May 7, 20224 yr Nice pictorial wicon. How do you finish it? Cut it off? What next? I can picture some fun variants of the design. It looks like a good quick demo with a product they can walk away with to proudly give their mothers or loved ones.
May 7, 20224 yr Author We make a short square tip so they can be pushed into a flowerpot. The stem about 30 cm long. (Sometimes i tell the child now it can hammer it into the livingroom cabinet - makes it's parents looking funny . GRIN) The smallest heart I forged was made of 2mm round for a mini cactus, the biggest one of 2,5m by15mm round. That one was in a set of 5 different forged hearts.
May 8, 20224 yr Flower pot poker is a great idea. funny on the furniture comment. Careful tho, some children might do it. Lol.
May 9, 20224 yr Author Tip for demos: Don' tell the spectators what you are forging. Let them guess. Interesting how few people can imagine what you are forging until you fold it open. And many stay - at least until it's ready. Willy
May 10, 20224 yr Good timing, Just so happens I been thinking of what to demo for some 3rd grade classes this Friday. I got a bunch of campaign sign wire looking for use. Now to get my lengths figured out, make a few with my travel rig, and have at it. Thanks Life is Good Dave
May 10, 20224 yr Wicon, thanks for taking the time to post this, this type of information helps new smiths like me on how to do things
May 11, 20224 yr As I usually teach starting with a 1/4" square stock S hook, I have some 1/8" sq stock I can use with kids; though for the younger ones we trade off hammering: kid---tink tink tink, next heat me, whomp whomp whomp. I clean up any hammering issues and speed the project along.
May 11, 20224 yr Author I seldom teach forging. Mostly I forge on events like school or city festivals, christmas markets and so on. So I see my "customers" only 15 to 30 minutes. To make shure that everything stays safe, I handle the steel and the child works like a striker would do - Whomp - tink - whomp - tink... Except when only light blows are needed like bending the heart open. p.s.: Tink --- (Usually) the father: "Hit harder!" --- Twank - missed. I tell the child: "Don't strike so hard. You will miss. You are simply to young make heavy blows and hit the steel. Get 12 to 16 years old and you will hit ard and not miss. Willy
December 2, 20223 yr I use aluminum grounding wire salvaged from the power company to start the little kids, it moves like hot steel.
December 4, 20223 yr Nice heart! I'm thinking if I let the end of the taper widen a bit and incise it lightly, when I bend the scrolled end around I can fit the spread taper to look like a hand holding the scroll. Now I just saw the "hand" rotated 90* and with an open center above he scroll with the leather thong threaded through both so the hand was "holding" on. This got my piece juices flowing, these'll make nice Christmas stocking stuffers and Valentine's day isn't that far off. Thanks. Frosty The Lucky.
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