What did you do in the shop today?

[Frosty]

Alex, is the first railings for a spiral staircase? They're all beautiful as always, frankly inspirational.

That is an awesome hawk Jenifer, you play well. Very.

Frosty The Lucky.

[gewoon ik]

Make some left and right twisting things and make sure they look alike

Think I did not bad. 15x15mm 200mm long.

[alexandr]

21 hours ago, LarryFahnoe said:

Alex, the first piece is very interesting, maybe for the corner of a building? I love your joyous & playful curves, particularly on the second piece. Beautiful work as always.

--Larry

Larry, thank you!  This is a semicircular connection between stair railings.

5 hours ago, Frosty said:

Alex, is the first railings for a spiral staircase?

YES! Jer, спасибо! 

21 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Alexandr  very nice as always..  Very consistent..  Love it. 

Спасибо! 

[Daswulf]

16 hours ago, Shainarue said:

Das, looking forward to your update on how the demo goes.

Went great. We forged a few things to generate interest and I think it was a successful day. PAABA was well represented and recieved with leaders John Steel and Chris Holt sharing info while we forged. The items I made I donated for them to auction off at the next meeting. A skull that will be a pendant, one that is a bottle opener and a horseshoe horse head heart. I shared my forge forge with another member Austin. 

I hadn't taken pictures of what I had made but realized I did looking at a few pictures I did take of the paaba table setup. You probably know how it goes,get caught up in the moment and forget to take pictures. 

It was a good time. 

Gewoon, nice even twists!

[jlpservicesinc]

21 hours ago, Goods said:

That is fantastic JLP! I wondered what you were doing with the strange scarf!

I’m working on some tomahawks myself. Got five started: course I got some tong blanks made at our last hammer-in, so I make a set of tongs to hold the pole first. You guys think I should make a pick-up style sized to the pole or bent jaw? I’m kind of torn between the two. Bent jaws would probably work better, but the pick-up style could be more versatile. Right now, I still don’t have a very large selection.

Keep it fun,

David

David.  I have double pickup tongs.. Was the 2nd set of tongs I made 47 yrs ago..  I used them rarely back then. 

What I use them for now is upsetting 2" stock and over when under 6" long.  

The hoop tongs (I believe you are calling lip) will be your best friend if you are doing hawks..  If you wanna get really special make the inside jaw rounded and the outside hollowed some.. 

You will get a lot of mileage out of the hoop tongs if your doing hawks.. 

Your skill set though is good enough you should have both. 

19 hours ago, Chimaera said:

Goods and Jennifer, great tomahawks from both of y'all. I'm still on my 4th (5th?) attempt with no luck yet. Praying this one will take, but not too hopeful. It's welded in the middle but not anywhere else.

Always set your welds at the eye first.  Your best bet is to do an old fashioned hawk..  The modern designs are more based on axes vs tomahawks..  Trade tomahawks were very thin and used the least amount of low quality steel they could..   Forged crudely and designed to only last about 1 yr since the steel was so lacking. 

Somewhere along the way in the last 8 yrs the designs have morphed between axes, Viking axes and now you see a lot of combination type deals. 

Start small..  the starting stock can be as small as 1/8"X 3/4"..  No need to pull the socket out of the eye..  Bend it over the mandrel and weld it.. Drift back to size. 

17 hours ago, Shainarue said:

Jennifer, that tomahawk is beautiful! Glad you're feeling better and hope you're back to normal soon

Shaina.. Love, love, love the drawings..   Great seeing your layout and follow thru..   Great skill builder.. 

Thanks..  

9 hours ago, Rojo Pedro said:

Jennifer that is the best looking hawk I have ever seen. Love the wrought

Thanks..  Been trying to bring about my artisticness with the wrought and patterns..  Lotta fun. 

8 hours ago, Les L said:

Jennifer, I love that hawk, I have a couple of pieces of wrought iron that may be enough material for me to try one out. I just hope I can make it look a fraction as good as yours 

Les, no reason why yours can't even look better than mine.    


Handle is finished..  split out with froe, aged cherry.  Draw to size with draw knife.  scrapped then sanded then steel wool.  

 

[Daswulf]

That turned out beautiful Jennifer. 

[Chimaera]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've been trying to keep the eye round throughout the process, but it makes sense that that would make it much harder to get a good weld. Hopefully the next one works out if I can't make this one happen.

[Goods]

Chimaera, also don’t drift it like you would if you were sizing a hole. Hammer the drift tight, the use the drift as a mandrel to draw the sides of the eye out. This is more similar to opening up the diameter of a bottle opener one the horn, than drifting. If you were doing a slit and drift, that’s a pretty much the same depending how you want the lugs…

One trick to use is to set the drift while you have the blade clamped on the weld in a post vise. It’s much harder to damage the weld that way.

Are you pre-bending the transition from eye to blade? I typically bend the blade up 45degrees on both side leaving just shy of enough material for the eye. The I bend the eye around and weld. Once I’ve got the weld set I start working on the eye shape.

Preform:

After weld, before drifting:

(Note, this is not the best example. A couple miss hits that thinned up the shape it was going for and the weld is not particularly good… As Jennifer said, this is much more like a Viking axe than a traditional hawk. I’m even pre-forming a little like a traditional axe, just w/I the pole step. I’m going for a thick wedge with a 1/2” radius from the blade to the eye one the outside. I haven’t got it exactly how it want it yet, but I’m stubborn. I’ll get there just for the aesthetic that I want… it makes for a sturdy, but heavy hawk/Viking axe.)

Jennifer, I’ll go for the hoop tongs. I think I’ve got enough material in the bit of the blanks. Thanks for the input!

Keep it fun,

David

Shainarue, not sure how I missed your post, but good work. It looks like the ABANA curriculum is serving you well. There is a lot I could learn from following the courses!

Keep it fun,

David

That’s strange, it merged my posts, but wouldn’t let me edit to improve the flow, oh well.

[LarryFahnoe]

Jennifer, with the contrast you've created between the wrought and steel I think you ought to name it the "ghost hawk". Really quite something!

--Larry

[jlpservicesinc]

David,,  Great advice..

I always use the mandrel to drift the hole to the final size.  Most people won't because they are afraid the weld won't hold and don't want a failure because of the work they put in..   If it takes 5 tries to get a good one to me it's worth it. 

Doing it this way does 2 things..   I can choose the handle size based on how far the mandrel goes in and it tests the forge weld..  When you drift the eye, bring it up to near welding heat and get it in and sized asap..   I will use the vise as my backing for drifting. 

Every time I drift something that is welded I'm doing it to test the weld. A good weld won't pop..   If it does pop then I need to reweld it..  No better time to know the weld is bad..  Better now vs in the customer's hands..  

A lap weld on tomahawks is a tough weld to do well simply because there is not the reduction  in cross section. 

Fast light blows are applied just in front of the eye pinching the eye shut.  This is where hoop tongs are well put to work.. 

  The little notch under the blade just in front of the eye is there to help get that much more weld in and it kinda looks good. 

Great info..  

[jlpservicesinc]

3 hours ago, LarryFahnoe said:

Jennifer, with the contrast you've created between the wrought and steel I think you ought to name it the "ghost hawk". Really quite something!

--Larry

Thanks..  I will consider it..  I was trying to think of an appropriate name..   


Anyone else get a sense from the hawk?  

I've been really enjoying manipulating the wrought iron's grain..  

The farriers rasp was part of the patterning..  once side being lines. the other being the gouging.. 

This wrought iron was from Gilbertville, MA.. River find..  Came from what I would consider the original hand railing that spanned the stone bridge before the bridges collapse in a flood in 1938. 

One can see the hand railing.. 

[Daswulf]

The pattern makes me think of a rooster tail a bit. 

[BillyBones]

Put an initial grind on my bow makin' tools then went to see the bowyer to get an idea of if they will work as expected or what changes to make to make them work. Happily they work as expected, now to finish the grind and put on handles. 

While there i watched and arrow being made. Amazing, started with a log that was split down into a bunch of ~1"x1" pieces  then put in a jig and using a combo of a spoke shave and a card to bring it down to size. 

He used a hatchet to split his wood to which i said a small froe would work. So i got me a hunk o' leaf spring (5160? i am assuming) and started drawing it out. Took me a bit longer than it usually would have but that is becuase my granddaughter came to town this weekend with the great grandkids. Me and her dad enjoyed a Mason jar of KY's finest corn squeezzins friday night so i was not feeling the best yesterday. 

I worked till my forearm started cramping then called it a day. 

[Frosty]

The pattern you made on your hawk reminds me of a number of things, An avalanche or land slide run out, possibly a muddy river flowing into the ocean or a clear lake, clouds flowing through a mountain pass. I just can't think of a name that fits what it represents in my mind's eye. Given time it'd name itself were I carrying it though.

I really like it, whatever you call it. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[BillyBones]

Jennifer, i completely missed the finished axe. Gorgeous. It reminds me of those time lapses of mold or something growing in a petri dish. 

[Goods]

I got the first of the tomahawks welded up and the rough shaping done today:

The eye looks awfully small. I may move the set downs on my others. Overall, getting closer to the eye transition I’ve been looking for. 
Also, I made the hoop tongs:

They were much easier to work with. Thanks for the input Jenifer. The bits are fairly weak on these, so let’s just say these are just my practice set.

The tongs took me forever. I was just about done with them and was in the process of fitting the bits on a small piece of 1/4” shaped the the radius of the eye when I realized I put the bit radii in backwards. Ended up grinding the rivet off, flattened the bit back out and started over. I got it right the second time! (That’s how the bits ended up wimpy…)

Keep it fun,

David

[Shainarue]

Jennifer, "The Feather Duster". Seriously, that's what I see, lol

Das, there's a lot of great work on those tables. Sounds like it was a good experience for you.

I worked on redoing the poker end today. I like it better. I might still do another one though. 

I also started prepping some 1/4" bar to do another basket twist. I'll finish that tomorrow. Tried something different this time. Instead of two bars bent on half and then slipped over each other, I bent the bar in half and then in half again.

[JHCC]

David, try upsetting the 90° bends on the jaws of the next pair. They will be stronger and grip more firmly. Also, one V-jaw and one round jaw will fit different sizes of eye:

11 hours ago, Shainarue said:

Jennifer, "The Feather Duster". Seriously, that's what I see, lol

“The Feather Duster” gets my vote!

[Daswulf]

Nice work everyone. Shain, that turned out nice. Interesting way to make a poker end too. 

[Frosty]

Nice work all round guys! 

I shouldn't say anything about the ABANA curriculum, I'm not a member. I feel okay with critiquing the pieces on a practical use basis though. Wimpy bits, bolsters, etc. is a prime reason to use salvaged coil spring stock. As normalized it's more than strong enough even in thin section to withstand human arm forces. I also prefer V bits wider than 90* work will naturally settle into the V. 

I am not and never have been a fan of the flame form for practical use and a practical fire tool doesn't benefit from a long poker, a couple inches is more than enough to prod a log into position without slipping. 

I make and teach fire pokers with a welded ring, chisel cut forged into points and bent to taste. It's the student's call, if they want wavery fluttery it doesn't effect my judgement of the work. I have had a couple guys come back to straighten the pokey end and a couple want to forge a decorative profile pokey. I've changed them myself though not the "flame" profile. I'm always experimenting. 

I have advised folk doing the ABANA curriculum who didn't care for the profile of some of the pieces with, "when it's been graded and photographed do what you like with it, it's yours."

I like a small soft hook on fire tools and a twisted hand grip though I like basket twists a lot and have thought about putting a flashy marble or bell in one. It's a matter of taste again.

I don't see an issue with the wide flat basket twist, I'll have to give it a try and see. But I rarely "Follow" recipes I think of them as suggestions unless we're talking baked goods. learned to cook in a "By guess and by gosh" kitchen from MASTER cooks. 

Recipe is a good metaphor but I've been smithing a long time and look at the desired product, what I have on hand and use what I THINK will work best. I've been wrong so  many times I should have, "learn from your mistakes," pHDs papering the walls. 

BOY am I in a yakky mood this morning!

Frosty The Lucky.

[Goods]

Frosty, the stock used for the tongs was 2” conveyor shaft, good med carbon stock broken down for another project and this was the cutoff. Biggest problem was bending back and forth and the re-forging of the bits. I may just reinforce the bend with a big mig weld fillet. Not the typical thing I like, but functional.

The reason I’m considering the ABANA curriculum is to force me to learn new techniques, not to mention forging to spec. I’ve always worked with a “to taste” approach myself, but I’m thinking if I ever want to get into larger projects, I would really benefit for those skill sets. Right now, I’m just in it for fun, but we’ll see where the future leads me…

Keep it fun,

David

[Shainarue]

I'm going through the curriculum for the same reasons as Goods. I'm very goal oriented and without a goal, I tend to get stuck in a rut of just doing what I'm comfortable with and not growing. I'm not actually even a member of abana (yet) so I didn't even get a certificate from the Level 1 I completed. I would have just used it as kindling in the next fire anyway, lol

As for the length of that flame bit, mine's definitely longer than what they demonstrated in the videos. I don't think it matters for the assessment though. It's not indicated in the assessment guidelines anyway. Pretty sure that project is just to demonstrate an understanding of the various welds (and the stock ratios for those) and the upsetting of the second tine. I will likely use this fire poker in my own firepit after it's assessed in October and adjust the end as necessary based on my usage. 

My wife loves the pictures she's seen online with the marble inside the basket - and she's been asking me for a paper towel holder - so I'm thinking I'll make her a holder with a shallow basket twist on the end and maybe I'll pop a marble in there!

[TommyVee]

No work in the shop today, but I did head back over to the state fairgrounds to help NMABA break down their portable smithy and pack it all back up.  Since there was interest in it, I took a few pictures of the breakdown process.  The first picture is from during the fair showing the thing in operation, then a few of what it looked like as it came apart and just before it was hooked up to the truck for towing.

 

During setup, we jack the thing up a bit and place a steel frame under the trailer frame where the wheels are in the pictures, then cover up the wheels with a wood panel.  This keeps them out of sight and safe from stray hot steel, and keeps them off the ground so the trailer can't roll.

All the extra panels, signs, supports, lighting, etc. pack up into the trailer's back room ready for next year.  Anvils get secured to the floor to the left of the forge in the third picture (which then blocks the door to the back room you can see in that picture), post vises go where they can be pulled out easily for use at club meetings.

 

Sigh, all those pictures got scrambled in order after posting, but you can sort of see the progression if you visit your magic nation a bit.

 

[Daswulf]

Thank you for the pictures, that is a brilliant setup. 

[Shainarue]

That's such a well thought out portable setup. Pretty slick.

I did another basket handle with collar finial tonight. Forged a bit thin while trying to blend the scarf a bit more. But otherwise everything went off without a hitch. I think I've finally got it. I even remembered to clean out my fire after an hour before I started the collar weld. 

I think tomorrow I might work on something not welding related. I'm not ready to attach any tips to these handles yet. At least not for assessment. I might attach something to them at some point just because, lol.