What did you do in the shop today?

[Frosty]

I love the feet on your anvil stand Das, very steampunky, I'm in favor.

Gergely: Over here shavings are long thin and tend to curl like a ribbon. If they're thick enough to break, they're chips or cuttings. I love your candle holders excellent texture and the flow is very pleasing to the eye.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Mark Ling]

 

LBS, if I might ask, how did you go about putting the texture on your plant hanger limbs?  Hammer or texture tool of some sort?  Work looks beautiful!!

Thank you Elijah and thank you too arkie! The texturing is done with two tools. I have a bottom tool in the hardy and then a hand hammer. The bottom one is textured using a cut off wheel in the angle grinder, giving somewhat random but somewhat parallel lines in. Then same with the face of the hammer. If I was just using a hammer, as I rotate the bar the anvil face would damage the texturing on the  other side. Then you Get the steel hot, and place on the bottom tool and strike with the hammer rotating as you go. Hope this helps!

                                                                                                           Littleblacksmith 

But by the way Gergely, I really like those candle holders! A simple piece but fun to look at. Loving it, keep it going. Hope your thumb gets better!

    

[Daswulf]

There was a post showing this a year or so ago. I made the top hammer but can't find it in my messy shop lol. Simple to make and makes great texture tools as LBShas shown. 

[CrazyGoatLady]

Nice candle holders Gergely. I like the textured look of them. 

Daswulf, I like your anvil stand. Very creative.

I knocked out the old handles of a couple of hammers. Been working on shaping the new handles. I'm actually doing that sitting at my kitchen table right now...big mess but hey, I am also the housekeeper so no one can gripe at me huh? 

[Zeroclick]

I really like those candle holders Gergley.

Daswulf, I was wondering how heavy that stand is.

 

[Daswulf]

I haven't weighed it yet Zeroclick. Doubt I'll have time to tonight since I'll be packing and leaving for Michigan right after work.  I had thought about adding sand inside the legs but I changed my mind on that. It could still be done but I want to try it out first. 

[ThomasPowers]

I was thinking birch bark from a variety that had a lot of markings on it. google:   birch bark images

for examples.

(also would that be the "base of the thumb" ?)

[arkie]

 

Thank you Elijah and thank you too arkie! The texturing is done with two tools. I have a bottom tool in the hardy and then a hand hammer. The bottom one is textured using a cut off wheel in the angle grinder, giving somewhat random but somewhat parallel lines in. Then same with the face of the hammer. If I was just using a hammer, as I rotate the bar the anvil face would damage the texturing on the  other side. Then you Get the steel hot, and place on the bottom tool and strike with the hammer rotating as you go. Hope this helps!

                                                                                                           Littleblacksmith 

But by the way Gergely, I really like those candle holders! A simple piece but fun to look at. Loving it, keep it going. Hope your thumb gets better!

    

Thanks for the texturing info. The cutoff disc sounds like the way to go. I'm going to have to make a hardy tool and textured hammer now!

[Gergely]

Thank you Guys and Gals for the nice words and for the help naming that thing 

The hand is all right, thank God, it's not the best, but hammering doesn't cause any pain. And overall it heals quickly.

Yesterday after resting the whole morning I quickly hammered out 40 half done S-hooks for the kids to finish today at the demo. And a new set of PH tooling was made for tea light holder making. Today I'm testing it.

Daswulf: for the weight of the stand - my mobile anvil stand has very sturdy construction (60x40mm heavy wall tubing and 3/4" plate) and it still weighs half of the stump I used to carry to demos. The stump was ~50kg/110lbs, the stand is around 25kg.

Bests:

Gergely

[Glenn]

Das, may want to put a bolt into the anvil stand when the spikes are not needed. It will keep the dirt and debris out of the holes.

[JHCC]

Spent a few hours visiting @Lou L in his forge -- made a hot-cut out of armored car leaf spring (me directing, him striking) and shared some techniques: I showed him how I make leaves, and he showed me what he learned at the last NEB meeting about penny scrolls. A fun time was had by all.

[Gergely]

Tooling tested, I'm pretty happy with it, although I had to change the upper part of the tool.

The result comes in two heats: 1. Texturing and hitting the logo in. 2. Sinking the hole under the power hammer. Surface cleaning and carnauba finish applied.

Want to try this with different textures.

 

Bests:

Gergely

 

 

 

[Zeroclick]

Gergely I really like these tealight holders.

I've been thinking of giving it ago, but was trying to come up with the best way to get the divet by hand.

The best Idea was to heat up the plate and then lay it across my vice jaws that will be just open wide enough and then drive a piece of 1" round into it and get it to crumple.

[JHCC]

@Zeroclick, what about the same piece of 1" round, but instead of hammering it over the vise, make a socket out of 1.5" ID pipe that sits on your anvil, perhaps with a stem for the hardy hole?

[Zeroclick]

That does sound like a much safer option and a lot more stable.

I also had a bit of a google following thinking about the process, and came across the loops of 10mm round bar welded to a shank to fit into the hardy hole and then hammering into that to provide the divot. Which seems a lot more sensible than my original suggestion. (Kind of wish I could delete that original idea)

Just need to practice my welding more so I can build up a bit more tooling.

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Zero /JHCC, 

Da tools to get the job done easy. One smack with the rounded end down on the ring than flat end down on the anvil. I have made many.. 

Forge on and make beautiful things 

Jim

[Zeroclick]

That is brilliant.

May I ask what the starting stock and dimensions of the tools are.

Many Thanks,

Luke

[Jim Coke]

That depends on the candles you intend to use..  Most like the little frameless battery powered ones.. The ring is based on how much edge you want on the flat stock. They are fun to make so have a ball. 

[Zeroclick]

Cool I will give it a go. Looks like a really useful tool.

[Frosty]

Those are beautiful Gergley, I love the texture. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Looks like a classic project for the screwpress.

[Gergely]

Dear Jim and All,

I have pretty much the same tools for the task - weird, huh?  Only the ring part is applied to the bottom die of the power hammer. So it sits on a plate. The upper part is a plain cylinder, because my original tool was too big dia.

Today I did my demo allright - no problems. But before that I managed to struck out six more tea light holders. (Not sold any one of them, it's the end of the month...)

Bests:

Gergely

 

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Gergely, 

             I have been known to use my fly press to control the debth of the squish with the tools.  My treadle hammer also works quite well. I taught a friend how to make them and at his last demo / sale he sold out at 40 bucks each.. 

Forge on and make beautiful things 

Jim

 

[Tubalcain2]

Finished my spearhead today. This was my first spearhead, as well as my first double edged blade and my first time doing a blade on a belt grinder. Lots of firsts! I made the blade and haft separately and arc welded them together.  The blade steel was an old coil spring. Now I just have to handle it and try it out. Look out every possum, coon, skunk, groundhog, deer, coyote and sasquatch in the neighborhood!   Sorry about the pic quality. I tried enhancing the bottom one but it didn't help much.

[JHCC]

 That is very nice. My only suggestion is that a proper Sasquatch spear has a crossbar below the blade, such as one finds on a boar spear.