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What did you do in the shop today?


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Nice texturing tools John. I tried making them with files but they didn't come out well. I had decent luck by epoxying BBs to a plate and driving the tool into them, it made a nice pebble chasing tool but the BBs didn't stay stuck for a second one. 

The concrete came out very nice, they make pleasing textures. 

Chasing and repousse didn't hole my interest long enough to learn I needed different shape punches as well as textures but it was fun sitting around the living room with friends tinking away at Altoid tins.

I am thoroughly enjoying your progress John and await more pictures.

Frosty The Lucky.

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I’ll have to try the BB thing. 

So, two things today. First, the director of Safety and Security at the college came over to try out smithing and made a nice bottle opener. 

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And I decided to try out an idea I’d had for stabilizing my fly press. This was to mount a stainless steel sink (donated by a friend who was remodeling their kitchen) under the stand and pack it full of sand.

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I haven’t done any significant forging with this yet, but it’s a lot more solid than it was before  

I’ll probably cover this with a shelf for tooling and such, but that’s for another time. 

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Did nothing in the smithy. Spent the past two weekends working on another project instead.   But I got the Fuselage covered, ironed out, and a coat of "Poly Brush" on it.

Before ironing. Lookit all the wrinkles.

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 After ironing, and a coat of "Poly Brush"

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It's drum tight. :D

 

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Am i the only one who is having some problems with the site? My last post here was supposed to have a pic that did not come through and i have had a couple not post at all. And a few other peculiarities. May jus be me but just wondering. 

Anywho, Blue, i assume that is some kind of flying machine? I did not know you had to iron them. Is it steam powered? 

Here is the swage i used as well for the ladle that did not post

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We'd call that a log dog around here. Well, us old timers probably would, I don't know what the current log builders call them. Log dogs was one of the first tools I forged when I moved to Alaska. I didn't have a kit of my own but one of the people in that corner of the woods, literally, had an anvil and a couple "hammers." He'd picked them up because they were "blacksmith" hammers. They were top tools but he had a cross pein so we were good to go. 

He wanted the points shaped more like chisels than square or round points so they bit the lot's grain better and they were much deeper. 

The chisel points worked well if they weren't very wide and on a 45*. Making dogs deep only makes them hold logs less solidly. A fellow I met back then had just flattened the ends of a couple bars, drilled holes and set them with 22penny spikes. I didn't think they worked as well as more standard dogs like yours but it showed me log dogs don't have a set way to make them. 

One project we used boards nailed across the corners to good effect.

Thanks for the look into your shop Nat, it's good watching a smith work and brought back memories.

Frosty The Lucky.

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You are welcome frosty I allways read your name as foresty like forest not like frost frozen .

Well Iam back In shape but I had issue with back from January 14 th and didn't light forge and strike anvulo more then two months .

Now Ian better but doctors wrote :Avoid working hard phisical work in bad posture 

Of course I took chance and when I came to work said them I can't lift more then 10 kilos , and I need to be spared for  couple of time.

I gave that paper to  office of guy that is supposed to be responsible for safety on work.

I did that so I can legally a bit be protected.

Funny thing is I got backpain from working in factory with food lifting small weights like 5 kilos and wrapping pallet with stretching foil.

Sudden movement and it all was done after 10 seconds couple of days worked and got finished ,hardly stand on feet and went to doctor.

 

 

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Had an aspiring smith out in the shop today.   I had talked to her at 2 events and had helped her forge a bottle opener and probably a leaf at the previous meetings.   She had gotten a scholarship to a school down in  Kentucky where she had made a frying pan.  She loved the pan but the handle was literally 2 feet long and she wanted to cut it down.  I broke out the portaband, cut the handle and walked her through punching and drifting a hanging hole in the handle.   Followed that up with making a simple J-hook out off 1/8 x 3/4 flat stock, tapering the tip, making the curl.  In the process the rivets on her pan started to loosen so I make a quick rivet header, while explaining what I was doing, why, and how.  She was a good student.  Looking forward to having her come back again.  

On a side note, is the ABANA course good?  Is there someplace I can review the course requirements and materials?  I think I want to start getting done more formal training.

 

Edited by Chad J.
Autocorrect issues
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Any course is a good course..   

The ABANA course is based on the CBA course layout but reworked slightly.  It's a great course and covers nearly all the bases for an Artist blacksmith. 

The course outline is on the ABANA website which has been upgraded fantastically over the last few years. 


https://abana.org/education/

There are a lot of talented and skilled smith involved with ABANA...   The reason why I said it that way is because of how approachable these longer term/skilled smiths are.  

The next ABANA meet is in JUne.  

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Good for you Chad! Involving new folk in the addiction is a fine thing! Maybe suggest she join the IFI gang, hmmmm?

I've been called worse Nat, I couldn't count how many times I've signed posts Forsty to be caught by spell check, I flagged it as never good. It's actually blinking at me in a most annoyingly attention getting way on the screen right now.

Frosty The Lucky.

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The door to my (shared) workspace had some cheap and cheaper feeling doorpulls since a couple of months (before just rope, yeah cheap).

I could not stand it. 

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on the inside a classic shape with spades on the ends. Could align them a bit better. 

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On the outside (still inside but outside the workshop) a nice doorpull with pine apple twist.

And yes i could made my bolts and nurmts and screws, but i used what was there before.

Happy feeling now opening and closing the door.

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Another day, another bottle opener.  Tried to come up with something I hadn't done a million times, and came up with this eight note idea.

AP1GczNxGwJfSzcK8QGfKzzNjajzfrsQFsfbWavpgRz3Xq24MPj-gofDmiuj6emasxRYnkxE0v3Vn9ugdibEwTXgx1rGnp1Cb8Frli7gjmhbVl_zH5l-n1jkmz7A827DbUxt4W3nG_ipYZpvWRJQu_TwqYiQ=w613-h778-s-no?authuser=0AP1GczO-O6AdACdiv2YiY7StRi65vbpOMiCmIa9x32Lt7-ToYQjCCSyXv8YBdGqSGb-2kTp5MMoLdjjXnyeZUKSMryePrpRspYSyuCAgb2uxbhPC4VI-2C-VORZ08-IPGp_vtX2Zu6Osf2NLheSTcjdqE_tC=w571-h778-s-no?authuser=0

And got some quality control testing done with it, too.

AP1GczMD8FP89jGDqL7P3jOnCJi4QoMx9s3X09pTV4ygydoEho4kLfiK1IrczHWF6vVRv6NON3RKTWIJurpRR6PX-krnKP2pNYOCgEkKV62qsAgKFsfSie43adb_Et4sQC2S7Mdfu6RF2Jn7oComaAxS7IL9=w438-h778-s-no?authuser=0

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I like that bottle opener. It’s not often to see a new (good) idea out there!

I’m not done with this yet, but I can’t resist posting a picture of where I’m at with this cleaver. I’m pretty happy with it, I just want to make sure the customer is happy with the handle shape before I finish it out completely.

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Gomai with the provided Harley Davison drive chain as the outer layers, then 15N20 with 8670 as the core and walnut scales. I didn’t get the dramatic effect of the 15N20 and 8670 core as I expected, but it came out centered.

Keep it fun,

David

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