Great ideas you got from others

[Glenn]

When you visited another smithy, or class, or hammer in, what was the one (or more) the great idea, tool, or trick, you used or built when you got back home? Give credit to the source is possible.

Alan Bauldry armour maker
He was able to do more with less. No fancy swage blocks just a slight depression carved into the end grain of a stump for making all manner of bends in his piece of armour.

Whitesmith, teenage blacksmith
He cut the leaf shape from the lids of food cans, white, yellow, silver, etc. He then made the vein in the leaf by laying the thin metal across a section of electric fence wire and hitting it with a rubber mallet. The mallet was soft and drove the metal down leaving the vein standing up.

[pkrankow]

Glenn's website
http://www.iforgeiron.com/

Frosty's burner design


Grant Sarver for a push to do hardy tools the "blacksmith" way because it is easy.

Phil

[Ten Hammers]

Celtic Cross ( from you Ntech). 13 Dec Y2k and pipe lighter from Whitesmith (at 9 years old).

[Marksnagel]

From Whitesmith's youtube video:
First pair of tongs twisted from 1/4 x 1. Made three different pair and still use them more today than any others I have.

From Curleygeorge:
Candle holders from BI pipe.

From Glenn:
55 forge. Mine has a brake drum for the fire pot. The original served me well for a year and a half and was replaced with another only because I made a design change.

From many others here at IFI:
Nearly everything I have learned in the world of blacksmithing.

[Frank Turley]

Peter Ross demoed in Albuquerque a few years ago, and the peen on his cross peen hammer was not half round, fuller shaped like mine. It was SLIGHTLY crowned in both width and thickness, not dead flat, but much more 'flattened' than my hammers were. There were SLIGHT radii on all edges. I inquired as to the reason, and Peter said, "Less clean up!" He was referring to the time when you may turn your hammer over to get rid of peen marks. With my half round peens, I got more "corrugations" than he did with his peen. I found that I still got quite a bit of spread with his style of peen when compared to mine.

This old dog learned a new trick. I went to my shop and began to disc sand and scotch brite my cross peens. I did leave one half round to use as a texturing tool, as on rose petals, etc.

[brianbrazealblacksmith]

The most important thing that I learned form being around Alfred Habermann was not to make the "hole too big, too fast" when making top tools and the small repouse hammers we would make over there. Everyone I've seen, including myself, when making their first hammers tend to think it is all about the hole, and they think the drift is used to stretch the hole open, so they make the hole too big too fast. The drift acts as an anvil in the hole and the cheeks are drawn out with fullers to make the "house for the handle".

[jimmy seale]

well...lets see, IFI has been my school so thank all ya'll, excuse my memory ,but, i was told early on to "give out before you give up" and from sandpile,, forge thick and grind thin,i'm sure i will have outher things to add later on, but this is a start

[Ten Hammers]

I might also add that from Frank Turley I learned a scarfing method that works exceptionally well.

[DennisG]

Geez, where to start......

Just about every project shown on IFI over the last few yrs has in some way made it into my shop, be it a project or way of manipulating a project I am working on. I have learned alot from Brian and Lyle(?) about hammer making. Tons on tong making, although until this yr I had yet made a pair of tongs that worked out. Since I am doing more demos this yr I have to make smaller and faster objects ( time wise ) and last night I may have learned, from here, how to make an oak leaf.

I think the greatest idea I have gotten from being on IFI, shared support. No other board or forum has so many supportive people contributing. From the professional to the first time pounding, everyone is open and helpful. I like that alot and it makes me want to keep coming back and sharing the web addy with others interested in smithing.

So credit where credit is due, is to Glenn and Andrew for making and maintaining IFI.

[HWHII]

One of the best tips and advise I have gotten was from Fred Borcherdt. When I was first starting out and trying to learn the artistway. I, being a fabricator wanted everything to measure right and be plum and level. While working on a project I was doing just that, messing with a level and a tape measure, and got it plum and level. He came up to me and took the tape and level away and said, " Step back here." Then asked, " Does it look right?" It did not. "Then make it look right." He said. Then he replied, " If it looks right it is right." This advise has stayed with me everyday and in everthing I have made.

[Mainely,Bob]

Good advice Harold. I know when dealing with old buildings nothing is ever straight, plumb or 90 degrees. I many times find that I have to make something "wrong" in order for it to blend into it`s surroundings and look right.

[Randy]

The things that made the most difference in my work at the anvil I learned from Frank Turley. First was to stand up, not lean over when hammering. The biggest thing was learning all of the basic hammer blows instead of just hammering away. This spead up my work process tremendously! Thanks, Frank!!!

[brian.pierson]

Peter Ross demoed in Albuquerque a few years ago, and the peen on his cross peen hammer was not half round, fuller shaped like mine. It was SLIGHTLY crowned in both width and thickness, not dead flat, but much more 'flattened' than my hammers were. There were SLIGHT radii on all edges. I inquired as to the reason, and Peter said, "Less clean up!" He was referring to the time when you may turn your hammer over to get rid of peen marks. With my half round peens, I got more "corrugations" than he did with his peen. I found that I still got quite a bit of spread with his style of peen when compared to mine.

This old dog learned a new trick. I went to my shop and began to disc sand and scotch brite my cross peens. I did leave one half round to use as a texturing tool, as on rose petals, etc.

Frank,

Would it be possible for you to post a picture of your hammers. I am failing to visualize the peen shape you are describing.

Thanks

Brian Pierson

[HWooldridge]

I've never had an original idea so they are all stolen, ah, I meant borrowed... The one that pops to mind first (and I think it was from Robb Gunter) is to use very short bits of steel for struck tools while holding them in special ring tongs. Saves all the work of punching the handle hole and hafting. I built a half dozen pairs of these tong designs and use it almost exclusively instead of wooden handles. Also allows use under the power hammer when a conventional tool would be too long.