Socks, you may want to do 2 more. That one on the bottom of that first pic has a nasty stress crack. 

Melted, you may try a fuller with a larger diameter and form the central ridge by tapering the width out into shallow even facets with a crisp central “edge”. 
 

Keep it fun,

David

The town where the client lives has A Thing where everyone has pink plastic lawn flamingos. She’s trying to buck the trend.

5 hours ago, MeltedSocks said:

That's my go-to Christmas decoration if I don't feel like doing the Clark Griswold thing. 

I'm a little too rural for it now, but I used to be of the opinion that if people didn't complain or stop to take pictures we weren't doing it right. Used to do a full-on Halloween with a bunch of homemade stuff: graves in the front yard, scarecrows, ghosts, even turned the garage into a giant monster with teeth and eyes cut out of black plastic and painted, and we had a giant spider on a net we built out of rope.

Miss it, but there's no one to see it where I am, and it's a hell of a lot of work...although most of the last few years, I did put up one special white LED Christmas decoration on my roof for the local Navy pilots (we're in the flight path) recreating and honoring the umm, sky art of VAQ-130.

Goodness John. When you said the commissioner wanted a flamingo to buck the trend my mind's eye immediately drew the voices a picture of a bucking flamingo with a little cow? boy riding it. 

You could give it deinonychus type foot claws for a little bada$$itude. Hmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

On 7/31/2025 at 9:12 PM, Shainarue said:

beautiful work, as always. Do you ever have crappy results that you just don't share with us?

THANK YOU! I am not posting all my works. I don't like some of them, but customers ask me to do them as they need. Some works are similar to others, I don't even photograph them.

1 hour ago, Nobody Special said:

I did put up one special white LED Christmas decoration on my roof for the local Navy pilots (we're in the flight path) recreating and honoring the umm, sky art of VAQ-130.

Was that Whidbey Island?  I went through VAQ-129, the fleet replacement squadron.  That was in 1988, IIRC.  God's country up there!

Melted, you know what they say. Happy wife, happy life. My husband knows that one well

In the old church building on our property, there are a pair of plastic pink flamingos. I should pull them out. But I'm like Nobody Special. Nobody would see them where we live anyway. 

4 hours ago, BillyBones said:

Socks, you may want to do 2 more. That one on the bottom of that first pic has a nasty stress crack. 

I know.  I whacked it too hard and off target when I was drawing out the stem while the leaf was still a big blob (think almost pulling the head off a chicken).  I MIG welded it all around and carried on the forging.  I may zap it again and grind it smooth or just leave it.  I don't think it's going to go anywhere once I put the shelf up.  Touch on Bondo before painting. 

4 hours ago, Goods said:

Melted, you may try a fuller with a larger diameter and form the central ridge by tapering the width out into shallow even facets with a crisp central “edge”

Larger diameter in which axis?  On my chisel, the wide side or the narrow side?  I've got two different  radii to consider.  Guess I'll peruse the fullering section now. 

13 minutes ago, CrazyGoatLady said:

Melted, you know what they say. Happy wife, happy life. 

The secret to our happy 30+ years of marriage is as follows:  If I'm wrong, I always apologize.  If my wife is wrong, I still always apologize. 

Reminds me of a show I saw one time. Older guy tells the younger guy to apologize when his girlfriend got mad at him and the younger guy says he didn't do anything wrong. Older guy says," it doesn't matter." Young guy says, "that's not fair!". Older guy says, " it doesn't matter..."

Older guy is wise 

24 minutes ago, MeltedSocks said:

I went through VAQ-129

I always know when VAQ-129 is flying because we get twice as much of the "sound of freedom". I don't mind training and I know they're just happy to have just gotten their wings, but Lord I want to throw rocks at them when they're doing touch-and-goes at Outlying Field at two in the morning. Sometimes they fly so low that I've recognized people I've done clearance interviews with. Even worse when I lived over in Admiral's Cove.

 

25 minutes ago, MeltedSocks said:

Touch on Bondo before painting

That's why God made JB Weld putty epoxies. I've fixed everything from plumbing to patching a hole in a fiberglass boat Tuesday. I've even seen it on engine blocks, although in my opinion you'd have to be crazy to try it...although now that I think about it I believe one time I filled and tapped a broken bolt hole on a doohickey holding a camshaft seal as a temporary fix for a Hyundai. If it's stupid and it works...it's still stupid, but more likely to be mine.

FB Memories reminds me that ten years ago today, I was in the shop putting my anvil back on a block for the first time in twenty-three years. 

 

Found this Brian Brazeal video that explains my problem:  I need to make a much bigger fuller tomorrow.  I need to make one more lousy leaf so they'll all match, but I hope the fifth one I make looks more like the real leaf.

1 hour ago, Nobody Special said:

I always know when VAQ-129 is flying because we get twice as much of the "sound of freedom".

The EA-6B Prowler wasn't a pretty jet.  In fact, one of its nicknames was the "double ugly" (I guess the A-6E Intruder was the original ugly).  It did have a nice plane form, though.  We took great pride at being the loudest jet in the Navy and Marine Corps.  It was even louder than a Tomcat in full afterburner.  Something to do with being turbojet and not turbofan.

I still get to go admire it at the Pensacola Naval Aviation museum.  Luckily, the walkers and canes are complimentary for old guys like me.  

7 hours ago, CrazyGoatLady said:

Reminds me of a show I saw one time. Older guy tells the younger guy to apologize when his girlfriend got mad at him and the younger guy says he didn't do anything wrong. Older guy says," it doesn't matter." Young guy says, "that's not fair!". Older guy says, " it doesn't matter..."

Older guy is wise 

Chellie, that reminds me of when, as a boy, I complained that something wasn't "fair" my father would tell me that a fair is where you go to ride the merry-go-round and eat cotton candy.

G

Made a couple chisels today from some coil springs.  Continuing to work on my sockets.  Also made a pair of small carving knives from some of the garage door spring I have.  Not doing too badly but I may change up the designs a bit.  I actually quenched them in water after trying one in oil and it not talking. 

The main reason I was working on carving tools was the hidden tang on the dirk.  I was thinking I would be able to carve it out better.   What I didn't take a picture of was the replica of the knife tang that I also forged and ground to match.   Threw that in the forge and burned it in, tang matched up perfect.  Still drilled a pin hole because reasons.  The wood is african bloodwood.  I still have a little shaping to do on the ends and the making a pommel.  Maybe something up top too to dress up around the blade. 

Looking good Chad. Your sockets don't need to be that long, they only need to hold the blade and handle securely and a shorter steeper taper is easier to form and fit. I'm not saying half that length but maybe.

You want the rivet farther back on the dagger's handle. Where it is now will rub on your finger irritating it. Farther back between the palm and heel where your hand has more surface area it won't rub and irritate it. Farther back the rivet won't have as much leverage working against it so it will stay secure and solid longer. Make sense? It sounded good when the voices said it.

Frosty The Lucky.

JHCC, time sure flies doesn't it?

George, that sounds like something my grandma would have said 

Best place to put it with the size tang it had.   I should have made the hole smaller,  1/8 instead of 1/4.  It'll be smooth when it'll all sanded.  I Just need to get the blade into some acid to times etch it. 

The tips on the sockets are appreciated.  There are times when I just run with what I've got going but I can plan better in the future.   Now to make a Roman Pilum and really test it out. 

I started yesterday making me a Bill Murry Caddyshack style weed whacker. I made one a few years back but the hole where pin held the blade to the shaft rusted and broke. I started off kind of dismayed, i lost a good money job, anyway and had a piece of leaf spring to make it with. Well long story short i just was not feeling it to move that much metal. Then while cleaning up i realized i have a couple old bed frames. IIRC those are usually made from hardenable steel. So i will test that theory today and hopefully not have to move a ton o' metal for my weed whacker.  

I bid a railing job a few weeks back, even got paid to draw the print. Drove by the house and there was someone else putting up a railing. It burns my behind that i did not even get a courtesy call to be told someone else would do it. 

By weed whacker blade do you mean a "Sling blade"? You want pretty light steel or it'll eat your elbow and shoulder swinging it. I made one from an old 2 man buck saw blade for stock and thin as that was the sling blade was too heavy. On the upside it was a killer weed and brush whacker. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Finally got out to the forge today. Holy Catz! Its been a while. Anvil is rusted, forge has flaking rust in the fire pot, and this is in a box of borax: 

 I left it alone, as I didn't need any borax today.   I don't know how long it's been, but I'd hazard to guess I haven't fired the forge in over 6 months.  So, for my first project I decided to make some box jaws.  I had about 10 feet of 5/8" square stock, so I cut off a couple of feet, using the forge, and hot cut hardie. Then proceeded to get the jaws roughed in, and pinned together temporarilly, so I can make adjustments to the jaws, and get them finished up.

After that, I decided to get a start on a filet knife for a friend. I have a brand new coil spring for a Toyota Corolla, that didn't get returned for credit. I figured it would make a nice blade.  Got the blade roughed in, and decided to call it quits for the day. 

  I don't know what is up with this resizng app, but I'll get it sorted. It's making everything distorted/short, and fat.   It doesn't give me the option to keep the aspect ratio without being entirely too large.

Well just got the app figured out, but too late to edit my post.  

3 hours ago, BillyBones said:

Then while cleaning up i realized i have a couple old bed frames. IIRC those are usually made from hardenable steel. 

It burns my behind that i did not even get a courtesy call to be told someone else would do it. 

The bed frames probably are hardenable.  I have a couple leaning up against the fence out back.  Both passed the quench and break test.

This is something I've always hated about people.  They will use you as far you'll let them, then dismiss you without a thought.  I used to get personally hurt until I became a misanthrope.  Now I just expect it as par for the course. 

Any idea what kind of bird nested in your borax box? 20 Mule borax does advertise fresher smelling laundry, guess birds like fresh smelling nests?

Looking forward to seeing how your tongs turn out. I always drew the reins down early in the process so I could work on the bolster and jaws, etc. without needing tongs and trim the reins to length. Once I tried drawing the reins down thin enough to make the rivet but that wasn't so practical.

Frosty The Lucky.

Back to the basics for me today. Good times :-)

bluerooster, your anvil looks like mine. But he is getting some shiny spots on him again. If all goes well, I'll get out to take some hammer practice tomorrow. I just started back again and I've made a couple of S hooks and practicing basics like drawing out and some small forge welding. I bought a brand new box of borax I'll be getting my nail header in the mail tomorrow. I know, I know... I should make one but I went the lazy route. 

Rojo, nice clean work there. Very nice