I'd love to see the process on that one. Till then I'm intrigued as to how it's done and will probably try. 

Use a triangle file for the top two flats round file for the bottom two flats then refine as needed.  Expect to spend an hour or two.

Many bolts have become leather working stamps.

Explosive bolts are just that. When set off they explode, and separate whatever that are holding. They are used in some ejection systems on aircraft.

OK, I've been trying to make a bolt bottle opener like a snake. I've only ever made loop openers, and lots of them, but I wanted both the head and tail. 

Started with a threaded section of a coarse thread bolt. Took a bit of messing around with the bending to make a comfortable fit in the hand, but it looks OK and, importantly, it does actually open bottles!

Perhaps there are other ways, and I'm open to suggestions.

 

That's probably the best lookin snake head I've seen. The whole thing is pretty nice, I'd like to have one. I guess I'm gonna have to get me some all thread and try my hand at it.

Snaaaake, snaaaake, oh it's a snaaaaaake! 

seriously that is a good looking snake, I like how the threads give it a good scale like texture.

That snake is just AWESOME!!

Really nice job Ausfire! Love it.

Love that idea, you did a great job with it. The head turned out well.

Possible idea for another one would be a corkscrew tail. 

Or how 'bout this one?  I modify hex bolts like this for attaching hooks, etc.  Much better looking than a dry wall screw or a simple hex bolt or lag screw.

Have you ornamented any post vise pivot bolts similarly?  I've had to replace a number of them due to wear---and at least one where I had to drill out the hole to the next size up to deal with uneven wear patterns and a "pretty" bolt might be a nice addition...

I haven't only because the post vises that I have are collectors items and I don't want to change them.  Ernie Durrell makes the Fleur-de-lis for the Gothic vises he makes and conducts classes for.

Here is another view of the large lag screw.

 

Great work with the bolt heads, Wayne. I am in awe of your patience!

I like that idea. 

Had another look at that. Nice how you have 'dished' the hex flats a little. I'm going to try that for tomorrow's demos. Don't know if I'll be game enough to post the result! 

 Maybe you could make a wrench to tighten it also.....so nice I'd hate to muck it up.       Dave

Well, I did have a go at a couple of bolt bottle openers with decorated heads. I was pretty happy with them for a first go. Thanks for the inspiration Wayne. 

Here they are:

 

 

ausfire, I wuz gonna ask for a couple of them bottle openers.....but youse gone way far beyond normal.....good work mate...

oh, yeah......on second thought, just send me the Crownies...

13 hours ago, ausfire said:

Well, I did have a go at a couple of bolt bottle openers with decorated heads. I was pretty happy with them for a first go. Thanks for the inspiration Wayne.

Great job. They look beautiful. 

Well, I tried my first split cross from a bolt. Actually my first split cross ever. I did it but boy is it ugly lol. A band saw would be nice.  

I'll try again later. This was just playing around after working on other stuff. Maybe my failure can inspire someone else. 

Thats what I would name a Frankenstein Cross , square head, bolts in the neck, a classic and hardly a failure in my opinion!

 it's nowhere what I hoped for. I did make it all in all but it is Frankenstein's monster. Was a rough idea that didn't want to work out right but it happened. Where's my lightning bolt? 

That's a hefty sort of bolt for a first split cross, Das! I think with these crosses it's important to get a good clean cut (Yes, a bandsaw is the go) and to make the cuts cross a good length so that you get a well-defined diamond. Try something a little smaller or maybe a rail spike!

Well done. Great workmanship and remember there are no mistakes if you learn something.( I certainly have learnt a lot from mine) 

As usual this site has left me with a load of inspiration and a list of new ideas to try. 

Thanks to all.

These bottle openers were made from light aircraft engine bolts. I have a mate who's an aircraft engineer and he saves them for me. They are timed out I think, even though in perfectly good shape.

Not sure what type of steel it is but it's HARD, has a good ring to it, and takes a nice shine. The O-ring grooves make an interesting feature on the finished opener.

Edit:

(P.S. Yes, the original bolt has a cadmium look to it, but I burn that off in an open fire before it goes in the forge.)