What did you do in the shop today?

[Randy Griffin]

Yep, shoulda checked them. I mean they are hard enough to skate a file. Think I’ll make some scribes.

[Goods]

Had some time the last couple days and got more work done on my knife project.

I got the rest of the handle roughed out:

Got the blade heat treated ground and etched:

And started finishing out the handle:

Doesn’t seem like much left, but I’m worried about how long it’s going to take.

Keep it fun,

David

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Your knife is looking better and better.

[LeeJustice]

hheneg, very nice work.

JHCC, um, what was your knife doing in a car crusher?

[JHCC]

Just a simile. Could have just as easily said “shattered like a teacup dropped from the Arc de Triomphe.”

Did some more playing around with containers yesterday evening: 

The one on the right is the square one from Wednesday, reworked. The one on the left is still in-progress. 

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Those are pretty cool JHCC! 

[hheneg]

Folded cups are cool and creative 

[Goods]

JHCC, have you considered forge brazing the seems closed on those cups?

David

[ThomasPowers]

I've seen a variation of the one on the left as an oil lamp.  Will you be repousse'ing a face in the bottom of each one?

[JHCC]

5 minutes ago, Goods said:

have you considered forge brazing

Among other options.

As a point of interest, whether or not they are watertight is a lesser concern at present. Some of this exercise is simply playing around, but the long-term goal is coming up with some new yarn bowl designs. With my wife opening up her own yarn store, I have to come up with some bowls that are different from the ones I sell to another store about fifteen miles away.

2 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

I've seen a variation of the one on the left as an oil lamp

The same thought occurred to me. That actually gives me another idea....

[Patrick Kelly]

Finished off a couple of knives that I started earlier this week. These are the first knives I've ever made, they're not perfect but I'm happy with them. The pins proved a challenge just using a hand drill, time to invest in a column drill methinks

[JHCC]

Nice clean shapes and straightforward design. I like.

[Cleave]

Here's a froe that's mostly finished. Its made from truck leaf spring, probably 3/8" x 3" thick. I left the eye unwelded, it's pretty hefty. I just have a side blast into a trench in a fire pit, and used wood chunks and a bit of lump charcoal that threw a lot of sparks. This forge struggles to get things really up to temp. I worked a while on tapering the blade, but seemed to hit a point of diminishing returns, where the blade bows with the pounding, so you have to pound it straight. That was hard to keep it all lined up on the 60 lb Fischer Norris anvil. Finally I got my wife to hold the other end still with tongs and that helped. So while pounding to straighten it, its also making the edge you want skinny, wider again. Anyway, I flattened it out and let it cool slowly, and finished it with a lot of grinding and filing. It may still benefit from more taper. The handle is elm, because that's what is readily available around here. Fun project, good learning experience, and a useful tool for general homestead use and traditional woodworking.

[BillyBones]

1 hour ago, JHCC said:

With my wife opening up her own yarn store

JHCC, let us know when she gets it open. My mom may want to make a trip to her store. She is mostly a quilter but her and my aunt travel all around to stores that sell stuff like yarn, fabric, thread, etc. And i mean all around, it is nothing for them to plan trip across 2 or 3 states just to go and look. 

Edit: forgot to also say lets us know what the store will be called.

[ThomasPowers]

Billy; do they go to "Wool Gathering" at Youngs Dairy just outside Yellow Springs OH and generally the weekend before Quad-State?   I encourage my wife to go as it makes my purchases at Q-S look cheap and easily hid...

[JHCC]

1 hour ago, BillyBones said:

lets us know what the store will be called.

It's called "For Ewe", and will probably open in May. She's got a couple of "yarn tasting" events that will be held in other locations before that; one here in town, and the other about half an hour away.

The display racks for the store are arriving on Monday, so I'll be working on installation in the evenings for the next couple of weeks. (Getting that forging in now, while I can!) Then we have to get the stock in, set up the rest of the space, hook up the credit card machine, etc, etc, etc.

I'll send you the website link in a private message.

[Les L]

Nice projects everyone.

I've been working on several different oprojects this week, trying to get ready for our club's conference next month. I'll be busy on other things and won't have much time in the forge between now and the conference.

Made forge stands for the club's two gas forges, I'll paint them after using them a few times in case I have to make changes. The supports fold against the sides when not in use and will also work for the side door on the three burner forge. 

Made a rake, with my first twisted handle, to pull material to the front of the gas forges

Made a set of knee tongs

and made a full size tomahawk to go with the mousehawk I made earlier

Currently taking a break while waiting on my order of leather to arrive so I can make the sheaths for the tomahawks

[BillyBones]

Thomas, they do not go every year but they have been a few times. They also go to the fall farm festival where we get the pumpkin doughnuts from. 

My daughter and my x-wife both worked at Youngs. 

[ThomasPowers]

I'm somewhat Lactose intolerant; but I still get an ice cream any time we go!

(Of course the best I've had in years was from a small place in Hay on Wye Wales, UK; that had sheep's milk ice cream!)

[Goods]

Les, I like those hawks. Good job.

[Les L]

Thanks Goods

[JHCC]

Reshaped the last container:

Made another:

And a pair of chopsticks:

[Chimaera]

Les- lovely job on that hawk! That curly maple is stunning!

[BillyBones]

Thomas, they make very little of their own ice cream any more. Back a few years ago a couple got unpasteurized milk and gave it to their infant child. The child got sick of course and they sued Youngs over it. After that Youngs quit making any of their own ice cream, cheese, and no longer process the milk. If you get a cone or a shake from  the counter that is still made there but what they sell by the gallon, pint or what ever is made by Reiter. 

Black raspberry ice cream on top of a brownie covered in hot fudge. Like pecan pie, makes my teeth hurt thinking about it but oh so good. 

I remember when i was younger that there used to be several dairies in the area that you could get fresh dairy products from. Alas, like the orchards, they are almost all gone now. I miss the orchards also. Apples that were oh so tasty and the honey, oh man... honey in the grocery store has a bitter after taste where as from an orchard is was just sweet pleasure. Nectar of the gods.  You can also actually taste the difference in the honey from the different flowers that the bees made the honey from. 

[Jobtiel1]

I advised some of the older scouts and their guides today on doing some aluminium casting, making sure it will work and emphasizing the safety aspect. We dried some dirt over the campfire to pour the aluminium in, and I welded up a steel crucible to melt the aluminium in. Some guys dug a hole and with a hair dryer and some charcoal we did a few pours, nothing really worked well, but they found the flaws in their designs and in a few weeks they will try again.

Very fun day! My own group did some runs on an obstacle course we worked on the past week.

~Jobtiel