June 21, 20242 yr That's looking really nice Pedro. Is this the first time you've chased over pitch? It really makes a difference doesn't it? Frosty The Lucky.
June 21, 20242 yr Thanks Frosty. Haven't tried it yet- still cooling, will update tomorrow. should have mentioned this is a before pic.
June 21, 20242 yr I hope the cookie sheet isn't too flexible. I've only done a very little chasing and repousse a couple decades ago. Getting the right stiffness pitch and right backer made a lot of difference. Of course Gene didn't have any trouble with whatever pitch or backer he used. Years of experience will tell eh? Frosty The Lucky.
June 22, 20242 yr Looking better all the time John. Is that a heat patina and if so how will you finish it so it lasts? If you already told us go ahead throw a stinky cybersock, I can take it. Frosty The Lucky.
June 23, 20242 yr On 6/20/2024 at 2:40 PM, Frosty said: You might like the hooks better if you don't draw them out so long and thin. Yesterday, I took your advice and made a stubbier hook, and I think it looks better. Is this close to what you suggested?
June 23, 20242 yr Looks better to me, couldn't put my finger on why the longer hooks just didn't look right, although they were nicely made. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus
June 23, 20242 yr Yes, I think the proportions look much better. How are you making the screw holes? I made a "counter punch" which has a slightly rounded tip and is ground the same angle as a counter sunk screw head. I center punch the screw hole locations lightly, take a heat and use the counter punch then the size punch for the screw. The combination swells the hook shank and lets the counter sunk screws to lay flush. The slight swelling of the shank is attractive. I usually twist hook shanks making it difficult if not impossible to drill or use a regular hole punch. The counter punch isn't nearly as sensitive to being driven onto an uneven surface. If the shank is too odd shaped, say one of my pineapple twist attempts I mark the spot with a flat punch before the center and counter punches. I rigged a small C clamp I hold to the anvil face with a hold fast so I can hold hooks vertical and flat. It makes punching straight much easier. Frosty The Lucky.
June 23, 20242 yr Wasn't today but yesterday. The NEB had their spring meet at the Brentwood NH location. good turn out with a great demonstrator Terry Sheridan.. My kind of smithing.. They had a competition and after using some tools forged by Judson Yaggy at the practice sessions for the ABANA|comp I wanted either or.. A pair of tongs or guillotine tool.. I took 1st on the drawing out comp 1/2" round as long as one can get it in 10min, and Carl West took it on the hasp in 45min to the accurate drawing.. No photos of the event just items i made. The socket chisel is 1.5" timber framers and the socket was welded using a mandrel. Had no tool steel so welded on a piece of rock hand drill steel. 1"sq HC for the body and socket of the chisel.. Not bad for a few hours of hand work.. Still have to spend time forging it to finish.
June 24, 20242 yr 16 hours ago, Frosty said: How are you making the screw holes? I made a "counter punch" which has a slightly rounded tip and is ground the same angle as a counter sunk screw head. Just so. I did a lot of trial and error on the screw holes and came up with the same solution. I had to "sacrifice" a good centre punch to make the rounded one. The slight bulge is indeed eye-catching. I always learn by trial and error. My wife calls the ones with the long shank to the hook "giraffe hooks." I think she is on to something. :-) A couple of days ago, I acquired two old car coil springs. I annealed a section about 10 inches long overnight. Today, I'm going to make it into a punch to replace the one I made into a rounded one. Then quench and temper it. - Paul
June 24, 20242 yr Giraffe hooks eh? That could have potential with just a change in the finial treatment. Instead of a leaf on a loop a straightish neck above the screw holes and giraffe head. I'm seeing various serpents too, perhaps venomous for the more (scary) folks? Wall hooks have all kinds of potential and a world of folks who'd like something different. Frosty The Lucky.
June 24, 20242 yr My daughter has decided to take up brewing and asked if i could build her some shelves to keep her brews on. so i started a set of brackets yesterday. Still need holes and rivets and a little tweaking. They took about 5 hours to make. I have not been doing much at home in the shop and what i have been doing i have been taking my time and doing slow. I got some bad news from my heart doctor a few weeks ago. I will definitely be getting a couple stints put in and hopefully will be back up to speed here in the next couple months. Drives me crazy sitting around not doing much of nothing. So i do tinker a little but nothing to strenuous.
June 24, 20242 yr Paul. Nice looking hook. Keep up the good work! Jennifer, lovely work as per usual. You have great skill and it certainly shows. Billy, the brackets are starting off well. I'm sorry to hear about your health problems. I hope you'll be able to get back to all the things you enjoy doing soon
June 24, 20242 yr Take up repousse a little bit and give Rojo and John a run for their money? I hope it goes well for you.
June 24, 20242 yr Tough news Billy but we're living in the good old days where medical tech is good enough to deal with your problem. You take it easy and I'll keep you in my prayers. Repousse is is a great way to keep busy without doing aerobic exercise. Frosty The Lucky.
June 25, 20242 yr On 6/17/2024 at 2:05 PM, Paul_Lake_Echo said: I think it's cast iron, but I don't know how to tell. I'm my most recent experience with mystery metal and help from my local club, the easiest way to tell is to drill into it. If it makes metal dust then it's cast iron. If it makes shavings/curls then it's steel and you start spark testing and whatnot. Cast iron also breaks easily. Clamp a bar in the vice and swing a hammer at it. If it breaks, it's definitely cast iron. Paul, I really enjoyed looking through your assortment of hooks. The only thing I keep of what I've made are the tools. Nearly everything I've made otherwise has been for a trade item or a gift. I'm really enjoying sculptures as of late. I previously shared the floral sculpture I made for the June FSBC meeting trade item. For the July trade item, the theme is "something sculptural". I piggy backed on another challenge group to incorporate an ammonite into something. So I opted to make an ocean floor sculpture. This is nearly complete. I just need to soak it to remove scale, seal it, then I'm going to add sand to the base just because I'm feeling extra Like most others in the United States, we've been experiencing some hot and humid weather lately (Missouri). I managed to get this done on the first day of real heat - which had sweat dripping past my headband and my glasses slipping off my ears, not to mention my clothes being soaked through within half an hour. Just brutal. I decided not to start anymore projects until after we move (tomorrow!!!). I have instead been loading the trailer and rearranging to get the best hold with the straps. So I'm still soaking myself with sweat on a nightly basis, lol, and don't even have any fun metal work to show for it!
June 25, 20242 yr After having made four of these "eight note" bottle openers, one of which cracked right where the note head meets the stem, I tried a different process today and really think it'll be better going forward. I hope to make a bunch of these for the state fair in September, where I think they might sell well. The major change in the process is making a much more gussetted upset square corner at the note head, and flattening it out before punching instead of after. By doing it this way I get a much more controllable shape for the bottle opener and less likelihood of overworking the corner between the head and stem.
June 25, 20242 yr Thanks all for the well wishes. I like that bottle opener idea. Shainaru, i think a little bit of paint would make that really pop. Not a bunch and not everything just a few highlights so you can see the details. Like the fish gets lost inside the plants. Just maybe a little color in the chasing work and a little on the edges would make it stand out. Just as an example.
June 25, 20242 yr Billy, keep your chin up. I hope you have a speedy recovery when it is time. Tommy, the musical bottle opener is great. Last night I didn't do much. I'm working on a more decorative hanger for a split cross hummingbird and tried to make an S hook with a swivel in the middle. It went together but it needs a bit of filing to get it to spin. I also forgot pictures so I'll take a few tonight.
June 25, 20242 yr Tough news Billy but we're living in the good old days where medical tech is good enough to deal with your problem. You take it easy and I'll keep you in my prayers. Repousse is is a great way to keep busy without doing aerobic exercise. Frosty The Lucky.
June 25, 20242 yr Shaina cran wax.. Looks great.. Billy, sorry to hear about your struggle.. Today though this is kind of a normal procedure.. So that is in your favor.
June 26, 20242 yr Shainarue, that's a nice sculpture. I have not attempted something like that but I think I would like to. Tommy, I like your bottle opener. It has nice lines. Good work! And what did I do in the shop today? Absolutely nothing. It's getting hotter every day I think. But I could still work at the forge if I had time and money lol. Propane needs to be filled because I'm nearly out. If there was a What Did You Do On The Farm Today section I could easily fill that. Weaning a bottle baby goat. Tending to a sick baby goat and drying off my Jersey milk cow and endless other chores. And making sure all the critters including the human variety are okay through the heat
June 26, 20242 yr I am hoping that when i get the stints put in they will do me like they did my dad. They had a screen above him on the ceiling and he watched everything the doctor did. I think that would be pretty cool. We have had a couple of rainy and overcast days so we are getting a break from the heat right now. It was ~80*F out today, over the weekend it was ~95*F, that is pretty hot here. Supposed to be in the mid to upper 80's over this coming weekend. As far as shop, i had a fun one today at work. I had to make 2 gauge pins for our inspection department. One was .273" the other .327" i had a tolerance of +0/-.0005. diameter. The end had to have a 60* chamfer on the end. About an inch of pin on a "handle" smaller than the pin. I ended up making about a dozen of them it seemed like. If it could go wrong it did today. And i mean stupid things. Like i turned the lathe on i bet 4 times with the chuck key in, on 2, yes 2, i left the bolts loose on the angle adjustment. Went to grind one, left the collet loose on the spindex. So that was how my day went.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.