natkova Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Top bending fork i made before now i aded bottom for hardy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 6 hours ago, JHCC said: My understanding of the physics involved is that the sharp flint is shaving off tiny particles of metal and that friction between the flint and the metal turns the energy of the blow into heat, melting those shavings and turning them into tiny glowing spheres. If the metal is too soft, there's not enough friction to melt the shavings, and if the metal is too hard, then the shavings aren't produced in the first place. This is more or less my understanding as well. 5 hours ago, M3F said: I edge quench the striker because that section needs to be hard so the flint shaves off steel. Quenching the entire piece will make it too brittle (it'll break if you simply drop it on a hard surface) and tempering it will make it too soft. Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Definately, that's going to help me work my design for the striker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Old files make really good strikers. Just watch you heat. I had a couple crumble on me for overheating… Keep it fun, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 I'm moving on to the final. And getting ready for summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Made me one of these here center finding tools. a ~1' total 1/2" x 1/4" brass bar, a part that was replaced on one of the Acmes at work, 2 bolts a couple washers and a piece of the shank of a carbide drill. One of the advantages of working in a machine shop. The scribe point is dead center and we have the tools to sharpen the carbide to a point, still took a few minutes to get done. Also made this jig to put on my belt sander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Finally got around to finishing this candle holder for my daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinito Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 After not being able to forge for several months due to elbow surgery, I've finally got to the point where I can start learning how to hammer some steel a little lately. I'm a beginner so take it easy on me. I thought I'd whip up an accessory hanger thing as a little gift for my brother. He lives in a house that has a long history with horses and such, so anything blacksmith he's kind of a fan, so even though this is a little rough, he'll like it a lot. (well OK, some of the "rough" is because I textured the strap some, but that's not what I'm talking about) I did cheat just a little by adding a tiny tack on a hidden corner of the hooks because I'm certain that a single rivet is a recipe for coming loose and spinning eventually, at least the way I do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 I bet he will cherish it, looks very nice to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 That looks great! Make sure you take it easy on that elbow. Maybe a but of ice and stretching tonight. I was playing around with little stuff again today, made a towel hanger for kitchen cabinets, a couplr different designs of fire steels, and worked on a pattern welded billet. Making a seax it of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 Chad, I really like the towel hanger. Make sure you put something on it to protect it from wet towels. However, I think the fire steels would be kind of difficult to use, lots of extraneous metal that would get in the way of holding it, the tinder and striking with the flint. Pretty, though. Vinito, very nice work. If you are worried about a single rivet coming loose and spinning use one with a square shaft. You can either punch a square hole or drill a round hole and square it up with a file. Even loose square rivets will not spin. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 Lots of scrolling. When the scrolls are too big for the forge, spot-heating with the oxypropane torch is an acceptable alternative. The combination stock support/hold-down was very helpful when tapering the ends under the treadle hammer. Also made a couple more bits of tooling for the Hossfeld bender; details HERE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 Thanks George, for the steels I was thinking of the handles for more control, but I don't have much expirience using for steels. If they get it the way then by all means, I'll simplify the design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 Chad, look at illustrations of historic fire steels some of the ones in use in Eastern Europe, the P or B shaped ones can get very elaborate but on a small scale. Remember, what you are doing is providing a handle to hold for the edge of the steel. These are functional objects with a specific purpose and anything that interfers with the function is to be eliminated. GNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Well the chef’s knife I was asked to make is/was finished: (Yes, the blade slid across the edge of my fine sharpening stone and the corner of the stone left a pretty good mark.) I did some test cutting with paper and was quite surprised how well it cut, and continued having fun cutting all of the paper I had nearby. Then I used it to prep dinner tonight. I performed very well. Unfortunately, I didn’t clean it right away. We ate first… well, now I have to re-sand the blade. One of the food items etched the blade and left a couple bark spots. Live and learn… (I’m feeling better about making knives now, but I don’t think I’ll ever make a chef’s knife this large again (12”). It was what was requested, but I found it really awkward in use.) Keep it fun, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Made a big (and reversible) bending fork for the vise: And tried out some long curves on the Hossfeld: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul TIKI Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 I had a busy day. Reorganized the shop area, added some pavers, strung a tarp over the top, and re levelled the anvil at the correct height. Then I started to try some tent stakes out of some cheap rebar. I need them to re set some landscaping border since the old stakes pulled out over the winter and let the border plastic flop about this past winter. Also re seeded the lawn and planted some watermelon and pumpkins. Anyway the first tent stakes looks like I wanted. The other two I got started but I got too tired to complete. Turns out I'm more than a little out of shape. Also, the new propane forge heats fast enough that my shoulder didn't rest enough between bouts of hammering. Also finished cleaning out the two empty grills to use as a place to keep tools dry, the forge dry, and work in process dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Been trying to do this gate latch for a week or 2. This is about the 6th or 8th one i have worked on and finally got 1 to where i was happy enough to assemble it. The staples could be a bit more square, the "barbed" end needs to be about 1/8" lower than it is and the bend at the eye is a bit bigger than 3/8" bit other than those things it is to print for the ABANA level 1 piece. Also since i plan on using this on my barn i went with 2 plates rather than a hammered in staple. My minion came over today for a lesson so we worked on spoons. Not the prettiest but it will work for a flux spoon. Pretty good lesson though. He got to learn a bit of twisting, squaring, punching, drawing out and spreading. Started as a piece of 1/2" square bar ~6" long or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Nice work for both. The spoon is particularly nice, although the transition from stem to bowl looks a hair thin. Managing the mass in that spot can be rather tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoGoodWithUsernames Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 On 3/4/2023 at 3:59 PM, Vinito said: I thought I'd whip up an accessory hanger thing as a little gift for my brother. He lives in a house that has a long history with horses and such, so anything blacksmith he's kind of a fan, so even though this is a little rough, he'll like it a lot. (well OK, some of the "rough" is because I textured the strap some, but that's not what I'm talking about) I like that, how did the get the mass for the ball ends? I tried doing a ball finial on the end of a piece of 3/8" round, but couldn't upset it enough to get a very large ball. Maybe I should have done a couple more heats of upsetting. I ended up tapering the end of the bar somewhat to give the appearance of a larger ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 Great looking projects everyone is posting. I’ve been busy the last week getting ready for the Louisiana Metalsmith’s Association conference March 11&12 and managed to get the time at the forge to complete my project to add to our auction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Looks real nice Goods! I imagine it will end up patinating anyway if it's HC, but that's for the customer to figure out. Les, I like that hawk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 On 3/1/2023 at 11:16 AM, natkova said: Top bending fork i made before now i aded bottom for hardy Now you will be able to bend the world around your little finger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Thanks Chimaera, it’s a fun project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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