jlpservicesinc Posted December 25, 2021 Share Posted December 25, 2021 This past fall did a demo at the ABANA Iron to Art conference in Johnston, PA.. The competition was a blast and over the course of the last year there have been several "challenges" launched.. This is my contribution to a challenge.. If you are competitive in nature this will get your juices flowing and if you are up for a challenge skill wise then this will be fun and educational. The idea is to "HAVE FUN" with it. You can start the timer after stock prep but before the first piece goes into the fire.. In other words completely cold.. For the challenge the stock is 5/16Round or square or 1/4" round or square.. I used 5/16 because it was what I had handy.. 15" long, marked at 7.5, notched and folded in half.. This is the easiest.. But if you only have 1/4" the same lenght applies.. 28" of 3/8" square for shaft. You can go up in size if you have to but try not to go down.. Post video of timer start and stop in the video. Enjoy.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 Anybody trying that with an induction forge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 Your shoelace is untied..... What happened to the Japanese toed shoes? Thomas, it is amazing how fast induction works on steel. Seconds instead of minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 One member of the NM ABANA affiliate has an induction forge and demonstrated it for us once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 5 years ago me and my wife made a road trip out to Norfolk Va to get some stuff I had in storage out there, on the way out we stopped at blacksmiths depot in Asheville North Carolina, and we got a quick little tour of their shop, they had one of those induction forges there and he showed us how fast it worked to heat up metal! That was crazy fast! I had never seen one of those before so I was pretty impressed, I know some people that work at baldor (now called ABB) in Westville that told me they have some of those there, that they use in the maintenance shop, occasionally they replace machinery at the factory, and sometimes they let the employees have or buy what they get rid of! I wouldn’t mind getting hold of one if they ever upgrade lol, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted December 26, 2021 Author Share Posted December 26, 2021 2 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: Your shoelace is untied..... What happened to the Japanese toed shoes? Thomas, it is amazing how fast induction works on steel. Seconds instead of minutes. I've been wearing KEEN shoes as a change of pace for work.. Sadly they don't hold up to the rigors of real work. The Japanese Tabi get worn usually in the 3 seasons.. I had done 7 horses in high 20F's so keeping the feet warm and comfortable is important. So, these pokers were made after a full day of Farrier work. Its interesting how the focus has changed to Induction forges.. they have their place for sure but if I can forge out 1 of these pokers with all the associated problems of filming, narrating after a full day of horses just using a plain old Coal forge.. Then for the essence of this challenge any forge at all is perfect.. I recently found a video of a "Kid" who built his own induction heater which was 4X better than any of the low cost units being sold.. That is some serious potential for a youngster.. It melted 1" bar in about 20seconds.. Lets discuss actually using the equipment one has instead of looking at equipment one might get.. It's not the special equipment that makes a great blacksmith.. Just helps make it a little easier along the way.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 That shoelace kind of made me bonkers too. Anyway, the gauntlet has been tossed and the challenge accepted. I can not take a pic of my timer since my camera and my timer are both on my phone but i do have a clock. So here is my take on this. Just under 1 hour. I used 3/8" round and 1/4" round since that is what i have. I did use my stick welder to tack the basket on but i did forge weld it, the tack just to hold it in place. Anyway, gave me something to do today and had fun doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted December 27, 2021 Author Share Posted December 27, 2021 That is awesome.. Fantastic work.. Nicely done. Thanks for playing along.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Welcome, like i said it was fun and gave me something to do. This could be kind of cool to maybe put up monthly challenges. Like yesterday i would have stood there staring at my forge trying to figure out what i want to do but this gave me that something to accomplish. Also to see what everyone else comes up with. Now about those boots, i kind of feel the pain on those. The place i used to but my boots at quit selling them and switched to some Chinese brand. Unfortunately they chose cheap instead of quality. After a short period in the oils and solvents i have to work in on a daily basis the cheap really came out in them. Generally a pair of boots will last me a year, and that was just worn souls and the like. These were falling apart after 4 months. Affordable, durable work boots are getting to be a rare species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 Nice. I like your twist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Okay, so I made a video... What did we learn...? Talking to the camera is very different. My camera angle wasn't too great. I have to work on my posture, yeesh! Recording video on my camera kills the battery in ~20 minutes. Jennifer, ~35 minutes is a very impressive time. Total time was 1:00:32. Enjoy my bumbling through the process on camera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Amazing how when you are working under pressure from a clock hw much more you drop things, knock stuff off the anvil, etc. Seems like Murphy just has to show up at those times. Nice work. Even though my sound does not work i enjoyed the video, i did skip through the parts where you were heating the metal though and just watched the hammering. Why is there a golf ball lying between 2 nails on the side of your vice? (or at least it looks like a golf ball) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Is there a farrier's rasp using the golf ball as a handle? All mine do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Billy, you're not kidding! Yes, most of my files have golf ball handles and they are hanging on either side of my vice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 DOH! As many times as i have heard you talk about using golf balls for that Thomas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 I just drilled out a golf ball and mounted a farrier's rasp in it as a gift for the tool box of "starter tools" for my 4 grandsons in Albuquerque. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Accepted the challenge. Didn't film it, or record time. But it took about 3 hours for me to complete the botched mess in the pic. Jennifer makes it look so easy welding 4 pieces of round stock together at once. I wired the ends together, and set about the task of welding. No joy. I thought it had stuck, but when I brushed it they came apart. So, I just welded them together one at a time. That took a minnit. Then prepped the shaft to accept the basket, fluxed and set it aside. Prepped the basket to be welded on to the shaft, fluxed it, and set it aside, while I got the fire ready. When both parts were at welding temp, I put them together on the anvil. (this is where the wheels fell off) I'd intended an inch and half of lap on the joint. But I brought them together with only half to 3/4 inch lap, and they stuck, couldn't get them apart. Oh Well. back in the heat, mabe they'll come apart then. ( as usual for me) No such luck, so I just finished the weld. Thinking about that weak spot, I had a brainstorm, (got struck by lightening). I'll just take a piece of the 1/4" rod, and wrap it around the joint, and weld the whole thing. That done, I set about the task of the hook, and basket. Got the hook done, and basket twisted up tight. When I went to un twist, it went all wonkey. I think it has to do with the uneven length of the rods. Anyway, I got the poking end done up, and as I was using round stock, I had to square up a portion of it for a secondary twist. Anyway, 11 forge welds, and burned up several scoops of coal. Dropped my tongs twice, and made a workable poker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Frazer, That was a nice video. Glad you posted it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Blue, i like the idea of the wrap where the basket is welded on. May have to use that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted December 31, 2021 Author Share Posted December 31, 2021 Frazer.. Very nice.. I was your 1st subscriber.. You did an amazing job with the narration.. You went above and beyond what I was hoping for on the challenge.. Great instructional video as well. BlueRooster.. That is a great attempt and a respectable time. Looks great, Hope you had fun doing it.. Sounds like you came up with a solution of sorts.. If I go undersized.. I'll using just upset the undersized area.. It's kinda crazy how when thinking about a time factor gets thrown into the mix it seems to go south. Honestly, when I watch the video it looks to me like I'm moving pretty slowly and before you know it, the poker is done. Not sure how that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted December 31, 2021 Author Share Posted December 31, 2021 golf ball handles are all right for quick file work.. I prefer the long handles for hot rasping and a handle that fits in my hand comfortably for doing accurate file work.. The golf ball aspect or round doesn't work well for those accurate times but sure is handy for a quicky file job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Ok. Took me an hour and 45 minutes and I still forgot the twist. I had a miserable time trying to forge weld the two halves together. I can drop the tongs but that stuff either falls or doesn't stick.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grouser Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Hello everybody. All the work looks really good you've got my interest up for doing my first basket weave. I won't try this challenge until I do a couple of them but I had a question first. I want to make a birthday present for my daughter that consists of a basket weave with a ball inside. Can somebody tell me how to get the ball in there? I have a stone ball about an inch and a half diameter, close to a handball actually. Not sure how big a basket I'll have to make to insert it into don't mean to change the subject here on this thread just need a little advice, maybe a private message so we don't get off topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 This is where modeling clay becomes your friend. Make a basket around the ball, then measure the basket, plus a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Jennifer... Thanx for the "flowers". It means a lot coming from you. I did another today, time was hour and fifteen min. All I had was 3/16" for the basket. I may try another, and film it. That way someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong with the basket twist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.