Howling dog forge Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I am wondering if you could do the chisel work and then do the scroll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 No, it would distort and ruin the chiseled groove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted March 24, 2018 Author Share Posted March 24, 2018 On 3/16/2018 at 12:02 AM, Howling dog forge said: I am wondering if you could do the chisel work and then do the scroll. John's spot on the money. You can get away with reversing the order of operations if the work is large enough and the carved lines are deep enough into the field, but that's a rare combo to find. Generally speaking, the piece doesn't look right if you reverse things because the carved lines are never a consistent distance from the edge. Or, you spend a gob of time filing the perimeter to try and get things spaced right so they look right. Reminds me, I need to make up a new set of chisels. The 1070 alloy was pretty easy to work with, but this 1095 I'm using now is really wearing things down quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 My nephew wanted to make something for his girlfriend, so I offered to show him how to do the chasing. I already had the dish mostly formed, so all he needed to do was give it the texture, draw up the design, cut it into the steel and put on the finish. He did amazing, in my opinion, and really concentrated on the tasks once I showed him how to do things. Just goes to prove that guys haven't changed in millions of years -- if there's a chic needing impressed, we can hunker down and get things done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 If the girl isn't impressed with that work he needs to find a more worthy girl. That's a fine job. Tell him Frosty says well done! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 nice job; but: SAFETY GLASSES!!!!!! (when you think you don't need them is when you need them almost as much as when you know you need them!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 He did a fine job and yes safety glasses. Use them when not needed they become second nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 8 hours ago, VaughnT said: My nephew wanted to make something for his girlfriend There was a girl I had a crush on in high school, and I made her a toasting fork for her Sweet Sixteen. Last May was our twenty-sixth wedding anniversary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 Thank you, gents. He might never decide to work with his hands, but at least he has a story to tell. I thought the best part was when I asked him if he wanted me to go over it and clean up the lines to smooth it all out. "No thank you. I'd like to do it all myself so I can honestly tell her I did it myself." The only time he asked me to step in was on the date, and only because he'd screwed up the initials. He couldn't get squared away because the surface was uneven, so he asked me to take the helm just so he wouldn't double-stamp again and make things worse. As the wise Mr. Eastwood said, "A man's gotta know his limitations!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Mr. VaughnT, Quotes Mr. Eastwood's wise aphorism to wit. "a man's gotta (sic) know his limitations" The SLAG responds with this observation. "Ignore the limitations and get on with the job". Just sayyin. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I had a conversation with my chair this afternoon about the difficulty of getting a clean finish on a knife. It was all the chair’s fault that I had to do most of it by hand and was out of my depth. My chair told me that I just had to get up and start. We politely agreed to disagree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I thought that I was the only one to have conversations with inanimate objects. My leg vise has heard some really colorful language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Nah, I have conversations with everything, usually frustrated angry muttering. I discovered coaxing and cajoling doesn't seem to work for me. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfDuck Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 When children learn their letters the next thing is usually drawing. Axes have a nice size space to work with, and maybe a nice keltic knot. Blacksmithing is a lot of fun, teaching just adds to the fun! Glad to see your having so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted December 12, 2018 Author Share Posted December 12, 2018 Thanks Duck. Got to do some chasing on a dish the other day. Sadly, when I was stamping in the date, the #1 stamp flew off to parts unknown. Now I have to hunt down either a single stamp... or buy another set. I was thinking about going up to 3/16" numbers rather than the 1/8" that I currently use. Not sure if that'd be a good idea or not, but... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Did anyone ever post pics of their tries at this? I believe I will give making a bracelet for my daughter another shot. When I do I will post it here. It was just a flattened length of copper ground wire. I put all four of her cats’ names on it in runes. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I took nail sets, small chisels, and punches and reshaped the ends using a file and an angle grinder. Somewhat similar to yours, but just different enough to make them fairly useless. It was just a couple of months ago. I wish I had gone into this section and read your posts before I wasted all my time trying to work everything out on my own. Thanks for posting this. I can see now why I failed. I can’t wait to give it another go. Loki, Missy, Grey, and Rooh are their names by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Happy almost, Dee A simple concrete nail will take a different grind and become a great engaving tool. Wear your "Eye Gear", the pieces that come off are tiny, but blindingly fast. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 On 12/30/2018 at 2:17 AM, DHarris said: Did anyone ever post pics of their tries at this? Please post some pics of your next go at it. I've had a few people send me private messages, but I think people haven't wanted to clutter up this thread for some reason. As long as things stay on track, I'm more than happy to see how others are doing things. Maybe I'll learn a trick or two! Next up, I'll do a bit about inlaying copper wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) I think perhaps it would be more not wanting their work to be so easily compared to yours. I know my one attempt at it before seeing your thread was terrible. My kids’ artwork we would hang on the fridge would probably have been better. That runs through my mind the few times I have posted a photo of things I have forged. One problem I have run into is my penmanship is bad. How do I overcome that? Just transfer a printed image onto the metal? Edited to add: I am interested in how you do wire inlays. I’ve never done it, but would like to see how your method compares to others. Edited yet again to add: Crap. I forgot you explained how to overcome hand scribbles in an earlier post. Edited January 22, 2019 by DHarris Add sentence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 8 hours ago, DHarris said: Edited to add: I am interested in how you do wire inlays. I’ve never done it, but would like to see how your method compares to others. Edited yet again to add: Crap. I forgot you explained how to overcome hand scribbles in an earlier post. Whoever it was that invented that cheap spray-on adhesive is a godsend! The hardest part, honestly, is finding a font you like. Most of the artsy designs you might want to use are available online through an image search for "line art" or similar. It might not be perfect, but there's a good chance it'll get the job done or be easy enough for you to modify slightly. The wire inlay is super easy, but it does come with its own issues. My trusty Canon G10 camera bit the dust just after Christmas and I haven't picked up a new one yet. It'll be awhile before I do, but rest assured that the inlay will be one of the first things I work on when the new G10 gets here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Thank you for this post... I am also very interested in your copper inlay process. now I have even more stuff to do/try and less time to do it in.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillsideshortleg Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 Thank you for sharing. Very nice to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Finally tried it. In copper though, not steel. Crude, but not bad I think for a first try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Not bad D! A little experience and you won't get your thumb between the graver and hammer. It's not easy to get even lines and smooth proportional curves. The right kid of wax on a half bowling ball on a lead shot filled ring lets you drive the graver in the same direction at the same angle with every blow. If you can find one a "headache ball" of 50-70lbs. beats a bowling ball all hollow for an engraving vise. Headache balls are what you see above the hook on crane cables. They're in 2 halves that bolt together and clamp on the cable and make really stable engraving vises. Keep at it D, you have a good eye for engraving and it's a well paying craft. Hmmm? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Forgot to add this, but here are some runes I carved into the blade of a (display-only) Viking-style sword I made last year: The inscription reads "Mikkels svirt", which is (kinda) Old Norse for “Michael’s Sword”; the runes are Long Stem Younger Futhark. This was a commission from an old friend for her husband, to celebrate his completion of chemotherapy for bone cancer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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