Hefty Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Das, are your steel sculptures and ornaments MIG, TIG or stick welded? And, if TIG, autogenous or with filler rod? Cheers, Jono. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Hi Hefty, I mostly just use MIG. I have two different machines, one setup for .023 wire and one setup for .030 or .035 wire for thicker stock. For small stuff I mainly use the light duty Mig with .023 wire. I have a TIG welder but am not as used to it so really the most I use it for it tacking chain or small pieces together without filler wire, and once in a while to smooth out a mig weld. Maybe one day I'll have the time to practice more with it and use it more with filler wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hefty Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Nice, thanks! Yeah, I just got a TIG welder myself and it's a STEEEEP learning curve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Making icicle style hanger for Christmas trees. The flat twists were actually really good for practicing tapers on thin stock. I had my new apprentice(?) Starting on these and she learned fairly quickly. I knocked out about 35 total between the two styles, just need to drill holes and add ribbon to hang them. I'm thinking of just clear coating them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Nice icicles Chad. Clearcoat would work fine with them shined up. I have made a few ornaments that turned out darker and end up blending into the tree. I try to either polish up and clearcoat or paint them now. With all the lights and other flashy stuff on the tree the forged metal color gets lost. Hefty, if you get the time to practice with it you should be fine. There are many good instructional videos online to check out. I just never tend to have the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 In regards to forged color getting lost in the tree - I wonder if you brushed it with a brass bristle brush while hot - or heat tempered to the iridescent colors - if that would help it stand out without painting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 The top picture, left side that one I did hit it with a brass brush. It was still only a subtle change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les L Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Chad, that's a nice job on the icicles. The one you brass brushed may not have been hot enough when you started brushing. You should be able to get a nice bright brass color. Make sure you don't have a brass coated steel brush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Looks pretty brassy to me. If you have enough to play around paint one white and just clear coat the brassed one and another and see which you like more. You can never truely know what the consumer will prefer. Do them how you like them. And if you get a commission for one different you can accommodate that if you want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Chad: The brass finish will show better if you don't lay it on a shiny steel surface to photograph. If you REALLY want a brass effect, bring the work to brazing temp, give it a touch of fluxed brazing rod and wipe it to even it out. A clean piece of cotton canvas or old jeans is what we used in metal shop. With practice you can lay braze smoothly without a wipe. Then if you were to file or sand the edges of the twists for contrast. Hmmm? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 I have done that with non-lead solder or a bar of tin, a process called tinning. It makes the item shine silvery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Saw this guy someone had made and just Had to make one. I have a bunch of old hand braces some junk and some good. This was a junk one. Hope the photos do it some justice. Little Rudolph is cute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shainarue Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Rudolph put a smile right on my face. Nice photos. Chad J, I love your icicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Glad to make you smile. I was smiling making it. Picked out some parts last night in planning to make him. Shainaru, Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 "I was smiling making it. Picked out some parts last night in planning to make him." That's what I like. Speaking for myself, I go off into my own little creative world and all other thoughts and worries just fizzle away into nothingness..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Just like forging something, you get into the zone and forget everything else for a little while. I was happy to find very similar unplated wrenches in my bin. I still have a big pile in the bin but the smaller ones are getting tough to locate. I'll have to do some fleamarketing this spring. And reorganize my bin so the small ones aren't on the bottom. On another side note, I had babbit material melt out from behind the wood handle when I welded on the legs. It was on its side on the welding table when it happened so it just poured onto the metal table and not on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Ooh, that would have been painful. I've had decent luck with picking up unplated wrenches at my local ReStore, usually pretty cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 My local re-store wasn't bad but then something changed and prices are just silly on most things. I also rarely see many old tools. It is sometimes worth a stop but I don't go as often as when it was reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 The last time I was at mine, they had a couple dozen little bottles of cutting fluid. Drilling hasn't been the same since. (Actually, I need to check on the closest one. It closed last spring over embezzlement allegations, but was supposed to reopen under new management.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 The restore here doesn't have any tools but the little junk shop down the road is always good for a few. He has about forty filing cabinets and lockers outside with all manner of cool junk in them. The smallest old un-plated wrench I have found has a jaw opening of 1/8" and is about 3" long. Cute little thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Cool Rudolf, Das. The first pic had me going for a while, I kept trying to figure out where the ret of the regulator went, then I scrolled down and had my head slapping moment. I haven't been impressed with what passes for restores here and tools at 2nd hand or pawn shops are near new prices, flea markets seem to be to save people from making dump runs. Yard, garage, etc. sales are the best hunting grounds around here. I really miss swap meets an flea markets in the lower 48. <sigh> Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 I, uhhh, may have made a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 It's been rumored. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 We have this guy near here, i call the place Sanford and son, that sells "junk". I found an old time clock there next to a set of bull horns for an idea. I did find a top fuller, a nice hammer, and a small Columbian bench vice (4"?) there though. But it really is like walking into a real life Sanford and son. (now i got "Street Beater" in my head) He marks the price on things but does not go by that. The little vice he had marked $25, that, the hammer, fuller, and a protractor i asked what he wanted for all and he said $30. Pretty cool little place but you have to dig to find stuff or just look around. As a side note, anyone else get a song stuck in your head for like weeks on end? A couple weeks ago it was "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone. Had a coworker a while back ago that would send me pictures and banana related stuff when i was walking around singing the "Banana Boat Song". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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