Ozark Nick Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Still practicing on hooks. Did these this morning.Very happy with the S-hook, not perfect by any means but (IMHO) better than before! :)The drive hook, eh ... could've been a lot worse.I've been trying to think what I could use to facilitate my curves on my hook. Would a piece of black steel pipe work? Have to find some way to clamp it down though.Thanks very much for everybody's advice so far! Keep it coming! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yea3114u Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Looking good. These look very similar to the hooks when I first started. My recommendations: Draw a full taper on the part you are curling on the ends rather than just making it flat, make them pointed and then do the curls. I was doing them very similar to you until someone showed me, and they started lookinig 10x better. For you drive hook, i can't really see the scale of it in the pic, but it looks to me that the nail part is perhaps a bit to big. I would try making this part smaller. Both length and dimensions. This should allow you to drive it into wood without causing splits. Hope this helps. Keep on forging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeberdy2 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 hey, when i started i used round stock to do S hooks etc, i found these an easier starting point as you dont have to worry about the metal twisting as it can do with flat stock when ur starting out. it then would help with the burning of the metal too, as hopefully ul complete in less heats. keep going it gets even more satisfying! Abi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Thanks for the words guys. Yeah, the drive hook is way too big, and the s-hook is almost too small! Learning learning learning! Thus far I've kinda preferred the ribbon scroll as opposed to the tapered one. I will branch out and start adding to my bag of tricks sometime soon though. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Could you weld the black pipe to your current "anvil?" It appears to me that you are starting the bend in your hooks at the bottom of the hook. Start your bend out on the tip of the hook. Place a bit of stock over the far edge of your "anvil" and tap it down. Feed more material over the edge and tap down again. Continue doing so until you get that constant curve that forms the completed hook. That's DEFINATELY not the easiest way to do it, but without a horn or round shape to use as a horn, that's they way you'll have to do it. It is 100% about control. To get a good bend that way you will have to use good heat control and good hammer control. It would be an excellent exercise though. In my opinion it would be easier to control the material if you did a full taper instead of just the ribbon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Could you weld the black pipe to your current "anvil?" It appears to me that you are starting the bend in your hooks at the bottom of the hook. Start your bend out on the tip of the hook. Place a bit of stock over the far edge of your "anvil" and tap it down. Feed more material over the edge and tap down again. Continue doing so until you get that constant curve that forms the completed hook. That's DEFINATELY not the easiest way to do it, but without a horn or round shape to use as a horn, that's they way you'll have to do it. It is 100% about control. To get a good bend that way you will have to use good heat control and good hammer control. It would be an excellent exercise though. In my opinion it would be easier to control the material if you did a full taper instead of just the ribbon. Hadn't thought about welding the pipe on, that would definitely work. That's amazing you picked up that I started the hook at the base instead of the tip. I had been starting at the tip, but didn't seem to be getting the results I wanted so I tried starting at the base this time around. Of course now that I look at it again I can see exactly how you saw it! ;) More practicing! I'll try the taper next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elemental Metal Creations Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Nick, as FF said you can weld a piece of pipe to your "anvil" or I use a cheap pipe clamp. By the clamp part for around $5 and if you don't have a piece of threaded pipe to fit it a 6" or 8" piece of pipe to fit. then you can clamp it tight and use it for a horn or leave a space between the pipe and anvil to fit your stock and use it for a bending jig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuge Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 those are good, make 20 more, you'll notice the little things. have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 those are good, make 20 more, you'll notice the little things. have fun That is undoubtedly the best way! I was thinking more like 20,000 though! :D Nick: the tip is where you have to start. You were on the right track before, however, getting that good curve is where the heat and hammer control come in. It's not easy at all! I'll be in the shop some today......I'll try to do a video on how to make that curve over the edge. It would probably be helpful for those that don't have an anvil horn. Stand by! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 That is undoubtedly the best way! I was thinking more like 20,000 though! :D Nick: the tip is where you have to start. You were on the right track before, however, getting that good curve is where the heat and hammer control come in. It's not easy at all! I'll be in the shop some today......I'll try to do a video on how to make that curve over the edge. It would probably be helpful for those that don't have an anvil horn. Stand by! Yup! I practice as much as I can, on a bit of a limited budget so fuel is somewhat limited but I get out whenever I can. And I'm glad I can post here to get feedback on my work. Makes a big difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 As to welding on a piece of pipe. Why not weld on a section of say 1/2" round stock and then scrounge a series of nesting sections of blackpipe to fit over it so you have a number of size options you could use. Or take a stump, forge a spike end on a section of 1/2" solid and make a stand alone fixture for nested pipe sections... Note that many pieces of pipe that *should* nest, don't due to an inner lip being formed during cutting. A chainsaw file can deal with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Or take a stump, forge a spike end on a section of 1/2" solid and make a stand alone fixture for nested pipe sections... This made me realize ... I need to find a large piece of steel and forge my own "horn" and weld that to my rail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Forget the pipe or round stock. The old smiths didn't weld up another tool every time they did a simple job. That's what the horn is for. Just don't bend the hook over the horn perpendicular to the face. The bend is made 90 degrees from the point along the outside curve where you start bending. Then it won't twist. Do you have "A Blacksmithing Primer"? It's all in there. You don't need to change the type of end, just practice drawing out a tapered point. Move the hammer to the far side of the anvil when doing it. Not in the middle of the face. The far edge allows you to draw out a real sharp point. Remember any time you are drawing out do it square. If you want it round then you do it square, otagon and then round. You're doing good just keep doing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 That would be fun! LOL You'd have to have a pretty large piece of metal to do that. Make sure you have the ability to heat that larger pieces. I'm working on editing the video I was talking about making. It will probably be tomorrow morning before I post it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Forget the pipe or round stock. The old smiths didn't weld up another tool every time they did a simple job. That's what the horn is for. Just don't bend the hook over the horn perpendicular to the face. The bend is made 90 degrees from the point along the outside curve where you start bending. Then it won't twist. Do you have "A Blacksmithing Primer"? It's all in there. You don't need to change the type of end, just practice drawing out a tapered point. Move the hammer to the far side of the anvil when doing it. Not in the middle of the face. The far edge allows you to draw out a real sharp point. Remember any time you are drawing out do it square. If you want it round then you do it square, otagon and then round. You're doing good just keep doing them. My "anvil" is a piece of railroad track, so I don't have a horn ... that's why I was looking for alternatives! ;) Thanks for the compliments. Dave, eagerly awaiting the vid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Here you go! Hope it helps! :Dhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Rd8QBfchI&feature=youtu.be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hey Dave, Thanks very much for taking the time to make and post this vid. I can see right off the bat my hammer motions are similar but I haven't been adding the complimentary motions with the other hand. Can't wait to get out and try it some more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Yes Dave - very good job on the video!!!! you videos are clear and your descriptions are the same. Keep up the good work Nick - after a few more dozen you will get more consistant, your well on your way though and looks like you have the right idea, just a little more hammering and you'll find they will start coming around the way you like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Looks like I missed that part. :wacko: Well, now Dave does a good job of showing you the technique without the horn. Practice, practice, practice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Nick Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Looks like I missed that part. :wacko: Well, now Dave does a good job of showing you the technique without the horn. Practice, practice, practice... LOL ... that's ok. I don't think I mentioned it in this thread specifically. Yup, I like Dave's vid a lot, jumping at the bit to get out and try it but it'll be tomorrow or maybe the weekend before I have a chance too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hey Nick, If you really want to get better, then my advice is to stay away from horns and production fixtures for as long as possible! When I started I had a plate "anvil" like you do and learned to form all of the curves over the edge. At the time I was upset that I didn't have a horn to make the work easier, but later I was increadibly glad that I didn't! Since it forced me to learn coordination of the three main elements of blacksmithing, which in order of importance are, the heat distribution in the metal, the position of the holding hand and the control of the placement, force and angle of the hammer blows. Once I got a proper anvil, I found that I really didn't need the horn for bends. It is important to have a nice radii on the edge of the anvil or plate so that the edge doesn't marr the work when bending over it. Keep at it and you will get it. Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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