April 11, 201115 yr Author On 4/6/2011 at 10:36 AM, wshelley said: I made one of these for fun and learned a lot doing it (thanks Dave for the tutorial!). A co-worked thought it was cool and asked me to make one for his wife. Here is a picture of the result. Any suggestions on what to charge? It didn't take too long but I'm new to smithing and haven't been planning on trying to make money with this hobby. Thanks for looking and any comments. I get $10 for the one in the post and $12 for the Celtic version. That includes a key ring and string (for a necklace) if the buyer wants them.
April 13, 201115 yr Great tutoral Dave, I've done a few and just guessed at the measurements, I also have done the patterning with the ballpeen, and chiseled lines for a wood look, the melted glass and brass brush work are also nice effects. many people ask "how do you do that?" and it's cool to explain the thechnics. keep up the great work! :D
April 13, 201115 yr Author I just did five yesterday. I tried the chisel texture and loved it. (So much so I did it as a branch base today!) I haven't been able to get a marble yet......guess I'll have to shoot another paint can! :D
April 13, 201115 yr Nice pictorial walk-through, wish I'd seen it before I started to make these. A couple ideas for those on budget. Another piece of 5/8 stock with an upset on one end can be tapered or ground to a nice tool textural detail. (or you may have something very similar laying around ready to go!) A nail set makes for nice details. Up until recently I used solely charcoal, making my own I had chunks o' wood galore forged into a nail hammered in and chared then polyurethane coat while still a little warm. You hit the nail on the head with taking the time to straighten them is important. This is my first and I was eager, but make something once 'right' and do it again 100000 times and see how your definition on 'right' has evolved with-out realizing. So some tips to make a few of these at a time try to take some time to prep several an do them in steps. You'll be surprised what you learn, or at least I was.
April 13, 201115 yr @FieryFurnace - thanks for your pricing info, it sounds very reasonable to me. My co-worker handed me a $20 without a second thought for the RR spike cross, so I guess that sounded reasonable too On 4/13/2011 at 10:11 AM, lakeside forge said: How do you keep the cuts stright? @lakeside forge - I cut mine by eye on a HB 4*6 bandsaw in the vertical position. The table is flimsy but you can sit down on the base while cutting which makes it more stable. Ward
April 14, 201115 yr On 4/13/2011 at 10:11 AM, lakeside forge said: How do you keep the cuts stright? I use a hacksaw and just take my time. I put the stock into the vise at an angle so I can cut along the length of the piece as far along the length of the cut as possible. Make sense? Patience IS a virtue. Mark<><
April 21, 201115 yr this looks to cool. I am going to try it this weekend... I need to get a brass brush.
April 21, 201115 yr On 3/15/2011 at 9:55 PM, FieryFurnace said: I thought about doing one on a heart J-hook and also a split heart bird feeder hook. Anyone interested? I you like to see these if you have the time.
April 21, 201115 yr Take a ball pien hammer, one found at a yard sale or such, use a thin cutter blade on your 4.5" grinder and cut grooves in the face of the hammer. Heat your part and texture the piece with this ball pien hammer, gives a very nice wood texture very fast and there is no way you can duplicate the same look on every piece you do. Give it that individule look, if they all look the same then you are no better that WallyWorld and the like!
April 21, 201115 yr Author Mr. Thomas.....good point about the ball peen hammer. I've got several extra ball peens that are laying around. I think that would be better than the chisel for a wood texture. Gking......I've got to make some more of those soon so when I do I'll be sure to document them and write a tutorial. Lakeside.....My band saw never cuts straight. I use the horizontal band saw in the vertical position. I wear a heavy work glove on my right hand and just use the material stop as a work table. I keep a bucket of water on the saw to keep the metal cool. If your saw drifts to one side, then just keep flipping the stock over and it will stay reasonably straight.
April 23, 201115 yr On 4/21/2011 at 12:56 PM, Thomas Dean said: Take a ball pien hammer, one found at a yard sale or such, use a thin cutter blade on your 4.5" grinder and cut grooves in the face of the hammer. gives a very nice wood texture very fast Great idea about the ball pien. I'll have to gove that a try. All my cuts on the cross blanks are done with a hacksaw. I just take my time. Well the fact that I don't have a band saw dictates the use of a hacksaw.
April 23, 201115 yr I split all mine hot with a thin chisel in the fly press. 1 heat for the top cut & 1 more for the lower. Also I don't over lap the cuts sometimes, resulting with no hole in the center. Just something different.
April 28, 201115 yr Thanks to Thomas Dean for the ball peen texturing tool idea. I found one in the flea market pile and cleaned up the face and then used a Dremel with a cutoff disc to add texture. Here is the hammer: ...and here is a litle cross made from 3/8" square, textured with the hammer and brushed with a brass brush: It worked great and the texture is sweet! Ward
April 29, 201115 yr Author I did the same thing! Grabbed an old hammer from my "old hammer stock pile," cut the face up with a cutting disk on the angle grinder and wabam! TEXTURE galore! Hammer! Texture! I haven't gotten to do a cross yet. I was working on getting samples of hammer texture for a client and I trashed the chisel and switched to this hammer idea! AWESOME!
April 29, 201115 yr I need to go out this weekend and get some old hammers for things like this. Mark<><
April 30, 201115 yr Author They are great to have around. I've got a half a dozen "extras" for when I need them, and three favorites for forging.
April 30, 201115 yr Man dave the is one heck of a nice texture,,this brings interesting things to mind,,tnx!
July 7, 201213 yr Fiery Furnace, Want to thank you for the demo on split crosses. I finaly felt I could try it. Made the first one yesterday.
July 8, 201213 yr Author Great job! Great to see this is still being used! You've got a great cross with great texture. Try centering up the flare on the top, next time, and experiment with different ways to center that and to keep it from becoming off-center. It takes a little practice! Metal always has a tendency to end up fatter on one side than on the other. That happened to me this past week, making a dutch heart. It turned out great, but the point was out of center. Keep at it, and thanks for searching for, referring to, and using my tutorial!
July 8, 201213 yr Wow, I've always wondered how this was done! I'll give it a try, but I don't have a bandsaw, so this can be tedious.
July 8, 201213 yr On 7/7/2012 at 11:47 PM, BackWoodsPuppy said: Wow, I've always wondered how this was done! Use a hot cut to split it,
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