Timothy Miller Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 The apex of the blacksmiths craft complete with traditional arc welds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 The apex of the blacksmiths craft complete with traditional arc welds. Hurl..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 I just found a friend's old business card where it states on the bottom, "No horseshoes during working hours." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maillemaker Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I put five railspikes to good use over my 4th of July break; see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 You've got me thinking those tapered ends of the spikes are halfway to some sort of animal or dragon head. RRspike heads do make great coathooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Bromley Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 I shod harness race horses on the California circuit for 12 years, and was a member of the Journey Horseshoers Union,local 17 during that time. In answer to the question asked about light weight shoes, yes we used light weight steel shoes. Stock for the shoes was made of what was referred to as toe steel, a higher level of carbon to make the lighter steel hold its shape. Swedge shoes were made from 3 sizes of steel, 1/4 ×3/8,1/4 ×7/16,and 1/4 ×1/2. 7/16 was the most popular size used. It was made into full Swedges for the front feet of pacers, and was used on the hind feet of trotters. Half Swedges, that would be half round on inside branch of the shoe, and a inverted W ,like a crease, to hold dirt on the outside branch of the shoe. I have, buy hand, swedged between 3 1/2 to 4 tons of steel into shoes. After the steel was swedged into molds the flash was ground off with the bench grinder. The molds were turned with a wooden or rawhide mallet, so as not to flatten the W pattern of the Swedge. I found that 3/8 " rebar had enough carbon to make it stiff enough to hold its shape and was easier to Swedge than flat barstock ,and that's what I made most of my shoes from. I used double Swedge blocks that is one block had the full Swedge pattern cut into it and the matching half round Swedge pattern beside it. These blocks were made for me Ed Kinney, owner of Thor'Bread Racine Plate Co. Swedging has a long low learning curve, it takes a long time and a lot of hard work to become skilled and proficient at it. I can remember after 6 months thinking how well I was doing, and a year later I was amazed at how much better my work was. This was shoeing 8 horses a day 6 days a week .I have taught classes on swedging ,I only taught how to Swedge round into half round as that is the easiest to do and make it look like anything. It is very satisfying to start with very basic material and make it into useful and beautiful shoes. We also used flat bar,3/16" × 9/16" also made from toe steel and for the same reason. There were numerous patterns of swedes. The running horse blacksmith ,before the invention of aluminum racing plates, used a wider Swedge than the standard bred harness horses. Many of the old blacksmiths, when first arriving at a race meet, would go out on the race track, take a handful of dirt from the track and squeeze it in there hand and observe how it would clump up to determine what pattern of swedge would be best suited for that track. Very few of us are left that have any real first hand knowledge of this nearly gone craft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Thanks Mike I just picked up a bunch I was almost completely unaware of. We owned and raised a few saddle horses and I knew there were different shoes for different types of riding . . . work. Do you have pictures you can post of the various swages and shoes, please? Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 A quick search of IForgeIron came up with the following. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Thanks for the i mages Glenn. What do your swages and corresponding shoe's look like Mike? I did a web search and saw a bewildering array of types with little explanation of anything. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Great story, Mike! I was a full time farrier for 17 years and in 1980, quit getting under horses and started working straight up as a traditional smith. Still smithing. A farrier is one of the few ways to make a good living with a hammer and an anvil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 I enjoy making things with horseshoes....but despise RR spikes!! I only use various sizes of new shoes. Old or used shoes (1) have to be cleaned...more work, (2) the toes of used shoes usually are worn to a sharp edge. Not very attractive in a piece of work and sometimes can be dangerous. A very few folks have wanted me to use old shoes for sentimental purposes. What's really fun is if one can find shoes made for Clydesdales!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 I have found some large draft horse shoes but used them up and the Farrier who would save them for me retired...darn. This door knocker made for a trade item was my last one. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 A round punch, a pritchel punch, and some bar stock, so what is the problem? When finished, they don't even have to fit a horse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 I have a similar fuller that I picked up from the Amish folks at Quad-State a few years back. I don't use it for horseshoes, naturally, but I did find that if you use it to fuller two (adjacent) sides of a square bar, you can get some pretty cool twists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 Randy: There's nothing wrong with breaking the edges on a horse shoe with your hammer, it's been done that way for millennia. Nice knocker, I like it. I'll bet they sell well. Randy's horse knockers has a nice ring to it for a product name don't you think? Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 I still have my hot working farrier tools,,, pritchel, creaser, and fuller, but I was more a cold shoer than hot. My ex- son in law ran off with the rest of my farrier tools including my apron. Somethings are unforgiven forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 I've thought of making my own draft shoes like that but much larger. I'd call them Paul Bunyan's Babe the blue ox shoes. Then of course he also would have had a large draft horse to use on Sunday's. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 I'm sure Paul Bunyan had draft horses to haul Babe's feed. It takes large horses to cut, bale and haul the Wyoming hay fields. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 We had a lake in Nebraska I used to fish in called Horseshoe lake that was said to be formed when Babe stepped in a soft spot when Paul moved him to Wyoming after grazing Kansas down to the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 One of my fav stories,,,, living close to the Grand canyon, seeing just where he drug his axe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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