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I Forge Iron

what can you make from a bolt?


ausfire

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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.

 

snake opener1.jpg

snake opener2.jpg

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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...

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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! 

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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:

 

 

boltheads1.jpg

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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. :rolleyes: 

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

image.jpg

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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!

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  • 4 months later...

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

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

Thanks to all.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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.)

DSC_6042.JPG

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