jlpservicesinc Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Today was another demo day.. Started out not wanting to be there as I was looking at making a thumblatch which I really didn't want to make.. I finished up a trivet I started last night and then one of my martial arts students showed up so I put him to work swinging sledge for the first time so I could finish the WI hammer.. It started out with the newly made top fuller breaking (my fault as I miss read the material) which was put into the scrap bin but was actually W1.. When I forged the heel of the fuller it was still orange when I threw it in the water bucket.. I thought it was completely mild steel.. So only with only half the face of the fuller proceeded to get it forged to shape.. Trivet wasn't as clean as I like but it suffered from redesign at 7:30pm in the dark last night and pulled it back together.. Also the last batch of coal I used was so dirty.. Clinker every 5 minutes... So even with a hand wire brush and Butcher block brush I still couldn't get rid of the snot stuck to the sides.. Still have maybe 15-20min more to finish the filing on the hammer head.. Then I'll stamp it with weight and harden it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMike Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 found a 6 pound sledge in the garden a couple years ago. previous owner I'm guessing. rusted and the handle rotted away. a chip on one face. Decided to clean it up and make it into a sort of dog head. Now weighs in at 4.5 lbs. made a slab type handle out of some ash I had around. all rubbed down with boiled linseed. Once I got to working on it, I noted the brand mark. hks. anyone know that mark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Did a couple of leaf keyrings from 6mm stainless. Much harder work than mild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Das, nice.. cleaned up well.. I usually don't like to work with stainless as removing the scale is a pain in the bum.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Jennifer, do you have a preferred method for removing scale? I wanted to use stainless for keyrings as they are often prone to rust from clammy hands. Not sure if it's worth the extra hammer time though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Acid and a special caustic solution were the original way of doing it.. It was both costly and inefficient.. I then tried tumbler to break up the most of the scale and this was more effective once put into the chemicals.. A person I knew used an electric passivization bath after a tumble and his stuff was used for scuba diving and it worked flawlessly but he was doing mainly cold work with tig welding on the pieces.. Tig welding raises the carbon to the surface so his method worked perfectly.. and his stainless never rusted.. I still have some of his pieces that are 30 years old and look brand new.. I never did get just how his system worked but his was safe enough to stick your hand in when the power was off in the tank.. He had an anode and cathode in the solution powered by a transformer.. He has since passed away or I'd gotten more info.. The chemicals I used to use were really that bad.. chem gloves and a respirator were a requirement as was a face shield.. I got them from a welding supplier that specialized in food safe welding prep.. I still have the stuff somewhere so if you really want the info I will try to locate it.. It ate the scale and left a funky color/texture that would have to be buffed out.. The passivaition tank the guy used the parts only needed to be rinsed in the sink and were of a polished surface.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Reforged a ball peen hammer head into a diagonal peen, made a flux spoon, and banged out some letter openers (which still need a little cleanup and finishing) for some friend/customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zrognak Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 jlpservicesinc: really cool, good work with everything, im a bit envious of your portable forge there. But everything looks really well forged on the table there, im unsure what one thing is though, what is the thing with legs and a pan like thing to the far right next to the hinges? ausfire: those look really clean good stuff, never made a leaf in my life so dont know how it is done, i think it is cool I would wear one on my keychain for sure hope you get to sell a lot. So this might not be blacksmithing 100% but related to it, Finished my vax carving tools and made a box for it, also made new file handles for some files I had no handles for, made from spalted birch (stabilized) and beech wood, I for one love spalted birch I don't have many types of wood here in the northern part of Sweden but I hear spalted maple looks good but never seen it in person. Reason this post is partially blacksmithing is cause the small tools are forged (painfully since they are so small) and the files are I guess metal related ha ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Also hardened and tempered the side-cut hardy I made the other day and put a new handle on a round fuller for the treadle hammer: And finally, mounted the supports for the forge’s smokestack to my old wheeled hammer rack, which makes it much easier to set up and tear down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Ground and hafted the diagonal peen hammer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 3 hours ago, Zrognak said: jlpservicesinc: really cool, good work with everything, im a bit envious of your portable forge there. But everything looks really well forged on the table there, im unsure what one thing is though, what is the thing with legs and a pan like thing to the far right next to the hinges? Thanks, The portable shop is amazing.. That is a camp fire trivet which is collapsible and is designed so it will hold/support different sized pans/pots.. I had it narrowed for that pan as a show and tell when someone asked about it.. It was made in response to someone whom was saying a Trivet wouldn't be possible without a welder or forge weld or extensive equipment.. . There is a thread on here somewhere.. Forge, anvil, hammer, vise and tongs is all that was used.. Nice job on all the handles.. JHCC.. A straight cut hardie is very handy for many, many cuts.. Now that you have one you will wonder what you did before it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Just want to say, lots of nice work I'm seeing here, even if I'm a bit busy to comment individually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Jennifer - Thanks for the info on cleaning stainless. Appreciate your comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zrognak Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 15 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: That is a camp fire trivet. Oh I see that makes sense now, that is really cool thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Richter Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Jennifer, really like your trailer -followed the restoration/pimping threat. This is a vehicle made for eternity. Also not surprised about the weight. Wish you many lucrative fairs and safe miles on the road. Btw also (as usual) great stuff displayed on the both table. Cheers, Hans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Last couple of days, between the thunderstorms, we got in a little forge time. My wife wants to make a staff with a socket wishbone on the top. She started with a piece of 1 1/2 by 3/8 inch stock. She has never used our Star 30 pound hammer, but has used a BigBlu 155 hammer. After some instruction on the care & feeding of a mechanical hammer she took to it like a duck takes to water, drawing out the socket portion in short order. She was amazed that the Star runs at 126bpm and she could control it well. This morning I decided to make a better spring fuller out of a scrap piece of hay rake. It's pretty stiff so I left the top long to use as a handle to open it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwilson645 Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 I haven't posted in a while but have been lurking. Recently finished our gas forge and got to play with it some yesterday. My wife needed some single bottle wine holders for a display and couldn't find any to buy so that gave me an opportunity to play. Whipped up 3 of these yesterday and have 7 more to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Thanks Guys.. And Hammers done.. 2 3/4lbs little over 3lbs with handle.. face 1.75 X 1.625", peen 1.625" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajajoaquin Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 On 8/19/2018 at 4:19 AM, ausfire said: Jennifer, do you have a preferred method for removing scale? I wanted to use stainless for keyrings as they are often prone to rust from clammy hands. Not sure if it's worth the extra hammer time though. I haven’t found that rusty key fobs are an issue. The first mild steel leaf I made years ago is actually polished up even nicer now. It gets polished every day it rattles around in my wife’s purse. The stainless leaves I make are typically used for gate latch pulls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Buddy of mine wants a hook to help carry Minn kota trolling motors at a tackle shop for repairs. Only stipulations were 4" id hooks and 3" spread on the hooks, and 20 something" long. He would insist on doing any clean up. I did a tad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Nothing ground breaking here, but I got tired of using my porta band by hand because ive needed to use it like a regular band saw to cut plate. I keep nearly buying the Swag Off-road Portland table because it is awesome and I hate to waste the time making my own. My frugal nature didn’t allow me to buy one...but my unwillingness to fabricate a whole table impeded progress in the shop. The two prediLections gave birth to this idea. A 3” plate cutting table and my post vise that fits the saw perfectly. it works like a dream, still works b6 hand, and still packs away in its container when I’m done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I really need to make that since my thoughts are exactly the same on the matter. So many split crosses to make, ugh.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Taking the measurements from the existing bar, guesstimating the dimensions, and then making the small cutting table took maybe 20 minutes. I had it up and running so fast that you couldn’t wipe the grin from my face as I cut my first piece on it. But of a pain fining the right clamp to hold down the trigger...probably the only “darnnit” moment. Just do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 You mean you didn't hook it to a foot switch and just hose clamp the trigger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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