What did you do in the shop today?

[Mothman_c3w]

I took it easy today and did some yard work, but I took some time off work this week and pushed myself to build up some inventory. I am planning to do my first ever vendor event within the next couple months, so I want plenty of stuff on hand; a bunch of small stuff and a few bigger items. This week I concentrated on cranking out some small stuff.

I found that I could beat out one of the larger hooks in just under 6 minutes; a bit less for the little hooks. I need to get the time down for the small hooks, but they are so doggone finicky to hold. The simple candle holders take me just about 12 minutes for shape, counting the time it takes to cut the blank. This does not include finishing time.

[Frosty]

That's a nice spread, looks pretty good. 

As a matter of taste if I'm going to hammer mark something I cover the whole piece except to highlight an area. However, looking at the concentration of hammer marks on yours puts me in mind of placing them in patterns. That's just an idea right now but maybe.

I love you dishes, candle holders(?), they're really nicely made, a press I assume? 

I think you'll do pretty well, everything looks marketable to me.

Of course doing shows, markets and vendor events requires luck. What sold last month may be a dud this month. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Mothman_c3w]

Frosty,

I haven't always cared for texturing either but one of the first candle holders I made has a plain finish and it just looks kinda bland. I personally found that I now like the random texturing, because it's not too busy, but the divots "catch" the candlelight and make for a more pleasing effect (in my opinion).

You're right about me using a press. The first one I ever made, I used a 4lb sledge and a length of an old industrial conveyor brush shaft to beat in the recessed area. After a couple hours of that nonsense, I looked at my trusty Harbor Freight 20T press and said "hmmmmm....". Now, it takes me two heats to recess the center and flatten the bottom.

[natkova]

47 minutes ago, Frosty said:

If cutting leaf spring eats your cut off wheels then cut it with a chisel. Have you annealed or at least normalized it? I don't know the alloy spring steel available to you but here I normalize leaf spring and cut it with my bandsaw and drill it with high speed bits. 

There are a LOT of tools a good impact resistant medium carbon steel like spring stock is excellent for but not ALL tools. 

Here's a thought, if it's not thick enough to make a fuller, forge a shank in one end and fold it over so the other half rests on the anvil face. Viola! Fast easy no weld, no upset, bottom fuller.

I prefer coil spring for punches, chisels, etc. there's a LOT less forging and or cutting involved. Use what you  have though.

Frosty The Lucky.

I got my idea i can make some chisel that are inserted in hardy hole too.

And yes i will have to get way to heat it and then cut it off in forge.

ITs like 3 foot long.

 

[JHCC]

natkova, you can make a decent hot-cut hardy from leaf spring by rolling up the stem and forging it to fit the hardy hole:

And a good hot-cut top tool as well:

(From Basic Blacksmithing by David Harries and Bernhard Heer, Intermediate Technology Publications, 1993.)

[George N. M.]

Mothman, this is my own aesthetic preference but I suggest either texture all over a piece or not at all or some kind of a pattern done with chisels and punches.  The few random spots looks like a shotgun pattern to me.  Just my own taste.

You can vary a hammer texture by using tools with a different radius, large ball peen vs. small ball peen vs. rounding hammer, etc. or even mix and match the size of the depressions with greater or lass impact and well as different tools.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[ThomasPowers]

I had a number of people ask me if my price was firm on the 248# PW I sold earlier this year for US$4 a pound.  I told them that "nope it wasn't; I'd be happy to raise it to US$5 a pound which was closer to the going rate for anvils round here!"  Nobody asked for that price change; had no problems selling it for US$1000 I was asking.

Short schedule means working overtime at time and a half; right?

A general rule of thumb in Blacksmithing is that you have to make something at least 6 times to get it down *right*. I'd not advertise something for sale until after you have done the 6 and gotten good at it.

Back from visiting my Mother, 2 pickup loads from her house so far: 1 to a Charity Store and one for the dump/scrapyard!  Many more to go!

[natkova]

6 hours ago, JHCC said:

natkova, you can make a decent hot-cut hardy from leaf spring by rolling up the stem and forging it to fit the hardy hole:

And a good hot-cut top tool as well:

(From Basic Blacksmithing by David Harries and Bernhard Heer, Intermediate Technology Publications, 1993.)

Nice i think i had that book dowloaded.

 

[Frf]

[SHC]

JHCC, I’ve been wanting to make a hot cut hardy and I think you may have helped me out quite a bit there!

 

 I’m working on a bird feeder tree for my wife. I’m FORCING myself to MAKE some time in the forge. It ain’t easy with 60 hour work weeks but dang it, it’s therapeutic and I like doing it. 
 

I’ll take some pics when I’m done. 

[BillyBones]

Got a few chest handles to make. So i spent yesterday with about 6' of 3/8" round making bales. A few i made. They will work but iam not happy with any of them. 

Also made a jig for making bales. The small hole is the depth i want the length of the catches, so no measuring just stick it in and bend. I welded the stopper plate on the wrong side though. It does make the bends even but the catches get to close. Oh well just means today i make it right. 

 

[NH Hunter]

Got my first forge time in today.   Basic drawing out, a bend and a loop.   My stock was to short but I made the best of it as I'm just learning.   A basic fire poker for the fire pit out back.  Have to figure out what was up with my forge tomorrow.  One burner started whistling and the forge wasn't getting hot enough so I shut it down and took that burner out, back in business.

I know it basic and rough but I've been waiting a long time to do this.  Was worth the wait.

[JHCC]

Not the shop, but this year’s kulich (traditional Russian bread for Pascha/Easter) came out pretty good. 

[George N. M.]

Mothman, when making your candleholders on the press do you use some sort of softer backing to get the dish shape or does the thinning and expanding of the metal under pressure against a hard surface cause the dishing?

Thx,

GNM

[JHCC]

2 hours ago, NH Hunter said:

Was worth the wait.

Glad to hear it!

[Frosty]

Congratulations Hunter! Which burner started whistling? 

What color did the forge get at it's hottest? It's hard to tell in daylight but you can see it a LOT better than I. 

Are those sleeve chokes on the burners? They look like it in the picture, if so try closing them a LITTLE bit at a time and run it a while to see if you can bring the forge temp up. It could well eliminate the whistling. A breeze at a bad angle might have caused the whistle too.

A whistle often indicates the flame is burning back to the jet, there are different causes. If it becomes regular we'll see about trouble shooting it.

Pretty good fire rake for a first project. Well done. For your next feat, try drawing a sharp point on one end, draw it say 2" start to point, then fold it in half so the beginning of the taper is an inch or so from the fold.

Just leave the taper and point folded back against the shaft and draw the fold to a taper and point. Then spread the folded back point out into a hook facing back up the shaft. You'll have a traditional fire poker with hook.

Make your handle like the first one and you have a set. 

It's an easy second project with a couple new elements that's even useful.

Frosty The Lucky.

[seldom (dick renker)]

What did I do in the shop today? I lit my forge for the first time in 6 years. Did I make anything? No. Did I hit hot iron? Yes.

The shop has been in storage for six years because we moved from near Rochester. NY to Taunton, MA. So the shop spent a lot of time getting rides from NY to MA and living in storage units on both ends. During all this I was working 5/6 days a week and it was a 6/7 hour drive to get to the storage in NY. I surely will not do that again.

At any rate, its all here now and workable.

 

[ThomasPowers]

Worked on running the conduit for the 110 VAC line to the other wall of the clean shop.  Still need another box and it will be ready to fish the conductors!  My legs are NOT used to ladder climbing out here where houses and buildings tend to be single story with no basements.

[Daswulf]

Have missed your input Dick. Glad you are done moving and have lit a fire to hammer metal. I have no doubt you will hammer something into a shape you can use in no time. It's like riding a bike. You just need to practice to get back into the swing. 

[Frosty]

Good news Dick! That sounds like more of an ordeal than moving usually is! 

I'll bet lighting the forge and hitting something felt good.

Makes me smile. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[NH Hunter]

Frosty,

The burner closest to me was the one whistling.  Inside the forge itself didn't get very orange.  when I turned it off, the bottom of the forge and the sidewalls were starting to glow, but that was about it.  In fairness, I only had it on about 35/45 minutes total.

I'll tinker with the forge today at lunch and see if it was the wind or something else like you said.  I also had to flip one of the adjustment collars and will research "tuning" a gas forge this a.m.

On a side note, I'm glad I bought a 2lb hammer at the last minute on Amazon.  Its just a cheap 2lb drilling hammer, but my arms didn't like the 4 and 3lb'ers to start with :).

Have a great day everyone.

Mike.

[BillyBones]

Finished a shepherds axe. Used a RR spike for the head, a sledge hammer handle for the stick and a cone for the steel but end. The cone is brazed together,  my first successful forge braze. While putting in my wedge something told  me to stop but of course i had to drive it in a bit further. You can see the results of a to long wedge after i tried it out whacking a log a few times. Bit into the log quite nicely. Eh, it is a show piece any way so i think i will just try some glue and a clamp to hide the crack and hang it on the wall. 

Edit: I should have said the steel wedge, the wooden wedge went in fine. 

[ThomasPowers]

n.b.  tuning a burner is very much dependent on what TYPE of burner it is. Don't use instructions for a different type of burner to try to tune yours!

[Frosty]

Mike: 35-45 minutes is way more than enough time for the forge to hit max temp. It needs to hit high orange to low yellow for basic forging, welding needs to have high yellow temps. What did the dragon's breath (flame escaping the forge openings) look like? 

With the chokes wide open the flames "should" have been oxidizing, scale formation in the forge would be obvious. YES, flip the close choke sleeve over the set screw must contact the mixing tube to work at all. 

I'm thinking it sounds like debris in the propane jet a partial blockage could whistle and disrupt the shape of the propane stream and inhibit the flame. 

Try removing the jet and the hose so you can blow it out with an air hose or torch file. Be very sparing with a torch file they can enlarge and change the shape of the jet and mess it up!

Oh YES my favorite beginner hammer, the venerable 2lb. drill hammer! I have several and one is always on my anvil stand hammer rack with the other in use hammers. They have plenty of weight to do serious work and the shorter handle makes them easier to control. 2lbs. doesn't tire you as quickly and isn't heavy enough to do serious joint damage while you build your hammer technique. 

Learning when you're tiring and when to take breaks or knock off for the day is part of the learning curve, an important part.

Hey, good morning Thomas!

Frosty The Lucky. 

[Buzzkill]

On 4/23/2022 at 3:13 AM, Dax Hewitt said:

We were lucky to make 5% on some jobs and in a lot of cases when you factored in all the associated costs of employing people plus the cost of the admin we were making a loss. 

For the year that he was with us our turnover went up 50% but our profit dropped by 30%

Good thing you took the time to sort it out.

A couple principles we live by in our business:  If you're going to go broke it's always worse to do it while working yourself to death.  In other words don't let fear of losing business by raising your prices make you both unprofitable and worn out.

The other one is if you have more work available than you can handle then your prices are too low.