Daswulf Posted April 10 Cool cigar holders 450. Perhaps an ashtray to go with it? Pr3ssure, learn something new and different everyday. Good luck John. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Irondragon Forge & Clay Posted April 10 My wife is quite the fly fisher and fly tier. She was out fishing today with her group and caught 10 Rainbow Trout (catch & release area). I played in the shop while she was away and came up with this. Made from all small pieces of scrap. The base is from a long forgotten project and is 7/16 inch thick plate with the hole already in it. The rod is rebar and 13 inches tall and the hook & earthworm from small pieces of round rod. I had initially intended for it to be a trade item at our next BOA meeting which was to be a critter of choice. I thought an earthworm is a critter. When Debi came home she saw it on the counter and said oh my gosh, I love it and it's mine, you can make something else. I guess I'll make a stupid dragon or snail. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daswulf Posted April 10 Haha Nice one Irondragon. That happens with about anything octopus here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daswulf Posted April 10 Got a late start in the shop because of ICAR classes for work. Going to get 4 roses done before the other 3. Shaping them is a bit of work and I actually prefer to just do 3 at a time. Then just need some cleanup on this spider. Wanted to see how these nails looked on this one before I committed to them for this ones sort of twin. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Hoover Posted April 10 Very nice Das. Spider looks really goood. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Irondragon Forge & Clay Posted April 10 The nails look good to me. Wish I had your talent and imagination for critters. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daswulf Posted April 10 Thanks. Yeah, I think these nails work well too. Nice thing is they are uncoated, so no pre cleanup. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jlpservicesinc Posted April 10 love the spider.. Do you like the inductor for heating? I can see it in the photo.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daswulf Posted April 10 The inductor works well enough to bend the legs and smaller stuff. It really only gets things to a medium red heat. Overall it saves me a lot in torch gas for all the little critters I make, and is convenient, so for me it's been worth it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SLAG Posted April 10 Mr. I. Dragon, The earthworm .. sculpture is a wonderfully creative work of art. Your wife is a very lucky lady. SLAG. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jlpservicesinc Posted April 10 iron dragon, that sure is neat.. hard to see in the photo as it's a little dark for my eyes.. thanks Das Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Irondragon Forge & Clay Posted April 10 Here is one in better light/setting. Still need to put some felt under the base thinking light green like water. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jlpservicesinc Posted April 10 LOL.. that is really cool.. thanks for the better pic. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JHCC Posted April 11 Gave the gasser a wash of Metrikote. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olfart Posted April 11 I finally got my new forge with ribbon burner operational, and this is the first project from it. Having never tried to make a bottle opener, I decided to give it a whirl. From left to right, the first prototype, second prototype and sorta-finished project. The first prototype didn't go well because I messed up on punching the slot. Didn't have a proper slot punch, so I improvised. Bad idea. Second prototype I modified the slitter I had used on the first one, but I still punched a sloppy slot. Third one, I made a proper slot punch and managed to keep it pretty much in the same place to get the slot punched. Now all I need to do is build a bunch more of them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frosty Posted April 11 Looking good, really nice twists. How well do they open bottles? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olfart Posted April 11 Since I don't have any bottles to open, it's anybody's guess. The first one would only open a bottle by breaking it. The second likely would open one with a little effort. The third, I have no doubt will open bottles just fine. It's going to our UPS driver today, so I'll have to ask him on his next trip if it works OK. Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ausfire Posted April 11 Very nicely forged twists there! The tabs on the openers look a little small, but I guess testing will decide that. I have often wondered what the advantage is in using a slot punch for bottle opener loops. I have done hundreds of these and always used an ordinary tapered round punch. After all, you want a round hole, use a round punch! Perhaps, using say 12mm square bar, you may save a small amount of metal by aligning a slot punch along the material, but I'm not sure it's a significant difference. Just wonderin'. In the shop today I made a couple of lifters for fishing out small objects that like to bury themselves in the forge charcoal. Things like key rings and small troll crosses etc. I also made some BLT wax according to directions given to me by Das. 50% beeswax, 25% turpentine, 25% boiled linseed oil. It cooled to the consistency of soft butter and is easy to apply with a brush. I used the mix on one of the lifters straight off the forge ( a dull, matt finish). I removed the scale from the other one before applying wax and I prefer that finish. Both finishes seem to repel water so we'll see how they last. Here's a pic of the two lifters and the BLT. (My wife laughs at my BLT label - she says that means Beetroot, Lettuce and Tomato) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daswulf Posted April 11 Here BLT stands for bacon, lettuce and tomato. I like mayonnaise on mine as well. Nice pokey pullers. Hope the BLT works out for you. It really seems to go a long way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olfart Posted April 11 Thanks, Aus! Being a bottle opener noob, I just went with somebody's instructions and hoped for the best. The parent stock was 1/2" (12mm) square, and I beat it down to 1/4" thick before punching. The middle one's tab is virtually non-existent due to my boo-boo in punching the slot, but the third one has a nice robust tab that won't wear out on the first six pack. Nice looking lifter-outers you got there. I like the flat twist in the middle of a round bolt. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ausfire Posted April 11 1 hour ago, Daswulf said: Here BLT stands for bacon, lettuce and tomato. Yes, same here. I was just corrected on that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannon Cocker Posted April 12 I finally finished these shelf brackets my wife has been asking for for a while. It reminds me of a saying "if a man days he's going to do something he's going to do it. There's no reason to remind him every six months!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anvil Posted April 12 nice brackets! and a matched pair. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannon Cocker Posted April 12 Thanks Anvil! I have two more in the works, but I broke my 1/4" drill bit so they will have to wait until I get to town again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blacksmith-450 Posted April 12 On 4/9/2019 at 9:57 PM, Daswulf said: Cool cigar holders 450. Perhaps an ashtray to go with it? Thanks Das, I'll experiment with the press for the ashtray ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites