Nice, I like it.

Working on a convex/concave forming stake, with some little brackets for holding firmly in the vise. Still needs grinding to shape and finishing.

After grinding the working surfaces of the double forming stake to shape, I case hardened them and give them a basic finish. Needs a bit more polish, but basically done.

(Kasenit isn’t especially toxic, but it sure smells nasty.)

Nice tool John & good pics to show it coming to life! Still whittling away at your supply of hex.

--Larry

Thanks, Larry!

I actually have two supplies of hex (three, if you count my Wiccan friends): the mild shafting that I used for this project, and the large supply of worn-out jackhammer bits I’ve picked up from tool rental places.

(And yes, I know that traditional Wiccans don’t cast hexes, as it goes against the principle of not causing harm to others.)

I made some edits to the original feather before bringing it for the trade item last Saturday. I was much happier with the results.

I messed up the elbow on my hammering arm over vacation. The symptoms are pointing to tennis elbow AND golfers elbow... But I'm hopeful that I'm wrong, lol

So far I'm 5 days into babying it, trying to remember ibuprofen, trying to remember to wear the forearm arm brace, and just not using it as much as possible. I tried grinding on some pieces for a new anvil stand I was working on and it made it worse so I guess I really need to be serious about resting it. Which sucks because I'm really not good at that.

Might get more proficient with my left arm, lol

Just don't try switching to hammering with your left thinking that holding tongs in the right will be easier. My first brush with golfer's elbow was actually in my left (non-dominant) arm, from poorly fitted tongs and over-gripping!

I figured I could use tong clips! Then just let the tongs 'rest' in my right hand. We'll see. Right now I don't even want to test the waters. I thought I'd work on my needlefelting but even that started aggravating it last night so it's definitely not ready for anything more. I'm going to dive back into Dutch for awhile and maybe finally get the workshop organized but I'm sure within a few weeks, I'll be itching to beat on metal again, lol

I will have to be extra careful to not go and mess up my left arm from improper handling of the hammer though!

Resting is the worst. If I'm not active or spend too long sitting on the couch my mental health takes a hit. I messed my knee up at the Aman Amarth/Dethklok concert a few weeks ago and it's still healing up because I won't sit still.

Last night I decided to try making a vase from some 3 inch round tube I had on hand. Took me a couple attempts to get it to open up the way I wanted. I then used a pair of tongs and pushed it out from the inside. Once that happened I got close to the shape I wanted. The next challenge is figuring out how to twist it or decide to cut the slats at an angle to make it look twisted.

My state of mental well-being is the same. I'm hoping the Dutch studies with be sufficient though.

That's a cool idea for the vase! Looking forward to seeing it finished

I'm left to my own devices as the gf is out of town. Soooooo, as I do from time to time, i started in on another sword to add to the pile of unfinished swords and knives. Looking to get it forged out today, but the axle that's in working with us a royal pain. Almost as stubborn as I am.

I’ve been working on making Viking crafting plier. I’ve got a pile of failed plier halves laying in the shop, but today I got the first set finished:

Forged from a 3/4” diameter coil spring, drawn down to 1/2” square. They’re not quite symmetrical, but I’m still pretty happy with the first finished attempt.

Keep it fun,

David

Nice!

The blade is rough formed. I'll post a picture tomorrow. That axel I'm using really doesn't like moving at less than orange and it laughed at me when I tried using my 1.5 pound cross peen to give my shoulder a rest. Blade is a little long at 49 inches and the tang is still oversized but I like it like that. It's still pretty thick too, so more anvil work there. I'll eventually cut it down to the length I want once it's to my thickness goals.