Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Had a frustrating day. A member of our club (BOA) made a nifty little pair of scrolling tongs out of a horse shoe last month. He was gracious enough to let us take them home to try and duplicate them. He did say that the sides have to be mirrored for them to look right. All the scrolling tongs we have are regular sized with large jaws so I thought it would be neat to have a pair with small bits for tight scrolls, I can tell you that making mirrored sides is a lot harder than it sounds, after so many years making tongs with both sides identical to each other. Here are his tongs. The first thing I ran into was, I didn't have any horse shoes large enough to make them just like his. All the shoes I had were too small. I found one that was new and a lot thicker than used shoes but narrower. So I figured there was enough material to draw them out. I cut them in half and drew out the jaws. So far so good but to make a long story short, that was the last good part, realizing I didn't have enough material for the reigns I decided to draw them out. So much for them looking like a horse shoe after drawing enough for the reigns. Still all in all it was a good day even if my tongs wound up a little wonky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 No smithing but still related, I did some cleaning in the shop and made a holder for my punches and chisels. I don't have that many yet, but I was a bit tired of them lying around on the table mixed with other tools and pieces. I just used some wood scraps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Made some new hammer-making tools: an eye punch from a jackhammer bit (possibly S7; it’s certainly air-hardening) and a drift from one end of an old pickax. Quickly punched an eye in a two pound (+/-) 4140 blank I had sitting around, and they worked pretty well. Also made the blade and roughed out the handle for a new higonokami, from some mystery high-carbon steel and wrought iron respectively (photos later). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gongo Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 I made my first attempt at a fire poker, also my first try at a pineapple twist. My hammering skills need some work and I regret mig welding the rail spike on but I'll do better next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 I wouldn't call that a first ATTEMPT, it looks just like a fire poker with a pretty darn nice pineapple twist handle from here. How do you think your mig welder feels knowing you regret your time together? I'm a compassionate guy and will happily comfort it with some well deserved attention. I'll PM my shipping info soonest. She deserves better, have a heart will you? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Arthur 210, Nice design and good job. Practical tool for sure. Salut, SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 1 hour ago, JHCC said: (photos later) As promised: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 On 4/6/2019 at 9:53 PM, SLAG said: Nice design and good job. Practical tool for sure. Thanks SLAG! Au plaisir, Arthur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Made my first horse head. Its a little long in the face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 10 hours ago, JHCC said: As promised: Addendum: just realized looking at this photo that I forgot to drill the pivot hole before I hardened the blade. Well, I wasn’t thrilled about the temper anyway, so I’m happy to anneal, drill, re-harden, and re-temper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gongo Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 12 hours ago, Frosty said: How do you think your mig welder feels knowing you regret your time together? It's a good machine, it's the operator that's the problem... lol I dont think my crappy homemade burner gets hot enough to forge weld, I'm looking at starting over from scratch to make a better forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 15 hours ago, Rojo Pedro said: Made my first horse head. Its a little long in the face Very nice Rojo Pedro! That horse looks happy. Me, I made a spring fuller this morning. The body is 1.5" by 3/16" mild steel and the jaws are pieces of a J-shaped rail anchor. I cut a slot in the mild to insert the jaws then mig-welded them in place. I don't see it coming apart any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Started work on a pair of pick-up tongs (for getting stuff out of the gas forge) and a new hot set for the treadle hammer, plus (re-)annealed the higanokami blade so that I can drill the hole for the pivot and tweaked the WI handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 And did the drilling and shaped the handle. Ready for heat treatment and finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris J Dixon Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Salvaged some steel from a bed frame. Some nice sheet metal and a few pieces of perforated sheet as well as 2 - 44” pieces of angle. Started making JHCC’s bed rail bolt tongs. Will post progress and pics on that thread. Made a fire striker quenched in water from a piece of the angle too. It sparked nice on the grinder but I forgot to take a picture. Maybe will post results in a fire striker thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Lit up the forge for a little 2 hours tonight and practiced making leaves. Got to use my new spring fuller (about 4 messages back) and it works well. They are not fully finished, as the other end will be a hook. I just did a bit of filing to even out the shape and a light wire brushing by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 They look really nice Arthur. Like your spring fuller do you? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Working to get stock made for a big sales event for me. Got 7 roses started and working on some spiders. It is "freaky fair" after all. I'd hate to not have enough spiders. also finished up some tealight candle holders. Arthur, you could make spoons very similar. Nice work. Hmm... leaf spoons... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 How about a miniature spider inside a rose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 I'm just not that good with the tig yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Wow, I'm getting worn out just looking at all the work.. Way to go.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur210 Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 9 hours ago, Frosty said: They look really nice Arthur. Like your spring fuller do you? Indeed I do. No need for me to grow a third hand now. 9 hours ago, Daswulf said: Arthur, you could make spoons very similar. Nice work. Hmm... leaf spoons... I could do that. Would be fun. But I wonder what kind of treatment should I put on my steel, or what kind of steel should I use, so that they would be food safe and not rust? Beeswax? Stainless steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Beeswax is a good food-safe choice. Rub your piece with a lump of beeswax while it’s still warm from the forge, about the same as a hot cup of coffee. It should just barely melt and run over the surface; if it smokes, it’s too hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Stainless steel would be a good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 Titanium! (CP1 or CP2 not the Al Vanadium alloys) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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