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fireplace set


FieryFurnace

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Pics from my old tool corner, you can tell how long I have been retired from the appalling state they are in and I truly am ashamed, however it reflects my state of enthusiasm at the time, ie shut the door and walk away, and you and others, may glean one or two tips from seeing the tools and where they live, if you have questions feel free to ask, I'll live with the shame if it benefits others.

Some of the tools were purchased for my college trained apprentices and hardly ever used others were acquired or made as and when needed, all are blacksmithing tools in the full sense of the word and all have some small part in the items I leave behind as my legacy.

I am pleased to say that thanks to this site, and the thirst for knowledge here, I am a little more enthused than I was then, So thank you all, and especially Glen and the moderators for doing such a fantastic job.

This is a basic useful set/range of tools I frequently used

post-816-0-13735100-1318106606_thumb.jpg

What you are viewing from left to right are
Cheese Fuller, used when making heel bars, to blend in the upset to a smooth radius and adjust the position of the finished tenon if required

then a butcher for incising corners for tenons where needed, this marks all around the parent metal and gives a location to use the side set. This is the inspiration for the guillotine tool blade we were talking about earlier which is a lot easier to use on small decorative items

then a set hammer Not a hammer as such but a tool to set the tenon corners and flatten the tenon's sides, in effect a mini flatter you but you get a better transition corner, less likely to fail in use.

Then comes a side set, this is used after butchering prior to using the set hammer.

Then comes a general purpose fuller, and a flatter.

Sorry Dave it seems I am hijacking your thread and I did not intend to, Perhaps I should seriously start to consider starting specific tooling threads in the Blacksmiths tooling explained part of the tools forum

post-816-0-17987300-1318106506_thumb.jpg post-816-0-78780100-1318106438_thumb.jpg post-816-0-83153800-1318106332_thumb.jpg

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Sorry Dave it seems I am hijacking your thread and I did not intend to, Perhaps I should seriously start to consider starting specific tooling threads in the Blacksmiths tooling explained part of the tools forum


Please? Thank you! It would be very nice to have examples of individual tools and their uses demonstrated.


Phil
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If someone was going to hijack a thread of mine, I believe you'd be a good candidate and if you are talking tools....I'm all ears! :D

The finish is going on the set right now! I just spent about an hour and a half hand sanding.

All told, I have 14 hours in the whole set. OUCH!

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But 14 hours well spent and quality comes at a price, Your next one will be much quicker, (and you forgot to add in the previous 4 or 5 years to give you the experience to get to this 14 hours)

Go and have a look at theat young mans video and you will see some potential time saving ideas on the individual handle making section and you will start making some inroads into that time.

The finishing too, that is where the time is also well spent, preperation as in most things is the key,

The efforts and care put in are usually reflected in the overall appearance of the finished article/project, and that will be apparent when we see a pic of the item when it is in a working position.

Well done Dave, Nice job.

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Go and have a look at theat young mans video and you will see some potential time saving ideas on the individual handle making section and you will start making some inroads into that time.


Do I hear jig? :D Or does that mean get the stinking curly cue right with the hammer? LOL




The finishing too, that is where the time is also well spent, preperation as in most things is the key,

The efforts and care put in are usually reflected in the overall appearance of the finished article/project, and that will be apparent when we see a pic of the item when it is in a working position.

Well done Dave, Nice job.


Yes I agree! The finish can make or break a piece hands down. I don't particularly care for spening hours hand sanding, but without the proper finish, the 12 other hours are useless.
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Do I hear jig? :D Or does that mean get the stinking curly cue right with the hammer? LOL

That's your decision, what I will say is you got the first one right, we didn't see that being made on this video but I bet it was a darned sight quicker than these next ones, where you spent so much time tapping and adjusting the same bits so meticulously and unescessarily and repeatedly,

If you want to indulge me and try an experiment, just get three bits of stock you can use for handles for your individual stock sale pieces, so if the experiment isn't too succesful your time has not been wasted. And customers like to compare items on sale with their little variations so they can select the one 'they' like and is that little bit different because they are hand made by a craftsman.

Just forge the first one, and place it out of the way and ignore it, repeat for the second, and then the third, you could even forge them all in the same fire one after the other and or at the same time, BUT resist the temptation to compare them, treat them as the individual pieces they are, when finished first one out the way, finish second one, out the way, then third one. when cool then you can compare them, If your workshop layout and arrangements are correct, then you should find they are all pretty near to each other.

If not, or mabe even if they are, it may be time to consider this is the time to use jigs. Your decision but you do need quantity production to justify making jigs.

Now we have covered bending jigs in Blacksmiths Tools explained and elsewhere so you should have some inkling of what you require to do to make a jig.

Here is the ref pic the jig was made to make curtain support for curved or bay windowsor applications similar

post-816-0-25198200-1318189931_thumb.jpg

And then I had to make some mini scroll ended hooks so used the same jig, but differently.

post-816-0-24487500-1318189828_thumb.jpg post-816-0-73179300-1318189868_thumb.jpg

Sketch one up if you like and lets have a look to see if it is going to produce what you want, quickly, I would suggest using your curly end as a datum/reference point to work from

I think I have an old one used for a similar item somewhere hiding away in the workshop I'll see if I can ferret it out and picture it for you

Dont want to upset you too much about your shop layout but you do seem to do a fair bit of hiking between heats

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I've heard of it but can't recall what it is exactly!

Soak overnight in vinegar (or whatever acid you choose for an appropriate time), then neutralize (I use dilute ammonia) and wash (dish soap and a stiff plastic bristle brush). Apply your coating as desired.

Phil
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Dont want to upset you too much about your shop layout but you do seem to do a fair bit of hiking between heats


You're not going to upset me! Good advice given is knowledge gained. I don't know how easy it's going to be to move the power hammer. No concrete, no overhead cranes, no lifts.......all pry-bars. It's a little slow to move. I've done it before but it took about an hour to move one side four inches. :D
It is funny you mention that though because I've thought about moving stuff around a couple of times in the last few weeks. Just not sure where I need to move stuff.

Off the top of my head I thought about the power hammer next to the forge in place of the anvil, the vise moving towards the current location of the PH, and the anvil being around the current location of the vise. The treadle hammer could simply rotate 90 degrees on the front left corner. (All visible in the video I believe.) That would tighten things up in the forging station and open up some room for my new welding table.
I just have to figure out the best way to move the PH.

Nice jig! I suppose though I need to quit comparing so closely and just free-form. I've got a friend that wants to make a jig for every piece (even singles,) and like I told him, before you make a jig you need to learn the techniques to free-form the piece. He doesn't agree!
Anyway, I already free-form all my hooks, bars, holders, bells, etc. and they end up pretty darn close!
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You are right Dave, you have to learn the free forming to understand how metal works, then you can effectively design and use jigs.

And as you say yours end up pretty darn close, there is a natural flow when you make these things, and you will find it may take more concentration to consciously make two different but same style items than it does just to casually knock out a couple of similar items.

I would suggest tightening up your travel distance to your anvil first, then look to the positioning of your tong holder/vise station, you are using 3 steps minimum each time to get there, a couple to get to the tong rack, all the time heat is dissipating and time ticking away.

Powerhammer position is best determined by yourself as you know how frequently and how you use it, and like you imply is a major problem in your present shop situation. likewise treadle hammer, although I would imagine your treadle hammer being less used than your powerhammer now.

To move heavy stuff around on earth floors I find round/flat bars on sheets of steel or thick ply are handy to slide things along using a pinch bar, otherwise use the round bar as rollers and a pinch bar, biggest problem is inserting sheet and bars under machine in first place.

I like to use a block and tackle or similar, anchored securely (Big stake or heavier object than the one being moved, and then I can winch stuff along with some degree of control, not unknown to hitch up to a suitable vehicle and use that to drag stuff where its needed top heavy items have to be treated with great respect.

Another thing I find useful is a sled frame of steel with runners made of handrail section to eliminate friction, with the leading edges turned up to allow them to slide, a couple of cross members across the top front one being angle iron with a eye on so I can pull either frame or unit to just beyond where it is to go then its easy to push the item to where it is to be sited and withdraw the sled.

Anyhow its your shop it will adapt to you, or you to it, and you fdo look like you enjoy it.

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