January 24, 201115 yr Got a little forge time the last 3 day weekend we had. Managed to crank out a couple more corkscrews of a style I started last fathers day. I have to figure out memory reminder to get the screws going in the correct direction, half the time I mess up and make a left handed corkscrew. Tried to bend the handle shape around a wooden mandrel, that didn't work, I might try making a jig with bolts as pins to bend the handle around. In the meantime, I THINK i've got the bending sequence over the horn worked out. in the upper right of the pic is what I think might have been a shaft that had roller bearings on each end. $3 at the junk store, it makes a pretty good drift for bottle openers, spanning the size between my largest punch and the anvil horn.
January 24, 201115 yr how do you make the screw section of a corkscrew? is it as simple as it looks to be, just wrap a long thin tappered section around a small rod or bolt? or is there more to it? I have an idea for a corkscrew i just haven't tried it yet. also what is the best material to use will mild steel work or should I use something hardenable?
January 24, 201115 yr Right hand rule. Same as vector math. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_product There is a good image near the top in the definitions section. For right hand threads, point your thumb in the direction of travel, and curl your fingers over. The direction your fingers curl is the rotation direction, and the direction the tip curls in. Phil
January 25, 201115 yr Jeremy K does great corkscrews and he makes it look easy. Now all we have to do is convince him to do a short video of it and post it on youtube. :)
January 25, 201115 yr Author Hey Phil, Thanks for the right hand math link. with a little practice it'll work better than the 'keep a lefty by the forge and do it the other way' method I've been using. The spiral is a direct lift from Hofi's method. I usually keep the screw nice and tight when I'm forging the handle, then the last step to is to heat the screw to orange and pull it straight forward by the tip, then cut it off and sharpen.
January 25, 201115 yr When I took my first class with Uri he made the cork screw/ bottle opener as a demo one night, he did a demo or two every night. I was instantly hooked, I love them. So I started doing them immediately,I still have my forst one. It is not that hard but when you see it done for the first time it is amazing. You need about 3 1/2 inches of forged material to create the cork screw, just follow the illustrations.
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