Fire Place Set

[clinton]

I made this fire place set a couple of weeks ago, now I can post some pictures. I am going to be selling at a flea market in Dec. This is a flea market that is held once a month a Deanza College in Cupertino, CA. They get 15,000- 20,000 shoppers on a good day, a friend told me that crafters do well here, so for $30.00 I get a 14x14 space.
So I made this set using the forge welded bundle that I learned from Brian Brazeal. It has the bundle top and bottom to hold the arms on. The arms were forged out of 1/2 inch round stock and the feet were 3/4 inch round. The tools are just a simple basic design that I have used in the past, not too fancy just quick and easy.

[Marksnagel]

Very nicely done. I started my first fireplace tool set yesterday. I have completed the poker and the handle for the shovel. The shovel pan is a bit perplexing but I'll work it out. Then I have to make a broom and a stand. I like your stand. Good job.

Mark <><

[pkrankow]

I like it. Simple.

Seems the top finial should be a different shape, it is the only point on the top...

Phil

[clinton]

Thanks guys- and Phil you are right on the final, my plan was to make a loop like on the tools but when I was drawing it out it started to split open on me so I put some more flux, got it to welding heat and was able to get it back together. After that I decided to go with the point (design change).
The balls on the end of the arms do foul you up so I left the loops open enough to slip over the arm.
I may add some twisting to the main post on the stand, everyone always says how much they like a twist. (They do not know true workmanship but a twisted bar is just so neat)

[John B]

Thanks guys- and Phil you are right on the final, my plan was to make a loop like on the tools but when I was drawing it out it started to split open on me so I put some more flux, got it to welding heat and was able to get it back together. After that I decided to go with the point (design change).
The balls on the end of the arms do foul you up so I left the loops open enough to slip over the arm.
I may add some twisting to the main post on the stand, everyone always says how much they like a twist. (They do not know true workmanship but a twisted bar is just so neat)

Could you not have firewelded another piece to this to make your loop or whatever?

[clinton]

Could I weld another piece on? With the mig welder sure. Doing another forge weld on this I would have surely ruined it. And after all the work it took me to get this far that would not be good. My first "attempt" at the base of this went into the scrap pile. I wanted to forge the bottom into a hexagon with a point. I got it forged but in the process it worked the legs down to until they were too thin to support the load. The bottom of this one just has a crude ball forged to avoid this mishap.

[jake pogrebinsky]

Good job,we all know how it goes sometimes,with re-designs,and re-re-designs,(especially where firewelding is involved).

The important thing is to keep trying,the lesson usually is cruel enough to remember it well,so that there's no problem there.

A three-part weld is never easy,not having that central symmetry that keeps reinforcing the weld,many of the blows work to shear the fresh welds instead.

Much work like that was done by welding the legs together first,in a 120 deg.variant of a T-weld.

Then the central member was either bump-welded into the center(a weld that is scarved using the two conical shapes,the male narrower,of course(,and is something that i always found very challenging....),or just riveted through.

But bundle-welds are one of the ways to do all that,so,again,good job,and good for you to pick on that far from easy technique.

[clinton]

Thanks Jake, it was a challenge for me. I spent a lot of time getting the fit up right. The main upright is 3/4 inch so I forged a tab on the end of each leg that was 1 inch by 1/4 inch, so the corners would be filled,(each one laps over to one side) This shows the fit up of the legs and the main upright without the collar.
I have hear Brian Brazeal tell people that this is the easiest type of forge weld to make. This one had a lot of mass to it so it needed a good heat to get to welding temp. I would not say it was easy but I did get it done and it was a good learning experience.

[Don A]

Did you tie your own broom?

Care to share some details?

I've gotta come up with a broom very soon.

[brianbrazealblacksmith]

I never said it was the easiest, Clinton. I said it was the simplest. I've had 9 and 10 year olds do it there first time forging. I'm glad to see you try it. There are some variables involved when doing this.

[clinton]

Don- I just got a broom from the hardware store and took the top piece off, then forged a piece of 1 inch pipe down for the socket. It is held in by drilling a 1/8 inch hole through the side and I used a piece of welding rod to pin it in place.
Brian- I guess I misspoke, and yes there are some variables involved, this was a big chunk of iron to get hot, I had to use a glove on my hammer hand it was putting off a lot of heat.

[keithh999]

I just tried a forge weld with 3 legs around a central upright for a fireplace utensil set.....needless to say it wasnt the most successful forge weld....in fact it basically sucked!! but with perseverance and a few strategic mig welds to assist and a flapwheel on my grinder i think it might be ok....a 3 leg system is a pain to do as a one man band and anyone that can do it consistantly can count themselves fortunate!! when its done ill post pics of the whole thing.

[divermike]

for somebody who was so critical of a set I did a little over a year ago, I guess I would have expected something with a bit more pizazz, not bad overall though.

[John B]

I just tried a forge weld with 3 legs around a central upright for a fireplace utensil set.....needless to say it wasnt the most successful forge weld....in fact it basically sucked!! but with perseverance and a few strategic mig welds to assist and a flapwheel on my grinder i think it might be ok....a 3 leg system is a pain to do as a one man band and anyone that can do it consistantly can count themselves fortunate!! when its done ill post pics of the whole thing.

Did you forge the centre piece to fit the three legs to, or just place them on a central bar and hope for the best?

Preperation when forge welding pieces together is highly recomended,or you will not get a good looking transition.

[keithh999]

i did prep it at approx 120 degree flats but that was only approx since i didnt have a swage with that angle. when doing the actual welds that became an issue due to the fact that when striking the top it actually started to open the bottom part since there was no support...maybe a round bottom swage would have helped ??

[John B]

A round bottom swage may well help to support the workpiece, or but up the the step on the anvil if you have one.

You don't say what the actual material sizes were, or how you secured them prior to the welding process, and was it a solid fuel or gas forge you were using?

I would suspect the whole was not soaked long enough and hit too hard to start with, as I would expect the bundle to be starting to fuse as welding temps are reached, light taps to consolidate and rotate as you go, it is vital the central post is at welding heat as well as the outer legs.

Alternatively tack and weld each leg on seperately, then consolidate.

[clinton]

The fit up for this has to be tight, no gaps anywhere. And you need to wrap it all up with wire before welding so the pieces are not bouncing around. John gives some good pointers here for sure.
Thanks divermike, I will try to give more positive feed back in the future.

[r smith]

for somebody who was so critical of a set I did a little over a year ago, I guess I would have expected something with a bit more pizazz, not bad overall though.

post a link?