I just wanted to share that I have officially picked up smithing as a hobby today.  I'm looking forward to having more to contribute.

Bottle torch, an old hammer, old pliers, railroad track, and a bench vise.  I forgot to take a pic after I drilled a hole.  I'm avoiding jigs or round nose pliers for bending, I want to practice with just hammer, heat, and "anvil" surface.

I'll try to post a follow up picture when I've made a lot more, I'm curious to see how I progress.

Big thanks to the folks who run this site, and especially to those who take time to make free education available and answer questions.

 

 

Great start!   Have you given any thought to a JABOD forge and using homemade lump charcoal?  Cheaper than a torch and easier to use.

Good looking hook and spike. It will be fun to follow your progress, and give you pointers or praise as the case may be.

Excellent first day at the anvil Peter! That's as nice a nail hook as I've seen, you even turned the finial scroll the right direction! Several thumbs UP! 

One suggestion is to make the finial scroll a little larger so it's less likely to make holes in heavy coats. 

Don't wait till you've made a LOT of stuff to show us pictures, we LOVE pics you know.

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks guys!  To answer a few Qs, yeah I think a JABOD is in my future, but free charcoal likely isn't - curse of living in cityburbs creates more challenges than that's worth for me at the moment.  But I'm in Maryland and coal-land adjacent, so I'm hopeful there are other good inexpensive options nearby.

You can run the JABOD with wood. 

If Maryland will not allow you to use your back yard, there should be a park somewhere close.  Make the shop portable.

Find a solution to the problem.  Propane  or induction heating comes to mind.

Finally got a piece of cedar that I liked enough to do a burn finish and mount this pair of hooks to.  The hooks were done by me (right hook) and my wife (left hook)during a 2hr intro class in February before the pandemic put a stop to pursuing more.  I've been making more nail hooks and hope to have some mounted on maple and take some pics this weekend.

For future ones I would suggest 2 connection points to keep the hook from swiveling on the single rivet.

Thanks Thomas! The design was from the instructor (probably to keep class to the necessary length) and the hooks didnt swivel.. until I descaled them in vinegar (after riveting to the plate) and of course the joint was loose after losing that material.  I had a scrap piece of steel rod that I beat and filed into something kind of shaped enough to set the rivets tighter.  I'm glad to have a better solution for future hooks, thanks!

I use a lot of nails: 8 penny, 16 penny and 20 penny as rivets. To make them "decorative" I'll often drop them in a bolster plate and peen the head so it's domed and hammered.  Cut them to length and use them like a store boughten rivet.  (Some folks consider me the tiniest little bit on the cheap side...)

1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said:

on the cheap side...)

Nah, it's just the signature of a true blacksmith. 

Nails make excellent rivets.

Frosty The Lucky.

No, thomas meant Cheapside London where there are some really good fish and chip shops.

Actually the Fish & Chips I remember the best was a carryout in Hay on Wye; followed by sheep's milk ice cream for pudding.

A couple finished boards with hooks and wall hangers attached.  I took a torch to some maple before top coating.  Hope you guys like 'em!

Nice  good work.

 

It's pretty.   

What is it intended for?  Keys? Coats? Kitchen tools?   The intended use reflects back into the design criteria like depth of bend, size of terminal loop, and things like easing the edges.

Keys are the intended use.  I was inspired by a set of hooks on a key shaped board I got from my wife's great grandma's farmhouse.  I've started keeping keys, COVID masks, earbuds, a pocket measuring tape (on a keychain), and a small card wallet hanging right by the door - most useful thing I've put on a wall ever, so I wanted to make something similar in use.  The boards are 10 inches wide, close to 2.75 inches tall probably.

What I love about the hooks is that small hooks by the door don't accumulate a bunch of junk (like tables near an entryway do) from the household's comings and goings. Flat surfaces are the enemy to organization!

 

Flat surfaces have enhanced gravity; I believe they evolve into black holes given time!

OK I would have eased the edges of the hook area to slow wear.

I've been busy not forging much since I last posted.  These icicle ornaments were pretty fun to practice longer gentle tapers and play with temperatures for twists - really evident how some twists were at a high yellow and others at an orange.  Twisting the skinny points is tricky, as is straightening after twists.  I probably could use a good stump and wood mallet, maybe that'll be an upcoming project.

Santa brought me no coal, but did bring a box of 50 railroad spikes.  I think I'll need to find a good use for those.

 

 

A lot of good ideas here.

 

Peter R, why not make icicle ornaments with just one type twist per ornament ?  It could be a fun project and make for unique decorations for a tree or display.