Back in the shop!

Back in the shop for the weekend. I was planning on going to Ghosts, Gouls and Goblins this weekend, but life decided that i should stay close to home. It ended up not being necessary, but I could not take a chance. In order to relax and chill, I decided to make some nails. These were for replacing the screws that are holding the chest together. I also tried out my new nail header I purchased from Pieh tools. It ended up being much better then the one I had been using. Slowly one by one I began replacing the screws with hand forged nails.

The hinges for chests of this time period were also held on with nails with the ends folded over to make them secure. Picture 4 and 5 show the screws being replaced in the hinge. This was all I was able to get done on Friday.

Saturday saw me finally start on a project that I had been dreading. I feared I had bitten off more then I could chew and I was not going to be able to create what was needed.

Backstory:

For quite a while, I have wanted a bigger leg vice to be able to handle larger jobs. Most of them that I have been able to find online, the shipping made them cost prohibitive. At Pennsic this summer, Rabenwald Metalsmiths had a large post leg vice that was missing a few parts. They wanted a fair price for the condition that it was in, just a question of where or how I would get the parts. After a few days of himming and humming, I decided to take a chance and purchase it. It was transported to Grimmsfield and a suitably dark corner was found that I could ignore it in!. And thus I did. Friday while trying to make a part for the chest, The current leg vice once again reminded me that it was not the optimal tool for the projects that I asked of it. So, having filled myself with false confidence and a bunch of YouTube videos, Saturday was going to be the day I fixed the vice. Two parts were needed for the vice to be operational, a spring and a wedge to hold the spring and vice in the mounting bracket. For the spring, I used the spring on the old vice as a model and began forging one that would fit in the new vice. The bottom retaining lips were relatively east, but the top bend took several tries to get the spring to be the right length. For the wedge, I decided to go with a setup similar to that used on a crossbow for the irons. I forged 2 squares pieces. each slightly tapered from beginning to end. With the spring in place, these were then driven in to the mounting plate slot from opposite ends to form a tight bond. Not only did this work out, but it did so on the first try!!!! The action was smooth, the jaws lined up perfectly, everything was great! The vice is mounted to the vice stand of the older vice, on the opposite side and all I needed to do wa s turn the stand around and I had a new working vice!.

I hate to admit it, but this made me more proud then anything else I have forged. They are not pretty pieces, not something that anyone would ever point to and say, “Wow did you forge that?” But, it was a job that needed an exact part and I was able to make that part! This to me strikes at the heart of blacksmithing. Being able to make a shovel or rake or any other tool does not have any exacting specs. to be able to forge a piece and fix a tool (to me) is making it on a whole other level. This ended the work for Saturday, as it was time for mundane life to interfere.

Sunday saw Lady Gunnora going off to do pony things for most of the day, which left me home to my own devices. So, guess where I was. That’s right, back in the forge. The first chore was to clean up the shop a little bit. This also included hanging new lights, hanging a new power strip, and re-attaching the air feed tube. Man, I had no idea how much air I was loosing through leakage. I was amazes when I fired up the forge how hot I was able to get it and how quickly as well. On to forging!

The first project was using another “what have I done” object. For the fire table, the cooks had requested a shovel for moving coals around. No problem I thought. I have bought several shovel heads (or fireplace kits that I have pulled the shove from). But wait, my brain cried, why would you buy a shovel head for $12.00 when you could buy a swage block for $300.00 and then spend $12.00 to buy a piece of metal to spend hours trying to make it to shape. So naturally I bought the swage block! This was purchased soon after Pennsic and has sat on a stump ever sense. So, last week I purchased a piece of 16 ga. mild steel sheet with enough metal metal to make 2 shovels. This was split in half and the fun began.

I was not sure about forging from flat sheet, as I had never tried it. This was another success story! I left more forging marks in the shovel then I wanted, bit I was able to forge something that 9 out of 10 people would point to and say that is a shovel. While forging the handle, i was able to use my vice for the first time. Yes, it was only to hold the bar for twisting, but it worked perfectly! Because I set it up on the stand made for a smaller vice, I am not sure if it is not set up to high, however. I will need to use it a few more times to see if it is a problem. Inspired by the success of this handle, i decided to forge on and make the handle for the broom that would go with the set.

After all of this, it was time to wind down. Just going to make a few nails. The nails that I made, added to the nails I forged a while ago were just enough to finish the chest. All hinges and hardware on the chest were now hand forged by me. the bending of the nails on the hinges still need some work. the joints are sloppy. I think i can fix this by re-bending with a solid block behind the head.

with the adding of the final nail, I ended my day in the shop. Time to go and spend some quality time with the wife. Enjoying dinner while watching the hockey game (pre-recorded). But, as long as I am just sitting here, lets go ahead and get out the broom making supplies. The handle is done, so time to start thinking about the broom. Once I had dug the supplies out, i figured I had better practice a little first. To that end, i found an old whisk broom handle I had forged a while ago. I made several of these during the great broom making phase I went through.

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of this, so you will just have to wait for next post for me to put up pictures. That might be sooner then usual, because I hope to get some work in tomorrow.

3 Weeks.

WOW! Its been 3 weeks since I wrote about my activities. I kept meaning to get around to it, but I kept finding reasons to put it off. No excuses, just the way life has been. So here’s whats up:

  1. Carved a mold and began casting ranking medallions for Atlantia’s Royal Rounds. These have been produced by several people over the years that I have been playing, and I felt it was my turn to add some to the coffers.

They are now just waiting for drilling and painting.

2. Did some work on wrapping the rest of the hardware for the archers bathroom. They are now just waiting on a few coats of varnish and to be mounted.

Finally got back into the workshop (garage) and was able to do some work on Grimmsfield’s outdoor kitchen. At first this did not involve using the forge, which made me sad. But I spent a few days cutting the lumber and roughing up the tool chest for the kitchen.

This was put together and the hardware attached with drywall screws to see how it would all go together. These will be removed one at a time and replaced with hand forged nails. As a nail maker, I SUCK!!!!!!! Not happy with most that I have produced, and those that are usable, I would not give them bore then a C- grade. Once enough nails are made I plan to take the box back apart, stain and varnish it, and then put it back together with the nails.

Last week I finally found some time to blacksmith. The next tool I planned on making was a cinder rake that was requested by the cooks of Grimmsfield. This was to be a tool to remove the old coals and ashes from the sand in order to build a new cooking fire. I had been racking my brains for several weeks trying to figure out how to make a rake head. Cutting a sheet into the proper shape, forging a piece with multiple prongs, or cutting an old cement rake for the tines. All of these went through my mind, but in the end it was luck (and my wife ) who found a metal children’s rake that I then took apart for the rake head.

The rake came in 3 pieces, the wooden shaft, the socket and the rake head. Nocking out the rake head was easy. the socket was held on to the head with 2 bent tabs. when these were ground off, the head came right off leaving me with 2 holes perfect for riveting.

138735.jpg

The next step was to burn off the paint and create a handle for the tool. This was done on a similar way to the water scoop I made earlier, except with a smaller front blade. This was then drilled to match the 2 holes in the rake head. Once the 2 were connected, I was not pleased with how the angles of the tool were, but I had run out of time. Last Monday, before archery, i found myself with enough time to work on something, but not enough time to fire up the forge.

I decided to try forging using an oxy / acetylene torch. I had seen several videos of blacksmith using this as a quick heat source, and I decided to give it a try. And it works. used a lot of fuel, but I was able to isolate the bends behind the rake head and get them to the shape I wanted. Two tools now in the chest, plus the chest! Now to figure out what to work on next. I know I have some arrows in my future, but there is nothing exciting there. Nothing exciting, but time consuming. Hopefully, it will not take me as long to do enough to post again.

Last Weekend at the Forge.

“Grimm, missed you at Battle on the Bay. Whats up?”

I was stuck working once again. But I was able to make it into the forge for a few hours after work and before it got to late to be pounding. I was also able to steal a few hours on both Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The sad news is that this was not SCA Forging but mundane forging for the house. Having remodeled the Archers bathroom, i felt I should make all the fixtures for it. I had made a TP holder earlier, but messed up the proportions. Now it was time to make the complete set.

My goal was:

  1. Towel Bar

  2. Towel Ring

  3. TP holder

  4. Paper Towel holder

Sketching out my plans, such as they are:

Saturdays Blacksmithing:

The first thing to work on was to be the towel bar. This would not need a hook the way the paper towel and TP racks would, but instead be 2 closed loops. Because of the size of this piece, the 1/4 in round bar that I was using for the rest of the projects looked a little skimpy. Therefore I moved up to 3/8 in round stock. The 2 angle pieces were made first to make them as uniform as possible. After that the eyes were forged on the ends of the towel rod and fitted to the wall mounts. Once the piece was forged, I was faced with a question of suitability of purpose. Iron is not necessarily the best for putting wet towels on. This was not a problem for Tp and paper towel holders, but could

be a problem for a towel rack. There were several solutions to this problem, enamel or Spray paint, clear lacquer, rubber or plastic tubing, or something else. In keeping with the hand made look, i decided on something else. I was going to do a cord wrap and then varnish the cord. This was done on old ships to protect the ship from metal parts. That evening after closing down the forge, I began wrapping the rod with a french hitch. Thus ended my Saturday.

Sunday saw me taking care of chores in the morning, but having the afternoon free to get back in the shop. This would be the day for the towel ring. I was excited to get to this because i would have to forge weld the ring. Something I had never tried before. Making the rest was pretty straightforward, but the ring was a new experience for me. After several attempts, i managed to get the ring welded. Not well, but welded. I attempted a scarf weld and in retrospect, should have built up more material before welding. The ring came out a little thin at the joint. In the end, about 80% of the total length of the weld was solid. I left a bit at each end that would not weld. Having messed with it for quite a while, i decided that this was close enough and I would settle for what I had.

Monday saw me racing around to finish chores and leave myself some forging time before archery. In this I was successful. The forge was fired up once again. Three times in three days! The Gods were smiling on me. This time I was going to work on the paper towel holder and the TP holder. This would be a exercise in controlled forging as I wanted all 4 wall mounts to be as identical as possible. I was very pleased with the consistency I was able to achieve in this. They all matched quite well. Now to do the bars. Here, I am afraid, I became to cocky and forgot to thing about function over design. I made the 2 hooks and they were beautiful, long, perfectly tapered, and with a curl on the tip to show off my skills. What could be better!

Here’s where the problems came in:

 
 

A 2 1/2 inch perfectly tapered hook for a 1 1/2 inch paper towel roll. Damn it!!! Right after i figured this out, the archers started showing up for practice. Time to bank the fires and move on to something else.

Tuesday saw me back at work, but pissed off at the stupidity of the hook situation. But, could I get out in time to fire up the forge and quickly address the problem? Yes, yes I could. And so: hooks 2.0. Not as happy with the looks, but they are done.

So, on Tuesday evening, it was time to finish the wrapping of the towel bar and wrap the towel ring and be done with this project. As I sat sown in my easy chair to finish the wrapping, I looked at both the wrapping I had already done and my choice of materials and was not happy with either. I was thinking at first a synthetic cord was the way to go for waterproofing, but the aesthetics of it were just all wrong. So, time to pull out the cotton cordage and start wrapping with that. The spiral knots were also not to my liking. I decided to switch to a single cord cockscombing wrap for both items. First to do the towel ring, then undo the towel bar and redo that. So at the end of Tuesday I had the ring wrapped and the towel bar ready to go for it’s 2nd wrap.

And thus do my adventures in blacksmithing come to an end. Not to figure out what to get into next.