What did you do in the shop today?

[Mothman_c3w]

Billy, that latch is beautiful, nice work.

John, smart idea using the c-channel for a bridge tool;  I'll have to keep an eye out for some that size.

I threw together this boot jack yesterday out of some scrap 3/8"x1" bar. I will admit to cheating a bit and adding weld on the underside for additional strength. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it works.

I have been trying to come up with a few good boot jack designs and I gotta say, I have surprisingly not turned up much in the way of inspiration, both on this forum and in other groups. Perhaps I'm not using the right search terms, but I figured it would be a popular project category.

I got these bars from work; a contracting crew left behind a couple sacks of them after a job. I wasn't a part of the project so I'm not sure what they were used for, but they appear to be some sort of fabricated clamp. There were some included clips that slide along the bar and presumably catch on the bar teeth. Not much room for adjustment though, so I assume they have a pretty narrow scope of purpose. I tried to keep the original profile, since I always like to see elements of the original purpose of the scrap I use.

 

[M.J.Lampert]

we just finally warmed to a wonderful -19C after a few days of -35 to -45 lows and -30 to -25 highs hopefully the local ski hill can get started now that they have snow and warmer weather forecasted

[Goods]

Here is the cleaver from Saturday after tempering:

Edge is quite wavy. Believe or not, this is better that the first normalizing round. It was just too thin! Plan at this point is to cut it down to a reasonably sized kitchen knife. (Blade is currently 3-1/4” x 7-1/4”, so there’s a lot of material to work with…)

Keep it fun,

David

 

[LarryFahnoe]

Naw, just a new twist on the notion of a serrated edge David!  Someday I hope that I could do as well, particularly in a demonstration!! But the perfectionist in me certainly understands being bummed about the wavy edge, good that you've got an idea of how to salvage it.

--Larry

[Frosty]

That ain't bad David, it's certainly straightenable. No, not by grinding a bunch off, make a screw together bar clamp that'll fit in the forge with the blade. Do NOT tighten the clamp hard, all it needs is a moderate pressure. I'd try a moderate tempering heat first and if it didn't get or stay straight, go for a normalizing heat. The clamp will hold heat on the blade longer so it might come out more annealed than normalized.

And go from there. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

5 hours ago, Mothman_c3w said:

boot jack

That's all I've ever heard them called. I usually make them out of old horse shoes & flat plate or sometimes wood as a base. Yours look very good. I'm also happy to see I'm not the only one who has to hang on to something when using one(grin).

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

[aaamax]

35 minutes ago, Goods said:

Plan at this point is to cut it down to a reasonably sized kitchen knife.

Looks like there is still enough material to keep on trying to get the edge right.

Why not throw it back in the heat and have another go at it?

Granted, I always have a tough time keeping cleavers straight.  there is so much face and once you get one area correct, the other goes wonky.  Nakiri size is easier.

good luck.

[George N. M.]

Re boot jacks:  My experience is that the ones which work best are the ones which have a flat/platform to place the foot that isn't having the boot removed because when taking off the 2d boot you are standing on it in your stocking foot.  If the "platform" is too narrow the 2d step will be uncomfortable.  That is why those cast "bug" boot jacks work so well.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Goods]

Frosty, I’m not generally a knife person, but I’m pretty sure this is done as a  cleaver. I didn’t warp in the quench, it started warping in the normalization step and I tried straightening it multiple times. Warm, lower orange cold, even tried to do a plate quench with 3” x 3” x 12” blocks. I think it need a lot more experience to make this one work as is. As it, I’m not sure how much carbon is still left in the edge…

aaamax, maybe, we’ll see. I’m probably going to set this aside and try a bigger billet to get where I want to go with this. If I get there, maybe I’ll come back to do something with this. It may hang on the wall for a couple months.
 

Keep it fun,

David

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

6 hours ago, Mothman_c3w said:

good boot jack designs

I did a google search for bootjack styles and came up with this, lots of images here.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&sca_esv=598666418&q=bootjack+styles&tbm=isch&source=lnms&prmd=ishvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwitnK-Py-CDAxXIEUQIHYKVBpYQ0pQJegQIExAB&biw=1053&bih=491&dpr=1.2

 

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

[JHCC]

Really bummed at myself for getting careless and ruining a wrought iron piece through poor temperature control:

 

However, good progress on bending pipe for the current railing project:

On a side note, multiple days of single digit (Fahrenheit) temperatures remind me of one benefit of a beer keg slack tub, given how they’re designed to withstand significant internal pressure:

[JHCC]

The WI piece in question:

Not sure why I couldn’t get the photo to load before. 

[BillyBones]

One of the guys i work with is going to give ma 30gal air tank from an old compressor he has. I am thinking that would make pretty good slack tank. He gave me one already but that one is destined for my new forge hood. But my slack tank is a 30 gal drum that has had the bottom pushed out from the freezing water a couple times. Welded back in once with a bit of silicone to fill the holes becuase my welding skills are not great. And it is getting pretty rusty. I will be surprised if it is still usable come spring. My forge hood has so many patches there is very little of it left. I have been putting that off becuase that will require moving the stack which the last time i did that i think it took me a month to finely get all soot off of me. 

[M.J.Lampert]

I use a old propane tank for my slack tub and often in the winter I spend a large amount of time chipping it out when I forget to dump it out at the end of the day 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Our slack tub is a deep cast urethane sink that was gifted to us. I usually pull the plug to drain it, unless I expect to need it soon. Always drain it when cold weather approaches.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus

 

[Hefty]

4 hours ago, Goods said:

I’m probably going to set this aside and try a bigger billet to get where I want to go with this. If I get there, maybe I’ll come back to do something with this. It may hang on the wall for a couple months.

Goods, have you considered a carbide tipped hammer for straightening warped blades? I'm not sure if he was the first, but there's a knifemaker and blacksmith supply business owner over here in Aus named Corin Urqhart who makes them. Search for "Niroc Knockometer". If you've got a warp in a quenched and tempered blade, all it takes is gentle peening in the right spot with the harder carbide tip and the warp disappears.

Others have made videos about making their own, too. Black Beard Projects, among others.

Just a thought.

Cheers,

Jono.

 

[George N. M.]

OK, I'm going to put my oar in and make a few comments and ideas.

The reason a thin edge is warping is often to do with the fact that the metal behind the edge is too short to support the length of the edge.  The metal at the edge cannot expand lengthwise, so it has to warp out laterally to go somewhere.  Often, trying to line up the waves makes the edge pop out in another place to take up the excess length.

This is why a uniformly thinning piece of metal has  edges that curve out like the top and bottom of an axe.  If you want ends that are not so flared listen to or watch the metal as you thin it and cut or grind off the ends to the desired shape.

If you have wavy edges I thnk that broadening the area just behind the edge will take the edge with it and straighten the waves.  If you try to pound down on a wave you cannot compress the metal and you set up stresses that want to make the metal curve out somewhere else along the length of the blade.  Even if this doesn't happen it sets up stresses that can cause cracking during heat treating or use.

That is not to say that you cannot  get mild curves from stresses which either set up or release during heat treating.  But the curves in Goods cleaver look to me that they could be straightened out by moving some metal just behind the edge, not much, just a little bit.

I suggest that a person go back to basics and use Play Do or othe modelling clay and make a replica, either at scale or larger, with the waves put in intentionally.  Then manipulate the clay carefully to see what you have to do to take the waves out.  Hot metal is plastic, you should be able to use the same techniques as you use in cold clay.

Please keep in mind that I consider myself a blacksmith, not a full time bladesmith.  I like forging blades but not so much all the bench work.  So, I may be unintentionally blowing smoke with my brainstorming.  Anyone may take what has occurred to me and see what happens.  Results will probably vary.

GNM

[aaamax]

4 hours ago, George N. M. said:

broadening the area just behind the edge will take the edge with it and straighten the waves.

oh that's good!  And then any slight wave that is left at the tip maybe just grind down on the vertical since we've elongated the face a tad.

I have a very large (280mm) Japanese style cleaver (chukabocho) project in 1080 that has vexed me for quite the while.  I may have to revisit it soon.  -18c here makes for less than comfortable time in the shop.

[rich_c]

JHCC, those gosh darned dogs just don't understand the effort that goes into designing stuff.  Hahaha!

[Les L]

I completed these last week, before having cataract surgery on my right eye, and completed the leather work this week, after I could see good enough to cut out and sew the sheaths. Left eye will be done next week, so I'll be away from the forge for a couple of weeks.

[George N. M.]

Les, good luck with the eye surgery.  Are you having implants put in.

Also, could you please describe you technique for making sheaths.  In particular, how do you make the imprssion for area of the blade / handle transition.  And is there a belt loop on the back?

Maybe we need a thread on leather work since that skill supports our ironwork and blade smithing.

Thx.

GNM

[Les L]

George, the sheath has a belt loop on the back, when I draw the pattern I extend a 3” long section past the top of the sheath, that gets folded against the back and sewn before the sides. After sewing I wet the front of the sheath, where the impression will be, insert the knife and use my fingers and a smooth rounded wood dowel to shape the area. Leave the knife in while the leather dries and you get a friction fit that secures the knife in place. 

Just now, Les L said:

George, the sheath has a belt loop on the back, when I draw the pattern I extend a 3” long section past the top of the sheath, that gets folded against the back and sewn before the sides. After sewing I wet the front of the sheath, where the impression will be, insert the knife and use my fingers and a smooth rounded wood dowel to shape the area. Leave the knife in while the leather dries and you get a friction fit that secures the knife in place. 

Yes, I’m getting the implants, right eye is about 90% now and getting better every day. I’m already seeing better with it than before the surgery. 

[George N. M.]

Les, thank you.  Do you use any leather treatments, e.g. neatsfoot oil, on the leather.  Also. do you sew by hand or with a machine and if by hand do you punch, pierce, or drill the holes first?

[Les L]

George, I use veg tan leather and stain it, but I don’t use any other treatments on it, I sew by hand, punch the holes with a diamond shaped awl and use a heavy waxed tread. After sewing I use a cotton cloth to buff the sheath with the wax that comes off the thread while sewing. I also use a 4 hole and 2 hole diamond punch to lay out the holes before finishing punching with the awl. I recommend the customer to rub a light coat of olive or conala oil on the sheath when it starts to dry out. I find neatsfoot oil makes the leather too soft to retain the friction fit. 
I don’t like the drilled holes, I prefer the diamond shaped holes so I can stack my thread as I sew. First pass from the front, pull down to the bottom of the hole and push the back needle of over the top, it keeps me from cutting the thread as I sew. 
Im no expert, this is how I was shown and I am still learning and improving with every project 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

6 hours ago, Les L said:

I’m getting the implants,

I had mine done last July, you will be amazed at how much you have been missing. My implants brought my vision to 20/25 and I only need cheater glasses to see fine print and real close work.

The only draw back is now when in the shop I have to wear safety glasses. Before the surgery my bifocals had safety lenses so I always had them on. Be careful when using the forge or a torch, glasses that stop IR are a must, along with sun glasses when out in the sun or driving.

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.
Semper Paratus