Fe-Wood Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I've been very lucky lately. I have had tons of forge time. Solo forge time, social forge time and a little drunken social forge time, always good fun- Had a 5 person striker team going one night, with only one mid air collision Out of all of this time spent at the forge and the conversations about fixing the world, I have gleaned some interesting food for thought. • Keep the work organized. Meaning don't let the shape get to far out of proportion or intended finish. • Slow down. Take the time to run through the next step BEFORE you put the piece back in the fire. Do your marking, layout, etc. now. • Make sure all the tools are assemble and ready to grab for the phase you will be working on before you pull the work out of the fire. • Do a dry run of the sequence before working with hot parts. You may find you can't do what you thought... • When you think you are done, do 2 more heats and dress up the work a little more. • You want to coax the project into being not just mash it out. • keep the work clean of slag when doing the last bit of forging. Its hard to keep all this in mind in the heat of the moment but I have found these thoughts to be helpful in improving the quality of my work. So I thought I would share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Good bit o wisdom.... All things we should do but often dont... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Add to list Put vise near forge Insert smilley face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Good things to think about for sure. There's a trend to think of "production techniques" as a BAD thing but it's anything but. What you're laying out is one of the most basic production techniques maybe after knowing which end of the tool to grab. Sequence is important to varying degrees, somethings it doesn't make a lot of difference, others it means doing a job in one heat or six and others still it's the difference between success and failure. Usually folk don't start appreciating it till they've spent some time at a craft. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 mmmm Meat hods... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fosterob Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 mmmm Meat hods... I was wondering about that also. Now that the door has been opened... Maybe too much Archie Bunker? Still wasted from drunken forging? Oh thats Meat-HEAD :lol: In all seriousness though it is good to be reminded of these basics from time to time. Thanks. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-hr Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 How about, 'Stop when finished' Sometimes the difference between a mediocre piece and a pretty piece is just one or two blows, before or after it's finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I should have done some of those things when I was in the kitchen today. Cut off a small part of my thumb and took off a fingernail with a knife. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yikes! Better get of of the kitchen where its dangerous and go back to the shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I tell my students to never take a piece out of the fire until they have a place to work it and all the tools to hand. I've noticed that a lot of the difference in amount of work accomplished per heat is that the *smith* takes the piece from the fire and is working it in one smooth motion while the *student* is wasting time trying to figure out what to do *after* the piece is out of the fire and cooling. The post vise seems to be a difficult tool for students. I tell them what they will do, what tools to use, how to orient the piece, where the vise jaws should bite and that you have to work *fast* or it cools off too much. Even so the first go is usually truncated with an "OK it's set up correctly, now back in the fire to re-heat". (I also try to have them set the jaws of the vise just a little wider than the stock thickness and have the twisting wrench pre-set as well.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 mmmm Meat hods... I guess its to much drunken forging or I'm dense as a post.... Whats you talk'in 'bout Monster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 I should have done some of those things when I was in the kitchen today. Cut off a small part of my thumb and took off a fingernail with a knife. Ouch!! Yah, Shop is way safer..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 How about, 'Stop when finished' Sometimes the difference between a mediocre piece and a pretty piece is just one or two blows, before or after it's finished. You got the point-for most, they stop 2 heats away from being finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yikes! Better get of of the kitchen where its dangerous and go back to the shop! Ya, its going to be a few days before I can swing a hammer. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I should have done some of those things when I was in the kitchen today. Cut off a small part of my thumb and took off a fingernail with a knife. Sorry to hear about the finger. So, what was for dinner? Add safety to the list. Mark <º))>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I should have done some of those things when I was in the kitchen today. Cut off a small part of my thumb and took off a fingernail with a knife. Good grief Bryan! Next time you're down you're banned from the kitchen! Did Renee make you clean the mess? It's small penance I know but you seem pretty immune to pain. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Good grief Bryan! Next time you're down you're banned from the kitchen! Did Renee make you clean the mess? It's small penance I know but you seem pretty immune to pain. Frosty the Lucky. Yes she did. I was supprised by it but it didn't hurt. I even had to dig a hole today and it was alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Sorry to hear about the finger. So, what was for dinner? Add safety to the list. Mark <º))>< I was making Pico de Gallo. cutting up tomatoes and halpinios. Later when I was on the porch I had rubbed my eyes. Yes, you guessed it. I didn't wash my hands first. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted T Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 mmmm Meat hods... I am not sure what that means, but it has a good ring to it ! "Meat hods"... I am not sure how to use it in a sentence, but I still like the concept! I love this place!;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Great topic. I would add this: Clean up and take out all of the hammer marks from one forging sequence before starting the next forging sequence. Peter Ross taught me this one.....I like to make every sequence of the forging process look like it's finished before putting it back into the fire to start the next forging processes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingmaker3 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 :P A meat hod is obviously a hod for carrying meat instead of mortar. One can easily be fabricated by following the methods of work outlined so eloquently in the first post. (Just don't cut your finger-tip off in the kitchen while loading the hod!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 A meat hod is obviously a hod for carrying meat instead of mortar. One can easily be fabricated by following the methods of work outlined so eloquently in the first post. (Just don't cut your finger-tip off in the kitchen while loading the hod!) Thats pretty good :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 A meat hod is obviously a hod for carrying meat instead of mortar. One can easily be fabricated by following the methods of work outlined so eloquently in the first post. (Just don't cut your finger-tip off in the kitchen while loading the hod!) Made me laugh too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 What you never used a trowel on the BBQ grill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 One more bit of wisdom I learned from Tsur Sadan a few years back Move the work under the hammer and always aim for the same place. In other words, don't try to leave the work in one place and hammer it by aiming for the next spot. This allows one to make minor corrections in the hammering while still moving material. Also its the same way you work with a power hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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