mjenki Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Hi all, I was working away on a shelf bracket a couple days ago... ...and to make life easier I make a deep (but not too deep) chisel mark to bend the right angle for the shelf bracket. I noticed that my chisel had jumped the groove ever so slightly (top left). I thought that has some potential. So, I did a test piece and purposefully jumped the groove (like they teach you to avoid, bottom left) and after the bend I got a "twizzler" looking thing at the corner. Does anyone have any pictures of past applications of this, or variations? I hoping to know some history behind this technique, if it has a name and how it has been used in the past. Was it that this is one of those ideas that works fine in mild steel and might be disastrous in wrought iron (due to grain) Like twisting, Its super simple to do, but gives some neat results, and has lots of potential for variation. Thanks Matt Jenkins www.cloverdaleforge.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 "inverse roping"? roping was often done on the edges of armour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankySmith Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Oh, me likes! I also love it when mistakes create something wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valth Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Looks really cool, I agree, a wonderful mistake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabbsterinn Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 i bet this would make a really interesting pattern on a ring, if you'd chisel the whole way around while it's flat and then bend it I'll borrow this technique next time im at the forge and if i post it here I'll of course credit this idea to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I haven't seen the likes before myself. It may just be a new technique, I vote we call it "Matt whack" the corners? My only off the top suggestion would be to use chasing chisels so as not to make cold shuts at the bottoms of the incisions. Unless and until problems are discovered with this technique I'm calling it a promising bit of serendipity. We will discover problems using this just like everything else we do but that's not something to worry about, just share as they turn up. Oh yes, in accordance with Thomas's mantra to his students, "Then we charge MORE!" This is turning into a great day, drizzly rain and all. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 It does look really neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I like it! On a table surround it could look really really nice, and add just a touch of that 'certain something'. Now I wonder how it would look if you used other types of chisels instead of one that had a sharp edge. Maybe a triangular punch or round punch..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJS Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Actually I was thinking about an S shaped chisel, that might be real nice. Dressing the edge to a polished flat instead of a SHarp edge would cause less stress to the joint. fun stuff ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceas65 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 looks nice ... makes the work easier ... i LIKE ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I've been having ideas coming to mind every time I think of the technique. I'm going to make a couple chasing chisels for the purpose, one straight, one curved and one gentle S shape. But before I do them all I'm going to give the straight one a try to adjust how sharp to make the radius edge. I'm kind of excited about this one. Thanks again for passing the idea along Matt. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsoldat Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Thomas, for say a breast plates edges , you'd notch it with the chisel and then roll the edge to get the inverse rope pattern or would it be chiselled or filed after? Or are the edges on a breast plate typically solid to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I like that a lot!! The sort of happy accident that leads to a discovery only happens with a open mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjenki Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 Frosty, I am really excited to see what variations are out there... I think a neat alternative would be to make only a single overlap chisel mark as well. for example ------------/------------- instead of the / / / / / / / / / that is shown in the picture. Sometimes "less is more"? Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Less IS often more Matt. I'm thinking we're going to start seeing some serious brainstorming as soon as a few pics of other guy's experiments begin showing up. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merk Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Awesome pictures! I love when a mistake yeilds something great like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I'm going to play tinker with this technique this morning since I'll be forging anyway. Points of interest: Length and angle of cuts in relation to overall width of stock. What does it look like if the length of the cut is greater than the radius of the bend? Number of cuts in relation to overall width of stock. How thick can you stack the slashes? ///////// v. / / / / / / / What's going to happen if you do XXXXXXX instead of an ////////? Shape of bevel on chisel. Round edge or square, different angles..... What about using a round-tipped punch similar to an eye punch? If the cuts are to make the bend easier, any thinning of the stock in the bend will accomplish that. What's it going to look like if you set dimples along the bend with your center punch? Ellipses instead of hemispheres? Lots of potential here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I think an interesting pattern could possibly be opposing slashes: / / / / / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 This has the potential to be as broad a design field as twists, even if it has fewer applications at the moment. So, who gets to be the Ensign in the red shirt? :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimsShip Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 If this was used as a border for say, a table, would you have to file or smooth the finished cut to make it less likely to cut or catch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Roping is traditionally done after rolling the edge on armour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsoldat Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Thought that might be the case Thomas. Always nice to have an answer from someone that knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 This has the potential to be as broad a design field as twists, even if it has fewer applications at the moment. So, who gets to be the Ensign in the red shirt? :rolleyes: Has anyone called it a bad idea? That person has my vote if s/he types/speaks it publicly. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 A very good full time professional smith near me sometimes makes leaves by chiseling marks into the edge of a flat bar then forging out the shape, thus exaggerating the chisel marks into serrations on the leaf edge. Not quite the same as the OP but in the same spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuge Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Nice find. It's fun to see what happens to your marks as the go around the corner. I've used similar moves in collars and banding. Often if the chisel mark or texture or cut or punch is manipulated using the elastic properties of steel you get more interesting results. Keep up the tangential thinking man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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