CaptainSpaulding Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I watched a video on youtube by someone named Tobbe Malm where he makes a bottle opener and I was inspired to do the same. It's easy enough to find on YT for reference. The tools I used were a ball pein hammer, a 3 lb hardware store "blacksmith's hammer" that is still not dressed or rounded in any way other than the factory settings, a set of channel lock pliers as tongs, a chisel that I re-appropriated from a small pry bar, wire brushed it while hot, then wiped it with beeswax/mineral oil foodsafe butcher block finish and of course my "new to me" anvil just acquired late last week. For my forge, I interchanged a deep brake disc and a Weber charcoal BBQ chimney starter with a blow dryer and 3" pipe directed underneath it (not attached, just pointed under the firepot) and once I got the timing and direction for air flow and location of the hot spot in the fire I was rolling. Don't hold back on the criticism and opinions, if I'm going to get good at this I'm going to need to hear the truth. Just keep in mind that the knob at the end of the handle is supposed to be a little more smushed but my bench vise wouldn't hold it tight enough and the piece kept sliding down. Other than that, everything else is open season. http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36493-tobbe-malm-inspired-bottle-opener/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Hey you'll get better as you go, but that looks like it will work and has a certain charm about it as well! For a first forging I'd say it is a promising start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 LOL, I know what "that looks like it will work and has a certain charm about it" means. Like when you see an ugly baby so all you talk about is how little its hands and feet are, how happy and healthy it looks and how amazed you are at how sleepy it is or how much it can eat. You guys are so polite. Based on the 105 views and 1 comment you all seem to have been raised by parents who told you that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all, haha. Anyway, it does work, so there's that. Thanks for at least saying something bigfoot. I'm not discouraged by how much of a disaster it is. I'll be back at it this weekend, trying to make another one with cleaner lines and a smoother finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 hey captain - thats not at all a disaster!!! what you on about? its your first attempt so is not the prettiest thing on gods earth - but you should not be concerned about that :) you have used your new tools to great use and have Majorly Manipulated a piece of iron into something you can use... and ( i quote - near enough) "the best fun ive had in ages" captain - i salute you :) as one guy on here says all day long - carry on :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 Haha, thanks beth that's very kind. Carry on I will. I learned a lot in the short time I spent on that thing and I can't wait to apply it to my next forging session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 thats the thing captain - its the learning and the process, absolutely, that is important and vital - and like you said, applying the new information/skills next time. the items are nice bonus's along the way :) the learning curve is very steep in this craft - which is i guess why we all love it so much! your avatar, by the way, is very far out! is that a tiny weeny hat??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 Well I am a quick study so the steep learning curve is a good thing. Haha, yes It is a hat...the character is from a "shock horror" series of movies called House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects. They're tributes to the old gory horror movies from the 50s and 60s. I'm not one to get scared from a horror movie but for some reason that character just creeps me out to the point that I'm captivated by him. The movies are over the top and very violent to the point that it's almost comical at times (but not like real spoof comedy) but that's kind of the "thing" about them...they're not to be taken too seriously. It's someone's art and just like any art, it's open to interpretation and not everybody is going to like it or even get it. If you're into raw violence in film (even in "tribute" or "spoof" format) I highly recommend the movies. If blood and gore gross you out, I'd recommend not even looking at the DVD covers. Also, the "tribute/spoof" aspect isn't my interpretation. The creator of the movies was very clear about that being his theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 am intrigued....! violence aint particularly my thing, i have to say, but art forms are... so that guy with the hat is not who we are talking to?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 LOL no...I'm no Robert Redford but I'm a lot nicer to look at than that dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Ha! it looks like he is doing that thing where you make your teeth go dry so your lip gets stuck. like a dog... on that note - feel like i have digressed your thread enough captain.. let disscussion on the bottle opener commence... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 "Anyway, it does work, so there's that" Hey Captain, glad to see you're as thick skinned as the rest of us. Sounds like you did incredible work with the setup you have created! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 Thanks Jeff. It will be nice when I can heat the steel past a dull-orange colour with a proper forge. Heating the iron with such an inefficient fuel and bad makeshift firepot is my biggest challenge right now. I was only able to get about 10 hits in before the steel cooled back down to red and then black because it was 30 degrees F outside and my anvil wouldn't stay warm. I have some J-shaped railroad anchors that I would warm up and lay on the anvil while my material was heating but that just made for more trips back and forth between the anvil and the fire so I was losing time at every step of the process, it also made me use more fuel because the fire wouldn't stay hot with all the constant disruption and big hunks of cold metal constantly coming and going. A gas forge (I'm doing this right in the city so coal is not reallt a viable option) and warm weather will give me a bit more of a fighting chance to get some work done with properly heated materials. The way I see it, if I can muddle through it with the setup I have and pick up some skills on the way, I'll be that much better when I have the proper tools. I've still never even seen what bright orange - yellow heat looks likr or how it behaves under a hammer except in videos. I used to be an athlete and I used to train by sprinting with a 6-foot parachute attached to my back. I look at this kind of the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Don't forget the last part of my post: "For a first forging I'd say it is a promising start!" I meant that. I have seen quite a few first forgings... some are very painful to look at... many seem very ordinary... a few show something that looks promising! You WILL do MUCH better but even this is in the "promising" category! This is no easy achievement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 your so right big foot - its not obvious how difficult this is until you try to do it yourself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 Well I do have 30 lbs of lump charcoal chilling in my trunk right now, thinking about making tongs. It was a tough go trying to hold the metal still with those stupid pliers and hitting with a square hammer definitely made things a little harder too. I could see the material smushing in directions I didn't want it to go and when I tried to tilt the hammer all I did was put a sharp dent in the steel. It's amazing how just having the right tools for a job removes a lot of obstacles. Regarding hammers, all the rounding hammers I see online (whether self-made or sold at retail) are fullered (is that the right term?) behind the faces making them look kind of mushroom-y. Is that a functional part of the hammer or is it just cosmetic? If I took a regular 3lb - 4lb sledge hammer and just rounded the face with a grinder would I have a "proper" rounding hammer? I don't have anywhere near the tools or skills required to make my own hammer just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Regarding hammers, all the rounding hammers I see online (whether self-made or sold at retail) are fullered (is that the right term?) behind the faces making them look kind of mushroom-y. Is that a functional part of the hammer or is it just cosmetic? If I took a regular 3lb - 4lb sledge hammer and just rounded the face with a grinder would I have a "proper" rounding hammer? I don't have anywhere near the tools or skills required to make my own hammer just yet. Forget "proper" when blacksmithing, so long as it is safe and works for you then try it. All a hammer is is basically a lump of metal on a stick, A "regular" hammer with self ground faces to suit is perfectly OK. keep it cool when shaping with the grinder, and finish polish the faces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 Haha thanks John B. Point taken. Maybe "proper" was a poor choice of words...now that I think about it, what I really meant was "suitable" or "effective" but from the rest of your post, it appears that it is. I just don't want to waste my time on fruitless missions when I could just pay a little more and buy the right tool and spend the extra time actually forging, you know what I mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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