What did you do in the shop today?

[Rojo Pedro]

Not alot of time lately but got a good couple hours in on Sunday.

used my hardened ball punch On a wrench opener and then hardened it!  I dont know the material but it was fun to work, forged very thin and got nice and hard. tempered purple And The start of a wood chisel

hot day but had fun and stayed hydrated

[Frazer]

Someone liked my bottle opener, but wanted it as a keychain. 

I make try making one where the mouth is open and that is where the key ring goes, but I like this for now.

[jlpservicesinc]

Nice work. I bet you could sell a bunch of them.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

We bought a new Lodge deep cast iron skillet and the bottom of all the new ones have a rough pebble surface. So I took an angle grinder with a 80 grit flap disk to smooth it out and finished with a 120 grit. Now in the process of seasoning it. For those folks who scoff at wearing a mask while grinding, that N95 was new when I started, the inside is pure white. Please always wear PPE while working.

[tom_ET]

thanks for that grinding-effect demonstration. 
I started grinding off the paint from my anvil (which was a rather thick layer) and also decided to use masks for that from now on.
You just reinforced that decision... proper masks got scarce here, though.. 
For COVID people majorly wear majorly self-made fabric-masks. 
 

[Frazer]

Yesterday was pretty productive, more or less finished 6 barn door handles (these I started a while ago, but only received height requirements on Monday). All i have to do now is finish grinding out my ugly welds and finish while hot with wax.

I also made myself my first pair of box jaw tongs that hold the size of material I use for my bottle openers. Then, naturally, I used them to make 2 more bottle openers.

 This was also my first time welding on the reins rather than drawing them out. Welds are strong, but pretty ugly. I have to get better at my scarfs. I think I may have misunderstood which pair of tongs you're supposed to drop during that weld.... Ha. No matter how many times I practiced the motion, when the time came I was all thumbs. Like all things it'll get easier with practice.

And I added a tong rack under the firepot on the forge so now I keep the tongs I am using on the upper level and the ones I'm not down below.

 

[Latticino]

On 6/15/2020 at 4:55 PM, jlpservicesinc said:

Latticino  Eye seam photos please.. 

Only you would ask for this .  I decided on this one to use a conventional axe eye rather than "D" shaped so I could hopefully use a commercial handle.  Not my best effort, I was pretty tired from solo production.  Making axes is so much easier with a striker...  Note axe head weighs 2 lbs even, light and fast for it's size.

 

[ThomasPowers]

I repaired the cat carrier, door post had pulled through the plastic so I cut two mending plates from brass sheet and punched matching holes in them and drilled the plastic and pop-riveted brass:plastic:brass.  Should hold for Thursday's well pet exam for Gomez, (Morticia  has already had hers...)  All done by hand---no electric tools used. First time in years I've used my poprivet setter; but it was the right tool for the job!  Local hardware store is getting used to me showing up during the lunch hour buying stuff for "honey do's".

[tom_ET]

Started with barrel bellows. As the Computer Fan seems to not be able to bring up the necessary pressure, I figured, I can directly work on the non-electric solution. 

The plastic is pretty thin, Ethiopian Plastic manufacturers seem to try to find out, how much you can reduce wall thickness while still keeping some kind of form... Am a bit worried how long my inlet will hold, I might prepare some plate with a thread that the 3/4 " nipple is screwing in, so it doesnt sit in the plastic only. 

The outlet I first thought to use a check-valve, but the springs are too strong in those, so that quite some pressure would be lost immediately. So i went back to the leather-flap and glued an old can over it, into which the outlet-nipple is mounted. .. 

After the first test in a bigger barrel holding the water, I think it works and i feel the output is good. The inlet (just a 3/4" foot-valve) seems to be too little though... Will move upwards (sucking stroke) a bit slowly... Will probably test it like this first but feel that i will have to add a second or maybe a third footvalve... having 3 might also balance the top-weight a bit better. 

Also I am wondering if i shouldnt have gone for a bit bigger directly, too.  

 

[CrazyGoatLady]

Rojo Pedro, I just saw the last work you posted. Very nice! Keep up the good work. 

Frazer, nice work your cranking out. Those barn door handles are really good looking. 

Made another opener to go with the same type as the last one. Sort of concept pieces. The one on the right is a beast and I let the very top of the ring get away from me a little during drifting. Qunenched it off and I managed to save it from getting exceptionally too thin. Nothing special, but I have a few more designs that I want to work out. Maybe I'll get a few good ones to sell 

[ThomasPowers]

Hmm going to make them so they will clip on a belt or belt loop?

[CrazyGoatLady]

I thought about that too. But I hammered the finials snug to the body on these. They fit in the hand nicely and can accept a lanyard of some type if some one is so inclined

[Chris C]

They look nice, CGL.  Don't see any hammer marks.  Can't say that about my forging work!

[CrazyGoatLady]

Thank you Chris. There are a few around the bottom bend of the bigger one on the right. That's something I've been working on is smooth lines with as little scale and hammer marks as possible. Only leaving hammer marks if they are intentional. Which they weren't on the one opener but it didn't quite come to where I wanted so I just left them

[Frosty]

They're both very nice Chellie a little refinement and some more wire brushing and they'll sell like hot tamales on a cold day. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[CrazyGoatLady]

Haha thanks Frosty

[Frazer]

CGL, I also like those! Nice lines and, in my humble opinion very original design. They kind of seem like a pair, one makes me think of fire and the other water.

 

I tried making a garden rake yesterday, it's a little ugly haha, but gave me some practice with my forge welding. Everything went well, For the most part. One of the tines started to split away when I went to spread them all out and I'd like to try to leave it a little thicker at the scarf next time, but in cleaning up the weld I took it just a hair too thin. Oh well. It's still a solid and hefty little tool. 

 

 

 

[jlpservicesinc]

Frazer, for these types of welds you really need extra metal at the scarfs if you want to retain original thicknesses and strength. 

 

 

CGL, I like the take Frazer mentioned about fire and water too. 

[CrazyGoatLady]

Thanks Frazer and Jennifer. I never even thought about the fire/water connection. I have more ideas than I have time to execute them. But I've been at least smart enough to write them down. And I have to remember to leave enough material on a scarf for a weld also. Nice rake. You do really good work. 

[Frazer]

Haha I know how you feel about not having enough time to do everything! I always keep my little notebook with me so when I think of something I can write it down and maybe draw myself a little picture if need be. It always seems like have have all these things I want/need to do and when I have time I forget what they were! Same thing with grocery shopping. I forget the weird thing I needed until I get back home.

Thanks for the compliment on the rake, I still think it's a little ugly and needs some refinement so it looks less like a birds elephantiasis stricken foot. But for a first try I still think it's kinda cool. And I bet it would make a nice back scratcher too.

[CrazyGoatLady]

I need to make myself a back scratcher. Hmm another little project. I have a notebook and I have pieces of scrap paper all over the house where I get an idea and jot it down. Usually drawings, then I work out the stock later when I actually take it to the anvil. I really need to put everything together though.

[Frosty]

The fire and water connection suits your bottle openers, I like it.

Frazer: Pretty good job on the rake, getting the tines even can be a struggle. More metal at the welds REALLY helps. 

I make things like that. No, I've never made a hand rake but I've used the techniques you have or ones I THINK work better so I'm not just winging it.

Were I making a rake, I'd use 2 pieces of maybe 5/16" garage door spring. I'd make a centered hair pin bend and bundle weld the section for the neck and handle, leaving an inch or two of the hair pin unwelded.

If I ran into a problem with a good weld in the transition between bundled weld and bends I'd insert a short piece of round stock tapered to a point in the transition and bring the weld farther out the bends. It might be a better idea to just slip a small tapered piece in the transition to start with, that way you shouldn't have to correct a possible unsightly transition and problems forging it to shape. Make sense?

Twist the handle as you like and I like a finial scroll on twisted handle ends for a hanger and more finished look. My preference is to twist before I forge a transition. I find it much easier to make even twists if the thickness is even full length. Forging out the texture of the twisted steel isn't hard and sometimes looks pleasing if the transformation of shapes is visible as it diminishes to a smooth shape. This lets the customer or recipient of a gift SEE the forging process in the finished piece. Make sense?

Draw the shank down to a pleasing diameter. Remember how much length it will gain as you draw it down. Four, 1/4" dia. rods 1" long draws down to one, 1/4" round section almost 4" long.  Yes? Some will be lost to scale so work fast.

Once you've finished welding, twisting, drawing down and scrolling, cut the hair pin bends, by now they should be folded pretty tight so cut them AT the bend. Then shape profile and dress them as you wish.

Wire brush and finish.

Does that make sense?

Frosty The Lucky. 

P.S. When I ask if something makes sense I'm asking a sincere question. If it doesn't make sense please ask I'll try to make it more clear. Okay?

 

 

[Frazer]

Frosty, I believe so. I made myself a little drawing to help visualize what i think you mean.

Pardon my terrible drawing prowess. Is this what you are describing? If so I think it's a much better solution than what i did, where each tine was a single piece.

[Virusds]

Hi all u guys! Been a while since I posted but I have been looking at u guy's projects every once in a while.

I haven't done much blacksmithing at all since I last posted just because I did not have propain for my forge. But I got some on Sunday and have been working on this dagger for the last 3 days. It is finished now. It has a blade made of an old rusty file, a copper wire wrap handle, never done that before. The guard is just made of some mild steel flat stock. And the pommel is made from an old shaft from a washer that we needed to replace. The handle is not the best but I think it is acceptable for my first try. The blade also warped a bit during quenching.  Definitely imperfect but it is just going go be a knife for myself as my new survival/hunting knife. So I'm not worried about someone not wanting to buy it. 

 

[Frazer]

Virusds, that looks awesome! Nice work! Have you stabbed it into stump yet to celebrate its completion?