Ozark Nick Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Hi all, newbie here. Got bit by the blacksmith bug sometime in January and before I knew it I had a forge and a small piece of railroad rail to pound on. Last weekend was the first time I was able to get it all together (and when the weather cooperated) and I was able to really bang on some hot metal for the first time. Started out with some 1/4-inch round stock and made these three hooks.The left one was the first. Middle was second, much happier with how it turned out. The third one I did only because I just had to try a twist. I know I've got a long way to go, but I am very excited! Also just got Lorelie Sims' book in the mail yesterday. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Welcome to IFI, Nick. Looks like you are on your way. You will enjoy Lorelei's book. Don't stop with just one book, though. There are a lot of them out there with a lot of info in them. The main thing is to practice as much as possible. Find some local smiths and get together with them. Hands on practice will help you answer a lot of questions. Keep hammering. I look forward to seeing many more of your projects posted on this site. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 how cool to have picked the right bug nick your excitement is really great - and hooks are a good thing to try becasue you can Use Them which is always very satisfying i dont know what stock you can get hold of but there are endless variety of hooks you can practise on and see what you like visually, for me its mainly in the curve and scale of the hook, you can make the curve really beautiful once you get your eye in. its groovy doing twists too isnt it? welcome to the forum hope you get loads of ideas and info - look in the gallery when you have a minute :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Tapering the tips of your hooks will help you to improve the looks of your rattails. I also often forge (flatten slightly) the sides of my rattails after they are formed... keeps them thin and tight so that they don't hinder my hanging things with smaller holes on them and I also like the look. Hooks are excellent practice in many of the basic forging tasks... tapering, bending, twisting, punching, texturing, etcetera. You can also experiment with finishes and the small scale keeps the learning pace moving along. Think about doing some J hooks and S hooks too... the spike end of a J hook is basically a nail (except for the head). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thanks for the kind words everybody. Beth, I have been looking at the gallery ... little bit of overload for me right now! Gotta remember I have to pace myself! Bigfoot, that was my thinking with the hooks. Seemed like something pretty simple which didn't require many tools and which would leave me with a functional piece at the end. I need to find more info on finishing. It is my one disappointment in Lorelei's book, she only touches very briefly on that subject. But I suspect when I go digging around here I'll find more than I could ever use! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Here is a thought if youi want to help support your habit: taper the upper end of those first two, bend it back at a ninety degree so you can tap it into a tree. Sell them to campers/hunters, to hang a hat, dish towel or wotever they wish while in the woods! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borntoolate Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Nick, welcome. This craft definitely gets under your skin. You start to think you could eventually make anything. I get a lot of learning from the videos on you tube and so forth. watch the video, try it, rewatch the video to see the subtelties you missed, try again at the forge. I also have Loreleis book. Did the forge welded basket twist the other day. It came out great. S hooks are fun and easy to make. Don't take much metal and help tech decent hammer control since they are small and don't require a lot of heavy hammering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 S hooks can lead you to making a pot rack which hangs over the stove, and will sell so fast you will be a fulltime biz before long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Nick, welcome. This craft definitely gets under your skin. You start to think you could eventually make anything. I get a lot of learning from the videos on you tube and so forth. watch the video, try it, rewatch the video to see the subtelties you missed, try again at the forge. I also have Loreleis book. Did the forge welded basket twist the other day. It came out great. S hooks are fun and easy to make. Don't take much metal and help tech decent hammer control since they are small and don't require a lot of heavy hammering. YouTube was a big factor in helping me see that this was in fact something I could do myself! Whole different ball of wax seeing folks doing it (as opposed to just reading about it). I assume S hooks can be made with just an anvil and hammer? The vids I've seen with S hooks folks were using a bending hardy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34557564 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Yeah, bend the S hooks over the horn, or if you're using railroad track, hit over the edge to bend it, then flip it around and hammer it into a hook. Same technique for forging scrolls. Of course, if you have a vise, make a U shape piece of rod and clamp it in the vise, instant bending fork! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34557564 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 That last part about bending over the face of the anvil (RR track) might have been confusing. Take a look at this video, about 50 seconds in, that's what I'm talking about. I haven't tried making S hooks this way, but I don't see why you can't :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.