Help with a bottle opener

[MrDarkNebulah]

Alright guys. After a day of forging i have failed completely. And the worst thing is i don't even really know what I'm doing wrong. So that's why I'm coming to you guys. I have been trying to make a bottle opener, and i need to make one by Christmas for a gift. And it is not going well. Here is all the stuff I have available. My anvil is the big chunk of steel. I have a improvised hardy hole from the square steel in the stump. I have the set of Stanley stuff, and i have this punch/drift thing ive made. And i cant seem to get it to work at all. I cant even get the punch drift thing i made to get through the steel. Right now I'm forging re bar, but i plan to make the final ones out of a railroad spike. I'm having big issues here, so any and all help is really appreciated. Is it something wrong with my punches or drifts? Oh, and while trying to use one of the Stanley punches, it snapped off while i was trying to punch the metal.So all in all, not a great day. Thanks in advance for the help.

[Glenn]

What color is your metal when you start punching and when you start drifting?

[ausfire]

You've got all the right gear with those Stanley punches and drifts. They should work fine, and your makeshift hardy hole would be adequate.

Rebar is a bit hard to use first up - you would be better off going straight to a rail spike. You don't need a slot punch - a round punch will do fine. Just make sure the metal is hot (orange - yellow) to punch (from both sides) and drift the hole carefully. Remember the thinner it gets you more likely you are to burn it. Take your time and be vigilant and you'll make a neat Christmas gift.

[GRiley904]

What's more important to you that it opens bottles artistic appearance or that it's a closed ring style. I make bulldog head bottle openers in witch the opener itself is a simple scroll to grab the cap.  I also put  a slight bend about an inch back from the scroll to act as the fulcrum and i like that better,  i find it more pleasing to the eye and it kinda picks the head up like he's looking around.  If you are using a rr spike you may consider a cool twist in the handle

[dickb]

A couple of comments and suggestions. 

Rebar is not a good good choice,The properties vary too much.

 

A railroad spike is a pretty big piece of iron to punch through.

Before attempting to punch anything that big you should practice on something a little easier. I suggest mild steel. You can find it at a local welding shop or a shop that makes railings of a Home Depot/Lowes/Ace Hardware. Just make sure it’s not zinc plated (galvanized). Try to get somthing about a quter of an inch thick and about an inch or more wide. Also try for somthing long enough so you won't need tongs. 

 

As to technique, 

Heat the iron to bright orange or yellow. If you get a lot of sparking when you take the iron out of the fire, that’s too hot and you’re burning it. 

 

Use a center punch to mark the spot where you want to punch the hole.  You can do this hot or cold. Doing it cold allows more accurate 

placement, hot leaves a deeper impression. Cool the punch frequently.. 

Put the punch on the center marked spot and strike it a couple of times and cool the punch again. 

 

Repeat this a few more times until the iron begins to cool. Remember bright orange or yellow. Turn the iron over and look at the side that was touching the anvil. 

 

After a few repetitions you will see a flat dark (cooler) spot. Punch this spot a couple of times and then slide the iron to put spot over the pritchel hole or even the hardy hole.

Put the punch over the center of the spot and strike it a couple more times. You might have to repeat this a couple more times, punching from both sides. 

 

A nice little slug will be knocked out.

 

Remember to keep the iron hot and the punch cool and punch a few holes in the blat bar before attempting the railroad spike. 

 

Now here’s something you might use the rebar for. Draw it out to a round taper about an inch or two long and grind or file a flat tip, maybe a quarter of inch diameter. 

You can try using this as a punch without hardening it. 

[MrDarkNebulah]

Thanks for the help guys. It might have been I didn't get it quite hot enough. I have a bunch of scrap stainless steel, would that work pretty well? And i would really like to have the ring version of the bottle opener, but if i cant get it to work ill probably go for the scroll design.

[SmoothBore]

23 minutes ago, MrDarkNebulah said:

 I have a bunch of scrap stainless steel, would that work pretty well?

No, ... Stainless is much more difficult to work with, than mild steel.

 

.

[MrDarkNebulah]

Where do you guys recommend me finding some decent mild steel? Ill need it relatively quick.

 

 

[Jeff Lodge]

Well, in a pinch a big box retailer or small hardware store might carry some mild steel bar. I generally buy my steel from a local yard here in town and get much better prices, plus they have drops of steel for a discounted rate some times.

[DSW]

Home Depot/Lowes is usually the most expensive place to get steel. However in a pinch it may be an option. I have a great old time hardware store near me who sells steel by the foot. Prices are usually pretty good. I can often get a 20' length of steel from them for what 4' costs me at Depot. There are also a bunch of assorted metal suppliers and fab shops in my area. In some cases they aren't as cheap, but they do carry "specialty steels like 4140 or tool steels. Others like fab shops really don't want to deal with small purchases, but aren't as bad to deal with if you need "volume". By that I'm not necessarily talking about 100 pcs of something, but more like $100+ in material.

 

Some of the fab shops will sell off shorts that they don't need from their scrap bin. However around here there are plenty of scrap guys hounding everyone they can find for "free" scrap they can sell. If you can show them that you are "legit" and don't pester them while they are working, they'll often sell to you. Bringing in a few "samples" and maybe handing out a bottle opener or two will help get you connected.

 

Lastly are big steel suppliers. Some are better to work with than others. Again not showing up when they are at their busiest will help. Many times 1st thing in the morning they are getting stuff out the door to their customers, and last thing in the day they are loading up trucks for tomorrow. These aren't the greatest times to show up often.

[Borntoolate]

The only things I would add to dickb about punching the hole is that

you have to go most of the way through.   Hot, with a punch.

Then you can flip over and give and smack that will help ID the shine spot of the hole on the other side.   Helps you see the center from the back side.

Then punch out the slug but don't try this too hot or it won't shear out well. 

And if you can shear the plug into a tool that has a similar sized or slightly larger hole it may work better than into your improvised hardy.   But I guess if its cool enough....

I am no expert but Brian taught me this and I think punching a hole can be easy or it can be very annoying.    But when I saw it done and was able to do it myself it is quite satisfying.    Punching a hole like this in one heat is probably best.   That is not to be bragatory but rather to say that is about what it should take if done right.   Depends on how thick you are punching perhaps...    Trust me I have screwed this up so often.    I have also done it right and wondered how dense I was to screw it up!   If it is three or more heats you are probably doing it wrong and you are in the annoying realm.     :o(   

Drifting it from there is another story....