Second time (paper towel holder)

[Vwfinatic273]

Would love to see what you guys think about this paper towel holder I made, it is the second piece I have made in my new blacksmithing venture. I hadn't bought any steel yet and had this old antique screwdriver with a broken handle with one half square (somewhat) and the other round. I put the twist in for looks and to give a nice transition from square to round. Please give me input if you know I am doing something wrong. Also, I'd love your tips on punching holes in flanges, I had to get creative this time.

[Frosty]

Not bad at all. How are you going to finish it? It needs brushing and a finish to prevent rusting especially in the kitchen. If you heat it to near orange and give it a vigorous wire brushing till its shiny and apply a coat of paste wax while it's fresh coffee hot it'll remain reasonably rust free for some time. Or once it's brushed and cool a coat of clear paint is good. Satin looks better than gloss and doesn't scuff as much.

If you have a wire cup brush on a hand grinder that'll do a nice job of cleaning it up but be VERY CAREFUL when you get near the finial scroll at the end. Those things grab a brush wheel sometimes with deadly affect. I'm not kidding about deadly, wire wheels are probably the most dangerous power tool in anybody's shop. A few years ago one of our guys, a snow bird who spent winters in Utah was wire brushing a knife blade in his shop. A neighbor hearing the wire wheel running stopped in to see what Gorden was doing and found him dead on the floor with the knife blade through his heart.

Watch out when you get near the finial scroll, it's a hook waiting to catch something.

Frosty The Lucky.

[dickb]

Very nice.

Wire brushing is  good idea to clean up before wax or paint, but I suggest a hand held wire brush. Safe, inexpensive, and easy to use.

Will never snag in anything.

Punching isn't too hard, Here's how.

Heat the work to orange / yellow . Put the business end of the punch on the spot where you want to punch.  and strike  it one or two times . Then dip the tip of he punch in water to cool it. Repeat this a few times, reheating as needed to keep the work hot.

After a few repetitions you will feel the punch bottoming out, What I mean by bottoming out is it will feel a little less like striking hot iron and more like striking cold iron or the anvil face directly. Try a few times on scrap iron and you will feel the Bottoming out.  Turn the work over after bottoming out and you will see the spot where the iron has been squashed against the anvil . It may be cooler, or maybe shinier but it will be noticeable . Put the punch on this spot and strike it .  You will knock out a small slug of iron. 

A few cautions:
1. The business end of the punch must be flat, not a  center punch.
2. When you are punching from the second side, position work so the hole  you are punching is over the Pritchel hole. You want to protect the punch and the anvil face.
3. Commercial punches are made with the head of the punch slightly soft so they will not shatter when struck with a hardened hammer head. Pay attention to this when you make your own punches, Making a few (or a lot of) punches is good practice for a new blacksmith.
4. It's much easier to punch holes while the work is still flat, before you make the bend.

If I forgot something, I am sure someone will notice and comment.

Good luck and keep on punching.

 

 

[MrDarkNebulah]

A quick note on punching. I was making this mistake when I was trying to punch before. When you got to knock the slug out, you don't want it super hot. A dull red is said to be good for shearing heat.

[Mark Ling]

if you don't have a pritchel hole that you can always use a stump or piece of wood. or even just a thick piece of scrap steel with a 1/2 in hole drilled through it

                                                                                 Littleblacksmith

[Frosty]

I learned to punch screw holes by: first punching the counter sink or "counter punching" This is just a punch ground the same angle as a counter sink with a rounded end it's NOT to go through. Then I use the 5/16" (or whatever dia.) punch in the center of the counter punch. One or two good smacks and flip the piece over there'll be a darker shiny spot on the piece place your punch there and drive out the slug. This can be done on the anvil face with practice but don't do what I did first time I tried it. I turned Metalmangler, Mark's punch into a piened tenon by mushrooming it against the anvil face. Yeah, just a couple too many blows. Oops.

A bolster plate is easy greasy, just a piece of plate, 1/4" is plenty and thicker won't hurt with a hole or pattern of holes drilled in it. Drilling them in a uniform grid pattern makes it easy to line the hole up and hit it square on. Different size holes are handy too.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Vwfinatic273]

Thanks for all the input everyone, I'm going to use all of it and apply it to my next project. Any ideas on what to make next?

Frosty, I was taught to finish when warm with Bee's Wax by melting it on the metal after brushing, is that what you do and if so where do you buy yours? Also, have you tried black paint?

[Frosty]

I only use bees wax on request it stays tacky. My preference is Trewax, carnuba paste wax. It's the wax used on bowling alleys and is tough as all anything I've found. I put it on hot coffee warm steel and wipe the excess. I have two cotton rags in the can, one is waxier the other is the buff. As the wax wears out of the waxy rag I switch. Bees wax is . . . traditional from the days when it was THE wax available. I prefer paraffin, it hardens.

Paint is fine, Krylon or Rustoleum are both good and epoxy paint on acid etch epoxy primer is hard to beat for paint but like any finish it's all subject to wear.

Frosty The Lucky.