clinton Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I have been working on some sample pieces, forged elements under the power hammer. The material is 3/4 round, I separate a small amount and forge it into various shapes. Then flatten and use a 1/2 inch fuller to spread the material lateraly (to the sides). I took 4 of theses elements and did a "Brazeal style" forge welded bundle. I also upset it to get a base so it will stand up for display. I plan to do a little tweaking to make it flow better (it looks like the pieces are just stuck in there now). I may start on a small panel using this type of forging so people can see how it will look when assembled in a frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Dear Clinton, I don't want to sound like a "critic" but is this an object which you find pleasing to the eye or want to communicate something to the viewer or is it just an accumulation of "stuff" and random shapes that you decided to stick together? If it is the former, I'd say that you should refine it to the point where you are satisfied with it. If it is the latter, it may be better recycled to something else. It may just be that I'm an insensitive philistine or that I, personally, don't respond to what you are trying to express but , to be blunt, my reaction to the photo was "why?" Don't take that too much to heart though because I very often don't "get" abstract art. Maybe, better expressed, it doesn't get me in the sense that my mind and esthetic sense doesn't respond to abstract expression very well. I don't want to reignite the "what is Art" discussion but I guess that I'm at least blowing on the coals a little. Artlessly, George M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maillemaker Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 geez, the guy is only trying new things with a powerhammer. I'm sure some people think that little sculpture is a desirable piece. Art is what you make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmangeler Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 George, look at some of Brians stuff then you will have an idea where this can go. I think this is really a test piece to see how it works for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Lots of potential in this experiment. Pretty cool you can do a welded bundle with 3/4 inch round! I don't think you have "arrived" yet however as a early stone on the path it is quite interesting. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Actually I a a huge advocate of any wantabe smith leaerning how metal moves and this is a really fine example someone doing just that,,How wdid this steel get into those shapees? Wot tools did it take to make it move as it did.....Fine piece thank you for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzonoqua Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 No offense intended to Brian Brazeal at all, he's great at what he does. But when did he invent the forge welded bundle? Cause I'm pretty sure it's been around for a lot longer than all of us here. Clinton, I think it's an interesting piece, and an experiment as to where metal can move! As you say, it might benefit from a bit of "harmonizing". Keep at it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Ok kind of a mixed response, I will try to address each with merit and respect for those opinions. George- it was not my intent to make this a stand alone piece, it is just a sample of the forged element that I can show to potential customers. I thought this may be a good way to keep them together so they are not scattered about my shop. The forge welded bundle is easy to set up and this was a good way for me to get some practice at it without the risk of messing up a project that had many hours invested. Mailmaker& Metalmangeler- yes you guys get it and thanks for the input Phil- When I fit up for this bundle the ends were forged down to 1/2 inch square so the entire piece together is 1 inch square. I used a piece of 1 inch x 1/4 inch flat bar for the collar. I cut the collar at 4 1/2 inches long and when closed around the bundle the ends met up nice. Apply a little of the Mountain Man Flux and stick it all together. Rich- This was an experiment to see how the metal moves and I needed to do some light forging on this hammer to get the new bearings run in, this seemed more productive than just drawing out a bunch of tapers or something, thanks for the positive input. Colleen- I was just trying to give credit to the person that I learned this technique from, and thank you for the positive input as well, I ran out of time to do the fine tuning I had to go tend to the BBQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Dear Clinton, OK, I can see that as a way keeping technique samples together and displayed. I was unclear on your intention previously. Thnks for the clarification. Clearly, George M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 George- I am planing on doing a small panel that will be a better way to show the forged elements. This will keep them in one place, thanks for you input, all comments will help me out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Evers Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Actually I a a huge advocate of any wantabe smith leaerning how metal moves and this is a really fine example someone doing just that,,How wdid this steel get into those shapees? Wot tools did it take to make it move as it did.....Fine piece thank you for sharing! Some years back I made a display board for the viewers of a farrier's forging and horseshoeing competition . No art intended, I just said (in a poster) there are a limited number of operations in forging: bending, upsetting, drawing,punching, welding, brazing and twisting. Then using six inch pieces of 3/4 by 1/4 I just bent one over, drew one out to about 10 inches long, upset one to about 3 inches of 3/4 by 1/2, took two and forge welded the ends together, then bent them into a circle and brazed the other ends together and punched nail holes in another. I said that for shoers the twisting wasn't really used until the end of the day and I made a corkscrew of the last piece. These were all on a display board with emphasis that all had started as straight six inch pieces of 3/4 by 1/4 and such a piece was also displayed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOblacksmith0530 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I like the base forms you made. I make a lot of leaves under a 115lb air hammer out of anything from 1/2 to 1" plus bar. I spent some time learning how to move the metal and shape it under the dies. I use pretty flat drawing dies like the ones Tom Clark used to put on his hammers. If you take the time to do things like this you can learn a lot and also have them around for display to potential clients. Making a small grill out of it is a good way to have it for display. I have a couple of buckets of leaves of different styles in my shop that were made for practice and to learn how to move the metal. Some are singles but many are forge welded into bundles. I plan on one day making a tree to display all these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinton Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 I am planning to make a set of those drawing dies, now that I have a shaper it will be a good project to learn how to run that machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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