Shainarue Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 Nice JHCC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Bullet Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 Indeed it is, John. I'm going to have to try one of those myself although I'll have to wait until I find a suitable ball peen. I couldn't give up any of my current ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 I pick up ball peen hammers at flea markets and garage sales whenever I find them cheap. (For some reason, this seems to happen more frequently when the handle is present but in lousy shape than when there’s no handle at all.) The two things I do first are to grind out any chips or cracks and to square up the peen so that I can grip it securely with a pair of tongs. This can be cut off later (as with this one) or forged into a spike or whatever else strikes your fancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 That's a mean looking ax John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 14 hours ago, Purple Bullet said: Da. I've heard similar sayings. However, I believe that in the next world we won't have the need of rest and бог will have many interesting things for us to do! It is impossible to rest. Final throw. I won't work from tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 I love these table legs, they're graceful, attractive and are VERY strong. The way you connected the angle brace and carried it in to support the lower shelf is elegantly excellent. I love sound structural engineering that is beautiful on an artistic level Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Brouwers Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 Today was a little bit on a lot of different things. I started on something quiet, roughing out a sledge hammer handle, and then at 10 I started with squaring up the holes I drilled in my nail header and made my first two nails ever! I'm pretty excited, even though they weren't even close to 1 heat nails, and they look pretty ugly. I also forged the top hook for my trammel hook that I had bent cold. Finally, I started to tackle the hardy hole swage block made from a F-450 tie rode end. I was able to recruit a striker last time I forged to make the square shank, but this time I had to bend it and have it sit nicely on the anvil. Next time I will begin the depressions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 Finished up a little chasing project: a business card holder for the yarn shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 So what's wrong with those nails Will? A little practice and a light hammer will make even heads centered on the shank easy. One of the guys here makes nails with a 3lb hammer and gets the heads mostly straight and centered. I tend to make specialty hook headed nails for hanging pictures. Very similar to that beautiful picture hanger nail you made. My GOODNESS John, that turned out beautifully, way to carry a theme! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 Thanks, Frosty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Brouwers Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Thanks Frosty, and way to go John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Hadn't had the chance to spend time in the shop since September. No forging today, but I was able to make my touchmark. Mostly used an angle grinder with a thin cutting disc, with a little filing work to finish it up. Took me much less time than I expected! Couldn't try it on hot dteel yet, so I just used a felt marker and tapped it on a piece of wood. Much more even than when I used individual punches to make the mark. Can't wait to see how it comes out on steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Looks good. If you find that isn't stiking as clearly/deeply on steel you may want to reduce the surface area being punched into the metal by filing the lines on the sides to a sharper chisel edge and maybe making the triangle a bit smaller. Don't do it, though, unless you aren;t satisfied with it as it is. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 10 minutes ago, Arthur210 said: I was able to make my touchmark. Really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Looks good Arthur, well done! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Indeed George, I'll see how well it works on steel and adjust it if necessary. Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Will, not bad at all for your first nails! My first 4 nails looked just like that. Then I FINALLY got one with an even head just in time for class to be over, lol. I have all of my nails hammered into the shelving in my shed to hold various things. Even with uncentered heads, they function just fine! I haven't made any more since - but it's on my list of stuff to do when my project list is finished (does that ever happen?) John, that's awesome. Your wife is fortunate to have you to make all these things for the shop! Arthur, nice touchmark. Reminded me I need to work on mine. Totally could have been working on that while we were stuck inside from subzero temps! Ah well, there will be more I'm sure. Tonight I set out to make more progress on the tongs, but alas - I couldn't seem to keep the forge lit! I'd get the fire going good and strong and then stop cranking - then I'd go into the shed to work on the farm vice and before I knew it, the fire was out and barely glowing. I'd crank it up and get the flames going again - and repeat. I did this 4 times before I just threw my hands up and spread the coals out. No forging then. I did practice with the new-to-me hammer grip on a piece of pallet wood on the anvil. Using different hand muscles with this grip and now (about an hour later) the fleshy part at the base of my thumb is sore. Not like - can't move my hand - sore, just noticeable. I also got the farm vice put back together! I never was able to get that screw box out, but I decided to reassemble it anyway and just see if it lines up and works as it is. And it does! I don't have the right size bolts to mount it though, lol So I just gave it another coat of BLO and left it standing against the shelves. No idea what I want to do with it. I'm quite torn. I was thinking I would sell it once I got it all working but I'm also quite attached at this point and kinda don't want to. But also, I don't need two post vices, lol. Jaw width is exactly the same on both vices. My current vice is slightly lighter & shorter than the other. I don't know that it's enough difference in weight to really matter though. Never weighed my current vice but it has '70' stamped into it so maybe 70lb? The other has a '65' stamped into it but the auction listing weighed it at 96lbs. So maybe the stamp doesn't have anything to do with weight. Now I'm curious to weigh both. Wonder who I could borrow a scale from... Farm action vice: Current vice: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max1775 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 I got to coach my youngest through his first forge experience. He banged out a bracelet with a reverse twist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 He did pretty good, the real question is did he enjoy it? I’ve been spending a lot of time in the forge, but mostly cleaning and organizing. Today I got a round spring swage made up: The half inch really pushed my little drill press, even with stepping up by 1/8” increments… All that left is to touch mark it, harder harden and temper. Keep it fun, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Goods - that's a beautiful spring swage! Such a smooth finish. Since you mentioned drill press, I'm guessing you drilled holes into a block and then cut the block in half? And if so - did you cut the block in half after it was welded to the spring arm or before? Max, he did well on his first project. Simple yet nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 I forged out a blank 1” x 2” x 6”, cut it half to get two 3” piece. Wire wheeled any scale off then filed everything square. Then tack welded the two halves together, clamped it in the post vise to measure and center punch along the parting line. Move it to my drill vice (clamping parallel to the parting line) and drilled the holes. After they were drilled, ground the welds off and then there was a bunch more filing. Round files to remove the machining lines and flat files to remove the edges of the half rounds to prevent cold shunts. Finally, clamp the halves back up with round stock in the swage for alignment and weld the handle/spring on. Ok, that was probably more information that you were asking for… Keep it fun, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 That was the perfect amount of information! No more pesky wondering going on in my brain now, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimw3326 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 8 hours ago, Arthur210 said: Hadn't had the chance to spend time in the shop since September. No forging today, but I was able to make my touchmark. Mostly used an angle grinder with a thin cutting disc, with a little filing work to finish it up. Took me much less time than I expected! That's real similar to what I use. For my initials JAW the bar on the left and right have a leg and the triangle is hollow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Do you have a picture of your mark, Jim? I don't want to infringe if they are too close to differentiate. (But it sounds lile they are different enough not to.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Nice spring swage David. Spring swages like this are pretty easy to make, this is pretty much how I made mine. If you put a business card between the halves before you drill them they'll clamp more tightly which allows you to use them to head rivets without slipping. Breaking all the edges is important, don't forget! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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