Final work this year.

Diameter 250 cm (98) weight over 200 kg.

Beautiful work Alexandr. 

 

 

10 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Beautiful work Alexandr. 

Das, спасибо!!!

Amazing! Just the sheer amount of steel that needs to be perfectly identical! Some of the most incredible smithing I've seen. Everyone focuses on blades (which can also be gorgeous), but that... Just such a big, intricate piece!

That looks amazing, as per usual, Alexandr! I'm no framer/engineer, but that chandelier gives a new meaning to the phrase "point load" It's so awesome that all that weight can be supported by a structure that's more glass than load bearing materials. Pretty neat!

Yesterday I finished up a couple of last minute Christmas projects. A Small cross-peen mechanics hammer for my mother's husband and a knife for an 18 year old kid that I'm kinda taking under my wing to help his transition into manhood. 

Guys, thanks for appreciating my work.

Alex.

I will admit that it was that knife making show that lit my fire (pun intended). But what i soon discovered is that i hate grinding and the finish work required to make knifes. 20 mins of anvil time followed by seemingly endless grinding. But what a customer wants is what a customer wants and if it is within my ability, right now with the economy and all, it is pretty dumb to turn down work. Not my main source of income but made a difference for Christmas thats for sure.

Before i joined the Army i was accepted to several art institutes. Most of my work was pen and ink but one of my teachers for years used my drawings as examples of how to use negative space. Anyway one assignment i had was presentation on a philosophical aspect of art. I called it the "Humble Straight Line." My presentation was simple, that no matter how complex, how intricate, all art can be broken down to the simple straight line. It is up to the artist to determine where, how long, angle, etc. to make that line. When those lines are joined and stacked and intersected, you end up with the "Mona Lisa". 

Alexandr though, i think he is related to Hesphestos.

Way back in the years of line printers and ascii art I was in college and  was part of a crew that was redoing part of a centerfold in ascii, with over strikes of course!   This was on punch cards and we'd visit the computer center late at night punching another row or two of cards and then doing a test run---we used a Prof's name for the run as I recall...

Billy:  You are preaching to the choir regarding knife making.  For me, I prefer being at the anvil hitting hot metal than doing bench work.  The ratio of anvil work to bench work for most knife making is too high for me.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Ah... I do prefer knives. The grinding is relaxing to me, and I've always been fascinated by blades... Especially kiridashis! Just the beauty of going from a piece of round steel to a beautiful, functional little knife! Also, the grinding means that while I do the best I can in the forging, it doesn't need to be perfect.

A couple days ago I made a chisel from A2 tool steel. Now, I understand the risks of forging an air hardening steel, but they were really friendly and offered me 13' of .5" round for $10, so I couldn't resist. I've heard that it's a beast to forge, as you can't let it start to cool or it'll harden and crack. However, I didn't have any of this happen! I even intentionally tried at a black heat, and it worked poorly but didn't crack or anything. Now, they were 85% sure it was A2, 15% sure it was O1. So, to check this, I heated and let air cool. It skated a file. Not incredibly well, but I also didn't heat it as much as I should've. That sounds like air hardening to me. Has anyone had experience with this steel?? Also, it moved beautifully, almost as well as a 1018 or A36, like it was nothin'.

I'm just so confused!

Chimaera, I made an A2 center punch recently. It wasn't awful but it wasn't as easy to move as 1018 for me, and I did wind up with a long surface crack. Have you taken the scale off your chisel yet? The cracks could be waiting to surprise you. The air quench didn't get it very hard for me, but that may be because I'm at 5500ft elevation so the air has 20% less thermal mass (computer heat sinks, air-to-water heat exchangers, and the like have to be derated at elevation, so I assume the same applies to air quenching). I didn't have to temper the striking end because I limited the heat to the punch end. I'd do the quench with a torch if you have one.

Made some gifts. I’m really enjoying setting pins and working with different materials. I just started experimenting stabilizing wood and bone.

Very nice who ever gets them will be very happy.

Twigg, I have removed scale and don’t see anything. I even cut through some copper to make sure. I have a handheld propane torch, but something tells me that that’s not what you meant.  The elevation problem makes sense. And while it wasn’t quite as easy as a mild steel, it was the easiest HC I’ve done. 

BillyBones, what’s the story behind the rodent? I think I’ve seen it in other pics of yours. Just wondering.

My parents, and me for a while, lived in Louisiana. A few years back they moved back here to Ohio. When they did my dad brought a gang box full of old tools with him and gave it to me. Pretty cool most of them were my granddads, bunch of bell hangers, old planes, trowels, files, etc. Anyway when i was going through a tool box inside the gang box i found Mr. Mouse. (already got a warning for his real name, it is a compliment in LA but sounds derogatory in the rest of the country) He was exactly as you see him now with peanut and all. The only difference is the drop of super glue to hold the peanut in place. I figure he discovered to late his peanut allergy, then being inside a metal box, inside a metal box, inside a metal building, in a LA summer, that dried him out and mummified him in that position. 

So i made him my mascot, much better than the dead cat i found in the barn i figure. Not quite as gooey. He is also a good size reference. 

11 hours ago, Daswulf said:

Now I got the idea down. Was a fun learning experience. 

nice fish daswulf i love the look the next one needs a thread on how to make it

so a late Merry Christmas to yall and a happy new year and hopefully without covid 

 

Thanks M.J.  I was so tired and rushing through that I didn't get any progress pictures. When I make another one I'll do my best to document the build. 

Haven't made it out to the smithy yet; after church I did spend some time cutting firewood---with a bow saw.  Hope to get out to the shop after lunch; which I am hoping will be before sundown...

BB, makes sense. And yes, he is a good size reference. Just assuming he's Mus musculus or Peromyscus maniculatus or one of their friends, and not an R.O.U.S.

5 hours ago, BillyBones said:

(already got a warning for his real name, it is a compliment in LA but sounds derogatory in the rest of the country)

Billiybones, would that happen to a four and a three letter word that would refer to a cajun?  My father is from Bayou Lacombe and I *think* I know which one you're talking about. 

Folks,

I looked up some of the Linneous (sic.), biological appellations and abbreviations.

All this as an assist for the non-biologist blacksmiths on the site.

R.O.U.S. is rodent of a large size,  like the South American capybara.

Mus musculus

is the name for a common house mouse.

Get ready for 2021. Its arrival is imminent and unavoidable!

SLAG.

 

 

16 minutes ago, HojPoj said:

would that happen to a four and a three letter word that would refer to a cajun?

Why yes, yes that is the term. 

R.O.U.S's are not so bad, and the flame spouts are preceded by a popping noise so you get fair warning, its the lighting sand you really have to watch out for.