March 3, 20197 yr It’s long enough to hold in the hand, but short enough to use under the treadle hammer with tongs. 17 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: Nice job on the handle.. 2.5lbs head? About that. I can’t remember if I’ve ever actually weighed it. As for the energy, it’s just a commitment to make every moment count. That, and a lot of caffeine.
March 3, 20197 yr JHCC, I hear you there. I run on caffeine and happy thoughts. When people refer to the weight of a hammer is it just the head or the head plus the handle?
March 3, 20197 yr Finally got around to mounting my anvil down on a tree stump today. I flattened the top as best as I could and cutout a small pad from a rubber mat to help the surfaces mate. Bolted it all down with some leather straps, worked better than I thought it would. Still need to make some bands out of flat stock for the top and bottom, will be taken care of next weekend.
March 4, 20197 yr FYI,, The leather won't last long.. Not sure if you plan on putting steel bands ontop of the leather.. Love the look of the stump.. Linseed oil?
March 4, 20197 yr I'll likely use steel bands to fasten on top later, yeah. I just wanted to avoid digging into the anvil anymore than needed. And yes, a little linseed oil really darkened the stump up and I'm pretty happy with how it looks now.
March 4, 20197 yr No digging will happen.. I strap my anvils down with serious hardware and since the anvil does not move around it is not a problem.. Where you will find wear is from rubbing or loos fitting anvils..
March 4, 20197 yr Jennifer, still absolutely love that tiedown! Got loopy tonight. These will all end up as peace signs as per a commission and small ones as table sales fodder requested by my better half.
March 4, 20197 yr Thanks. They will each be peace signs. The large one is a commission and the smaller will be table fodder.
March 4, 20197 yr Finally got around to test-fitting the anvil on the stand. Need to shave the bottom of the blocks so they're level. There's about 1/4" - 3/8" difference right now. Not enough to be major, but it does rock a touch. Found a rail spike in my garage and stuck it in the forge, gave it a few whacks to test the height of the anvil. Could stand to go down about an inch, which is perfect for when I level the stand. I also have to drill the other set of holes for the bottom so it matches the top. And the magnets definitely reduce the ring on the anvil to almost zero. I'm sure once I secure it all it'll be nice and "quiet".
March 4, 20197 yr I got an idea for a double hook the other day and decided to see how it would turn out. Don't know what I'll use it for but I kind of like it.
March 4, 20197 yr Nice work, everybody! I did a significant cleaning of my work area, tweaked the vise stand, and moved the drill press. Later, after dealing with an ASD meltdown with my son, I went out to the forge to blow off some steam. Finished the chainmaker’s tongs: And forged a couple of links: Neither of which survived destructive testing: I can see I need to get my scarves better shaped and aligned. At least the second one (L) survived a bit better than the first. When I was in college, I took a basic drawing class where the first homework assignments was for us to draw something that we really cared about, a drawing that we were to really pour our heart and soul into. The next class, the instructor had us all take those drawings out, show them to each other and explain what they were, and then tear them into shreds. "Don't get precious with your work!" he said. "If you can destroy what you've made, you're free to make something better!" He was right. I learned a lot from busting those links apart, and I'm looking forward to trying again.
March 4, 20197 yr Thanks Das, you want one? :-) JHCC: There is something very therapeutic about being in the shop, especially after a stressful day. My father used to come home from work to a couple of Martinis. As soon as I get in the shop the rest of the world just melts away. No hangover either.
March 4, 20197 yr Actually Ted, I'd love one to figure out how to make them. Made a spatula tonight. Used one of my others made from rebar this morning to cook breakfast and was drawn to make another.
March 4, 20197 yr Made some more horn pendants today from stainless screws. One of them ended up looking like some sort of dragon so I punched an eye to finish it off.
March 4, 20197 yr Olydemon, if you make another like the dragon with just a few tweaks you could have a very good seahorse. I'm gonna have to give some of those a try soon. They look like a good way to practice tapering and bending on the cheap. How big are they to start 3or4 inches?
March 4, 20197 yr 6 hours ago, JHCC said: Finished the chainmaker’s tongs: And forged a couple of links: Neither of which survived destructive testing: I can see I need to get my scarves better shaped and aligned. At least the second one (L) survived a bit better than the first. When I was in college, I took a basic drawing class where the first homework assignments was for us to draw something that we really cared about, a drawing that we were to really pour our heart and soul into. The next class, the instructor had us all take those drawings out, show them to each other and explain what they were, and then tear them into shreds. "Don't get precious with your work!" he said. "If you can destroy what you've made, you're free to make something better!" He was right. I learned a lot from busting those links apart, and I'm looking forward to trying again. Love the shop.. Black and white photo and would never know date taken.. Great job on the tongs.. Good eye.. Without being there when you made them and seeing the work flow.. the link on the left was over heated a tad and as you pointed out the end of the scarfs failed.. this is "The" typical failure.. The second link looks like it was welded a little to cold.. both look like they were hit a little to hard when setting the weld.. Again, these are observations simply with seeing a bunch of failures and not based on how you worked or what really took place just the failed joints.. One other thing to keep in mind.. When you are going to test the links they must be allows to cool slowly.. If I am confident in the weld I will cool them if they are still red in the shade of the stack but black in direct sun light.. and then will test them after quench.. But if I am making a bunch of chain like 10 links or so I won't cool them at all till I have the required length.. Usually in 2ft or chain or more the chain is cool enough so it won't matter.. So, I'd suggest resisting cooling off an let normalize.. When I first start making chain the first few links if I am sloppy will usually be put on the side as it takes a few to get warmed up. I don't do as well with cold starts now as I used to.. Great advise.. I was totally stoked the first time my chain links did not fail in testing.. Happy dance, whoots and all of it.. took maybe 50, but I'm a slow learner..
March 4, 20197 yr 2 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: Great job on the tongs.. Good eye.. Thanks, but I'm not completely happy with them. The bosses and the rivet are nice, but the jaws came out a little thin and the reins aren't particularly comfortable (I didn't deburr them before rounding off, and it shows). They're functional, but I may make another pair and reforge the jaws on these to make them into pickup tongs. 2 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: Black and white photo and would never know date taken. Apart from the propane bottle, of course!
March 4, 20197 yr 9 hours ago, Daswulf said: Made a spatula tonight. Used one of my others made from rebar this morning to cook breakfast and was drawn to make another. Very nice, Das. I keep thinking I should make one from a piece of stainless I picked up a while back, so that I can put it in the dishwasher.
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