Timmy Charles Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 I am trying to expand my smithing talents and attempted to create my first leaf. I decided to make a fire poker for my outside fire barrel/wood stove. The only scrap metal I had laying around that was in a decent length was a piece of rebar, terrible trying to draw it out, but I got the job done. I filmed my process as I went along and you can check it out here. Any tips or helpful critiquing is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Smith Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Do yourself a big favor and forget rebar. The stuff is not worth your time and effort. That stuff is so ugly they bury it in cement! I like the leaf it is a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Greetings Tim, Nice job on your first one... I threw my first one in the scrap pile...LOL ... Some 40 years ago... Just a few suggestions that might make things a little easier for you... Put a solid plate under your track anvil and make it more stable .. You are trying to hit a moving target... Next .. get yourself a lighter hammer... You choke up and are working against your self.. And last move the stump your are working with your toes pointed out and too far from your target and bent over... I hope you don't mind my suggestions but I teach many students a year and they all make the same mistakes... I wish you well and keep up the great work... Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Charles Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Do yourself a big favor and forget rebar. The stuff is not worth your time and effort. That stuff is so ugly they bury it in cement! I like the leaf it is a good start. Yeah I wasn't sure about using the rebar, but the only other piece of metal I had was about 12". I took the plunge and learned a lesson. I've got to really work on removing hammer marks. Thanks for the comment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Charles Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Greetings Tim, Nice job on your first one... I threw my first one in the scrap pile...LOL ... Some 40 years ago... Just a few suggestions that might make things a little easier for you... Put a solid plate under your track anvil and make it more stable .. You are trying to hit a moving target... Next .. get yourself a lighter hammer... You choke up and are working against your self.. And last move the stump your are working with your toes pointed out and too far from your target and bent over... I hope you don't mind my suggestions but I teach many students a year and they all make the same mistakes... I wish you well and keep up the great work... Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Thanks for the kind words on my leaf. I will be getting a smaller hammer, hopefully soon for Christmas. This time choking up on the hammer killed my hand. Got a few blisters on my palm. I'll look at securing the anvil a bit better. I usually stand on the other side of the track anvil where I don' have the log in my way, but the sun was terrible for the filming process. Thanks for the tips and I take all advice so I don't mind what you knowledge you have to give. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubularfab Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Watching your videos cures me of my complaining that the face of my anvil is too small! They do make my back hurt, though. That stump looks like it would really be in the way on that side of the rr track. Great examples of what you can do with very little in the way of tools! Nice first leaf, BTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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