose if Brian'd used an open die that would be a SWADGE for cranes?

Works for me.

Frosty the Lucky.
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Well Brian..

I am not happy about my wing... I was going off what you posted on the NWBA site so I didnt have the photo break down of the wing... looking at it here I think I could have another go... I ended up with wings that where too long and not fullered to the point of that nice scallop you show.

Anyway here are my first two go's Im going to try again soon...


Great job! The thing with the wing is just a matter of changing the angle of your fuller with each fuller mark. Everyone does that to start with. I did the same thing in the beginning, running the fuller lines parallel. Just keep changing the angle a little with every fuller mark until it is almost parallel with the smaller fuller line at the top. You will have alot less fuller marks to make, and it will become fuller instead of longer.
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Ok Brian..

I scaled up and tried again... I still dont get the wing.

I felt like I was doing real well up until I started fullering across the wing and then I had a heck of a time controlling the shape... Seems to me Id have better luck if I pre-shaped the wing with a curve in the opposite direction.

Do you work the fuller starting at the spine and push out or do you fuller 90 deg to the spine?

I ended up mangling the upper part of the wing trying to keep it straight.. Its hard to see from the photo but I ended up twisting it so I could keep the spine straight..

Anyway... This one is about 30" tall and made from 1/2 X 2"
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Not TOO bad Larry... for a wing mangler that is. (;-) Yeah I would try prebending that stock like a knife maker would... same principle here. The wood wallop system ought to help too (lots of knifemakers use a club or wooden mallet to straighten their blades as forging of the bevel distorts it). It looks to me as though you might have fullered your upper wing a tad too deeply also. I'd bet that after making a few more they start to look pretty AWESOME for you!

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Nice try MM, but with respect you are not imitating the pictures Brian published, ie, the initial blank forging is not a straight item, the joining end is at an angle, which means that the first fullered line is not straight, the fullering is put in progressively, and the end fullering is not completed until material is severed, this will effect the curving as you forge.

A few minor details but they will change the end result

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Nice try MM, but with respect you are not imitating the pictures Brian published, ie, the initial blank forging is not a straight item, the joining end is at an angle, which means that the first fullered line is not straight, the fullering is put in progressively, and the end fullering is not completed until material is severed, this will effect the curving as you forge.

A few minor details but they will change the end result


Thanks, JohnB. JohnB is correct. Also, the proportion of your fullers for that size of material is different. The smaller fuller could have been a little larger, and fullered deeper causing the material to bend more in the opposite direction. There is no need for a prebend, just go with what the forging gives you. I do not finish any of the fullering runs until I am ready in the end. That will enable you to situate the wing however you like. Fullering the spine causes it to bend down, and fullering the feathers will cause it to bend upward. Develop the piece as you go and finish how you choose.

Nice job,though, Monster Metal!
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  • 1 month later...

looks good..its just your syle of wing. i like the base.

here's my first two attempts at the crane. one is out of 1/4 x 1" the other is out of 3/8 x 1 &1/4" ..thank you brian for sharing the step by step photos. this is a fun project..still working on the wings.

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post-7234-0-72333100-1291924947_thumb.jp

post-7234-0-86999100-1291924957_thumb.jp

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  • 1 year later...

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