What did you do in the shop today?

[Frosty]

That's a cozy looking set up Dax. I don't recall if you've posted pics already but you ARE going to have a hood over the forge or are you moving it outside? 

USAN, slitting and drifting or punching holes takes practice, doing it once or twice and looking for a different method isn't going to be a very successful way to build  your skills. If you can't punch a hole on location after 10 or more attempts it's time to look at doing it differently.

Drifting a hole doesn't require something special I usually start with one of my yard sale special punches until the hole is too wide, then I use the horn on my anvil.

I made a complete mess of it the first few times I tried any of these things. Slitting and drifting is trickier than punch and drift but it has benefits that make it worth the extra effort for many things.

The last bottle opener of yours looks like you overheated it or maybe just took too many heats. No big deal, heat management is a set of skills and too many heats is just part of the learning curve. As you get better at a process it will take less time and fewer heats. That is perfectly normal so don't let it frustrate you. We've all been there.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

Another non-punched bottle opener, although this one did require splitting one end:

[USANewbie]

You're right Frosty, i need to build skills. 

[USANewbie]

BillyBones, JHCC, thanks for the pics. They are educational.

[Dax Hewitt]

Frosty I might fit a hood but I don't have any bother with fumes. I have a 400mm square panel fan on the back wall that I liberated from a dead air compressor,  with that running and the container open it gets a realy good airflow.

I can't move the forge outside, the 19 by 10 shipping container it's housed in sits on top of a 10 by 40 container and there is no room out front.

Question though, I only have 5 foot of clearance from the top of the forge to the roof of the container.  If I did fit a hood at some point would I get enough draw or would I need to extend the stack ?

My other option is to use some 45 gallon drums to make some ducting from the wall fan to the fire.

[Daswulf]

Dax, if you fit a hood you'll want to extend the stack atleast 3-4' above the roof. 

[JHCC]

Just some messing about today. Broke down the big tank by cutting the top off with an abrasive disc:

And then torched off the bottom:

(First time using the cutting torch, but definitely won’t be the last!)

Welded up a horseshoe pumpkin:

And a small scrolling wrench:

Fun was had, but my back is aching!

[Frazer]

Whilst puttering around the shop yesterday asking myself if today was the day I would clean up a bit a new species was discovered. Not much is known at this point about Rosa sapiens. Observation of their behavior seems to suggest that they spend most of their time seated. However, they have been known to suddenly lay on their sides when threatened by strong winds or other lateral forces. It is possible that 1) this is some sort of defense mechanism the species has developed over the thousands of seconds since it's birth or 2) this particular specimen has a defect that arose around the time of its conception.

The part this whimsical creature has to play in its delicate and peaceful ecosystem has been hotly contested. Some members of the LARPing community suppose it issome sort of Tolkien-esque ring bearer.

Our marketing team has claimed that their sedentary nature could be used for promotional purposes.

A random passerby in San Francisco posited, "It's a commentary on humanities intrinsic connection with nature, man.".

In truth, who knows what good -- or perhaps evil -- might be expected by the sudden appearance of Rosa sapiens on Earth... Time will tell.

[Dax Hewitt]

Thanks Das.

Frazer, your on site slippy slope. Ever heard of Triffids. 

[Scott NC]

  It could be a thorny situation for mankind...  Very nice Frazer.  

[Rojo Pedro]

Very nice Frazer.

Triffids? Thats what food eats.

[Daswulf]

Cute little thing Frazer.

I can picture other poses as well. 

You could go a step further and stamp a face into the facing leaf. The expression pose and story world is about endless from there. 

John, are you going to pain the pumpkin? Nice work on it. 

[BillyBones]

JHCC, that was the first time you ever used a cutting torch? The good ol' fire wrench was a staple of the job when i was working on transmissions. Rusted, rounded, stripped, no bolt could resist the fire wrench. 

My forge being to small to heat a big honkin knife to heat treat i need to take it to the pit. Got me some wood cut and fired up the pit, fed some air into it to test out how it would work. Did not get the pic till late but to proof it if forged a brooch, figured i would try my heat treat today if all went well. And of course i woke up to pouring rain. Maybe this PM i do not know.

Did rescue 2 little bitty kittens today. Forgot to get pics before i called the rescue people. They come out about once a month and set up live traps on my property. The bigger cats they take and get fixed then release. These guys though are still real small, palm of the hand small, so they will get adopted out. 

[JHCC]

11 minutes ago, BillyBones said:

JHCC, that was the first time you ever used a cutting torch?

Yup. Need some practice, but I think I’m going to be saving a lot on cutting discs!

2 hours ago, Daswulf said:

John, are you going to pain the pumpkin?

Yup, just need to get the paint. 

[Frosty]

I LIKE it Frazer, I see lots of marketable variations in your future. Is Daisy Duke waiting to reveal herself somewhere in your imagination? 

I thought you'd tried out your hot wrench already John. It's my most used torch though there's a large brazing tip on the handle at the moment. Fun isn't it? 

Keep track of the HOT dingleberries, those things get everywhere!

Nice pumpkin, any ideas for turning it into a jack Ol antern? 

I prefer a flat handle on scrolling wrenches, they're less likely to turn in my hand. You've had a mighty productive weekend so far haven't you?

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

So far, so good. I’m expecting some students this afternoon, so this is going to be more about their projects than mine. 

As for the cutting wrench, I love it. I’m thinking about cutting some long triangular notches out of the remainder of the cylinder and closing it down into a long cone to use as a mandrel. That will give me plenty of good practice cutting long, straight lines.

[BillyBones]

There is some kind of zen using a cutting torch. 

I do not change the head on mine. The cutting head stays on all the time and i use it for everything, brazing, welding, heating, what ever. When i was working under cars i could seperate rusted exhaust pipe by cutting 2  slices length wise in the outer tube with out cutting into the inner. A bad part about using one under cars is that you are using it over your head many times. Hot molten metal rolling down the shirt sleeve will wake you up in the morning. I also have a scar on my hand, wrist and arm from burning out the frame bolts on a Ford Windstar. The rubber mount started melting and dripped down my hand and wrist. That is a fine how do you do also.

I am surprised my hands have not detached from my arms in protest of how much abuse i have put them through.

[Frosty]

My arms tried to retract into my arm pits when welding or cutting overhead. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Dax Hewitt]

JHCC, if that's your first go with a gas axe you did an excellent job. Looks like a very consistent cut from the photo.

[Daswulf]

Nice looking penannular brooch Billy!

[JHCC]

Thanks, Dax. Very much a first try, but I'm looking forward to practicing more.

4 minutes ago, Daswulf said:

Nice looking penannular brooch Billy!

Agreed!

[Ted Ewert]

I saw this in an old video about Welsh clogging (dancing). It was being used by the clog maker to carve the wooden shoes.

New to me anyway, so I thought I'd build one. I designed my own pivot stand which allows the blade to swing and tilt. It's made from an old leaf spring. I tried a standard edge grind but found a chisel grind works much better. 

It carves wood quite well, from big chunks to small cuts. I've got no real use for it but it's fun to play with. 

[Pat Masterson]

Had a pretty productive weekend. Finished up this knife for my brother. Came from a damascus billet that was gifted to me - was a little unsure about it but it hardened and tempered ok. Doesn’t really matter though as this is more of a show knife. I just couldn’t get it sharp. Pretty sure it’s because the blade is perfectly straight. But I have another piece of damascus left and I made a jig for grinding the bevel on the next one so hopefully he’ll get a good one for Christmas. 
Also tried my first scarf welds. “Drop the tongs” weld - had to try it about 6 times before I got it lined up quick enough but still wouldn’t stick enough to be confident in it. I ended up hitting it with my flux core and you can barely tell where it’s welded. Really happy with this poker though - Christmas gift for my step dad. 
 

[jlpservicesinc]

lotta nice work here.. 

Started this project a few years back but could not figure out how to mount the blade and still see the "Timken USA" so needed a few years to get here.. 

Not quite perfect but a step forwards with design.  Still need to glue and pin it.. 

I thought I have some copper somewhere but all I have is bronze..  Terrible stuff to make pins from .

[bluerooster]

Today I decided to try my hand at dragons head. I made one before for a gas key. This one was to be a bottle opener.  First attempt, got the whiskers drawn out, and went to start on the face, and snapped off one of the whiskers.  So, I cut his head off, and started again. This time I decided to save the whiskers for last.  I flattened, and drew out the part that will become the whiskers later. Then opened his mouth, and started the nose and eyes.  That's when the wheels fell off.  His nose came out with one nostril nearly perfect, and the other off kilter, and way too thin on the edge.  Undaunted, I punched the eyes, they came out all wonkey too.  Off with his head.  Start again,  This time I got all the way to the point of drawing the whiskers, and cutting in his ears/horns. I got down to the details of mouth, and face, and burned off an ear, the other ear came off under the brush.  I just put it down, and raked out the fire.  I'll try it again tomorrow.