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I Forge Iron

Twist Machine


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Ok so I had this large railing job last winter and the customer had seen that I had done a reverse twist on something else that I made and liked it. Knowing there would be many of these to do I decided to make a tool to help speed things up. Now I know you can suspend the piece and stick a wrench in the middle and get the same thing, but if you are like I am it takes a while to straighten them back up. Hopefully you can follow this link and watch the video. Im sure i'm not the only one to do this ,but it was kind of fun. Let me know what you think.

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Looks like a perfectly effective tool. How long is the center portion held by the wrench?

Smart dog, got right out of the way when you started twisting.

All round enjoyable little video and good tool idea. Thank you.

Frosty the Lucky.

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Frosty, Thanks. Yes the dog normally wont have anything to do with being in the shop but, that was on a saturday. You see she follows the wife around all week and then on the weekend she follows me because I buy her a cheeseburger!biggrin.gif

And Maddog, Im sorry to say that that is the normal state of order in my shop!rolleyes.gif The reason is 2 fold. #1 Although my wife loves what i do out in the shop, she expects me to keep it out in the shop.laugh.gif And #2 I work in a place that there is such filth and waller ( for example: machining chips all over the place xxx xxxx xxx xxxx everywhere in mean everywhere! and just complete lack of organization.) that I just cant let it get bad here.

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And one more thing. Just in case you wanted to see what things looked like complete, here are some photos. I know its nothing too special but I was pretty proud of the job. Too bad I didnt make any money! But I really didnt do it for the money.......ok well maybe a little!smile.gif post-13376-058091300 1287190416_thumb.jppost-13376-023914200 1287190415_thumb.jp

post-13376-089101800 1287190413_thumb.jp

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And one more thing. Just in case you wanted to see what things looked like complete, here are some photos. I know its nothing too special but I was pretty proud of the job. Too bad I didnt make any money! But I really didnt do it for the money.......ok well maybe a little!smile.gif post-13376-058091300 1287190416_thumb.jppost-13376-023914200 1287190415_thumb.jp


It's very nice work. The lines are clean, the scrolls are nicely porportioned and well matched. All components and elements are well balanced. All in all a very pro piece of work.

About the money making part. You DO know why the devil takes the blacksmith don't you?

About your dog. I pity anyone who doesn't share their life with a dog or a few. Falki, our new Icy pup is getting close to old enough to start spending time in the shop while a fire's lit. Happily the little lintball doesn't need a cheeseburger bribe to hang with me. ;)

Frosty the Lucky.
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It's very nice work. The lines are clean, the scrolls are nicely porportioned and well matched. All components and elements are well balanced. All in all a very pro piece of work.

About the money making part. You DO know why the devil takes the blacksmith don't you?

About your dog. I pity anyone who doesn't share their life with a dog or a few. Falki, our new Icy pup is getting close to old enough to start spending time in the shop while a fire's lit. Happily the little lintball doesn't need a cheeseburger bribe to hang with me. ;)

Frosty the Lucky.




Not sure about the devil and the blacksmith. The dog has spent many a hour riding in the truck and going to our daughters softball games. We were crushed when our daughter played division 1 college softball. They wouldn't let her in the stadium. So she couldn't bark when our daughter hit a home run! But you are right. Dogs are definitely mans best friend!

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Todd, I recognize the trait, I too have it ;) , more fun and satisfaction in making up a good tool/machine than in the project, it(the tool)probably could twist that cold if you used a small motor/box combo and the job look great by the way. Thanks for sharing.
Ian

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Here are some more detailed photos of it. ...



Awesome. I've saved all the pix. Thanks for posting all this info. It's a real contribution. I've seen much cruder versions of the same basic idea but yours is very well thought out and executed. The adjustable base and the socket recievers are a very nice touch. It's too bad you can't add it to the Blue Prints. It surely belongs there.

A wise smith once told me that mechanical ability is a big part of being a smith. To that I would add, ingenuity and the unshakeable confidence that you can improve on any piece of equipment you see. I think when I make mine, I will use adjustable wrenches for the holders. :)


P.S. There will be no pix from my shop on this forum until I can find a maid!
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Help! I am still missing something. Are you doing one direction, then reheating and twisting the other way? If so, how are you locking onto the twisted section for the second twist? I have watched the video several times and cannot figure it out. Anybody...



He has a stationary grip at each end of the twist region. The tool with the handle grabs in the middle and twists a few rotations in one direction only. This makes a rh twist on one side and a lh twist on the other with a short untwisted spot in the middle. If you have trouble visualizing it, try it with a thin strip of paper or modeling clay
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He has a stationary grip at each end of the twist region. The tool with the handle grabs in the middle and twists a few rotations in one direction only. This makes a rh twist on one side and a lh twist on the other with a short untwisted spot in the middle. If you have trouble visualizing it, try it with a thin strip of paper or modeling clay


Sorry, this original section removed as I got it wrong,

Compliments to the original poster tireif for an excellent solution for a production process, well thought out and engineered and posted. Edited by John B
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John, Look at the length of the heat taken on the bar, it is the entire length of the twist. Not 1/2 at a time. Also see in the photos that the supports that are at the end of the heat are gripping the bar not just supporting it to keep it straight. One is the independent post and the other is the end support that holds the twister. The other end of the twister itself has the third gripping area which is the center of this heat. The twister is supported on this end with an open support with clearance to allow the bar to twist inside it, like the twister itself has (except the gripper at the end). The tool could obviously used the way you are thinking but it is clear to me anyway that all the twisting is done in one operation. I think that helps with his consistent results.
Hope this helps
Rob

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John, Look at the length of the heat taken on the bar, it is the entire length of the twist. Not 1/2 at a time. Also see in the photos that the supports that are at the end of the heat are gripping the bar not just supporting it to keep it straight. One is the independent post and the other is the end support that holds the twister. The other end of the twister itself has the third gripping area which is the center of this heat. The twister is supported on this end with an open support with clearance to allow the bar to twist inside it, like the twister itself has (except the gripper at the end). The tool could obviously used the way you are thinking but it is clear to me anyway that all the twisting is done in one operation. I think that helps with his consistent results.
Hope this helps
Rob


Apologies, my mistake, you are correct, it does twist both halfs at the same time, the length of and uniformity of heating in a gas forge is obviously an advantage here

A smart bit of engineering/blacksmithing, I will edit my post accordingly
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Apologies, my mistake, you are correct, it does twist both halfs at the same time, the length of and uniformity of heating in a gas forge is obviously an advantage here

A smart bit of engineering/blacksmithing, I will edit my post accordingly




Dont worry about it John. I demonstrated this for our club, and even with it in person, I had to explain it several times for quite a few members before the light came on! I didnt allow that it was that complicated.LOL! considering the brain that the idea came from!wink.gif
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Dont worry about it John. I demonstrated this for our club, and even with it in person, I had to explain it several times for quite a few members before the light came on! I didnt allow that it was that complicated.LOL! considering the brain that the idea came from!wink.gif


Its not complicated just a well engineered solution, I got hung up on the intricacies of the machining, perused your pictures but failed to note that both extreme ends actually were close fits on the bar to restrain it.

I have done basic jigs that restrain the ends of the bar, with a central indication that I put the twisting bar on, but then you have the problem that the bar can deflect when putting the twists in, your gadget is a solution to this problem.

Credit where its due. I salute you.
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