Trying to make an Owl

[ausfire]

Anyone got any tips for forging a bottle opener with an owl handle? I have no problem with the opener end but the owl is proving difficult.
The picture shows my third try. It's not good, but the first two looked like intoxicated parrots.
Using 1/2 mild. Started by upsetting the end and then chiselled the beak on the corner. Flattened each side and punched the eyes. Chiselled a tail and formed some folded wings.
I will have to have some more tries to get it right, but wondered if any of you have been successful. It needs to be like a barn owl with the heart shaped face. Australian owls do not have ear tufts.
There is one in the Iron Menagerie book, but I don't think it's particularly good. Any help? Pictures? Much appreciated.

[jeremy k]

Here's an owl I forged from 1/2 x 1/2 bar - '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>
I forged this as a demonstration for the Northern Minnesota Metalsmiths spring conference. I still had a handout from that( it's a little rough but worked during the demo so ppl could follow along as I did it). I hope this will help you.

[ThomasPowers]

I think my late '30's german smithing book has an owl in it I'll check this weekend; Geschmides Eisen by Kuhn---oops just got informed late night tonight and Saturday work required so It will be next week.

[Chinobi]

pretty nice owl you have already :) if you don't have one already go pick up a copy of The Iron Menagerie, its less than 20$ I think and it has something like 19 different faces and styles of faces, one of which IIRC is a pretty neat looking owl.

 

edit: you can actually see it on the middle left of the cover

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Menagerie-Guild-Metalsmiths/dp/1931626294

[Raturay]

I can't offer much help. However I saw Terry at the Cobb & Co Museum in Toowoomba make an owl four or five years ago at the end of a weekend workshop. It was a guessing game as to what he was making.  He started by forging what looked to be a leaf on the end of a piece of round bar.  It was very similar in shape to a leaf but then he folded it back on the bar and it became the owl's wings.  Some very astute hammering and chisel work resulted in an owl perched on a post.

 

I haven't tried one and wish I had taken notes as he did it.

 

Ray

[ausfire]

Ray,
I went to do a weekend workshop with Terry at the C&C Museum last year, but on arrival in Toowoomba I learned that he had become ill and the workshop was cancelled. I hope to make it this year and I will make a point of asking him about the owl. Perhaps I can make owls instead of tongs!

Chinobi,
Yes, I have the Iron Menagerie book and have referred to it for other heads. The owl head there is not really what I'm looking for.

Jeremy,
Very nice owl there. Thank you for the diagrams. I like the way you have the feet grabbing the post. Neat.

[ThomasPowers]

Not ready for me yet so snuck home:  Struck out in Gescmiedetes Eisen; 4 or 5 birds but no owls

[Du7ch]

I've had some ideas but haven't quite tried them as I'm missing some tools I'd like to make first... Procrastination at it's finest!

[SJS]

I have done some owl designs on paper, but haven't gotten any done in the shop yet...  I was planning on using 1/4" x 1 1/2", and profiling the head, using curved chisels to outline the face, punch the eyes, line the wings, and using butchers to set down around the legs and lower body of the owl...

[ausfire]

Well, here's another try at an owl. I tried the method that Ray said was used by Terry Drennan.
Forged a leaf shape in the 1/2 square and then folded it back for the wings. Needs a bit more forward planning to have the head shaped before the folding back. And perhaps a fire weld to join the upper wing to the head to avoid the crease.
Here is a pic of the first try with this method. Getting better, but any suggestions for improvement welcome.
The owl is actually a bit longer than this. The camera has foreshortened it somewhat.

[teenylittlemetalguy]

. I love it when strings like this end up with a solution.
I agree a small weld would help, but no confusing it, that is a fine little owl.

[tdaleh]

Would a guliten set the head and body and wings apart.

[jeremy k]

Half on half off hammer blow.

[SJS]

If you don't want the wings to show around the head, forge down the 'stem' on the 'leaf' that you are using for the wings a bit more. You could even fuller a groove on the back of the owls head that you could lay the 'stem' down into so it was less visible. I would also fuller under the head to set it off from the body more. What you have so far does look pretty good, I was kinda surprised I liked it.  I didn't like the sound of the technique when I saw it in the thread earlier;-)  A little more definition and maybe some checking on the body and it will look really nice;-) 

[John B]

Apologies for the delay in posting this response, but I had to retrieve this sample from my old scrap items box, and wire brush it to show details, before taking pics.

 

Here is the first trial one I made many years ago, and kept as a good sample of a bad job,

 

Made with similar to the method you appear to have used, but with some glaring faults on,  IE tail/wings being too long, and thus not settling in the correct plane, and the incised 'chest feathers' the wrong way.

 

This head/winged cowl was not firewelded but some later ones were, I didn't find firewelding necessary, but it did improve the overall look of the finished item, patience is the key of you are going to weld this top area, or you will lose definition on the rear wings details.

 

You can use a half round swage for support (or the step on the anvil to cutting plate area if your anvil has one) when punching the eyes in to hold it steady.

 

If there is any marked swelling representing ears is/are present, a few strokes with a hot rasp will solve that problem.

 

Made from 16mm (5/8") round bar

 

         

 

Hope this helps, Have fun.

[ausfire]

@twmg: Yes, I'm sure a small weld there would help disguise the fold made by the wing. Hard to do though without burning the wings.
@tdaleh: I tried a guillotine with mixed success. Again, forward planning is necessary here before the wings piece is folded over. I was too hasty to fold the wing.
@jeremy: Yes, half hammer blows would define the neck if you're accurate enough on such a small piece. Great care needed!
@SJS: The refinements you suggest are sensible. Will try them in future attempts.
@John B: A fine 5/8 round bar owl. I will have to try the bigger stock. I like the way you have defined the beak. I made mistakes with early attempts in making the beak too big (looked more like a parrot). How did you form that beak? I thought of making a small V punch but that is not an easy shape to make.

Thank you all for the help. Much appreciated.

[SJS]

John that is a nice looking little owl, the thing that bothered me the most with that example was the hollow eyes...  I like making character and animal faces, and eye punches to get different effects.  About the only things I will put hollow punched eyes on is a dragon or a gargoyle, and I rarely do that... Eyes have so much potential to add detail and character...  I still don't really "like" the folded design:-) but it does have some interesting potential. I generally just dive in with lining chisels, and butchers, and punches. But the lower part of your wings and tail do look really nice wrapped around the body like that...  Maybe prep the details on the wing and the chest, then take a very short heat and faggot weld the end of the bar, then put it into a ball swage,,,  Then you could refine the shoulder, and the transition to the wing, and finish punching the details onto the head and face. It will likely be summer or fall before I get a chance to try one though...  Got too many irons in the fire as it is, without adding another project to the list;-) I will grab the images for the bucket list of forging projects. 

[John B]

Thank you for the comments, glad to be of some assistance. 

 

 

 

Regarding the eyes, funny old things eyes, they are recessed and yet pop out, 

 

With the owls, most have a seemingly flat side at each side of the beak/eye area, and by punching in at that area to create the flats on the round bar, it raises the centre to allow for the beak being created. 

 

(These could be flat punches with a recessed ball punched centre, much like a domed rivet head snap but with a larger outer area, that would then give bulging eyeballs.)

 

As for the beak effect , it was done using a small curved chisel, you may be able to see more clearly on this enlarged/doctored pic

 

 

The incisions also move a little more metal to give a slightly more raised area which fools the eye into thinking its a beak.

 

Much of animal effects are judged by the eye, and the overall effect, and are not really what they are like, it looks like a beak,  this method also does not leave a sharp pointed area to be a danger area as it would be if you went in with a chisel, an alternative method to raise the beak.

 

Also makes it more tactile and usable if used on key rings, bottle openers etc.

[SJS]

Yep the deep punching gives the effect you want, and sets the beak apart without making it dangerous (probably prudent;-) I still like to use an eye punch that is made like a snap, and I punch deep with them, and use them to upset the brow. I often use several punches in combination, to punch pupils in the eyes, and to get an aggressive look, or a cartoon look. My dad used to draw these cartoon sailor cats, and I made an eye punch that looks just like what he used to draw they are a lot of fun...