Just finished whipping this out. It took me longer that I thought that it would. I did all of what you see here in 2 hours.

What I learned:

Hammer control improves over time
slow down
it is easier to draw things over the horn

Let me know what you all think.
Best,

Archiphile

Edited November 3, 200817 yr by archiphile
Picture malfunction

Whatzit?? Not sure what it is. The picture is a little bit blurred. But looks like you drew out to a point and made a hook and also drew the other end out flat, and put a twist in the middle. Keep going. It gets easier every time you practice.........to a point. But it's supposed to be fun. So enjoy!! :)

Some good basic skills displayed there, you should be happy. Another thing to remember is to work your metal while its hot and keep it hot. Don't get tempted into the "one more hit" way of thinking. You get away with that with mild steel but with tool steel you will get cracks.

i find it more efficant to draw things out over the edge of the anvil and the horn is tipicay softer than the face so it can be mared easly on most anvils

Yes keeping the steel hot was easy. I just fired up the torch each heat. As I have no forge at this point. I started out with 1/2" square stock. It took more heat that I thought at first. But once it thinned out it heated quickly. I do think that I need to make a pair of tongs before I make anything else. It will make things a lot easier as I will not have to unlock vise grips. Sorry about the pic quality. I will take some other photos in the morning in the sunlight.

Curly George, you are quite correct. I drew out an end and turned a hook on it and bent it over at ninety degrees. Flipped the piece and heated and beat the other flat, applied heat to the middle and with two pairs of vise grips I applied a twist in the center.

Thank you all for the words of encouragement.

Best,

Archiphile

One important tip is predictability. Whenever possible, keep your work symmetric and straighten the piece before returning it to the fire. Doing this will:
1) speed up the learning process
2) speed up making your pieces
3) build good work habits that will, with time, make your life easier and safer.

Good first piece.

When drawing out the taper
* make sure you put a point on the end of the piece first then
* hit the piece on the flat part of the horn just where the curve starts.
* as you are drawing the taper over the horn pull the piece towards you
* use overlapping blows and
* Clean it up on the anvil face.