Jump to content
I Forge Iron

What did you do in the shop today?


Recommended Posts

Actually it is mechanical engineering, but I have been teaching manufacturing engineering technology for 29 years. Started out with an associate in machine tool processes, worked at various machining jobs, then went back to school and went into teaching. Been around lathes, mills, grinders most of my life. Always had an interest in blacksmithing. My wife kept suggesting take a blacksmith class. Finally did a few years ago and here I am learning and doing blacksmithing as my newest hobby.

I was trying think of a name for my forge. Thought about using the PHD, it could be taken as “Pound Harder Darn it”

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 26.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • JHCC

    3106

  • ThomasPowers

    1935

  • Daswulf

    1639

  • Frosty

    1610

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Gee I love a good typo! Judging by your last post you could call your shop, "Ditto Forge".:lol:

I grew up in a metal spinning and machine shop. I got into blacksmithing to escape from crazy close tolerances. CNC? Dad retired years before CNC was anything but cutting edge, I have a lot of his instrumentation, what wasn't stolen that is. 

Even as an escapist hobby the hardest thing from my machine shop time was learning appropriate tolerances. When you learned to read vernier calipers before you could read, it's hard to just eyeball things. Heck we built the house to +/- 1/64" :rolleyes:

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Frosty - thanks for the thumb rule.  The rivets that came with the tong set are 1/4" with a 13/32" head on the prefinished side.  Since I was finishing them flat on the anvil while peining the unfinished side, (while being very careful to keep both tong halves flat together) I can see where both sides are more like 7/16" now.  I'll pay more attention on the next set I put together.

Dragon, that's a nice batch of setters!  I had in mind to make some of different sizes as I go along.  I saw how much things like this sell for and I can't imagine paying that for things I can make so easily (one way or another).

Thanks to all for the tips and help!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, PHDforge said:

I was trying think of a name for my forge. Thought about using the PHD, it could be taken as “Pound Harder Darn it”

Just pounding hard can create more problems than it solves. I'd suggest "Pound Hard Delicately".

Where in NH? I lived there until I was ten and still get up that way for business on occasion. Have you connected with the New England Blacksmiths (local ABANA affiliate) yet? Great bunch of folks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got back into a machine shop last year, i got laid off a few years back and then spent many a year rebuilding transmissions. One thing i enjoy about smithing is the break from being precise. Yup, close enough, it works, gives the old noggin some time to unwind from .001" is way to far off. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Had some time in the work shop to finally got around to finishing this thing for the workshop.... So far I made drawing and flattening dies as well as one for starting finger grooves in blades. (ok... the handles actually, not the blade...)

Still want to make a set that is tapered on one side to help keep things even if I'm trying to draw down for a hidden tang or something.
I still need to weld the key stock on the end of it for the hardy hole, but I wanted to tack it in place just in case it was off a little bit. My little Vulcan sloped towards the horn quite a bit. This will be the first hardy tool I've made for the Trenton and want to make sure it sits flat on the face.

Probably going to weld some square stock on the top dies for a striking face also.

 

20210610_142701_resized.thumb.jpg.eb028b5e4d6ad3290b897962648f6518.jpg

20210610_142713_resized.thumb.jpg.23ec80e9e8f4889a27536084a1a9eef2.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Who was it that said 90 was a good warm temp?  I have a few words for them.  I continued to work on my new bench for the grinder and really just trying to get back into the woodwork mindset as well.   I would have gotten farther along but I am, apparently, the neighbor you ask when you don't know how to do something or have the tools.   And I just got here in December. 

 

Anyway here's where I'm at.... not great but I could dance a jig on the frame. 

20210610_193826.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, M.J.Lampert said:

can you share dimensions

I used scrap pieces from work and made it up as I went, but sure. The sides and bottom are 1x2 inch solid bar. The side pieces are 6 inches long with a slot milled in them. I used a half inch mill and went 10 thousandths either side to allow the half inch plates to slide. I think I went 300 thousandths deep.

The plates were just leftover 1/2 x 3 flat stock pieces. The round stock on the drawing dies is 1 and 5/8ish. It's from our matcon feeders and I can't recall the exact diameter at the moment. I just cut them to fit inside which made them about 2 and 3/8 inches, and milled a flat to center them better when welding them to the plates.  The flatter pieces are just more of the 1x2 cut to 2 and 3/8 long.  The forming bottom die just has a piece of 1/2 inch ground and polished welded onto it.

The bottom piece was just cut to fit. (Roughly 5 inches long.) After welding the sides in place I slid all the pieces together and tacked them in place so I could keep them all centered and even. Hence all the arc marks. Scratch start TIG likes to jump when you pull it off fast and not really paying attention....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, alexandr said:

Final work. Polished the countertop. 

Beautiful piece.  It almost looks as if the wood pieces are floating or embedded in ice.  Have you done any videos of yourself working?  I wouldn’t be able to understand anything you said, but most of the time that doesn’t matter. JLP never really said a word in her earliest videos, or not the blacksmithing videos. She did have a ninja video which was pretty early in which she spoke. 
 

Mod, Can you delete the video I pasted in the quote. I was able to remove the photos, but couldn’t work out how to delete the video. 

Edited by Mod34
Video deleted
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A friend gave me some 20 lb sash weights a few weeks ago, and I decided to lash them to the legs of my RR track student anvil to give it a bit more mass. I’ve got a student coming over on Sunday, and we’ll see how it goes. 

744966C1-6870-41E5-BDD4-9303B83EF0D7.jpeg

A7FBAB5D-ACF8-4D21-B915-0781EE0D39D4.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, sfeile said:

 After welding the sides in place I slid all the pieces together and tacked them in place so I could keep them all centered and even. Hence all the arc marks. Scratch start TIG likes to jump when you pull it off fast and not really paying attention....

thanks i never saw the arc marks till you mentioned it mine will be done with either .035 or .040 wire

or 1/8 7018 rod (i was given an almost full box and have tried 1 rod)

M.J.Lampert

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got till monday on the gator. No idea how it would have turned out a week sooner. I have a little time and a million other things going on so I'm working on it a little more thought out. Arms are detachable for transport.still have a lot to do in a little time. Thankfully my sweet corn is growing almost as good as weeds. :lol:

Pre having kids this would have been better and done sooner lol. Oh well, won't give my kids up for anything. So I'm slower on art. 

20210610_235853.jpg

20210610_235857.jpg

20210610_235903.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JHCC, I was also recently given old sash weights.  I did a little research on them and most of what I found states they are cast iron. From what I have read, you cant do much with cast iron as when it gets to forging temp it splatters. Does that sound right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More like crumbles, but regardless you are correct. There's no forging CI. I tried it once just for fun and when you hit it, it crumbles and releases a shower of sparks. Pretty cool. 

They're still useful as weights though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup, most window weights will be cast iron. You could check them in you wanted. 

I was just thinking, no good as forge material but the square bodied ones could be cut into cubes and made into dice paperweights using a drill to make the number dots. Hmm. Guess I'll need to find another door stop, lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a really nice idea Das....I wonder if my Dremel with a cutting wheel will manage to chop through them or not. I have 8 weights that were given to me and each are ~7" long, so I could make a couple nice sets of dice potentially. Would make some of my buddies quite happy to have custom dice lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...