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I Forge Iron

What did you do in the shop today?


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I came up with a creative forging solution today for a personal frustration. I have to wear ties in the winter months at work, so I have gathered quite a collection. So much so that the hook on my modified 3-piece plastic hanger kept bending and the whole thing kept falling to the floor.

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So, I forged a tie hanger. I think it is a great, basic-skill-combination project with drawing tapers, forming a hook, punching, drifting and locating components:

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If I had some form of oxy torch, I would have done all the positioning and mini-hook shaping with that. This would have enabled me to kind-of rivet the little hanger pieces from either side of the main stem to lock them in place. As it is, I just hammered the main stem around them to grip them, but it has left a few gaps where I drifted them slightly too large.

Apart from that, I love it and I'm glad I won't be searching the bottom of my wardrobe for ties anymore!

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(Also, I'm sure there's a Simpson's quote about a tie rack motor in there somewhere...:P)

Cheers,

Jono.

 

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Darn I've never  had a job that required a tie or where one would've been safe to wear. 

Amazon has a bunch of motorized tie racks for sale so I'm sure you can get a replacement motor. I like the lighted ones like below. Not that I'm going to buy anymore ties, I think Deb knows where my one tie is but it's not in any closet I know of. I wore a tie at our wedding reception a couple months after we got married at the Anchorage court house. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Motorized Tie Racks For Closets | Tie rack, Tie storage, Ties mens fashion

Edit is still failing more than it's working.:(

Frosty The Lucky.

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Sound like your class was awesome!

Today I got started on a chipping hammer for my nephew. He’s attending a technical college for welding. I’m trying to make this something special for him. I’ve got forging on the head done. It’s normalized and annealed:

 

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Plan is to case some lines around all the edges and stamp his name. Also need to forge out the handle. I’ll post more on it as I make progress.

(Forged from an oversized railroad clip.)

Keep it fun,

David

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I finally finished one of the paper towel holders I'm making for the upcoming family reunion. Divots punched into the back for magnets as this will attach temporarily to a metal door. I need two by August 20th, and we'll be on vaca for 7 of those days. 

We are our own worst critic, but even so... I'm glad this isn't a gift for anyone because of it were, I'd be remaking it. Just too many aspects I'm not proud of. BUT, it will hold a roll of paper towels which is what it's intended to do!

Sorry, no pic of it actually holding a roll, lol

 

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Shaina, love the design. 

Goods, you are a natural.. Your skillsets have excelled and it really shows.. 

I have owned steel-handled and wooden-handled chipping hammers and prefer the wooden ones..   Much lighter and while they are called chipping hammers are rarely if ever really used for removing flux or inclusions via being swung like a  hammer. 

 

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Goods, I really like your chipping hammer, very clean, well forged and great balance! 

Shainarue, Thats a very complex forging and you pulled it off with style!  It will be a treasure chest full of memories 10 years from now when it shows you how far you have come! I have many of my early forgings and still use them.  

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Nice chipping hammer David, well done. I won't allow a metal handled hammer in my shop except the spring grip chipping hammers available on any welding supply shelf. Any impact conducts directly into the hand through metal, some even amplify it like a guitar string. 

A nice basket twist damps vibration nicely though.

Nice job on your paper towel holder but I doubt button magnets will do. The weight of the roll isn't the issue, it's pulling and tearing off sheets that's the strain. There are some pretty good re-useable adhesives like Gorilla tape that might work. Then again "neodymium" magnets can be dangerously strong and should do.

Of course those are probably the magnets you'd planned on using and I'm brainstorming a non-existent issue. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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Frosty/All,

For the chipping hammer handle, I was starting with a 3/4” square bar upset and forged/filed to fit the eye exactly. I’m not sure if I will rivet the handle in place, or shrink fit it with a steal wedge. (A modification to what Torban did in his video.) The next step on the handle is to draw the neck down. I was thinking an almost diamond cross section 3/8”x3/4”. Then take the grip section almost to octagon and split it for a 4 bar basket twist. (Octagon to eliminate the outside corner and reduce some weight.)

I’m a bit worried about a couple things here. First weight. I’m afraid it will end up too heavy. Second, I’ve only ever done forge welded baskets twists and I’m not sure I won’t mangle it trying to make the slits. I get I could grind the slits with a cutoff wheel and finish with a hacksaw, but I would like to try forging it. (I’d really prefer just doing a forge welded basket with a drop tong weld, but I honestly have not had the best luck with drop tong welds, and I want this tool to survive for generations!)

Very open to input on this…

Keep it fun,

David

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Do you have a link to the video? PM me if it's a rule violation on the open forum. I don't have a mental image to compare to.

Weight 1st. How about fullering a piece of 3/8" sq. lengthways until it's the desired width. That'll half the weight. Maybe start with 1/2" sq if the first is too flimsy. 

Weld a bundle of small stock for a basket hilt grip and be creative about joining it to the handle. 

I'd join handle and head like it were a tenon joint. Don't forget to make a decorative header for the tenon, it's the perfect spot for a little flash you know.B)

Frosty The Lucky.

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I like watching Torbjorn now and then, I always pick something up. Wedging the handle to the head like that is more for show I think but should work fine. Chipping slag isn't a hard impact thing or that handle wouldn't see use in my shop.

I have to wonder what kind of welding rod he was using to require that much chipping to clean up, an E-60 series maybe?

Frosty The Lucky.

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Goods, the hammer looks great. I had a buddy request one from me a couple weeks ago so that project is on my to-do list; it'll be a new experience for me. Do you plan to leave it annealed or heat treat it? I noticed in Torbjorn's video he used spring steel and then heat treated it. Seems to me his hammer could be dangerous in use, but yours, made from a RR clip and annealed, seems to be a pretty good recipe. Any thoughts from the experts?

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I needed something to better display my vendor table sign so I put together this little easel/display stand over yesterday and today. It was a good exercise in (attempted) symmetry for me.

It didn't turn out quite like I saw it in my head: I misplaced a rivet, applied the beeswax finish too hot in one spot, and had to adjust the design as I went but overall, I am proud of it. It does tend to slide on slick surfaces; I may add a chain or a leather strap to keep the pivoting leg from rotating past about 15 degrees from vertical.

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t looks a lot better than good enough to me, I'd say great. to stop the back leg from sliding a decorative small link chain from the bottom of the back leg to the front bottom bar with a decorative small S hook should be fine and the sign will cover it.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails.

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Today was the Bolton Fair in Lancaster.. I forged a froe from 1X1 wrought iron, gave a lesson on forge welding hinge barrels for strap hinges, A lesson on correct forging sequences based on applied heats and grain growth in tool steels and heat treatment, and a lesson on forging a hoof knife. 

I was tired at this point so called it a day..  Between the morning and when I left I dropped my car keys someplace.. More than likely when I went to the porta potty..  Luckily I had another set of keys handy.  Though the ones that I lost have the electric dohicky. 

The first photo is an end shot of the wrought iron I cut from the parent bar the Froe was forged from.   I always find it interesting that most think wrought iron is a solid..   this is really nice wrought iron but you can clearly see all the fissures in it. 

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Mothman, properly heat treated spring  steel will hold up really well as a chipping hammer. That’s why I chose the Rr clip, it’s basically a spring steel. If I had a large coil spring I would have used that. I annealed it as a step in grain refinement, but also so I could try engraving some lines on it. I really should have practiced engraving more before I did it on this piece though.

Keep it fun,

David

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Not my cleanest froe work.. Been 30 years since I made my last one.. 

 

Took about 2hrs and change start to finish. 

I'm going to give it an acid etch to see the wrought iron figure.. Should be neat. 

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Mothman that is a very nice holder.. Nice forging for sure. 

I just thru a tomahawk handle in for the time being. 

 

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