October 31, 20196 yr Ok. So if anyone has seen my work, you'll know I like to make things from horseshoes! I have a lot of them and I'm having a hard time thinking of new things to do with them. I make hearts, S hooks and the occasional door handle. Forged some that got welded on to a beer keg hand truck to help move chicken tractors. Also have tried a couple of candle holders, but not very successful. I am coming up short on ideas. If you have ideas or pictures you wouldn't mind sharing, I'd love to read or see. Western motif would be especially helpful. Thanks in advance
October 31, 20196 yr C.G.L., Some member posted a picture of a door knocker made from a horseshoe, last week. That item should sell well in horse country. SLAG.
October 31, 20196 yr Author I bet that was Irondragons door knocker. Yes, I need to write that in my notebook so I won't forget. Thanks
October 31, 20196 yr Author Oops. I just read the intro to what can I make? If I need to move this somewhere else, Glenn or mods, I will. Or if you would kindly put it where it needs to be.
October 31, 20196 yr It's more a welding project than forging but I once saw a Christmas tree made of horse shoes with the boughs being decreasing numbers of shoes as you got higher on the trunk. Making Icthus (Jesus) fish by putting a notch in the toe of the shoe for the mouth and bending the heels across each other to make the tail has always struck me as the easiest possible forging project. However, I have always been surprised at how poorly Christian motif items such as crosses sell. Maybe they would move better in the Bible Belt. Small pony/miniature horse shoes might be converted into belt buckles. With additional steel welded to the toes of the shoes for the barrels you could make interesting hinges. Name signs with the letters formed out of straightened horse shoes could be attractive. Keeping the nail grooves, nail holes, and heel caulks would keep it obvious that the letters had started life as horse shoes. That said, you could use regular steel stock for the letters and then add grooves, holes, and caulks to give the horse shoe flavor. BBQ tools with straightened horse shoe handles might be well received in TX. I hope this helps. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
October 31, 20196 yr For shed hinges you don't use the toe end for the barrel; you forge out and curl the heels. Yes there is a gap; but so what? There are a couple of books out there "101 things you can build from horseshoes" and "101 More things..." but they are welding projects IIRC. this was riveted on crudely
October 31, 20196 yr So to forge hinges, straitened the two branches and nerrow the shoe (tighten the toe) to Mae the branches parrelell, as Tomas said, draw the heals down a bit and role the barrels. The second shoe you will start out the same exept you must make the heals round and bend them 90d to form the pintles. So each branch looks like an “L”. Do not use horse shoeing nailes unless you can clench them and back them. Either punch them for square cut nailes, hand forged nailes or screws.
October 31, 20196 yr I was talking hinge pins; but the pintle version is real handy sometimes too---for doors you have to remove often. String a piece of wire between the heels of a pony shoe and have a cheese cutter. Bend one side 90 deg to mount on a tack room wall to hold tack. Make a small flower pot holder from 2 shoes: 1 to mount on the wall, the other to rivet or weld to it and be forged to a circle for the pot. Horse shoe trivets
October 31, 20196 yr The next two projects require welding and forging. You bend the heal of one branch buy placing it over the heal of your anvil (with one branch under the heal) and strike the unsupported branch close to the heal to bend it up. Nettie the shoe to form a coat hook. Rework the holes (atleast two) on another shoe and weld the hook to the toe. Works best with one large shoe and on smaller. #2 hearts and “0” hooks are popular. My dad cuts the tips off rail spikes and welds them to shoes. Another larger project is a sun reath. Start buy forging the heals of 12-16 shoes like hearts, then bend on branch like a coat hook (you can very the texture buy the way you mix wich branch is bent) nerrow and level the shoes, now take 6-8 shoes and lay them face down and tack them to gether toes in. Repeat with the other half. Now place one half over the other order 1/2 a shoe and tack them together. Flip over. Again the satire can be changed buy Bering the shoe size in the two rings. Yard tool hooks are made buy straitening the branches, reworking the toe nail holes and then bending the branches up, thus the handle lays between the hooks. Draw out one branch for steak flippers (or forge tools) kerkheart are a lot harder steel and Make beter BQ tools but will air harden so do not try to work them cold after you draw them down. Half shoes make hooks and hoof picks. Large shoes plus a peice of flat make boot scrapers smaller shoes and a peice or flat make boot jacks. shoes can be forged into doors and drawer pulls, I even have a rail spike bent 90 and a shoe raped around it to make a barrel bolt for my hen house.
October 31, 20196 yr On other projects they make tiedown loops on trailers, and foot pegs. Infact I have a peace of 3” Chanel 12” long with a hole drilled to take the shank of a trailer ball with two shoes welded on top. This is bolted to the bottom of a draw bar making a step for my truck wile not interfering with the trailer.
October 31, 20196 yr Author Oh my! Thanks for so many ideas and details on how to do them! George N.M. you were talking about crosses and it sparked an idea that if I can match my skill level with it, it'll be pretty cool. Thomas I've seen that book. I'm not a gifted welder for sure...I suppose I could collaborate with my husband with that. Thanks for your ideas and input. Charles my farrier friend. I was hoping you'd have some good ideas. Thanks for the details I also have some mule shoes and draft horse sizes. Anything special for those yall could think of?
October 31, 20196 yr Weld a rasp across the heals and a spike or angle iron on the toe. This makes an old school boot scraper. draft shoes make big hearts And the base for multiple coat hooks egg bar shoe make picture frames spot welding shoes togther is easy
October 31, 20196 yr I've seen the ones where you stand the 2 shoes up and weld the heels to a mounting plate with an appropriate gap between them and screw a scrub brush across each shoe and run a piece of strap stock from one shoe to the other clean the bottom of your boot off on.
October 31, 20196 yr Here's a couple ideas. Hoof picks are always good ones. I made a really cool horse out of horse shoes once. Here's how: It takes 3 horse shoes and a forge weld. Straighten all three around the toe. Leave the two branches on all three with the original curve. Forge weld all three centered around the straightened toe. The one in the middle points up. The other two(the two outside ones) point down. The center welded area is the horses back. The one pointing up is the head and tail. The two pointing down(4 branches) are the legs. Now make a head, pull out the main, detail the tail and finally make the 4 legs balance when it is standing there. You can detail all these extremities anyway you want. And one last one, even if you are not a good welder. I've never done this but I've had a few people buy lots of my old shoes during my farrier daze and tack them together and make rocking chairs. Old leaf springs are the rockers.
October 31, 20196 yr CGL, here are some pictures of some horseshoe items. Others (Charles, Thomas, anvil) have mentioned some of them like hoof pics, hinges, etc. Here are some hooks, bottle openers, hoof picks, door knocker, hinges, handles, candle holders. The hoof picks can have various shapes, owing to the user. (The loops should be rotated 90# so you can put it in your back pocket). I have made a lot of horseshoe yard art, but no forging, just welding. Boot racks, trivets , chimes......on and on. Let your imagination run free. Etsy and Pinterest can give you some ideas as well.
October 31, 20196 yr @arkie Awesome ideas! Made this for a friend’s wedding a few months ago (I wood-burned the horse darker later).
November 1, 20196 yr Author Aww you guys are awesome! Thanks for so many contributions. You've given me enough ideas to last till doomsday arkie, I made a couple hooks very similar to one of yours above. But yours is much better. Thanks for the pictures and everything looks great C-1 ToolSteel, nice to see you posting again. Did you freehand the horse on the board? Nice work.
November 1, 20196 yr @CrazyGoatLady Thanks. I think I looked at a picture and traced it out before wood-burning.
November 1, 20196 yr Author I really like it. I can draw horses on paper, but I haven't tried wood burning an image.
November 1, 20196 yr Author I never thought about it I guess. Glenn asked to see some work once and I sent him some examples. I was chatting with another member the other day about this. I've always been able to draw, but I don't very often anymore. Hard for me to sit that long. Plus my eyes aren't what they used t be. Even wearing glasses, I can't seem to get the light right. Smithing gives me the artistic outlet that suits me better. I can be outside and move around.
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