gewoon ik Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Thomas can you share some pictures? I can see a baskettwist. I see barb wire. But i have no idea of the outcome if you combine them. I envision something weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryOnion Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Jennifer, did you happen to have a picture of it? Is it any different than the woodworking ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacLeod Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Thanks for all the inspiration. Some great work here I’ll surely copy. I got stung, big job, sample all good then went and bought a lot of stock and started work before I asked for a deposit. Customers hit a big roof problem And ran out of cash. First casualty, fancy bannisters. These things happen, nice people and they told me as soon as they knew. Ah well, this afternoon went back to fireside sets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Bummer MacCleod. Look up, YOU don't have to have BIG roof problems and you still have the stock! Maybe make some gate, railing, widow grate, etc. samples to show folks with the fire sets. If you use up too much or all of the stock to make the fancy bannisters you can restock. AND being so successful I'm sure they'll happily pay the deposit on the more expensive bannisters. Or you'll probably do what I do and cut them a break considering how much a new roof costs if they come back. I am NOT a tough businessman. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Ok, so I got the forging done on the 3rd hawk and it’s now normalizing: I may need to make more, because I kinda want to keep this one… Keep it fun, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 I've posted these before, I did 2 more today and cut the wire and twisted it for the last ones needed for this year. I had a student over and I worked on my Christmas presents while he worked on his first pair of tongs...had both the coal forge and propane forge running! (Separate anvils too....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Reverse bowl tongs, Mark II. A critical area got too thin from grinding out cold shuts, broke, and required some (admittedly sloppy) welded reinforcement, but otherwise, I’m pretty happy with them. Since the reins are rather springy, I added a built-in tong clip, which you can see in lower right-hand corner of the middle photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Bullet Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 John - Beauty is as beauty does, I say. Neat design. I like it. I've never done any bowls but when I get caught up I'm going to have to try building one. I could see that being useful for sheet metal form shaping and stake repousse'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 I like the design John, I'm looking forward mark IV pics. MAYBE a shot of them in use? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Today was a bit of a mess for me. I had decided I was finally going to put together the slot jaw tong blanks I ordered from Ken's Custom Iron. Drew out the reins and then realized I longer had a mounted vice to do the twisting of the jaws. Derp. So I set those aside for another day and picked up a piece of stock I had been practicing on yesterday. I had been working on a leaf, had the leaf mostly shaped and the stem mostly drawn out when I hammered one tap too many too cold and the leaf broke off from the stem. So tonight I started with a piece of stock with a thin-ish end. I flattened the end a bit, kind of like a tiny spatula, split it down the middle and curled each side opposite directions. Then had no idea what else I wanted to do so I cut it off and dropped it in my anvil sand where all the tiny oops projects go, lol Then I started cleaning out the shed where I store all the blacksmithing stuff. That was probably my most productive work of the evening. Found some leaks in the roof that need sealed and was able to move some of my forging supplies to the shelves. Need to replace the plywood floor strips. Measured and confirmed it is a 10x10 shed with 2ft deep shelving on one side and about 2ft deep worth of space for the grill that's stored in there. So the rest of the space is for me but one of those sides is the doorway. I want to move an old metal office desk in there to use as a light duty workbench (filing, chiseling, applying finishes and such) and that will give me a few more drawers. Oh, I also cut up some more kinding sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Shaina, while it happens more commonly with things like copper, bronze, and brass steel can work harden too and become brittle. If you are doing much cold work on something it is not a bad idea to periodically heat it up to about mid-red (non-magnetic) and then let it slowly cool. placing it in something that insulates it and lets it cool slowly like lime, vermiculite, wood ash, etc. will be best. Cracks and weak points can develop other ways too but it is best to avoid all, or as many as possible, causes of failure. And, every time something like this happens you learn something and are less likely to do it again. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Sounds like a typical day in the smithy Shaina, especially breaking the stem off a leaf, been there done that, still do. 10' x 10' is a cozy space but that desk is going to take a big bight. You know that side with the door could use a bit of shed roof and 3 walls say a couple feet wider than the desk. You can repurpose the lumber from the wall with the door to one of the new walls. You won't have to hand another door that way and only need to buy a couple sheets of plywood. Hmmm? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 It's a metal shed... Sliding double doors. Here's a pic with the og grill forge in front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Keep your eyes open people are always getting rid of metal sheds. A little paint, hand drill and some screws or pop rivets, double doors at each end and you're stylin. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Build a set of short walls and set one of those sheds on top so you have room to swing and then add some rigid insulation to the ceiling to keep the sun from baking your brain with radiant heat and a small tin shed becomes a nice little shop. lit you make the walls bench high, then bench becomes part of the wall. Girder furniture helps stiffen with light construction. the framing for the bottom of the wall will screw down to the top of the wall. It can be as simple as salvaged pallet wood at as elaborate as brick. 1” patio stones make a nice floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Made a rack for my kitchen to hang by yearly forks from and the hooks. Tried working a bit of wrought as well into a bottle opener. Kind of clunky and rough looking but for the first thing i ever made from wrought turned out better than i was expecting. Managed to keep the metal from splitting and falling apart. I really expected it to fail when punching or drawing out the loop. Also made a few more pumpkins. I can not make these things fast enough. I have gotten faster though i can make 4 now in the time it was taking me to make 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Shaina, Charles reply has a lot of merit. I know a pair of Smith's who worked out of an old 6x8 chicken coup and produced some stunning iron work. I went Saturday and picked up this little giant 25lb donated by Petras. A younger smith who was leaving for SD. Person in the photo redid the hammer for his own use but shortly thereafter bought a KZ75 Which he loves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 As this is fall; forge brazing a broken leaf to a stem is appropriate. Any braze overrun is jut fall colors starting to appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 16 hours ago, Shainarue said: Today was a bit of a mess for me. I had decided I was finally going to put together the slot jaw tong blanks I ordered from Ken's Custom Iron. Drew out the reins and then realized I longer had a mounted vice to do the twisting of the jaws. Derp. So I set those aside for another day and picked up a piece of stock I had been practicing on yesterday. If you have a pair of tongs that can fit in your anvils hardie hole, you can use these as a twisting vise. One of the videos shows how this is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 20 hours ago, Goods said: I kinda want to keep I agree with you, it looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 On 10/9/2022 at 4:33 PM, AngryOnion said: Jennifer, did you happen to have a picture of it? Is it any different than the woodworking ones? Yes, totally different. Better than a photo.. How's about a video. These work extremely well for so many things.. David, that is a great looking hawk.. How long did it take you? I imagine your doing most of the forge work on the hammer now.. billybones.. I love all the hooks.. Great product board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Thanks Les and JLP. Not quite everything I wanted for it, but it’s my best to date! JLP, I probably have eight hours in it. My desire for a perfect item, doesn’t match my skill set just yet! Not that it’s perfect, but I try to do better with each one. Yes, I did use the hammer one these. Using a side set, I got the set down in front of the eye really clean, but not in the exact right spot every time. My large flatter also helped keep it nice and clean. Honestly though, maybe only a 1/3 of the forging was on the hammer and a lot of the was me trying to draw down the eye to 1/4” evenly. I’ve got this image in my head of how I want the eye transition to look (almost like an upset corner), but haven’t got it right just yet. Most of the important forging on these is hand hammer work. I sent more time fiddling with they eye than anything else. Keep it fun, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Charles, I'll have to message you to get info. Not sure I understand your plan. Jennifer, I don't yet have tongs and also haven't yet devised a hardy hole. I'll be picking up a London style anvil later this month so I decided not to put the effort into anything extra on this railroad rail setup. Tonight I actually did a thing that didn't look like crap. In my own backyard in about an hour without supervision from an instructor, lol Just a simple S hook, and the twist isn't exactly centered but I'm happy with it. I did the twist with a pair of vice grips on one end and a small monkey wrench on the other. Vice grips slipped a bit. Not ideal but got me something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Shaina sorry about forgetting.. Memory like a sieve.. Yes the twist is a little uneven but still that's a great job.. Going with round then twisting is tough. Yours looks so much better than my first one.. Great job. You could try to use the web of your current anvil to pinch the metal against.. you can use your vise grips.. Bend both sides first then clamp one end at the height you want the twist to start at and have at it.. Twisting while holding with both hands is tough.. David.. I hear you on getting things set first.. Preforms in the forging world are more important and very seldom talked about.. Knife, axe, scroll, hammers.. All preforms.. In 40+ years of smithing I have never been completely satisfied with anything I have ever made.. I always see room for improvement.. This aspect alone might be why I continue to forge.. Interestingly that naturalness to forge to the exact shape each time is my goal.. Make it look easy.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Shaina When you finish the twist, lay it on a flat surface and hit it with a piece of wood to straighten things out. The twist itself is controlled by even heat and even twisting pressure. As JLP said, clamp one end and twist the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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