Mike BR Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Around 10 years ago, I was lucky enough to visit the Kelham Island museum in Sheffield. I walked if into one of the rooms and a curator rather assertively asked me if I had any questions. I said no, and walked over to look a display on forging pitchforks with a steam hammer. The blank (one of which was on display) was around 1/2" thick and had three stubby projections on one side and two on the other. There was a film clip that showed drawing the tines, spreading and forming the socket, and (of course) twisting the horizontal bar so everything pointed the right way. The curator approached me again and said "Are you sure you don't have any questions? You can ask me anything." So I asked how the blank was formed. He said "they heated the steel so it got soft and put it under the hammer . . ." (I belatedly realized that the three-stub of one blank would interlock with the two-stub side of the other and guessed they might have been sheared out of something like 1/2 X 4 bar.) More amusing was the man in the shopping mall in Nottingham who kept insisting he could save me money on my electric bill, but that's another story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 5, 2023 Author Share Posted August 5, 2023 So here is the samples of the items the students covered. I auctioned off the samples I forged for the students to see. The video is of one of the students whom never forged in his life. This was his first class and this is the morning of day 4.. Interestingly nearly all the students completed their drop tong welds within a few hours of each other. The ladies of the group had a hard time with the longer bars.. Something I forgot to mention is to cut the bar to a comfortable length.. LOL.. Its funny how certain things just seem clear but open to interpretation. I could not be happier with the results of the class.. Few people who had lessons previously were a little tough to get to change their fire management.. a By day 2.. All the students knew how to start their fires and to create a welding fire vs general forging fire.. Was awesome.. 20230731_165722.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted August 8, 2023 Share Posted August 8, 2023 That is a great group photo. I watched the video quite a few times. It reminds me of how I felt all the times I discovered something new. I can't imagine the satisfaction and feeling, of teaching, seeing that look and excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted August 8, 2023 Share Posted August 8, 2023 I just can't get past the French crosspeen hammer being mounted upside down. I guess it does work in both orientations, and might even have some utility being mounted inverted, but still... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 8, 2023 Share Posted August 8, 2023 But the look on the students face when his weld stuck is classic joy. BTW I get a network error on the video and have to right click and open it in a new tab, then it plays. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 8, 2023 Author Share Posted August 8, 2023 Latticino it's funny that every time I look at that hammer I shake my head.. I don't know what happened.. It would stop me dead in my tracks everytime I walked by.. Eventually telling myself to stop it.. LOL. The hammer handles in the shop are very short.. Way too short for my liking. It's interesting because anytime I go to someone else's shop I use whatever they use.. But, but, but.. I am so glad I brought my hammers.. Only used the 2.75lbs.. I did use the student's hammers when I wasn't working on a project directly with them or demonstrating at their forging stations, but it was really miserable. I'm not going to go into likes and dislikes about equipment and such in reference to PV's shop. I really do prefer hand crank blowers and think all students should have to use them. I loved that every station had its own dedicated combination Hardie though were mentioned as hot only. The environment is maybe the thing I liked the most.. There is a palpable energy that happens when teaching students that is tangible especially if the students are excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted August 8, 2023 Share Posted August 8, 2023 Nothing better than going to craft camp for adults. I've been to several of them one or more times so far (Arc and Flame, NESM, Haystack, Penland, Peter's Valley, Touchstone, Dragon's Forge...) and they are certainly my preferred vacation destination. If I had my druthers, when I eventually retire I'd love to just spend a few years going to these, and other, schools monthly. Maybe even get to the point where I am ready to teach a more advanced class. That is my dream. I also like hand cranked blowers, but have to admit that since you have inspired me to finish setting up my coal forge I'm starting with the electric option. Mine will have a foot kill switch and Variac to adjust airflow, so will be pretty similar experience to hand cranking. Would use the hand cranked blower I have, but it needs an oiler and stand rigged up, so that will take longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted August 8, 2023 Share Posted August 8, 2023 I hope your dream comes true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 8, 2023 Author Share Posted August 8, 2023 Latticino that is a very worthy goal and ideal.. I'm with you except I hope to travel and teach.. Hopefully teach my way to all 50 states and back.. As to the coal forge.. I'm still a coal user.. Soft, coke, and even hard if the forge is setup right. But yes, yes a coal user. I'd use charcoal if storage wasn't such a problem.. I don't even mind the 5 to 1 ratio.. Well a little bit.. Having your electric blower setup correctly will make it perfect for you.. I use electric but have it setup so it can't blow the hot fire out of the pot all over the person using the forge because the throttle/air grate is funky.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 On 8/8/2023 at 8:36 PM, Latticino said: I just can't get past the French crosspeen hammer being mounted upside down. I guess it does work in both orientations, and might even have some utility being mounted inverted, but still... I see a lot of them mounted that way. More the bigger ones than the smaller ones. And not all of them are in use by smiths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 Depending on how the hammer is used (forging vs sheet metal form or peening) has a say in which way they are turned. For peening on a scythe the pattern is inversed so the flat edge will fit against the bottom swage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 I've found using French pattern hammers mounted "upside down" are easier to forge precise set downs but that's the only plus I've noticed. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 11, 2023 Share Posted August 11, 2023 I'm not a fan of the French pattern but Debi loves hers. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 11, 2023 Author Share Posted August 11, 2023 When I was much, much younger, a smith i know worked with Haberman and another guy whose name slips me now.. anyhow when he came back he was a huge fan of the French pattern.. I was young enough that I didn't know anything so lusted after that French style.. I was too green to be able to forge one but Centaur Forge had a batch of seconds they got a hold of with no handles and I bought a 3lb one.. I used it a little here and there but never really liked it. I used it primarily for thinning plate for frying pans and scarfs on hinges. The face is rounded some. Few years later I bought a 1500gram Swedish pattern which became one of my favorite go-to hammers for peen drawing. With that long peen, it could get in anywhere and that fulcrum or leverage point really pulled or pushed the metal sideways. 12 or so years ago I purchased a complete set of Swedish patterns from 900gram up to 2500 grams I think, the largest one is near 5lbs and same with the French patterns.. I don't use them much at all now.. Even the hammer I swung for nearly 30 years sits idle with no handle and it was my main hammer, it was a true value blacksmith hammer 2.5lbs. IIRc might be 2lbs.. It's been that long.. Now I use both steeled wrought iron hammers the most.. The 4lb is to heavy for me now.. So it's mainly the 2.75lb one.. I'll slowly work back up to the heavy weights. I find now that finding the right handle length and shape was one of the most important discoveries I could have ever made.. With that handle shape the head weight is less important because all the hammer feel the same.. It's the velocity and rpm that changes.. that is about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted August 11, 2023 Share Posted August 11, 2023 14 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: Depending on how the hammer is used (forging vs sheet metal form or peening) has a say in which way they are turned. For peening on a scythe the pattern is inversed so the flat edge will fit against the bottom swage. could be but I see the 3kg + ones reversed and the ones less than a kg in the other "normal" way. These are a handfull to use on a scythe. Somehow my dad and grandparents had a lot of those style hamers ranging from 250gr till 750gr. They used to be the more popular style before the german style took over. Every time I'm in france on holiday and visist their small markets I look for hammers. But +/- 1kg is the biggest I found. I have one of roughly 800-900gr, with a rounded face (ideal as a carpentershammer to nail and don't leave visible marks) and use it as a rounding hammer (one side). It is a bit light to use for peening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted August 11, 2023 Share Posted August 11, 2023 Sorry to keep derailing this into a discussion of French Pattern hammers, but a couple of years ago I saw Joe Keeslar do a forging demonstration at a hammer in for one of his signature Brut de Forge blades. At 70+ years he was still swinging a short handled 6 LB French hammer to pretty amazing effect. It was mounted the "normal way", and he mentioned that he brought it home from one of his many excursions in France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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