On 12/14/2022 at 10:24 PM, Mark Ling said:

... The upright part to the stand is blind riveted into the base..

Super nice.  I am curious, what keeps those blind rivets tight and in place?  A tight fit and installing them cold is my guess??

Really like the odd poker.  

3 hours ago, Rojo Pedro said:

Super nice.  I am curious, what keeps those blind rivets tight and in place?  A tight fit and installing them cold is my guess??

 

Yessir. The holes are drilled and I used hot rolled, so it was pretty tight to start. And then riveting cold. 

Turned an old framing square into a hook ruler, based on a plasma-cut version I saw in Steven Bronstein’s shop. The holes, cuts, and stamped numbers make it somewhat easier to read.

I think I might trim a little off the spine (especially at the handle end) to make it a bit more comfortable to hold. 

Thanks, Frosty. I agree that the tongs would look better with opposing twists. That’s definitely a change I will include the next time I make them.

Billy, I also agree with your suggestion about the broom handle. It felt longer than expected after I attached the broom. I’ll let them know I can shorten it later if they find it awkward to use. 
 

Very nice sets, Mark. That custom poker is a beast! The triangular handle looks like it will provide the solid grip needed to make good use of the extra leverage. 
 

Nice looking brackets, Goods. I’m looking forward to the finished rack. 
 

Alexandr, the quality and design of your work is beautiful. The number of such elaborate pieces you produce is astounding!

Not in the shop - but in my recliner. I spent the past 3 hours googling/watching videos/pausing/taking notes to make a set of tongs. Sounds kind of ridiculous - yes - but I otherwise tend to stand around outside wasting fuel while I'm watching the video trying to figure out the next step. 

Ultimately, I found TWO tong styles and was having trouble deciding which to start on. 

Style 1 is Brian Brazeal's "Ultimate Tongs" from this forum. I like how versatile they are. Caveat is that they only hold as small as 1/4". Upside is they can hold up to 1 1/4 (iirc). So they would come in handy when I'm working on hardy tools - which is something I need to work on next - so I'll probably go with these.

Style 2 is from a Daniel Moss video, "Great all round beginner tongs". Kind of the same premise but smaller. They can hold a welding rod of 1/16th inch up to 5/8" of various shapes. 

So after writing out all the notes, I'm 90% sure I'm going to start with the Ultimate Tongs so I can get started on hardy tools.

Then after the hardy tools are done, and a few little projects I promised to friends, I'll do the other "all around" tongs. 

I know there's no such thing as ONE pair of tongs for all the work - but these look like they'll come pretty dang close! 

 

I also picked up some non-hardening modeling clay this afternoon so I have something legit to work with when I'm planning out my next projects. The playdoh just wasn't cutting it. Too floppy and cracked easily if it was out in open air for more than 30 minutes or so. 

OH - and I picked up some Carhart overalls from the local Red Racks (thrift store chain) for $40. So now I don't have to change clothes every time I go out to work. Or, to be more honest, I won't keep messing up my good pants/shirts, LOL!

This is where an apron is used, not only for protection, but to keep your clothes clean.

Get two aprons, one waist down, and the other a full apron.

Nice fireplace tools, Mark. Very good work. 
 

As for me yesterday, I woke up in the morning and remembered I had forgotten the wheat twist handle for a coffee scoop in muriatic acid over night. It was almost eaten clean away. :-(

Sorry to hear that D Harris. Little oversights doing this kind of stuff can lead to hours lost. I have to think we have all done it. 

I sold and forged at a pictures with santa event today. It was cold and a bit windy and not much foot traffic through the vendors. Even the line for santa was a trickle. I made enough to make it worth it tho with some sales and one rose commission delivered there. 

One kid (I'd guess around 17yo)  stood and watched me forge a leaf keychain. He was just amazed. Kept saying how amazing it was. He said he got to see a blacksmith shop in a class trip but they didn't forge anything. When someone is that enthusiastic about it I'm pretty happy to see it so I gave him the leaf keychain he watched me make, my card and wrote down this site for him to learn more. That is a good feeling to think you might have kindled the start of a new blacksmith. If I didn't sell a thing, that would have been worth my day there. 

As always got to see and talk to some people who really like what I do and make. It was cold but fun. 

On a side note, people in the summer say they wouldn't want to be me when forging. In the winter they say I got the best job. Lol. 

Also, as usual, got some tips on thing people want. Starting to get some loyal repeat customers at the events at this place. 

 

Christmas tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well done Alexandr. I like how the branches look seamless to the trunk. Nice placement of ornament holders as well. 

11 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

I like how the branches look seamless to the trunk. Nice placement of ornament holders as well. 

Das , Thanks!

That's beautiful alexandr! 

Very nice, alexandr; I think this may be my favorite of your pieces yet. 

I’ve finished forging the elements for the yarn shop sign. On to fabrication. 

JHCC, I think your wife is going to be pretty happy with that.

could bring myself to start the fabrication work, so I finished the next set of brackets:

The larger set (12” tall out of 1/2”) are for a hammer rack to mount to the wall, set smaller set (6” tall out of 3/8”) is for tongs. (I really have to work on my upset corners!)

I also realized I can’t get a mounting screw in the top section of the smaller brackets. So, I had to for a set of cross brackets to screw them tight with:

Hopefully the angled faces will line up right to hit the studs.

Now, I have no excuse but to do the fab work… 

 

Keep it fun,

David

Addendum: did some (not all) of the fabrication.

It still needs a lot of adjustments and finish work (and the actual signboard, of course), but you can see where we’re headed.

Nice! your right angle bends are coming along!

JHCC, i d not think that paper sign will weather very well. 

Went all of Oct. and Nov. with very little to do, now 2 weeks before Xmas i can not beat off requests with a ball bat. Any way my first feather i tried today. Turned out ok i guess, i really do not like the way the quill came out running through the feather. I have a small veining tool i used but it was too small. I guess that is just an excuse to make another one then. I also forgot to make holes in it before i waxed it.

JHCC:  Love that yarn shop sign.

 

Alexandr, you never fail to amaze.  That's some gorgeous stuff.

 

My efforts for the day were just a pair of icicle Christmas tree ornaments and a wreath hanger.  And yesterday I made a toilet paper hanger for a friend's music studio (she has a great little studio that doubles as a guest house, so it's fully plumbed and heated, but the TP just sits on the counter --- that cannot be!).

The wreath hanger was a first try, starting from 1"x1/4" flat bar.  Peening the end to 1/16" took a lot of time, but shoutout to Jennifer/JLPServices for her youtube video on directional peening practice, which really helped get me ready for this.  In this picture, I had not yet bent the part that goes over the door, which I did later, cold.   When put into use, I see I probably needed to draw the taper for the hook more so it could hang down another couple inches lower.

 

Billy B., another way to make the central spine on a leaf or a feather is to fold it in half, catch the edge of the fold in a vise and then fold the sides down.  The trick is to catch the absolute minimum in the vise so that the central spine is not too high after the sides sre folded down.

I learned this technique from Dorothy Stigler, a really good smith from Oregon who was demonstrating at the Rocky Mountain Smiths summer conference in the early '90s.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Billy, that would make an awesome incense holder laid flat with the quill curled to hold a stick incense. Nice work I think.

Nice work Goods.

And John, it is turning out great. Will be a great sign. 

I've been known to make my feathers from angle iron. Flatten it out and the angle makes a good quill. Then shape it and texture.

JHCC that sign is coming right along! 

Goods, that's a lot of right angle bends. Nice work. 

Billy, glad to hear you're getting so many requests! Not bad for a first feather. Looking forward to seeing your next one. 

Tommy, I agree regarding Jennifer's peening practice. Invaluable. I'm sure I'll find myself repeating those exercises throughout the years just to see my progression and also to get better. 

I finally got back out to the shop today, though I didn't get much accomplished. Started Brian Brazeal's "Ultimate Tongs" but only got as far as getting the nib of one side partially done. Like, step 1.5, lol. I haven't even reduced the remaining stock behind the nib yet. I could only find one "tutorial" of sorts - a video of a member in this forum who used bar instead of hex or square, so not quite what I was looking for. I'm kinda making it up as I go but going by notes from 3 different tong videos. I rigged up a top/bottom round fuller by clamping a big screw into the hold-down and holding another big screw in vice grips and striking. Worked decently. Then I tried to create the shallow slot of the non-V side. Really wish I could just watch Brian do it, lol. Cursing myself for not making a hardy tool first so I could have at least got that first cut in a bit easier. Then remembering that I'm making these tongs so that I *CAN* make the hardy tools, lol. Fought with the slippery chiseling/fullering for a few heats and then called it quits for the day. No sense working while frustrated and cold. 

Sometimes while the metal was heating, I was working on trying to free up the screw box that's wedged on that vice I got from the farm auction. Used a huge monkey wrench on the screw box, a 2x4 to whack the other end, and penetrating oil (ATF + acetone) soaks. Three or so rounds of that and it never budged. Feeling pretty discouraged on that front. 

It took a while for the vise to freeze up.  It may take a while to break loose.  Be patient.

Everybody seems to be doing really nice work! 

The sign is really coming along John. Your shelf brackets are looking good David. There is lots of potential for your feathers Billy, what George is describing is simple "fold forming" and makes excellent leaves too. Oh YES Tommy TP must NOT sit on the counter where it will get wet and just when you need it! Nice hangers TP and front door and the icicles will make excellent Christmas gifts.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

George, that is actually how i did it. I was trying to use the tool to get the quill smaller. 

Das, i saw someone in the introduction thread made a couple incense burners like that. To be honest that is what made me want to try one. 

Shainarue, it is nice except people seem to think i can just magic this stuff done before Christmas. We are getting ready to shut down the shop for a week for Christmas and New Years so i will get a lot done then but it is also supposed to get down in the single digits. Saturday the forecast says 8*(F) for a high. I do have a torpedo in the shop but when i use it it effects the way my chimney drafts and my shop gets a bit smoky.