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I Forge Iron

What did you do in the shop today?


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6 hours ago, JHCC said:

Great example of using the appropriate technology for that job: plasma cutting for speed and precision, and chasing and forging where the pleasing irregularities of hand work will show to best advantage. 

Thank you.

Found some pics of the blanks as they come from Rich.  Very neat and clean, and perfectly matched to the next.

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4 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Very nice indeed Vaughn T..  Great processing of the product to what you want.. 

Thank you.

I had thought to just use the chased lines as guides for making deeper lines when the part was hot, but thought I'd keep this one as simple as possible.  Doing the chasing while cold makes it a lot easier to handle things, placing the lines exactly where I want them without worrying about double-stamping, missing the mark, etc.

I found that chasing a deep groove at the base of the little leaf made them a lot easier to bend when hot, and made the overall curl far more natural because you didn't have a flat start in things.  I was almost worried I might snap them off if I worked them to a black heat, so I kept things nice and toasty!

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I've had the world's worst luck with acquiring a fly press.  Twice someone has said they had one they'd part with for a decent price... and then they simply stop communicating.  Even went so far as to email with a company in England that sells used fly presses and has that right in the name of their website.  A few emails back and forth... and then nothing.  I'm looking to spend two grand with the guy, and he just drops off the radar.

One might almost think I'm being given a sign from above!  

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Another rosette finished.  I wasn't sure where I was going with this, so I decided to keep it simple.

Just 2" square, they're a great size for a whole slew of projects!

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The blanks are better than an 1/8" thick I'm sure.  Maybe .130" -- I forgot to measure them when I was in the shop.  The nice thing about all that metal is that you can really work it to create a lot of depth to the pieces. 

 

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Not much end to what I Could do. :) 

I got an old typewriter hanging around the shop and have been thinking how the type parts might make good little insect legs. Tonight I started breaking it down, then started thinking about making a more life size praying mantis. Well its not going exact but is coming along. 

Man is the small stuff hard to work.

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Nice idea for the mantis, Das. I can see where you're going with the typewriter keys. I remember using some keys from an old shop till for the skirt of a ballet dancer sculpture. As you say, horrible things to weld and you have to beware of the plating on some of that stuff. Can't recall if I posted a pic of her, so ...

 

 

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Those are some nice old keys Aus. Years before I started making scrap art I sold some old typewriters at the fleamarket with nice keys like that. The lady that bought them told me after she purchased them that she makes jewelry from the key parts. 

The actual key parts on this typewriter I scrapped out aren't that nice. 

I remember your dancing girl. She inspired me to make one. :) great use for old bolt cutter handles. 

 

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Pop rivets look good in certain applications. It's all about what it is and the aesthetics. In most things I'll agree tho.

If I was to go full blown crazy like I had time on my hands or something I would drill tap and use screws to attach parts. I think I'll just attempt to use the TIG welder on this one tho. 

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Chuck, the twist looks like it'd be sharp as a handle.  Try hammering the edges a bit before twisting.

Nice crosses Rocketman. I like the texturing. 

 

I got the mantis done "enough" today. 

Those typewriter parts are higher carbon steel, seem hardened a bit and a pain to work with. Made several little mistakes on this, and on something little, little mistakes are big, some I just let go. But I think it turned out "good enough" for my first miserable attempt with some small typewriter parts.  

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Two failures in a row. The hammer billet with the twists split when punching the eye. Next was a layered billet that split when I was nearly done forging. I’ve learned that there are no shortcuts when fooling with damascus. Once I get done licking my wounds I’ll give it another go. 

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