Garden cultivator

[pkrankow]

I want to functionally reproduce an antique garden tool of my mother's. I need to return the original to her.




I plan to start with a piece of leaf spring 2 1/2 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick. I already have this material, and know it is relatively easy to work. I also know it hardens readily and has good edge holding.




Since I need to figure some, I pulled out the clay. I rolled out a piece 2 1/2 wide 1/4 thick and approximately 12 inches long.

I isolated 2 inches of one end, necked it down to 1 inch, and spread it to a fan approx 5 inches wide.This also grew the length of the fan to about 3 inches. The 5 inches is based on measuring the circumference of an extra handle I have, and allowing for some clean-up trimming.

I necked it down because it seemed to make the rest of the material not distort, and other socketed items I have seen are necked down.



I trimmed and rolled a socket.



Next I started on the other end making a 3 finger squid. I measured the original and found the long fingers about 12 inches and the short finger about 10 inches long.

I divided 8 inches of the end into 3 equal pieces, planning to trim. This leaves about 1 inch of material connecting the fingers.



I spread the fingers to form a cross as a convenience bend, and to eliminate the stress riser from the cutting, forming a smooth transition. I then formed the flat fingers to square allowing them to grow, but end up about 3/8 inch square. I left some unaltered material at the end to make the flat tips. I tapered the very tip and spread the tip to about 2 inch long and 1 inch wide leaf. The squared up portion of the long fingers is 10 inches, and the short finger is 8 inches. I cut the extra material off the end as needed.



Last bend the fingers together so they are about 1 inch apart, then curve the fingers around about 3 inch diameter so the tips are resting even when the handle is at about a 45 angle to the ground.



Since this is leaf spring, I should at least normalize, but hardening in oil and spring tempering to about 500F is an option.

Now, for you more experienced people:
How does this look as a process? Should I do things a bit differently or is this a good way about it? Yes, making this in steel is the plan.

Phil

[bigfootnampa]

Phil; IME the weakest point will be the transition between the socket and the tool body. To keep it from being a problem allow the area to thicken as much as possible during the necking process. Neck as minimally as practical even allowing the neck area to fold back a bit in the transition area. Keep the neck shoulders gradual and sloping gently. Otherwise I have no criticism of your plan... it looks like it should work!

[Francis Trez Cole]

glad to see you think it through I am sure it will work out cant wait to see the final project

[pkrankow]

So if I can avoid necking it down at the end of the socket I'll be in better shape overall?

Oh, if anybody wants to use this design go for it.

Phil

[Ted T]

Anything that I could suggest has already been said!
I will second the point about having a strong transition point just like
when you are forging tongs

This exibit illustrates an exelent teaching point espeshilly for new blacksmiths.
And that is how to use a clay type medium to calculate the estimated amount
of material (steel) needed when doing a new project.

Your step by step layout of clay is done very well, and I feel is educational.

It would be interesting if you had the time to show us the "order of operation" that
you followed to forge the garden tool. And the end product.
I am asking a lot, but I sure enjoy seeing the work you blacksmiths produce!
Thank you!
Ted Throckmorton

[pkrankow]

I am just trying to put all this "book learning" to a bit of use.

I modeled the socket and transition a couple of different ways. It *could* work if done without the neck, but it becomes more difficult because the part that supports the fingers will have to curl partially into a tube as well. If I do little to no work on the transition after necking it down should it be strong enough? The purpose is just so the next piece stays relatively flat. This is a "light duty" tool similar to a hoe in use (yea, those get beat on too)

Comparing it to a hoe, I guess that making it a tang tool should work fine too as another way about it, but I am going to follow the path I am on and make a socket tool.

I also located the spare tool handle I have (for a shovel, so much heavier than needed). It measures 3 3/4 inch circumference at the end, and 3 inches up it measures 4 1/4 inch circumference. I expect that adding on for the thickness of the metal and drawing a picture on sheet metal will be a good guide to follow to get the socket decently sized.

I may go get a lighter tool handle.

Phil

[Iron Clad]

What I want to know is........do you forge in your bare feet??? LOL!

You could draw knife down the oversized handle to match your needs. The clay model scheme looks like it should work. I like the fact your trying to reproduce a copy of the original, I'm sure you will gain some insight and appreciation for the smiths of old. My current project has given me this gift.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[Rob Browne]

Do you really need to heat treat it? The old one I have in the shed is from wrought iron and as it is pulled through the soil it only does really light work. Its handle is not much more than a broom handle, definitely not a heavy duty tool.

[chichi]

Do yourself and your mother a favor. Hide the old tool and dont make a new one. Maybe she will forget about it. Such tools are the work of the devil.
Buy her a potted plant.

[Marksnagel]

Phil, Thanks for posting. I really like that you showed the process through modeling clay. It was about a year ago when Ted T. told me to get some clay and practice. Sounded silly at the time but it has saved me a lot of time by having it in my mind what I was doing before I even heated any iron.

Looks like it should work out pretty well.

Great post.

Mark<><

Chichi, the work of the devil would be to decieve your mom and hide her garden tool.
I like my garden.

[bajajoaquin]

Can I ask why you're making it all one piece, rather than separate tines and body, as on the original? I'm guessing it's because it would be more work, but it seems that it might be easier to fab the socket and transition beefier if it was a stand-alone piece. You could probably use mild for that, and more carbon for the tines.

[pkrankow]

I am rummaging about in the garage in bare feet (maybe not the brightest idea, but this part is kept swept). I wear work boots for forging and stout pants like jeans.

I picked up a couple rake handles. They are just under 1 inch in diameter and tapered at a similar rate, but the taper is only 2 inches long. I would not take a draw knife to the shovel handle because for little extra work I could start from scratch. The price of the rake handles is not terrible, but would put a crimp in small scale production costs if I was making these for sale.

The original was Mom's Dad's (my Grandfather), and she has asked for it back. Mom's garden is about the same size as mine, 10x20, but hers takes up half the available back yard,( and I just spent an hour mowing the rest of my back yard with a garden tractor).

The original is mass produced, but I have never seen another like it. The socket is cast with a clamp held with carriage bolts and square nuts. The original tines are square, set on diagonal with the ends flared. They are made of something a little tougher than mild, but I haven't spark tested. The leaf spring is probably overkill. I doubt I will heat treat beyond normalizing.

As for one piece vs bolt together, I have used this tool for over 20 years and the tines have never been adjusted or loosened. I am also unable to fire weld and I am not leaning on this project. I am sure this can be done with a collar weld rather easily, but I am sticking with a no-weld option this time.

As for order of operation, Step1 is decide if I am hot cutting, cold cutting or sawing the tines apart. I decided to "saw" with a fiber disk. I was able to get 2 blanks out of the leaf portion pictured, although one blank is shorter than my clay example by quite a bit. There were some inconvenient artifact holes from the material being a leaf spring. I took a picture, but don't have the card adapter handy to get them on the computer right now.

Phil

[sfDuck]

Phil Got one out in the barn rusting nicely.........the only thing I dig ground for is to bury it! ........Duck

[Bentiron1946]

Next thing you'll want to make is pitch fork and then a manure fork, where will it all end, a frog gig or potato fork? I used to solve some of my smithing problems with brown microcrystlen wax I used in casting. Thanks for passing on that idea to the younger smiths. :P

[pkrankow]

All I need is a few hours with someone else taking care of my daughter and my wife not expecting undivided attention. Although this 90F heat is something else...

Phil

[Bentiron1946]

It's not the temperature so much as the relative humidity, out here it's a 'dry heat" and much more pleasant to work at 90F than back there at the same temperature. Out here at 90F and 10% RH it feels like 85F on your skin, back there with 90F and 80%RH it feels like 113F on your skin. So do you want 90F here or there, it's only going to get worse for you. Heck at a 110F and 10% RH it only feels like 90F on your skin so you can do forging a lot easier out here than back there. Take a look at this chart from Kunka Engineering http://www.kunka.com/newpage1.htm , print it out and keep it in the forge for your own safety so you can tell when to come inside. I have used a similar chart for years to give to folk that are new to the desert so they can avoid heat related problems. Remember only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun. :blink:

[pkrankow]

I got forge time today! Woot!

Things I learned today:

A bathroom fan puts out plenty of air for lump charcoal, but not for coal or corn in a brake drum forge. I guess I am building a bellows sooner than later, unless someone has an inexpensive blower to sell me.

A convenience bend is only convenient if you take it when convenient. It is downright inconvenient to try to take a convenience bend later.

Isolate the material but do not form the socket early. There is a lot of heating and fiddling about in that area, and it may be easily damaged. Forming the tines first is probably a better idea

Even in an inadequate fire you can still burn your metal away.

If you go out to forge when the wife wants you to watch a boring movie ... oh wait, I learned that one before.

When the wife says it is time to come in, not adding fuel is not an excuse for taking an hour more time.

Putting the fire out by shoveling it into a bucket of water is very effective, but produces a plume of superheated steam. Watch your hands!

Corn is more pleasant to work with than coal (the smell of coal makes me miserable). After it cokes it performs exactly the same, and you can not tell the difference between the two in the fire.

So I tried with both sawn pieces I had prepared. I burned a tine off one piece and dropped it to cool, and was making headway on the other when I was told I was done. I made a royal mess of the socket on the first, and did not try forming the socket on the second. It will be a while before I get forge time again. A welded bundle may be a whole lot easier.

Phil

[Old N Rusty]

Heat with high humidity ? It is home on the Bayou. I cannot find ANY fault in your described forging technique, It's as right on as i think it can be. Make many, just like each other, and slight improvements will creep in, only cosmetic improvements are necessary. Handled or not they should sell.

[pkrankow]

I think most of my problems stem from an inadequate air supply causing difficulty in the fire management department. I also have a lot of learning to do with fire management. There is a champion blower on craigslist I need to check on tomorrow.

Also I may be "banned" from coal by my wife. (I think it messes with her asthma) I am glad corn burns nice, and I have a gas forge too, but it is too small for separating the tines.

Phil