Daswulf Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Rough reminder to slow down a little and think about safety. 9" cut off disc to the thigh could have been way worse. Good to hear it wasn't. Heal up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 There are a lot of stores that go basically "I couldn't afford PPE so I paid 100's to 1000's more than it would have cost" or "I was too tired, in a hurry, etc to put safety first and so instead of missing a deadline by a day it's now by months + the huge time expense of getting healed." Learning when you *must* stop takes experience; though early in our marriage I gave my wife absolute power to stop me when she felt I was getting unsafe and I am NOT allowed to argue. Very seldom has she used her override and trips to the ER (A&E) have been even rarer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Hi and thank you again! I can say everything is all right. I spent some hours in the shop today. Forged under the power hammer using my left leg - so it works smoothly and painless (the leg ). Although mostly I spent the day inside drawing and resting. 8-10 days to go until the tapes are being gotten off, hopefully everything stays still till then. Bests: Gergely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyBiker Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Made a bracket to mount my post vise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotshoein4 (Mark) Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 12 hours ago, Chris Comtois said: Yep, I've had to pull LOTS of old, bent nails. I've also discovered that the "material" in the creases does not burn out in the forge, rather it bakes in like fired clay. I try not too hard to think about it as I respiratored up and took the wire wheel to them.... If you just slightly heat the shoes with the dirt in the crease, you can pull them out and bang them on the anvil with the crease down and most of the time it'll fall out and brush them. That's what I do when I'm shoeing and works great. If left in the fire for to long, it certainly does bake in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 6 hours ago, Gergely said: Hi and thank you again! I can say everything is all right. I spent some hours in the shop today. Forged under the power hammer using my left leg - so it works smoothly and painless (the leg ). Although mostly I spent the day inside drawing and resting. 8-10 days to go until the tapes are being gotten off, hopefully everything stays still till then. Bests: Gergely Glad to hear you are "on the mend". My wife has threatened to wrap me in bubble wrap on more than one occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 Had a show today, this was the second year selling at it. It went O.K. I didn't do as good as last year, but I still had a good time. Met some real nice people and learned about a monthly farmers market that I think I will (hopefully) demo at in November. I did a little something different at this show that I had never done, to try and get some of the kids to interact more and expose them to actually making something physical and not something in a game on a phone screen. I cut 30 or so pieces of 1/8x1/2" flat mild steel, about 1" long. Then you texture it with a narrow cross pein, punch a hole in it, stamp initials in, and you got yourself (what is supposed to be) a quick key chain. what I did, was I would texture half of the key chain to show them what to do (really just a chance to do part of it to speed it up so they aren't doing everything=your going to be there a while), they would texture the other half, I would punch almost all the way, have them finish punching it (also notice the welded on handle to the punch, to insure that I end with all my fingers), and have them stamp in their initials, all of this done cold. I was charging $1, and I wish I had charged more! I was worried no one would do it, so I had priced it low, but man, I had a line until all the pieces of steel were gone! and boy was I glad when they were gone! hahaha. I was using that little stump anvil I had made a little wile ago, and lets just say there's a few more hammer marks that weren't there to start... Here's a few pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Great idea with the key chains, Mark. I am not surprised you had a line up. It is really good to involve kids (with parental permission of course). I often invite them to turn the blower, thereby providing the heat to make something simple - usually an S hook from old weld rod or something. You are a good ambassador for the art. And your stump anvil is proving its worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechelement Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 I’ve been following this thread for a bit. I dislocated and subsequently broke my left elbow which has slowed progression on my end. The only constructive thing I’ve done on the anvil is cold worked a stick of 1/2” EMT to laterally brace a 320 gallon water trough such that it wouldn’t bow out at the top and eventually collapse when full of water. Pretty boring. A portion of my profession is to identify and mitigate risk, whether physical, duration, financially or all of the above. I think it’s great you (lbs) are getting kiddos involved. I know my 5-1/2 y/o would love it. I notice you, and especially the kiddo(s), aren’t wearing any eye protection. My wife saw someone lose their eye from a punch that shattered when struck with a rounding hammer. The shard flew 6’-8’ before hitting the instructor in the eye. I took it in stride until I saw a farrier take forge welding slag to his eye while building a handmade bar shoe. IIRC, you had a metal sliver in your eye not too long ago. It’s a sue happy society out there, especially when kids are involved. I’d recommend some belts and suspenders for things like this. You can ingrain the value of safety in young minds and set an example for their parents as well. In Idaho, they had the Idaho Equine Innocence Act which waived all responsibility and liability of the property owner and everyone was their at their own risk. You just needed to post the sign at your pasture. It would be ideal if they had something like that for demonstrations like this. Lots of very impressive stuff in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Mechelement beat me to it Mark. EYE protection! Good job otherwise, I've found that if you can win over the kids the parents will follow. How did you pull that off Mechelement? Usually dislocating a joint takes it far enough out of action you don't break them. I know how a healing elbow can slow your roll, I shattered mine a year before I retired and it was only just getting back in form when I did. 4 surgeries to make it function properly and lots of therapy. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 On 10/14/2017 at 9:09 PM, littleblacksmith said: I cut 30 or so pieces of 1/8x1/2" flat mild steel, about 1" long, punch a hole in it, stamp initials in, and you got yourself a quick key chain. Hi Mark, Excellent idea with those key chains. I might wanna steal it if you don't mind. Have been thinking of new ideas for children-work at demos. As for the pricing I ended up with the strategy that "we have a special offer: if you buy anything one youngling can forge their own item" (I usually go with half done S-hooks, one bend on the other end and it's ready. Age recorder is a 2,5 yo boy, but there were three of us who did the job together.) Bests: Gergely PS: Fast recovery for you, Mechelement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechelement Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 On 10/15/2017 at 3:38 AM, Frosty said: How did you pull that off Mechelement? Usually dislocating a joint takes it far enough out of action you don't break them. No cool story like wrestling a bear. I was chasing my 5-1/2 y/o son around the core of our house which is hardwood floored. He was bare foot and cornering on rails, I was in socks. I was surprised how fast he was, so I kicked it up a notch and went to run around the corner and my feet slipped out from under me instantly. I guess I had my left arm extended for balance and fell directly down onto it extended so the palm of my hand hit first. It dislocated the ulna/radius into my tricep. The orthopedist told me ~97% of the time you completely dislocate an elbow, you break the tip of the ulna off. The severity of the break depends on how Big of a chunk you break off. Thankfully mine was very small, around 1/4”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 Thank you Aus! Yes I should have thought of that, safety glasses will deffinantly be brought next time. Thank you Frosty! Thank you Gergely! go ahead and "steal" the idea, somebody else has probably allready done it before me. good strategy. Littleblacksmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeroclick Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 I did a fair bit done today. I got the finish on my hearts and made an extra hook. I also had a go at some hoof picks and I made my first bottle openers. I was really happy with these as the fullers on the shoes were right round so I had to forge weld them together to get a nice solid tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Mark, looks like it was a great time. Yeah you undersold yourself on the keychains but the fun memories those kids got are priceless. If you got pictures of your display, why not go and add them to the " show my your sales or demo booth" thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 On 10/15/2017 at 9:20 AM, mechelement said: No cool story like wrestling a bear. Nothing cool about wrestling a bear, even trained ones occasionally remove body parts in grizzly ways. Oh that hurts! I spent a few years studying the martial arts and we drilled constantly no how to fall. Catching yourself is NEVER the right move but it's a reflex that's almost impossible to overcome. The #1 secret to a long happy life is summed up in two words, "Don't FALL!" Next time put the kid in socks and chase him with a drone or RC car. We're well past our "bounce by" date. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58er Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Worked on our trellis today. Made first bracket. 3 more to go and 40’ of fence. Also. Winterized bikes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Nice. I especially like how you mention 40' of fence almost as an after thought. Well played sir. Who gets to ride the Moped? Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Even I can recognize a Motocycle! I like the full face shields with the wheel adjuster in the back for kids. To speed things up for the small ones I often do the trading off hammering: I'll hit it a lick and they they will hit it a lick, repeat until reheat time. Most of the positive work is done by my hammer but they feel they are contributing! (And to really date myself---I still have one of those miniature horse shoes from Colonial Williamsburg with my name punched on it!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 6 hours ago, Daswulf said: Mark, looks like it was a great time. Yeah you undersold yourself on the keychains but the fun memories those kids got are priceless. If you got pictures of your display, why not go and add them to the " show my your sales or demo booth" thread. Thanks Das! Those pictues are the only pictures I got, I wish I had more. 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: (And to really date myself---I still have one of those miniature horse shoes from Colonial Williamsburg with my name punched on it!) Now Thomas, was that from when Williamsburg was actually a colonial town, or from the recent times where people are dressed up in period clothing and things aren't as real? Littleblacksmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 From the early '60's and the century being left open.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Nice bikes Mr 58er. Obviously an Indian fan. A bit off-topic, but we have one of those too. Indian Prince: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherViking Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Hi all. First time poster, short time lurker... Many thanks for all the great information and discussion! I tried my hand at forging for the first time on Saturday and, even after such a short session, I am now obsessed and can't wait to get back to pounding on hot steel again! This is my first ever piece, so please be kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 sweet job for a firsty. Welcome to the world of smithing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 For a first-ever piece, that's actually quite nice. The overall lines are pleasing; you have a good eye. From a design standpoint, my one quibble would be that your curlicue is out of proportion with the blade. A knife of this style and size gets used for lots of different tasks, and that big protrusion is not going to let the blade get all the way down to a cutting board, if you're chopping or slicing something. As far as execution goes, the surface on the handle looks a little rough. It's hard to tell from the photo, but did you burn that part of the steel? If so, that could be a significant problem. Burning significantly weakens the steel, and you do not want any part of a knife breaking under load. Not knowing what steel you used or how you did with the heat treatment, I can't make any comment about that. Frankly, I'm not much of a bladesmith anyway, but there are other people here much more qualified to help you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now