SLAG Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 Das, Thanks. I have one potential reservation with your master work. The end of the nose looks sharp. (it appears to be a screw.). (also the ends of the arms.) If it is, someone might bump into it, or step on it. Could it be blunted with an abrasive? (e.g. sandpaper or a rotary stone). It would take a few seconds with a rotary tool. (e.g. a Dremel) Regards, SLAG. I just had another thought. a drop of solder might suffice for the ends of arms. Quote
Daswulf Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 The looks may be decieving on this one, or my fingers are so callous I don't realize, but nothing there seemed sharp enough to scrape or poke under normal conditions. Now, if you step on it, just like a lego, it'll hurt ya. Haha. I mostly try to keep pointy, pokey bits softened down. Quote
jwilson645 Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 On 11/24/2019 at 3:08 AM, Frosty said: I really like the gnomes, J. They're simple but very expressive I'll bet they'd sell like hotcakes. Sure make great Christmas decorations. Thanks Frosty. I appreciate it. Those were the first 2 I made. There is a 3rd one that has a much better face, IMO. Quote
CrazyGoatLady Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 Here's the dinner bell for my FIL. 1/2" round from crusty old bar. The clanger, or whatever is called, is a horseshoe. I wire wheeled the triangle then heated it with a torch then coated with paste wax. He has a small one that he can't hear, but this one will bring the cows home! Quote
BillyBones Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 Nice triangle, i have heard it is not the easiest task in the world to get it a nice triangle shape with all the sides the same. I have never tried one so i do not know. Quote
ThomasPowers Posted December 4, 2019 Posted December 4, 2019 I've always made them so the sides are not the same length so you get different tones when rung. CGL---very cleanly done for a crusty old rod! Quote
CrazyGoatLady Posted December 5, 2019 Posted December 5, 2019 Thanks guys. Billy, I looked at a lot of examples and a few videos. This one was inspired by John Switzer. I did a different finial than he does. Started at 37". I tapered both ends 1 1/2 ". Then just measured the distance equally and bent it there. Easy peasy. Thomas thanks. That piece of bar looked like it had barnacles growing on it. Quote
ThomasPowers Posted December 5, 2019 Posted December 5, 2019 I like that sort of thing for "pre-aged" pieces but the areas that get forged end up looking different. Bends don't mess with it as much. Of course the first few heats where all the crud comes off is an amusing time---PPE to the rescue! Quote
CrazyGoatLady Posted December 5, 2019 Posted December 5, 2019 It was the longest piece of round rod I had. The barnacles were mainly on one end. You can tell on the far left of the picture the texture is much rougher. I don't wire wheel things much, but I figured this might benefit from it. Plus I couldn't figure out how else to get rid of the gas forge rust from the piece! I have trouble with that from time to time Quote
ThomasPowers Posted December 5, 2019 Posted December 5, 2019 I forged a nice little dragon from a electric fence pole once, about 3/8" stock and I used the triangular sheet metal added to prevent the pole from shifting in the ground as the wings with a bit of fold forming. One of my Daughters has it. Quote
BillyBones Posted December 6, 2019 Posted December 6, 2019 Now Thomas, no reason to be calling CGL a crusty old bar. Quote
CrazyGoatLady Posted December 6, 2019 Posted December 6, 2019 That gave me a good chuckle Billy. Thanks! Quote
ThomasPowers Posted December 6, 2019 Posted December 6, 2019 Memo to Self: add BillyBones to the "No Coal Naughty List!" Quote
olfart Posted December 6, 2019 Posted December 6, 2019 I made these to give friends this year. Just hung them by the tree for the paint to finish drying. I may add clearcoat and glitter tomorrow. Quote
BillyBones Posted December 6, 2019 Posted December 6, 2019 How about if i triple the cookies and leave a whole bag of carrots? We used to have a coal burning stove when i was a kid. I used to tell my daughters that we would be bad on purpose so Santa would eave us coal, that way we knew we would stay warm that night. Quote
CrazyGoatLady Posted December 6, 2019 Posted December 6, 2019 Thomas, you look just like Santa! I think Billy deserves some coal, though. I don't know how much coal is, but I bet he could use it. Haha, you're posting at the same time as me, Billy. Olfart, nice. I like those. I made some small things. I'm on a leaf kick right now. Thought my husband can take the key rings to the guys at work for gifts. The one in the middle is a pendant for my daughter. Figured I'd put a leaf on it also Quote
ThomasPowers Posted December 6, 2019 Posted December 6, 2019 Leaves for the family tree CGL? Need to deep punch the initials, clean and forge braze with brass and then grind till only the initials are in "gold"... I have a better pic with a much brighter red shirt where I do make a pretty good "Santa's evil twin Skippy". Last year I went down to the factory floor to wish my line a Merry Christmas the last day before the break and ended up spending 2 hours as all the lines were shutting down and taking selfies with me---and of me offering their supervisors coal... Quote
CrazyGoatLady Posted December 7, 2019 Posted December 7, 2019 You're giving me ideas Thomas. More to add to the river of ideas already there. I wish I had the time (and the skills) I'd need for them all. Quote
Les L Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 My youngest daughter completed college in Nashville earlier this year and she and her husband each got a job and moved to S Carolina where they bought their first house. She requested that I build her a fire ring for the backyard. That was the easy part, I decided to build a poker , which included my first forge weld, to go with it. Confirmed my belief that I am a better fabricator and welder than novice blacksmith, but I’ll have a lot more time next year to practice and improve. Quote
ThomasPowers Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 Make some long marshmallow roasters to go with it! Quote
Les L Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 Thanks for the Great idea, I’ll work on it Quote
Goods Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 Don’t sell yourself short! While the poker end may not be prefect, that twist is really long and consistent, along with a good clean elegant loop on the end. Keep it up, David Quote
CrazyGoatLady Posted December 9, 2019 Posted December 9, 2019 Les L, I agree with Goods. That's a really long twist and it looks good. I have a hard time with one a 1/4 that long sometimes. And I'm glad you got your first forge weld to go successfully. The whole set is really nice Quote
BillyBones Posted December 10, 2019 Posted December 10, 2019 Finished this kitchen knife for my mom today. O-1 with Zebra wood handle. Razor sharp. Now hopefully she will make me some of her chocolate chip cookies with walnut and coconut. A little nod to i think it was Grumpybiker for the Ale. Pretty tasty, glad i found some at my local grocery. Quote
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