Nice hooks Pedro, the reverse twist is a seriously nice example!

What do you think about a nut in the center of a complex reverse twist as an insoluble blacksmith puzzle? It's a fine old blacksmith tradition you know. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks all.

Very fancy s hook goods.

I made a set of tongs for the tool box, which the BOA will sell tickets for a drawing in December. Found what I think was a brake or clutch rod from an old tractor in the resource pile. Still need to coat them with some black Johnson's paste wax.

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~

They look pretty good Randy. I see a link connection (I'm blanking on the term) on one of the reins. Did you pull a tab so it'd work as a bottle opener? Hmmmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

That table is awesome, Gewoon!

The customer asked to convert vintage kerosene lamps bought at a flea market into lamps.

Those look nice Alex. I don't suppose you told her she'd need to use vintage electricity did you? Just joking you're too much of a professional to make jokes about the work a customer brings you.

At least the reservoir on those is metal so you can drill and solder, etc. to make fitting and securing the fixture and pass the cord out reasonably fast and easy.

Do you get many of these small projects? It's a good way to keep the customer happy.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

18 hours ago, Frosty said:

They look pretty good Randy. I see a link connection (I'm blanking on the term) on one of the reins. Did you pull a tab so it'd work as a bottle opener? Hmmmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

Never thought of a tab to make a bottle opener but I'd have to enlarge the hole and thin it out a bit. I'll check with the boss (Debi).

Well, the sheath for my wife’s knife is getting close to done:

I bought some 1/8” silicone bronze TiG to make the pins for the bronze chape(?) and reinforcements. So now I’ve got to make the pins, clean up all the bronze and rivet the pins. Yeah, that all, right…

Keep it fun,

David

20 hours ago, Frosty said:

I see a link connection (I'm blanking on the term)

That would be called the eye of the rod, if I'm not mistaken. I left it to make them a little unique.

I can’t control the wind. All I can do is adjust my sails. ~Semper Paratus~

Eye Eye that's it! The matching part of the coupling would be the pinion. 

While you're talking Debi into it just picture the smiths at the meeting cheering. "Here's Beer In Your Eye!" And then segueing into the "Lumberjack song." 

Hmmmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

Day 1 of the Tractor Show in Ottawa KS is in the books! It was in the 90s but humidity below 50% and mostly shaded so it wasn't too bad. Had a few bundles of kids that were very interested and said multiple times how much they really liked everything we were doing and how cool it was. One of the kids came with a very supportive father and they took a pamphlet home after asking when and where we have meetings. So overall it was a pretty good day. As usual, I worked too long and didn't drink enough water so I feel kinda crappy now. I did remember sunscreen though so at least I'm not burnt! 

Tomorrow we have a club meeting over the lunch hour which will force me to take a long break so tomorrow should be better. 

Enjoy this rare photo of me that another member took, lol

 

Sounds good Shaina though you really do need to take care of yourself, you're your #1 tool. Kids in the audience are the best, they're always interested and bring their parents with. One of the best things about youngsters in the audience are their questions, unlike parents and adults who THINK they know about blacksmithing, kids questions are unpolluted by "knowledge" and they're surprisingly observant.

Looks like a beautiful day even if I'd be a melting blob of grease at that temp and humidity it was probably pleasantly cool compared to earlier weather. A breeze would've been sweet.

Thanks for the look and report.

Frosty The Lucky.

Can't remember if I saw the image that inspired these clip hooks here or on Facebook, but I was keen to try one for myself. Only thing was, I didn't have any tongs suitable for smaller stock so I had to forge a new set. Punching and riveting are so much easier on the new anvil!

I'm fairly happy with these clip hooks for a first try, but there's still something not quite right with the curve and getting the wire just right is really fiddly.

I call this design a 'left ear'. Not because they are the same shape as one, but because if I clip my keys somewhere with one, I know they'll be 'left ear'!

(I'll see myself out...)

Cheers, 

Jono.

GROAN! 

Getting hooks right can be tricky. Have you hung something from the one in the bottom pic?

From here any weight say a key ring would rest almost at the place where the hook straightens to meet the clip. Straightening the twisted section will push that point farther towards the center of the hook's main curve as will moving the scrolled hook towards the far or point of the hook. 

I used to experiment with hooks using pipe cleaners to get a close approximation of the profile I was looking for.

Frosty The Lucky.

Crazy Goat Lady,

I know what your talking about when you say insurance is a pain. I haven't been able to forge at home since before Christmas. All because insurance has shut me down. That hurts and they don't care. Like you said, long story.

Seldom

Not all new things are good and not all old things are bad.

Day 2 of the Tractor Show demo is in the books. Tomorrow is mostly just packing up and there's just two stations so I won't be driving out to help. I took better care of myself today. Drank more than double the water I had yesterday, in addition to a vitamin enhanced water. Today's heat was worse than yesterday which forced me to take more breaks. 

Lots of previous members came by to chat and a few more potential members. I used one of my breaks to walk over and buy some homemade ice cream made in a churning bucket operated by a hit and miss. Delicious, of course.

After everything was loaded and locked up for the night, I swung by to visit with a blacksmith artist local to that area. 

Overall it was a good day.

 

Now THAT sounds like a good day in the heat. Plenty of water some snacks, a few salty. A rule of thumb is if you didn't have to take a pee all day you weren't drinking enough water. Just plain old water and some salty nibbles is all a person really needs unless there is a health condition involved.

Of course some fresh churned ice cream puts icing on the day. 

There used to be a vender at the local annual "Art On Fire" event I used to demo at and that vender made the BEST hot dip sandwiches a boy could ask for. They stir fried the beef or pork with onion peppers and topped it with a choice of cheese, a slice of pepper jack and one of sharp cheddar please and a cup of au jus large enough to make each bite juicy enough drip off your elbow. I'd walk around talk to demonstrators, drip juice on my leather apron and generally forget the demo and become a tourist for half an hour. 

It's hard to beat a hard won lunch break at a demo, especially when lots of the spectators recognize you and we can just chat. 

It's a good thing. I'm going to miss it.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Standing in my shop yesterday looked down and wondered, what are those red dots on the floor. That was when i discovered i was leaking. Scraped my arm at some point and had blood running off my fingertips. Sucks getting old, dont even realize you do it then take 45 mins for the bleeding to stop. Thought for a minute i may have to get a field dressing to put on it. 

I did however manage to get the rough forging done for a set of wall sconces my daughter wants. She wants something tha would look like it came from the Addams Family house. So i figure that means Gothic. She sent me the measurements and gave me 3 1/2" wide and 16 1/2" long. Not much room for Gothic. So i went with something a little more Colonial maybe Victorian, not sure which if either. The open space will have a polished brass reflector in it. 

 

I still stop bleeding quickly enough, not like I used to but. . . . Still I spring leaks and bruise silly easily anymore. Oh well guess it's what I get for hanging on this long, beats the alternative.

A nice fleur-de-lis is always good and plenty gothic enough to pass. 

Frosty The Lucky. 

I like it. Sorry to hear about the insurance. I'm shut down for now for a few weeks because I'm broken - no strenuous activity for a month, followed by light activity. Yay. I worked on a pressure washer a little yesterday and I'm still feeling it today.

Like the fleur-de-lis. Paint it black and it should do. The cartoons were very American Gothic, although the show mixed in a bunch of eclectic decor silliness like the giant polar bear and the high-backed wicker chairs. If I had a nickel for every time I cut myself without knowing and found out like that...I'd have a small but weighty bag of nickels. Cold water for fabric if you catch it fast, hydrogen peroxide or club soda if you don't.

I dunno. Work with your hands too much and you don't, not feel small cuts and hurts exactly, you just tend to kind of forget about it until it gets bad or something aggravates it. Used to feel a little sting from the metal and then find out I had second degree burns when I'd take a hot shower later. 

Baking soda and water pulls blood nicely and is easier to keep on hand than a bottle of Schwepps. I usually have alcohol swabs in my pocket or next to my recliner and if you're quick they work fine. Get it out quick before it sets and it's good. Rubbing it down with baking soda and then giving it vinegar on a swab works well and is kind of exciting. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

With something gothic from far, you come close to addams family I guess.

Now looking at "wednesday" on netflix and it is a bit of a mix of different styles but mostly neo gothic or revival gothic (the gothic from the 19e century).

Looking for a smith in or near Hanover county VA.   Guy on another forum (about as far from smithing as you can get) is in need of some hinges, and pintles for his shutters.

I could probably do it, but I figured that someone more local to him would be best.

Hollywood gothic perhaps? I expect it'll be available to watch on streaming TV without having to pay much if any before long. 

Frosty The Lucky.