LarryFahnoe Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Nice to see the railing in situ John, I was having trouble visualizing how you would use it earlier. Very unique & creative, should suit an artistic sort just nicely! How does the hand feel as it moves over the two overlaps? --Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 It doesn't; the final version will have a flat rail mounted on top of the loops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianb Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Hello, I'll just squeeze in my finished hook rack in between all the great projects here. Coated in beeswax, I don't really like the reddish spots shimmering through, but stuff needed to be hung... Cheers! Julian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 I have the same problem. Some spots are red after forging. No idea how. Gasforge or coal forge i have it with both. Nice rack btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 The red is rusted metal bleed thru. At least that been my experience. clean rust free metal even with hot rolled steel does not do this.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 4 hours ago, JHCC said: the final version will have a flat rail mounted on top of the loops. I could make a few face sculptures to fill in some of the negative space, free of charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 2 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: The red is rusted metal bleed thru. At least that been my experience. clean rust free metal even with hot rolled steel does not do this.. I have it even with sandblased shopprimered steel (stock from a shipyard) (hotrolled because cheaper). But it makes sence your explanation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 23 hours ago, JHCC said: Also spent a lot of time trying to shift a broken die out of my W.A. Whitney hand punch, to little effect. Today, success! Since the screw extractors I’d used previously were both not quite big enough and a bit too soft, I made a bigger, harder one from a square punch. This I reground with sharp corners, hardened, and tempered just enough to keep it from snapping. Apply pipe wrench, and out it comes! I only have one punch and die set at the moment — 3/32”, to be precise — but it didn’t even blink at 3/32” mild steel sheet. Victory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 JHCC, i have found that some of the best bolt extractors are Torx bits. Drill a hole a bit smaller, drive in the bit and they will usually screw out pretty easy. Do you know the trick of using a left hand drill to get out broken bolts? I use the Torx if the left hand drill dont work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Well, NOW you tell me! (No, seriously; thanks for the tip. Noted!) In other news, but of the "What I Did In The Shop Five Years Ago Today" variety, today is the anniversary of when I first met Jennifer/jlpservicesinc in person and got an impromptu lesson in forge-welded chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianb Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 21 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: The red is rusted metal bleed thru. At least that been my experience. clean rust free metal even with hot rolled steel does not do this.. Interesting, thank you! I use a lot of previously rusted material, I'll try to compare it with some fresh steel sometime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Congratulations on a die well extracted John! Dang, I thought I sent this yesterday! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 JHCC, wow 5 years ago. That was a cold day. You were such a trooper. Fun to boot. I forged a new handled cold set. I like my blade thin,thin and shaped like ().. Most would mistake it for a handled hot set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Messed up a repoussé project and started over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Tap Bang Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 I spent an afternoon making a hatchet with a dragons head from a railway spike. This was my 2nd go at Blacksmithing so happy with the results. I feel very privileged that an experienced blacksmith gave his time to teach a complete beginner a few skills & invited me into his Smith. Here are a few pics I enjoyed it so much especially knowing how much room there is for improvement, there will never be another one made just like it! Once I make up a handle it will be a gift for a friend to put on the mantle piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Uh. Jennifer. Isn't a "hot set" a small flatter intended for precise work? Hot cuts are handled hot chisels. Top tool as opposed to a hardy. Twice in the last 20+ years our club has been bringing up demonstrators have they upset stock and forged small flatters rather than the hot cuts we thought we'd advertised. What's left of my smithing library confirmed our mistake. Both times. <sigh> Beautiful tool as I expect from anything you make. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Frosty, you're thinking of a "set hammer". "Hot set" is entirely appropriate for a top tool for cutting hot steel, just as "cold set" is for a top tool for cutting cold steel. Here are two of the illustrations from J. B. Stokes's Basic Blacksmithing: A Training Manual that illustrate the difference: This isn't to say that "hot cut" is not an appropriate name for the same tool. It certainly is, just as one could say "handled hot cut" or "hot chisel top tool" or the like. Generally, we only see a distinction being made between "hot" and "cold" tool names when there are different versions for hot work and cold work, and set hammers are typically used only on hot metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Well said and explained John.. We in America have moved away from the "hot set"/"cold set" lingo in favor of Handled cold chisel or handled hot chisel.. There are a lot of things definitions wise having fallen to the way side since the boom of blacksmithing. Interestingly.. A "Set hammer" used to be just called a "Top set"... And the matching bottom tool was a " Bottom set".. There is also a "shear set" both in top and bottom tools.. and a "Side set".. also a "shear side set".. or offset shear set.. Again, much of the lingo has changed.. 40 years ago I picked up a book on "Chisels and their uses"... It was a great book based on "Chisels" as the the only cutting tool.. Well a chisel and hammer. In this one book there were 1000's of chisels and they showed how they were used with all the names.. At this point. I'm starting to forget, more than I remember.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 On 2/25/2024 at 7:25 PM, jlpservicesinc said: At one point I was forging 2 a day.. So that really made a difference dialing them in.. ..... Nothing worse than having a bleb that needs to be fixed because of an error and then having to forge this out raw. If I'm preaching to the choir just let me know and I'll stop.. Two a day! That's crankin' 'em out. Not preaching to the choir. I'm learning, and you're helping me to learn. On 2/25/2024 at 6:52 PM, Irondragon Forge ClayWorks said: When that happens to me, I usually just make it a shorter knife. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus I may do that, or repurpose the material for a different project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davor Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 On 2/29/2024 at 11:21 AM, Tap Tap Bang said: I spent an afternoon making a hatchet with a dragons head from a railway spike. This was my 2nd go at Blacksmithing so happy with the results. Whaaaaat? Quit your day job because you are a natural at this. Keep at it, we will follow your development with great interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Tap Bang Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Thank you for the encouraging words Davor. I am currently traveling around Australia in a caravan so don't have a day job to quit It also means I cannot set up a shop. When we go back to a normal life at the end of the year I am looking forward to setting up a shed so I can tinker and develop my skills. I really do love Blacksmithing but will keep it as a hobby. Unfortunately my body wouldn't hold up to doing it full time. A car accident 23 years ago took its toll on me. As I travel around the country I hope to find a few more people that will let me into their Smiths so I can keep learning. Having Phil teach me how to do the dragon Hatchet has really boosted my confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul TIKI Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Hey Tap Tap Bang! And Welcome. One thing I learned is that you can set up a very simple and small forge setup that can actually travel. Look up the JABOD forge. JABOD stands for Just A Box Of Dirt. Then look up Improvised Anvils. You can pack up a shop in to a relatively small space, It's how I got started. Anyway, I built a roughly 1/2 by 1 meter by 10 centimeter wooden box. I took a couple of empty 20 kilogram cat litter buckets with lids that I filled with Sand and some bricks. I still use a chunk of scrap steel as an anvil. You can use a chunk of steel pipe with a hair dryer taped to the end for the air supply and lump charcoal as fuel. Anyway, you can pack it all up into a surprisingly small footprint, which is what I did to store it in the shed over the winter the first year I decided to start. Oh, and the whole thing didn't cost much money wise. I later upgraded to an inexpensive propane forge, which takes up even less space/mass. for stock to make some very basic things I have used cast off chunks of rebar from construction sites, I have talked to a couple of Auto mechanics to see if they would let me raid their scrap bins, and I have spent about 20 dollars(US) on some landscaping spikes that are really just 25 cm long nails. Railroad spikes are also some good stock to work with if you can get them legally (not difficult but take care, at least in the US) All of that is fairly small, space wise. It might be small enough to pack in a caravan, depending on how big the caravan is. your campsites might have rules that don't let you set up and actually forge, but maybe not. Just be aware of potential fire conditions. If nothing else, you can pretty cheaply get what you need to get started, even while travelling and then set up later at home. Anyway, on this site you will find instructions on the JABOD forge, Improvised Anvils, and such. I believe you can also find some stuff on viking traveling forges elsewhere on the internet, which might give you other ideas. My biggest regret is that I didn't start doing this way sooner, especially once I found how cheap and relatively easy it is to get started. I still have a very long way to go, but....I get better every day I go out and do it. Don't wait like I did to find the perfect place or set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Tap Bang Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Thanks for the suggestion Paul TIKI. We are traveling with our 2 kids and with all the usual stuff that comes with kids we are at our weight limit. I have pushed the limits already by picking up a few railway spikes and other bits of metal that I have found on walks. I used one to make the hatchet. I have read on this site about the JABOD and it's different forms and I plan to set one up when I visit my Inlaws at Easter time for a few days. I have my anvil in a shipping container there and my previously made tongs, chisels, drifts and tongs that I made on my first day Blacksmithing at a workshop. I will post up what I make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 TTB, I second what Paul has said. You can forge on very minimal equpment. Small projects take small tools. That is what travelling medieval smiths did. You can even use a flat rock for an anvil. Frosty can tell tales of forging in a camp fire with a rock for an anvil. You could even use the ball of your trailer/caravan hitch. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 The traveling craftsman, isnt that where we get "Journeyman" from? I have had 2 great days in the shop. Fire burning blue, very little off gasses, and hot, metal moving like butter, welds setting with little effort. Then on top of all that the house next to me is going up for sale and the owner asked if i could make some railings for the outside steps. 2 total, for the stairs from the street and the steps up on the porch. So today started a outdoor sconce. Got the shaft made, the flat bar for the scrolls tapered, the plate for the wall or post, and the standoffs tenoned. Also made a candle holder, still needs riveted, and a basket twist for another candle hold i need to make. Tomorrow will be the cold work. Drilling the holes, setting rivets, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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