What's your favorite projects to work on

[Red53]

I haven't work on any projects yet do to fire bans in the area and setting up my anvils. But I'm curious on what's your guys favorite projects to make whether it be blades, decorative, historical, art whatever it is.

Personally I want to make some historical knives/daggers and functional/decorative (towel holders, coat hooks, etc)things for my cabin.

[Jobtiel1]

I like somewhat historical ironworks. I'm forging fire strikers and belt buckles in a range of different styles, Viking, Roman, medieval European. I'm in the process of forging an axe now. And have some books from the library on the way on medieval iron items.

~Jobtiel

[Rojo Pedro]

Tools and tooling is my favorite. Sometimes its more fun to make the tool you need for a project than the project itself. 

I rather like sculpture and art pieces but I have a hard time with the vision.  

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I don't have any favorites, just what strikes me at the moment or my wife tells me what to make.

[Frosty]

I like it when someone asks me if I can forge a thing and leaves me room to be creative with it. Otherwise I tend to go through phases, shelf brackets and sign hangers, plant hangers, garden tools, camp tools. Whatever I need to do the next project sort of falls under the first thing I said. Think of the project as the customer telling what they need and me coming up with the whizbang necessary to make it work. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[jrmysell]

Knives overall but I haven't actually forged any yet (I do stock removal so far) but making tools is what I enjoy pretty much more than anything else. 

[ThomasPowers]

All y'all know about "Knives and Scabbards, Museum of London"  Over 300 medieval knives shown in scale archaeological drawings with cross sections and information on time period, grip materials, etc.  Also metallurgical details on some of them.  The "Scabbards" part has some of the best info on leather tooling for those time periods too.  (It also contains some shears and even a couple of folding knives.)

Also if you are ever in the neighborhood the Deutches Klingen Museum in Solingen Germany is highly suggested!

Now anyone doing medieval blades using medieval type materials?  Medieval methods?  (I've done a few just to be obnoxious...)

[George N. M.]

One thing that I found interesting about the Museum of London volume is that the decorated leather sheaths and scabbards all seem to be decorated with various patterns of cuts and maybe some stamps.  The modern leather working technique of cutting, stamping, and beveling seems quite recent, maybe 20th century.  I have not done extensive research on this and this is only my general impression.  Any references on the history of leather working or a summary of the same would be appreciated.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

 

[Daswulf]

I enjoy making anything that is just me being free and creative. So mostly when I'm just making whatever I feel like at the time. Sometimes commissions and requests go well, other times they can get drudging and I have to drag myself through it. If one of my own projects get to a point I'm burned out on it, at least I can shelf it till I feel like coming back to it in a year or 5.... or ever.

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

We have a bucket or two of those or ever projects.

[BsnNFrnt]

One of my favorite projects goes like this. My son says “Dad can I have one of these_________?” I say “son I will buy you one if I can’t make it.”  After a month of trying figure it out I give in, he is about 10% successful in getting me to buy some random gadget or weapon. If that percentage holds I will feel supremely vindicated in my pursuits. 

[JHCC]

I like projects that expand my skill set, and if a customer is paying to underwrite that learning, so much the better. My last paying job taught me a lot about how beer taps work, and an upcoming one is going to challenge me to bend 1" square tubing into a 7' diameter half-circle.

[Frosty]

Cut a plywood form to match the ID of the desired curve. Thread a steel cable through the tubing. Clamp the center of the tubing to the center of the form. Using a come along or winch pull both ends of the cable until it's hard against the form. Using a torch gently run the temper colors to blue or almost.

This technique works best on round tubing/pipe but works well enough on square if you take it easy. If it appears to want to buckle, stop and warm the outside of that section.

I've only seen this done I haven't tried it myself.

Frosty The Lucky.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

JHCC, a good project for a ring roller.

 

George NM, check out Leatherworker dot net. They are the IFI of leather

[Glenn]

When bending 1" square tubing into a 7' diameter half-circle, remember that metal likes to spring back and not hold exactly to the curve of the jig. You can bend against the jig and then heat the metal to relax it a bit and avoid some of the spring back.  Or make the jig smaller than the intended bend so it accounts for the spring back.

That 7' diameter half circle will take some 11 feet of material, but you will need extra material to make the circle beyond half to deal with the straight sections on either end of the half circle.  Once bent you can then cut any extra material and the straight sections off.  

Do not to forget to build a bending fork to fit that project with a proportionally longer lever arm.  It will make your life easier. (grin)

[jrmysell]

I agree about leatherworker dot net. They are great

[bluerooster]

On 8/28/2021 at 11:57 PM, Red53 said:

What's your favorite projects to work on

 Anything I haven't done before.  Especially projects that require a tool that I don't have. That way I get to make a new tool or 3 so I can get started on the project.

[pnut]

I enjoy hardware and decorative projects like leafs most. I enjoy making tools for those projects also. I need to get another coil spring so I can finish up the tooling from The Skills of a Blacksmith vol one and attempt a wizard bottle opener and hook. 

Pnut 

The garage across the street is open so I'll be walking over there shortly to see if he has any non coated coil springs on the scrap heap yet. I don't like messing with the coated ones. I'm not sure what they're coated with. 

Edited September 4, 2021 by pnut