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I Forge Iron

What did you do in the shop today?


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16 hours ago, ausfire said:

Yep, showrooms need to be not connected. 

It's a separate garage my grandfather had built to sort and store apples with half of it being a large ( not really well built) cooler. It is packed will all kinds of stuff that needs sorted, pitched or sold. My friend reserved me about 10 more of those shelves to put down there to store/ display pieces on. A few more might end up in the shop. 

Today i had a menacing pine tree cut down so now im working on getting that cleaned up on top of needing to organize stuff on my new shelving In the shop. " when it rains it pours with things needing done."

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I've been reading a lot lately (seen a few videos as well) about how making leaves is a great learning tool for beginner blacksmiths, so I tried my first today. Predictably, it's not very good but I'll learn and keep trying. I made a bottle opener to make myself feel better and try out my new guillotine tool.

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The wax finish on the opener looks better IRL (the leaf looks just as bad :D).

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Where's the pic of the "not very good" leaf Snuffy? That one looks darned good, especially for a first one. Seriously it's a nice job, the profile is good, it's even and the stem is very nice. 

Well done. Frosty The Lucky.

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Thanks guys, really. I can objectively say "it isn't terrible" while being subjectively disappointed that it didn't come out the way that I wanted it to, it took me longer and more heats than it should have, etc. etc.

Nevertheless, I appreciate the kind words Das & Frosty.

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Snuffy, nice leaf and bottle opener.   

 

I like your enthusiasm for "better" and wanting it to "be" exactly what you want it to be..

This desire to be better can be a great motivator, keep in mind its practice and progress that will get you to the vision you want to see..

Every forge session is that chance to learn and improve. 

 

Keep up the good work.

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12 hours ago, SFC Snuffy said:

Thanks guys, really. I can objectively say "it isn't terrible" while being subjectively disappointed that it didn't come out the way that I wanted it to, it took me longer and more heats than it should have, etc. etc.

That's a common feeling. No matter how good you get your eye will always see the "flaws" first. There is always something you could've done better. S'all normal.

Welcome to the club. :ph34r:

Frosty The Lucky.

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On 6/12/2018 at 7:54 PM, Daswulf said:

Today i had a menacing pine tree cut down so now im working on getting that cleaned up on top of needing to organize stuff on my new shelving In the shop. " when it rains it pours with things needing done."

Das, I have to ask … is that a deer under the tree in your first pic? Real or one of your creations?

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Concrete is a bad arcery target. ;) poor thing needs some help which i eventually plan to do. Got some concrete repair stuff to reattach the tail and redo the ears. Then itll need painted. 

Right now im in the long and painful organizing of stuff on my shelving. Itll be a work in progress but darn if i dont need more shop space to work. Its a slow go and I'm sure it will even need reorganized after but i gatta get a start. 

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Finished the split-rein tongs I’d started last week. Not entirely happy with them, as I changed my mind about their purpose halfway through fitting the jaws*, and they came out very uneven. Well, hopefully they’ll work, even if they don’t look pretty.

Also made a doghead hammer from a piece of jackhammer bit. It looks like it’s canted a bit to the side of the long axis, but I am hoping that I can tweak that through grinding the face and fitting the handle. 

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* From basic flat-jaw to chainmaker’s. 

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Pretty light: 18.5 oz. No real plans for its use yet, other than wanting to see what it’s like to use a doghead. I had the chunk of jackhammer bit (left over from making a hot-cut hardy and the long rounding hammer) and thought I’d give it a try. (Hammer making = fun!)

Part of the problem with making the tongs (and this is for you youngsters to learn from my mistakes) was that I’d used up a lot of my forge time on the hammer and was rushing to finish these in the time left. I really should have left them for another session, when I could have  been more thoughtful and methodical. 

I guess it’s a sign of progress that although I’m not happy with them, they’re still functional and nothing got burned in the fire. 

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got 2 forges ready to go, one collected by a customer and one being posted tomorrow, need to make more as another is going sometime this week and a large custom one on monday or tuesday.

made up some baskets from a 4" disc and 6 strips as components for wine glass and bottle holders ready for an event ( 2 small pony shoes open outwards to put glasses in and a larger shoe with the basket for a bottle fitted on a stake about 3' tall, stick in the lawn between a couple of chairs ).

next event is at a farm and the owner is into horses, it is a land rover event so they should be popular

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Made some tong/hardy/hammer-racks to attach to the rising up (wooden blocks) mobile anvil stand.

Finished the cast bronze/brass anvils (removing the cast left overs en wire brushed them).

Forged out a jack hammer chisel an a conventional one.

After forging out the conventional chisel, I tried to heat treat them and quench them straight from the gas forge, which results in a (second) disaster. The heat effected zone of the chisel coming straight from the gas forge was too big for conventional treatment (heat up the cutting part – pre quench them – using the ‘rest’ heat to normalize the working edge with a final cool down after it).

So I will went back to the traditional manor on the coal forge how allow a better (partitioned heat input) to the (to harden) cutting edge of the chisels. = lesson learned.

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