SK-Buckwheat Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 This was a Valentines' Day project for my wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironrosefarms Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Very nice indeed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Very nice. I'll bet it's worth a little smoochin eh? I like Cussed Creek Forge, great name, speaks volumes, goes anywhere with you. All in all it's darned near perfect. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK-Buckwheat Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 Yeah you are right Frosty, it was worth a little smoochin alright. That was my first rose I made, I think it turned out pretty fair. I wanted all forge welds, but I couldn't do it. I had to go start up my welder and hook up the wire feeder. I got one leaf forge welded on really nice with the help of my daughter being my striker. But the base and top leaf I couldn't get those. Part of it I think was the awkward spots I was trying to get into to do them. I did have all of them sticking in the forge, but I just was not able to get them out of the forge and onto the anvil fast enough to weld. They lost welding temperature fast because they were fairly thin material. The whole thing standing on it's base is about 16" high I believe and the rose itself is about 4 1/2" in diameter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK-Buckwheat Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 (edited) Thanks to Frosty about the opinion that you voiced about it. I appreciate it. I kinda liked that name for my little forge business too. We actually have a little creek that runs just past our place here and it is Cussed Creek. And I thought it was quite fitting....there is some cussing going on out in the shop from time to time:D Edited February 19, 2009 by SK-Buckwheat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Very nice work! That gives me something to aspire to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 You should score mucho points with the Wife for this one. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Welding really thin stock can be difficult. Getting it to the anvil while it's still at welding heat may be impossible. Sooooo, take the anvil to the forge. Not the "big" anvil, you don't need a large anvil, this is thin stock. Right? So, how about a sledge hammer head? Perhaps just any old piece of steel that weighs 10-20 x the weight of the stock you're welding. That way you can have the "anvil" (Hey, forget those quote marks, it IS an anvil!) right on the forge table or right in front of your gasser so you lose almost zero heat between fire and anvil. My Mother and Sister moved to Nampa, just outside Boise about 8 months ago and Mother was really taken with one of the local roads. Were Deb and I thinking of moving to the area we'd have to look REALLY hard to find a suitable place on it so I could name my forge after the road. How does, "Chicken Dinner Forge" sound? Darned near irresistible isn't it? Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK-Buckwheat Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Welding really thin stock can be difficult. Getting it to the anvil while it's still at welding heat may be impossible. Sooooo, take the anvil to the forge. Not the "big" anvil, you don't need a large anvil, this is thin stock. Right? So, how about a sledge hammer head? Perhaps just any old piece of steel that weighs 10-20 x the weight of the stock you're welding. That way you can have the "anvil" (Hey, forget those quote marks, it IS an anvil!) right on the forge table or right in front of your gasser so you lose almost zero heat between fire and anvil. My Mother and Sister moved to Nampa, just outside Boise about 8 months ago and Mother was really taken with one of the local roads. Were Deb and I thinking of moving to the area we'd have to look REALLY hard to find a suitable place on it so I could name my forge after the road. How does, "Chicken Dinner Forge" sound? Darned near irresistible isn't it? Frosty That does sound irresistible Frosty. Yeah when I had give up on the forge welds, I did think of putting my ASO up on the forge bed to do it that way. I am going to try that on the next one I do. You might like having a little more daylight than you do up there eh? It is nothing like where you live for scenery though with what I know of AK. I have been down in the Nampa area numerous times over the years. When are you thinking of moving down that way Frosty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I like how spiraling your rose pattern is. Will you do me a favor and give me an explanation or a walk through on the process you use or you've created? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK-Buckwheat Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 I like how spiraling your rose pattern is. Will you do me a favor and give me an explanation or a walk through on the process you use or you've created? I will do, I am just headed off to get some sleep here now, but I will try and explain some in the morning after I get the heater lit in the shop and come back in the house for a coffee. Thanks for the interest. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK-Buckwheat Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 The petals are 16 gauge sheet. 5 disks starting at 5" down to 4" I believe it was. Cut 5 petals into each one. Square your stem and square punch the holes in the disks, but position them so the petals will offset over each other. Then heat the disks and draw the petals wider so that they will overlap each other so that they can be brought up in a clockwise rotation. Draw the ends out thin so they are more lifelike too. Put them all on the stem with the petals offset half of their width from the one on top of it Then start in the center and start pulling up the petals and forming the center like normal. Once you are happy with the look of it, start heating the tips of the petals and roll them down a bit. All the heats I done were in the forge. I like to use traditional methods when all possible. The disks were cut out with the plasma though. But that is all. I hope I helped you some here, if you need more clarification just let me know and I will be glad to try and help more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 so you actually pull them up and tweak them while all the discs are on the stem? See in the past I just drilled a hole through all my petal cut discs and then forged the shape of each one and welded them together through a hole in the middle. Then when I had all the petals forged to their basic shape and welded in I would go and tweak them a bit. Now i'm startinig to realize this may not be the best way. But I do like to be able to hammer the discs into their shape first and then put them on a stem. So I will probably try your idea and my idea in a combination. Sort of like take my discs hammer them into the basic shape and then work from the bottom (largest disc) to the smallest by trying them in place. Kinda of hard to explain I guess. But this way i'd be hammering each section and then putting it on the stem when it looks good, rather then trying to work flat discs and pull them up with pliers or tongs(which i'm guessing is what your describing you did?). Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK-Buckwheat Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 You got the basic idea of how I do it now. I do get them all stretched to the thickness I want on the anvil, and then there is a concave shape to all the disks. But then I do put them all onto the stem drive them down with a hollow punch and then rivet them down. Then, yes I heat & pull all the petals up into position from the center outward with a pair of small scrolling tongs I made. I was pleased with the end result. With everything all accounted for, from cutting out the disks to the end when all the engraving was done on the base of that one pictured it was somewhere around 15 hours work....maybe I am just really slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 You got the basic idea of how I do it now. I do get them all stretched to the thickness I want on the anvil, and then there is a concave shape to all the disks. But then I do put them all onto the stem drive them down with a hollow punch and then rivet them down. Then, yes I heat & pull all the petals up into position from the center outward with a pair of small scrolling tongs I made. I was pleased with the end result. With everything all accounted for, from cutting out the disks to the end when all the engraving was done on the base of that one pictured it was somewhere around 15 hours work....maybe I am just really slow. Ahh okay, now I have a better idea of the process. They do take a long time to make. I've seen stuff from china that assuredly must be machine made from the texture on the metal. The rose/petals I did on Rosa Mortis candlesticks (in this thread) took weeks to do because I actually cut lines in every petal with a chisel. Because of they way they were attached around that wire coil I had to weld them on one by one so this meant forging each petal one by one. Seriously time consuming. Even if your exceptionally good and fast at hammering roses out I don't think it can be done in anything faster then a few hours as you have templating, cutting, forging, a stem, final assembly and scroll work to do. I think a successful Rose is a good indicator that your on the right track to being a successful blacksmith and metal artist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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