February 23, 201511 yr Well, it's ugly rustic, but it's a start...Took me 3 hours of forging. Someone who knew what they were doing probably could have done it in an hour (or less). But, I'm pretty happy considering it's the first time I attempted anything this complicated. I don't have any kind of bending jig and sorely lack tooling. I did eventually get the hang of somewhat efficiently bending the coil toward the end. I think my next coil will only take 30 min. instead of the 1.5 - 2 hours I spent on this one. I obviously need to take an afternoon and make a lawn full of leaves. This one came out worst than my first one. LOL.
February 23, 201511 yr Hi Jesse,Not bad at all for a starter big scroll. You sure went for the more difficult level doing a big one.If I were you I'd probably try some smaller scrolls made of flattened stock. Or as some projects demand bigger ones I'd try tight scrolls (when you bend the curves to close up letting no space between them). This kind of object with a vertical stem in the center of the scroll makes the tight scroll making really easy. Just put it in a vise and bend it to right angle and then form the scroll until you get the right shape. Careffully with the cooling: if you try to scroll when it's not hot you deform the stem. Localize the heat well for speeding up the process.Keep on the good work! Happy hammering!Hey, and is that a Ka-Bar Dozier folder on the first pic?GreetingsGergely
February 23, 201511 yr That was my first thought, too... But it has oval shaped opening hole. The Dozier has one. Sorry for the off-topic line! G
February 24, 201511 yr Author ...Hey, and is that a Ka-Bar Dozier folder on the first pic?...The knife is just a cheap-o made in China, promotional thing. Thas one came from the AQHA (says so on the blade) when my wife renewed her membership. We have another one that is absolutely identical except for the scale color, it says Spalding Labs Fly Predictors on the blade. Both say made in China, headquartered somewhere or rather, USA.
February 24, 201511 yr All right then. Thanks for the info. BTW they say in here that "Everything that is nowadays made outside of China is just knock-off."Off topicing stops now Greetings:Gergely
February 25, 201511 yr A couple of things for the next one. Spend a little more time planishing out the dents making for a smoother surface. Rapid light taps with a smooth hammer face, and watch carefully where the blows land.Did you wire brush when hot? It looks like some scale is still on the surface in places.For the coil. Wind it tight on itself for the required number of turns, then unwind from the center while restraining the last coil end in a vise.This should open up the windings resulting in a more even spiral.
February 26, 201511 yr Author A couple of things for the next one. Spend a little more time planishing out the dents making for a smoother surface. Rapid light taps with a smooth hammer face, and watch carefully where the blows land.Did you wire brush when hot? It looks like some scale is still on the surface in places.For the coil. Wind it tight on itself for the required number of turns, then unwind from the center while restraining the last coil end in a vise.This should open up the windings resulting in a more even spiral. Thanks! I did forget to wire brush it while it was hot. I set it in front of my shop when I finished, and started cleaning the shop for about 10 minutes before I realized I forgot. I've heard that soaking a knife overnight in vinegar will remove the scale. Does that work well for higher temp stuff like this, as well? Not that I'm too worried about this practice piece, just curious.And thanks for the tip on making the spiral. I didn't think of unwinding it from the middle, I tried opening it up by tapping backwards on the outside spiral, but it was just kinking stuff and making it worse.
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