EnglishDave Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Have been fiddling with my home built gas forge for a few weeks now but always felt restricted by the anvil I had, just a cylinder of mild steel. Took the plunge and got myself a nice little 75lb NC tool farriers anvil. Could not believe what a difference having a hardened face makes, not to mention a real hardy hole and all the other benefits. So have been out in the yard just about every night after work hammering and playing and learning. Still a complete beginner at this but wanted to share a couple of pics of the output so far. Criticism will be taken with a smile, I have only been at this for a week 'for real' so no great expectations at this stage. Thanks for looking Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Your leaves are really looking good. What are the S hooks going to be used for? A nice finial scroll will make them look more finished. Not easy to get split crosses to open evenly is it? I like a more weathered wood grain texture on them better but that's me. Criticism eh. . . Hmmm. . . . Let's see . . . Alright. Next time how about taking the pics on a fresh mown lawn, the dirt and dead stuff looks so . . . Okay? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 13 minutes ago, Frosty said: Your leaves are really looking good. What are the S hooks going to be used for? A nice finial scroll will make them look more finished. Not easy to get split crosses to open evenly is it? I like a more weathered wood grain texture on them better but that's me. Criticism eh. . . Hmmm. . . . Let's see . . . Alright. Next time how about taking the pics on a fresh mown lawn, the dirt and dead stuff looks so . . . Okay? Frosty The Lucky. Thanks, I love making the leaves, they are quick and fun and no there is no real right or wrong way they should look so less pressure to get them 'perfect'. The hooks are just practice pieces really, I have to go Google 'finial scroll' before I reply to that one The hardest thing I found with the crosses was cutting the darn slots in the first place, they were all done by hand with a hacksaw. Yeah I hear what you say about the dead stuff but this IS the Sacramento valley in summer, (green) freshly mown lawns are a distant memory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Looks good for first forgings, ten times better than my first ones. Keep at it and you will be a master in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 5 minutes ago, EnglishDave said: Thanks, I love making the leaves, they are quick and fun and no there is no real right or wrong way they should look so less pressure to get them 'perfect'. The hooks are just practice pieces really, I have to go Google 'finial scroll' before I reply to that one The hardest thing I found with the crosses was cutting the darn slots in the first place, they were all done by hand with a hacksaw. Yeah I hear what you say about the dead stuff but this IS the Sacramento valley in summer, (green) freshly mown lawns are a distant memory Take up golf? Cruise the better neighborhoods? Dichondra will look well as a back ground. I found making a mark for each cut before cutting really helped. Getting the vise at the correct height REALLY helps with straight cuts, it's as important as anvil height. IIRC you want the top of the vise jaws about elbow height with your forearms held level in front of you. This makes straight level strokes the most intuitively ergonomic. And for your final splitting the stock with a hack saw trick. (drum roll please. . . ) Put the piece in the vise with the mark even with the jaws and STOP just before you start sawing the jaws off your vise. Ta DAAAAAA!! Metal shop 101 hand tool lesson, day one book work. The correct vise height is also how good filing is done and made to look easy. Your homework for tonight is to find out what a finial scroll is and write a 2 page report. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 12 minutes ago, Frosty said: Your homework for tonight is to find out what a finial scroll is and write a 2 page report. My initial research indicates it is basically Latin for 'attractive fiddly round bit on the end' 2 pages sounds far too much for a Saturday night when there is curry to be eaten and beer to be drunk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Ahh working on your gas forge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 9 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Ahh working on your gas forge? Yes, relined it with some new Kaowool and it is working great. Basic design but plenty hot enough to keep me entertained for now. 11 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Ahh working on your gas forge? Or was that a reference to the methane generating properties of the aforementioned comestibles which my dull old brain only just got? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Methane, of course a heaping helping of refried beans with that curry can help with the volume too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 1 minute ago, ThomasPowers said: Methane, of course a heaping helping of refried beans with that curry can help with the volume too. I do like a refried bean but the last time I ate too many and almost ruptured something internally. My English digestive system is designed to cope with curry so I should stick with that I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 You can't reline THAT with Kaowool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 2 hours ago, Ridgewayforge said: You can't reline THAT with Kaowool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 I'll accept attractive fiddly bit on ends. It's going to take the rest of the pages to explain why they should be round. If you drink the bock in the bottom of a bottle of home brew beer it'll get the flammable exhaust gasses going. Curry for flavor and beans for yeast food. Now we're talking fire hazard around the camp fire! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Ridgeway, I bow to your greater experience with that. (The MSDS for Kaowool does say something to the effect of do not eat IIRC...) Would you suggest ITC 100 or satinate instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Would you suggest ITC 100 or satinate instead? I don't think it makes much difference which one you use in this case, the trick is finding the right sort of brush to apply it with..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 6 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Would you suggest ITC 100 or satinate instead? I suppose that would depends on what kind of burner you're planning. A friend once was challenged to eat a bhut jolokia pepper- for That burner and similar, I'd recommend lining it with pepto bismol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 29, 2017 Share Posted May 29, 2017 Sandpile used to suggest keeping to toilet roll in the deep freeze for those situations... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colopast Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 On May 27, 2017 at 8:11 PM, EnglishDave said: Still a complete beginner at this but wanted to share a couple of pics of the output so far. Criticism will be taken with a smile, I have only been at this for a week 'for real' so no great expectations at this stage. Looking nice. I personally like the leaf. The details are so precise. Thumbs up for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted May 30, 2017 Author Share Posted May 30, 2017 14 hours ago, Colopast said: Looking nice. I personally like the leaf. The details are so precise. Thumbs up for this Thanks, everyone seems to like the leaves the best. All hammer work apart from the longitudinal crease which is done with a small cold chisel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 If you round the edge of the chisel it's called a "Veining tool." I paint mine a different color green so they're easy to find without having to compare them all. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colopast Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 A small veining gouge also helps in outlining the design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Cue a rousing performance of "You're So Vein".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 I made a couple of very small split crosses and was amazed by how fast they cool down, same goes for the very small leaves, they heat up and cool down so fast I think they are harder to make than the medium sized stuff. The crosses are also hard to work on without breaking the little linkage around the central orifice. Look nice when they turn out though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Are you preheating your anvil and tools? Helps a bit in my experience; not as much as working *fast* but some... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishDave Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Are you preheating your anvil and tools? Helps a bit in my experience; not as much as working *fast* but some... Not specifically apart from maybe working some larger items first which does of course put some heat into them both. In fact the first couple of times I used the anvil I was quite amazed as to how warm it was after a couple of hours of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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