What did you do in the shop today?

[Cedar Crest Forge]

7 hours ago, ClassicGrimey said:

I just need to get a different blower my hair dryer is on its last legs 

As a suggestion, search your favorite marketplace for a "squirrel cage blower" , maybe you can find a nice baldor. I found a few from a local surplus store,  for 10$ each, a while ago. They said they were from an old mainframe. I had to add wire with a 110v plug, but that was easy enough. 

They are quiet compared to a hair dryer!

[Cedar Crest Forge]

20 hours ago, anvil said:

Nice. A set of bending forks and a scrolling wrench is the quickest way to unwind a coil spring.

Or for the brave, heat up most of the spring , drop it onto a secured mandrel,, and use an electric winch until it is almost unraveled. I have never tried this, but it sounds like fun, and perhaps a bit dangerous  I would not want to be standing anywhere near the winch.

[ausfire]

Sounds like fun for sure, but I don't think the safety police would like that idea!!

[jlpservicesinc]

A comealong winch will work though slower than the electric brotheren. 

[BillyBones]

Das, i used to work flat rate but in the past couple years buisiness has slowed down so much i would starve now.

I have found a couple smiths on the youtube that i watch. John over at the Black Bear forge was the first sub i ever made on the youtube. I like his teaching. I also like Roy over at Christ Centered Ironworks, although some find him kind of condescending and my way or the highway type, i think he gives a lot of good info. The great thing about the youtube is most of the time you will learn what not to do. 

Cannon, love those bracelets. Me and the old lady are huge Reds fans. 

[pnut]

BillyBones, I'm a Reds fan also. You gotta be a glutton for punishment to love the Reds. The life of a Reds fan can be rough. 

I don't personally know the guy from Christ centered ironworks but I can look past the foibles you pointed out because he does good work. I seen a video by Josh Greenwood from Greenwood ironworks that explained holding a hammer correctly better than any other I'd seen iirc it is called a beginner. It's a few minutes into it but I found it the easiest to understand explanation of proper hammer technique so far.

Pnut (Mike)

Cannoncocker that's a pretty simple stitch to learn If your wife would rather stitch white leather instead of skinning baseballs. 

[Ben Hoover]

Today I fought the rust monster with a wire wheel and boiled linseed oil. I think I did okay.

 

 

[Frosty]

I watched the beginner's video from Greenwood Ironworks. He teaches essentially the same hammer grip as I do. The talk is slightly different but basically the same.

I don't like a gloves unless necessary, especially on the hammer hand, it's another level of disconnect between the smith and work. I have to wear a glove on my holding / tong hand as I run propane forge and it heats farther out from the fire and reaching into the dragon's breath isn't recommended procedure. Heck, just the IR from an open door can toast you quickly. 

Punches and chisels want a glove to shield you from IR as well, a pair of chisel tongs is good, it lets you use shorter tooling so you are't striking so far out of position as long tooling. (chisels and punches)

The hammer hand gloves are the only issue I have with the video. I approve in whole. I haven't watched other videos though so I can't comment. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[jlpservicesinc]

I've met the gentleman. Was a pleasure talking with him about hammering and striking and methods.  Funny how things work for each person. 

[pnut]

Frosty, I wasn't a fan of the gloved hammer hand either but seeing what was meant was much easier for me to get than reading it. seeing it I knew exactly how to do it. Reading about it I thought I knew how to do it.

Pnut (Mike)

[Frosty]

Wearing a glove on the hammer hand isn't anything serious.  I think it's a good learning video.

I'm not paraphrasing from the old books, say, "I'm sure other methods are adequate for their purposes but once you try mine you'll find it the superior." 

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

I think a glove on my hammer hand is uncomfortable. In the video it made it harder to see the hammer pivot between his thumb and index finger.

Pnut (Mike)

[jlpservicesinc]

Just about all the old blacksmithing journals had articles submitted for publication by smiths with ideas and each one I think made that very same statement. 

I personally have given up on trying to make anyone see or think differently.  One of the largest factors in this and I think I have pointed it out before. 

I can be asked pretty much right there on the spot how to forge something or how to make an item happen... With little, if

any fanfare as long as there is a minimal amount of tooling (forge, anvil, hammer, vise)  I simply make it.    

If someone gets something from this or not is outside of my control.  One simply presents the information to a group or individual and then it takes on a life of it's own. 

Agree or disagree I no longer really care as once it's seen in action it all speaks for itself.  People will take away exactly what they are supposed to. 

Talent and hard work go hand in hand for some.  Understanding of talent, knowledge and application coming together is ideal for most. 

as a note.  A hammer has no bounce when the metal is soft.  As the metal hardens up (cools) is when rebound comes more and more into play.  If done correctly a heat can last for minutes if forged quickly at the higher heat and then burnishing applied as the item cools./

 

[ThomasPowers]

Actually I do find a glove on the hammer hand an issue.  When you wear a glove you tend to have to hold tighter which tends to mess up your arm over time as the tight tendons transmit the shock to the ligaments.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

That's been my experience also, with blacksmith elbow when using a glove, along with the seams in most gloves tend to cause blisters for me.

[BillyBones]

I think there is something in the Bible about the glove. I aint no Bible scholar but i seem to remember:

"To every thing there is a time

a time to be gloved

and a time to be bare. "

Seriously though, my neighbor came over today and asked if i could show him how to make a knife. To which i said i am not a bladesmith but i will show you what i know. I gave him a piece of coil spring, a set of tongs, a hammer,  and said here ya go. The only real problem i saw, besides hammer control, was not standing straight. I showed him how to punch a hole also (4 tries and he got the hole through) but for never putting hot metal to an anvil i think he did pretty well. 

 

The plunge is not as deep as it looks and can be easily corrected. There is also going to be a weak spot on his hole obviously. But all in all not bad in my opinion. His old lady come and took him home so we will finish the grind and heat treat later. 

[Frosty]

4 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Just about all the old blacksmithing journals had articles submitted for publication by smiths with ideas and each one I think made that very same statement. 

Or very much like it, it was a thing of the times. 

The only time I'm pretty serious about right wrong way is where safety is concerned. I can't step through the portal and save them from themselves like it was my shop but I WILL say something. If someone gets their knickers in a wad about it tough. I want to look at myself in the mirror and know I didn't let someone get hurt because I didn't warn them by not wanting to hurt their feelings or bruise their ego. I'd rather have you glare at me angrily with both eyes.

I stopped trying very hard to teach, I show them, answer  and kibitz when they try while making sure they don't hurt themselves too badly. 

[Cannon Cocker]

12 hours ago, pnut said:

Cannoncocker that's a pretty simple stitch to learn If your wife would rather stitch white leather instead of skinning baseballs. 

That's a decent idea pnut. However, these bracelets are for the moms on our son's baseball team. They are made from old balls the team has used so there is a connection to them.     She also feels that even if she was selling them the fact that they used to be baseballs is important. 

[pnut]

9 minutes ago, Cannon Cocker said:

She also feels that even if she was selling them the fact that they used to be baseballs is important. 

Makes sense. People do love things that used to be other things. That's why people buy RRspike knives and wrench bottle openers ;-)

Pnut (Mike)

[JHCC]

Especially when there’s a personal connection. 

[ThomasPowers]

Recycling is a good thing.

[Pr3ssure]

Forged a wall hook today. The top twist went a little tight. I brass brushed it also. 

[Cannon Cocker]

How are you planning on attaching that hook to the wall?

[gaswizard]

Finished making a witches hat out of 304 stainless steel for the Marin Civic Center dome. This was made to protect the new rubberized roof coating from safety cable/ropes from rubbing through at the top of the dome.  Install later this week.

 

[John B]

38 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Recycling is a good thing.

I don't like gloves, so I use a leather palm protector

               

 

Cut off (fillet) the wrist protector portion and put a slit in it for your hand to pass through.

   

 

Left or Right Hand