ripleycopa Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I always like working with Railroad Spikes; they are easily available and cheap and make great handles for just about anything. This project was a bottle opener and is good practice for several skills. I started with a typical size RR Spike and using a Smithin Magician with fuller dies I segmented off a piece on the spike end about one inch back from the point. I then used my handled hot cut to scribe lines from the fuller to the head of the spike on each side of the spike. A good deep line makes for an attractive twist. I then twisted the spike along the scribed lines before I started work on the bottle opener. That was started by tapering the point down to about 1/2 its normal thickness and used a slitting chisel to cut a slit through the spike. The slit was then drifted round and flatted on one side. The final forging was to use a ball punch to punch a hemispherical nub on the handle end of the drifted opening to give it something to lift the edge of a bottle cap. I did a good power wire brush of the entire piece and then heated the piece and brushed the handle with a brass brush to highlight the twist. I used a 4.5" angle grinder to grind the end of the handle and give it a polished surface. Finally, the entire piece was sprayed with a clear acrylic coat to prevent rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Du7ch Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Very beautiful! Great display of fullering and nice clean lines. I truly hope you tested the opener to ensure the quality was up to par! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Great looking opener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Friend at work started brewing beer so I made him a twisted spike opener. Now quite a few people at work want one. Forgot to take a picture of the first couple but these are the ones I made today. Some good practicing anyway.Oops upsidedown pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleycopa Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 I like your design, especially the curve in the handle; I will give that a try next time. I also like the pineapple twist; I do the pineapple twist occasionally, but I can make twice as many with a standard twist in the same amount of time. How do you apply the finish on your work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Yea the twist takes some extra time but if you do 2 at the same time it speeds things up. I have always given my things away to friends anyway!? As for the finish its just wire brushed then I apply while warm the beeswax, boiled linseed oil and turpentine recipe, after it cools you rub it down with an old towel to buff it. Sometimes I wire brush it till the black is gone and its bright silver, then Ill reheat to one of the tempering colors. The brass burnishing is a great finish too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I like your transitions from twist to the business end and spike head. I've had better luck twisting then forging the rest but that's me. How about bringing a few spikes to the April meeting and demoing an opener? I'll bring some too. I think we're going to start seeing larger turn outs at meetings so good beginner projects would be a good thing and twisting is a great beginner process.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I upset the point some to get all the useable material I can then the twisting. The rest follows as expected. I have an old ball pien that's soft I use for the lip.The wierd thing is that half the people I give one to try to stand it up vertically. They seem to think there is enough mass in the head for it to balance. I might try putting a flat area on the head so that it will stand up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Interesting. I'm sure nobody tries using it free standing opener. . . A second time anyway. It sure looks good enough to want it on display so turning the head into an integral stand is probably a good idea. Flattening it will spread it and should be enough for a stable stand. Maybe even worth making a header to preserve the existing spike side of the head while forming the rest into a useable stand.People really love seeing the transition blacksmithing does to things so using easily recognizable material for stock is very marketable. That's why RR spike "knives" are so popular, it's easy to see and FEEL the spike turn into a knife in your hand when you hold it.Same thing is making your bottle openers popular and display worthy. So balancing between the transition into a useful tool and preserving the origins will be the trick. I've flattened spike heads in the post vise but it tends to beat up the little rectangular shoulder between the heat proper and the spike shank. I think preserving that little shoulder will be enough for folks to recognize the opener's origin. A header won't be a big thing to make, punch and drift a square hole and finish by drifting the shoulder.I think the trick will be simply flattening the head before twisting or it'll take a weirder shape header.Good move looking to produce what the "customer" wants, it's so much MORE marketable than trying to "educate" the public to want what a person makes instead of just making what they want.Frosty The Lucky. Edited March 1, 2015 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfDuck Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I'd love to make bottle openers but nobody uses them in Canada." Not in Canada you say !" Pitty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Nobody bottles their own beer in Canada?!!! I know most, though not all of our bottled beers now come with twist off caps and a bottle opener works just fine popping them off.Let's see, some of the more common spike projects are: steak turners and other BBQ tools, forks, toasting, carving etc. garden tools, fire tools, forge tools, as many door, cabinet, chest, etc. handles and pulls as you can think of, a zillion hooks to hang whatever on. Candle holders, candelabras, light fixtures of all kinds, sconces to lamps, shelf brackets, etc. etc.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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