jlpservicesinc Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Inspirational JHCC. Always on the go. Love the cutoff also. Motor? Specs? Are you cutting with a grinding disk? Was that the failure you had the other day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 The disk failure came while I was cutting up the rack. I don't yet have a motor for the cutoff, which was one reason it was so cheap ($14.40). I'm thinking about how I want to set it up, and I'm probably going to start another thread about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 33 minutes ago, JHCC said: I'm probably going to start another thread about that. And here it is: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 John: Next time you want to cut up something made of tubing how about using a SawzAll? I have a Portercable Tigersaw, even uses the same blades. I see SawzAlls at the surplus site all the time, the battery driven ones are a gamble but an inverter so you can run a 120v AC saw isn't expensive and you see them surplused now and then too. Thinking about it just now you see trailers of all kinds some pretty small, ATV hauler size. No reason not to have shop shelving indoors and out made up from flow racks, heck make a garage you can roll over the trailer. Hmmm? I went through a similar spate of build ideas in the day it cost more to ship ATV crate frames back to the importer than they were worth. The dealer would stack them outside the fence next to the dumpster so I stopped in and loaded pickup beds full till I got tired of lifting the things. Lots of darned handy light wall square and rectangular tubing. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 One chandelier is ready, the second remains to be painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker77 Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Alexandr, you are both a wonder and a curse. I showed images of some of your work to my wife, and she said "Why don't you do things like that out in your shop, honey?". Sheesh. I have no words to describe how amazing your work is. A treat for the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 4 minutes ago, picker77 said: A treat for the eyes. Thanks buddy. A short video. I don’t know if there is music or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Alexandr: As always, lovely, lovely work. I do have 2 questions: (1) are the chains commercially manufactured or are they the product of your shop? (2) how is the chandelier wired? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Alexandr wonderful work as always. I am amazed every time you show us your work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandr Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 37 minutes ago, George N. M. said: are the chains commercially manufactured or are they the product of your shop? (2) how is the chandelier wired? I buy chains. I install electricity myself. эл-во3.MOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Alexandr, Thank you. That helps to understand the construction. The wiring appears to be almost as complex as the iron work. It is very well hidden. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn II Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Made a back scratcher from a RR spike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 thats cool. How long did the shaft come out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Neat back scratcher. I've done a couple by hand but it's hard work drawing them out. Power hammer?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Aus, funny you say this. We are blacksmiths after all and swinging a hammer is what we do... Using proper technique makes this pretty easy to do. As easy as a power hammer, certainly not. But, with experience larger pieces of stock get easier to forge. When I first started 1/2" was tough, this migrated to 5/8" and 3/4 " is the change point I find for most.. Now 1" or a combined measurement that equals 1" is pretty easy. Point is experience plays in and people should keep that in mind. Getting good at smaller sizes of stock forging can pay off as time and skills gets applied to larger sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Even funnier, Jennifer. I was watching one of your videos yesterday and I was telling my husband how you work such large pieces of stock by hand and make it look pretty easy. I have several 2 ft. 1/2" pieces of round stock that I haven't really touched much. I used some just to practice skills on last weekend. It's not the easiest, but then it gave me the idea to make some hangers for my gate posts to hang lights from. I made two nearly matching pieces. Need to tweak them a little and finish them up. Anyway, as I've been working these pieces, I was adjusting from one heat to another and learned quite a bit in the process. And my swing was improving and getting harder as I went. I was thinking after this, smaller stock may seem like a breeze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 CGL, That for sure is some wise words.. Keep at it and you are correct after the 1/2" the smaller sizes will seem easier and more manageable. . Every once in awhile it's a great idea to pull out a larger size stock and spend some good amount of time with it. 1hr, 2hrs what ever you feel comfortable doing.. then take the rest of the day off and work some smaller stock the next day or two giving yourself enough time to heal and process what that size stock was like. 3/4" as I pointed out is the ( marginal way).. it will be tough as a secret that needs telling. I found 3/4" tough for maybe 7 years. Of course I started when I was 8.. LOL.. Even then I would try other things to avoid forging such heavy stock. Tongs is what got me to work with it on a regular basis. 3/4"Sq is the standard flat jaw tong stock. One other thing I wanted to mention. Is, Don't just pick easy shapes after a 3 or 4 times on the heavier stock. Pick something that actually takes some thinking to make. Pull out an ear, or do a T or something like that. A fork, spoon, ladle. something that will test your metal (chuckle, chuckle) but one can put down and pick it back up later to work on again. By the way 1/4x3/4 or 1/4X1" is considered my most hardware smiths to be the main sized material for nearly all forks, spoon, ladles, and a good majority of thumblatches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Well, I'm a lot older than 8 for sure I spent about 4 hours working on that stuff the other day and I could sure tell it afterwards. I wish I could get out there more often than I do to stay in better shape. I found more 1/2" that I didn't realize I had in my scrap pile, so more practice. I will take your advice and go for more varied shapes also. The first pieces I practiced squaring, rounding, scrolling, tapering, twisting, flattening and spreading. And hammer swing and control. It was a good day in the shop for a change. And I will continue to do so. I do have larger stock, and I'll work my way up to that but am in no big hurry. Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it as I'm sure many others do as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 The better your hand hammer techniques are will be of great benefit when you come to use a powerhammer. Many go the powerham before understanding how the metal reacts under a hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 True words John, well said. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn II Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Ausfire, no power hammer here. All hand drawn. It's nearly down to 1/4" in the shaft, left a little more meat on the handle area. Overall length is about 14". I usually carry a tape measure on my pocket, so I stretched it out a bit and reached over my back. 14" seemed to hit all the hard to reach areas. I have a few friends who work for the RR, so I was looking for trading stock to get a few more spikes. Here's a better pic of the Business End of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 John B, I think when you are new to the craft, you don't realize how important it is to understand how the metal moves and how to make it move. You just get focused on making a thing, whatever it may be. And that becomes your goal. I just recently really came to think this way myself, so I'm definitely not speaking for anyone else. If I don't actually make or complete a specific project for awhile, I'm ok with that. I want to really learn the process and understand it. Hope all that makes sense. I've never even been around a power hammer, but I can imagine it would be much more effective if you know how to move the metal to begin with. Thanks for that piece of wisdom. Glenn II, nice job drawing that spike out like that. I have several of those and haven't even attempted to do anything with them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Working on some wood branding irons. Not pictured is a deer hoof print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 I managed to get 800mm out of a 5/8" rail spike by hand, but it was hard work and I don't really know why I did it. The back scratcher in this photo is about 500mm long. Not as elegant as Glenn's. but it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn II Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Elegant is hardly the word which I would use to describe it, but I thank you Ausfire and humbly accept your compliment. Also I screenshot your pic of RR spike builds. I can do/make plenty of things, but lack the much of the creativity during the design phase of a project. I'm not really the "idea man" on a project. Sometimes I start with a planned project in mind, other times I light the forge, heat some metal, and wait to see what developes. Sometimes I tell the metal what to do, and sometimes I listen as it tells me what it wants to do. Sometimes I tell the metal where to go, other times I follow as it leads me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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