Here is a chandelier that I made and took pictures of the process yesterday. It is forge welded together with a technique I rediscovered on my own before I had gotten around any other blacksmiths. It is probably the simplest forge welding setup to succeed with your first time. My 9 year old made a grappeling hook out of 1/4" sqaure stock with a 1/8"x3/4" collar for his first hot project.

Nice piece, thanks for sharing. I like your nail header if that what u call it.

Is that one of the hammers you made?

That looks GREAT!! I really like it .

You're very welcome. Yes, that is a heading tool made from leaf spring.
No, I did not make that hammer. Tom Clark made that one for me. I used the round side to forge the cups.

Did you put a finish on it? beeswax?

By simple forging technique do you mean that the collar simplifies the whole process by keeping everything in line? Or is that just the wires job? I need a chandelier for my camp and i might try this tecnique.

thanks

Yes, I finished it with vegetable oil while it is at a temperature that it will burn on, kind of like seasoning a cast iron skillet. I use terry cloth with oil on it and rub it on at the right temperature.
By simple technique I mean a few things:
1. You're forging relatively small parts then joining them together after you've done most your forging. This simplifies things alot especially when I'm making a table or candelabra that has more pieces to join together. I have welded up to 36 pieces in a single collar. you could do hundreds of pieces.
2. The collar holds all the pieces together for forge welding. The wire is for protecting the pieces from oxidation while forge welding; I could have used another collar which would have been better, but it would have been confusing to some, and make me give a longer explanation. When your material is exposed to high temps it scales up, and since I have finished my hammer work except for the welding I'd rather the wire or a false collar be exposed to most of the oxidation.
3. You are welding on the end of a piece, so it is very easy to get in your hot spot.
4. The area you are welding starts out smaller than your hammer and is raised up by what I call a false scarf [the collar] so that the only thing in contact with your hammer and your anvil is the area you are welding. I cannot over emphasize the importance of this concept. So if I would have used a false collar to protect the area closest to the weld from oxidation it would have to be thinner than the collar like the wire was.

I'm with you...same as using a piece of sheet metal just behind the weld collar. So long as you don't flux and hit it, it will easily peel away after the weld is completed.

I saw a similar description in a British blacksmithing book but I can't remember if it was a COSIRA publication or something else. At any rate, it certainly does a good job - a very nice piece...

Great piece Brian. You have me all inspired to do something similar.
Finnr

I'm amazed at your skill in design, execution and presentation.
A beautiful work, inspiring.
Thanks

Thanks guys, I enjoy sharing this information. No one should have to go through what I have to learn these simple things.

I had never thought of using a collar in that purpose. A great set of pictures!

I call it the forge welded bundle.

I'm admiring your finished product as well as the clear pictures and procedure. Great Job!

Anvillain

I like the transition you get with the forge-welded collar, looks great. How did you attach the spikes through the drip pans. Did you chisel a small piece of metal off the spike to lock it in right where it enters the drip pan?

I like the transition you get with the forge-welded collar, looks great. How did you attach the spikes through the drip pans. Did you chisel a small piece of metal off the spike to lock it in right where it enters the drip pan?

Alwin, I was wondering when someone was going to ask this question. You're sharp; I've been reading alot of your posts.
I figured this one out the first time I did a spike on a candle cup. It is the most efficient way I've seen anywhere.
Notice the spike is square. I set [monkey] the peices down then take a tool with a hole drilled in it of the appropriate size that shears the four corners down and rivets the pieces together. This can be done cold if you don't quench your spikes after you make them.

I believe Hofi has a blueprint showing that tool. It seems like a really nice way to make a candleholder with a spike in a simple and quick way. It really beats tenoning a small spike and bradding it over unless you really need dexterity exercises.

Alwin,
Yes, I saw Hofi's approach after I got with Tom Clark in 2004, but they were doing it on a long tapered spike in the vice for a candle holder. It didn't afford as much backing and it was very limited. This approach is so much more versitile.

That makes a lot of sense. I've just seen the long taper in which you need to carefully consider the transition of the taper in respect to the candle cup hole, and I imagine keeping the cup level and not distorting it would be very tricky even with a thick cup. Everything is much easier with a good backing and your way eliminates most of the problem of leveling. I'm sure I'll try it sometime soon. Thanks

Brian, I notice a little collar around the head of the spike (bottom of the cup). How did that get there?

I think you are referring to the spike head itself. I used a rivet set punch that was undersized for the spike head, so it created a ring around it that may look lke a collar to you, but it is not a collar. If you'll notice the flower on the S hook that the chandelier hangs from you'll see the same rivet set employed without the ring because there is no head to set.

Brian will be teaching a class on this in November. It would be a cool experience to hand out with an iforgeiron guy......maybe if we can get a few IFI people in the class we can take some photos and get them to Glenn as an appreciation???
November 13-15 => Forge Welded Bundle Chandelier with Brian Brazeal

Peyton