Blacksmiths show your stuff!

[divrguy]

Okay beer lovers. I know you guys are tinkerers and I gotta believe some of you LOVE working with metal else there wouldn't be so many badass brew rigs out there.

So, I'm a machinist by trade and just getting into blacksmithing. Trying to get a mini shop set up with some tools. (Anyone in NorCal have an anvil I can purchase? Lol)

So what are you guys forging? Knives, swords everything? Let's see it!

 

[JDXX1971]

Sweet, I am a carpenter in NorCal, I was just telling my wife last night that I want a forge for Christmas. Which means that I too would need an anvil.

 

[divrguy]

I'm putting together a forge out of an old helium balloon tank. You can also use an old Freon tank. Have you seen the info on those?

If you find anvils out your way let me know, I could make a trip further north for a good deal.

 

[JDXX1971]

Thanks divrguy, I will have to look into that. Not much time to build stuff here though, so if we can swing it I may just get a small premade forge. I mostly want to make some garden tools. I will keep my eyes peeled for anvil's, let you know if anything comes up.

 

[Stehag]

A friend of mine wanted a trofé to hang on the wall. So I made him a moose

 

[divrguy]

Very cool!

 

[chudsonvt]

This is something I want to get into as well. I was actually asking someone about an anvil just last night, haha. I plan on doing knives, swords, tools and art.

I also want to use my future forge for smelting and casting. Lost wax and lost foam castings look pretty cool.

I also have a bunch of silver I refined (started with sterling and is now about 99% pure) that I need to cast into rounds. I just have not been able to get it hot enough. I can get it molten with map gas but my mold needs to be heated as well. My attempts to cast rounds turned ugly. The forge should fix this. The silver will be hotter and I can preheat the mold as well.

 

[BentBrewer]

(Anyone in NorCal have an anvil I can purchase? Lol)

Sorry. Not parting with any of my anvils. (Yes, anvilS, plural )
Before you go buy some beat up POS for $4 a pound, be aware they're still available new at around $6 a pound. Unless you find an anvil in good condition, don't get all excited and buy it.

I don't remember to take a lot of pictures, but since I started volunteering at the shop in Coloma, I have remembered to take a few pics here and there.

 

[divrguy]

Nice artwork Bentbrewer. I've been looking for over a year for a fair priced used one but it seems lately the prices have shot up. I'm working on making one right now out and I found a 150lb rectangular piece of steel at the scrap yard for .40 a lb.

 

[Stehag]

Another thing I've done is a small Christmas tree, this summer I put new doors in the barn, but the hinges were so worn out that I made new.

 

[Quaker]

I don't need another hobby, but it seems tempting seeing BentBrewer's work and having this shop in town: http://www.centaurforge.com. I've never even stopped in to avoid temptation to head down another rabbit hole.

 

[BentBrewer]

Looking around for a couple pictures of some 'less rough' work, but I'm at a loss. Ah well.

Nice artwork Bentbrewer. I've been looking for over a year for a fair priced used one but it seems lately the prices have shot up. I'm working on making one right now out and I found a 150lb rectangular piece of steel at the scrap yard for .40 a lb.

I can tip you off to a local guy that does anvil repair. He usually has a couple around for sale, but he's not cheap. Conversely if you hit up one of the bigger CBA events like Spring Conference, there's usually a few people in the parking lot selling anvils, tongs, hammers, etc.

I don't need another hobby, but it seems tempting seeing BentBrewer's work and having this shop in town: http://www.centaurforge.com. I've never even stopped in to avoid temptation to head down another rabbit hole.

Centaur Forge is great! Free shipping on orders over $300. Guess where I order my horse shoes?

 

[Homercidal]

I had once looked into making a small forge for hobby use. Then after looking into it decided I could not afford the time and money it would take to get into that hobby!

I mostly wanted to make knives and swords. After seeing a true professional at work, I knew I was not destined for that either. I could never be skilled enough to make anything like what he was making.

Daughter and I went to Fort Michilimackinac this summer and watched a younger guy at a forge there. He said he was still learning. He hired in and started apprenticing there. Pretty neat stuff. I wish I lived near enough a real forge to pay to putz around with it. Looks like fun.

 

[BentBrewer]

I mostly wanted to make knives and swords. After seeing a true professional at work, I knew I was not destined for that either. I could never be skilled enough to make anything like what he was making.

I'm always a hyoouge downer when it comes to knives. So take my comments as you wish.

Unless you're just doing straight material removal, I don't find knife making very worthwhile timewise. You can knock a blank out in about an hour, no problem. But then... You've got to anneal. Then make sure the spine width is the same down the length. Then finish your bevel. Then first polish and rough out the edge. Then harden. Then temper. Then finish the edge and polish. Then apply a handle.

Crimony! I can buy a nice industrially made blade for $15~60 bucks! Guess what I have in my pocket right now? A $15 beauty that I can easily replace if I lose it.

Meanwhile, things like those nice hinges Stehag showed on the previous page, or hooks that I can't get at the local feed store, or hay hooks, or...
Those interest me all that much more. But, to each their own. Other people can make similar arguments about home brewing I'm sure.

 

[Homercidal]

I'm always a hyoouge downer when it comes to knives. So take my comments as you wish.

Unless you're just doing straight material removal, I don't find knife making very worthwhile timewise. You can knock a blank out in about an hour, no problem. But then... You've got to anneal. Then make sure the spine width is the same down the length. Then finish your bevel. Then first polish and rough out the edge. Then harden. Then temper. Then finish the edge and polish. Then apply a handle.

Crimony! I can buy a nice industrially made blade for $15~60 bucks! Guess what I have in my pocket right now? A $15 beauty that I can easily replace if I lose it.

Meanwhile, things like those nice hinges Stehag showed on the previous page, or hooks that I can't get at the local feed store, or hay hooks, or...
Those interest me all that much more. But, to each their own. Other people can make similar arguments about home brewing I'm sure.

I'm with you on that. At first I thought about forging a nice-looking blade for the fun of it. Then found out the time investment. Then I thought of working with scrap metal from other sources and simple working the blade shape and tempering. Still looks like too much work, and you lose a lot of the appeal of doing something yourself.

Actually a small forge, making some wrought-iron stuff now seems more appealing than making blades. I just don't really have a use for most of it. I'd be happy just playing around with it once in a while.

 

[laredo7mm]

I used to make stuff, back in the day. I think I was active for about six years and then turned the hobby into a job for a while when I was out of work, and it ruined it for me. I haven't made a knife, pen, or any jewelry since 2006. Here is some of my past work:

 

[laredo7mm]

And not really blacksmithing, but since I was searching old pics, I found some stained glass work that I did. The small one I made for my parents. Oh, and I also made the mantle and refinished the fireplace.

 

[laredo7mm]

...Crimony! I can buy a nice industrially made blade for $15~60 bucks!...

Why make your own beer when you can walk down to the local bar and get a Bud Light draft for a dollar or two?

 

[seabass07]

I used to make stuff, back in the day. I think I was active for about six years and then turned the hobby into a job for a while when I was out of work, and it ruined it for me. I haven't made a knife, pen, or any jewelry since 2006. Here is some of my past work:

Holy crap. That's some serious talent.

 

[DoctorMemory]

Why make your own beer when you can walk down to the local bar and get a Bud Light draft for a dollar or two?

If making beer took 40-50 hours of work per batch, I'd probably just buy it premade. Not Bud Light, though -- just because I'm lazy doesn't mean I don't have standards!

 

[Homercidal]

Damn, that is some nice looking work! I'm officially depressed now!

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Put me in the too expensive but thought about it category. I love watching Forged in Fire on the Discovery channel.

 

[Mismost]

And not really blacksmithing, but since I was searching old pics, I found some stained glass work that I did. The small one I made for my parents. Oh, and I also made the mantle and refinished the fireplace.

I spent 11 years working in the glass and glazing industry. Two years working for a stained glass art studio...most of that work was semi-commerical leaded glass, simple pattern cut lead glass windows and doors. I would cut glass for days on end, then cut lead cane, then assemble, and the solder it all up...then watch as the "artist" took all the credit.

I do take pride in the fact that the two highest selling price pieces sold in that shop came from my shop! I kept all my tools. A few times a year I help out a friend who deals in antiques and stained/leaded glass. I take a few days of vacation and go cut, patch, & repair old pieces he has picked up. I can still free hand pattern cut and work fast enough for production work. I make enough in a few days to pay for all the shotgun reloading supplies i use in a year (I shoot a bunch!). I'm only a few years from retiring, I like keeping these skills polished. I may just get back into it....but I only want to do it my way, for me...not do someone else's work.

 

[BentBrewer]

I used to make stuff, back in the day. I think I was active for about six years and then turned the hobby into a job for a while when I was out of work, and it ruined it for me. I haven't made a knife, pen, or any jewelry since 2006. Here is some of my past work:

Stunning work! And that's the kind of work, that if one is going to do it, one should do. I'd guess however that even at that level of quality, it's hard to get a price that really covers a decent hourly rate.

I'll have to pull out one of my oyster knifes, post a picture, and tell the amusing anecdote that goes along with it.

Why make your own beer when you can walk down to the local bar and get a Bud Light draft for a dollar or two?

As I said in the last line of my mini-rant...

 

[laredo7mm]

...I'd guess however that even at that level of quality, it's hard to get a price that really covers a decent hourly rate...

It is pretty brutal especially when you haven't made a reputation for yourself, which is a whole different challenge. The largest knife I made I had about 120 hours in it. I think I ended up selling it for $1200. A "well known" knife maker could have easily gotten four times that amount. But at the time, I needed cash, and it was already made, so away it went.

...As I said in the last line of my mini-rant...

Right on, I thought it was funny as that was what I was thinking when I was reading your rant, so I thought I would highlight it.

 

[laredo7mm]

...I may just get back into it....but I only want to do it my way, for me...not do someone else's work.

+1 to that

 

[divrguy]

I've been making stained glass for 20 years. I also think that I really don't care how much time I have in a knife that's only worth $20 if I have fun making it! [emoji106][emoji482]

 

[Gonefishin]

Laredo, that is some really beautiful work. I used to know a guy who made Damascus knives and swords. I have always liked the look and appreciated the craftsmanship. Very nice. (I really envy people with talent.)

 

[JDXX1971]

I gotta get into blacksmithing now. The other day at work I was looking at a piece of rebar saying how I need to start saving steel as I am getting a forge. My two coworkers started laughing so I asked what was so funny? One of the guys said he should have bet on it, I am like bet on what? I guess they had a conversation about what my next hobby would be (I have\have had many) and one of them bet blacksmithing. So that seals the deal I will be forging this next year.

 

[divrguy]

Messing around today with a railroad section. And here's the stained glass in my living room!

 

[BentBrewer]

Neat hammer, and an even neater window.

 

[divrguy]

TO Laredo,

You are an artist sir! fantastic looking work!

 

[BentBrewer]

Today being overcast, it was a good time to finally get a semi-decent picture of the oyster knives. My dad (a retired marine biologist) mentioned a couple years ago that he'd given away his last oyster knife to a neighbor after teaching him how to open them without a resulting hospital visit.

So with Christmas coming up, I decided to make him a new one. As you can see, I used used railroad spikes, which became a bit annoying during the finishing phase, as there were pits that just were not going to go away without a heck of a lot of grinding. And this again goes to why I suggest buying, over making.

Making the blanks probably took no more than 30 minutes each. Polishing was done over two or three days, because I had to knock off after an hour or so of grinding, as my shoulders were aching. So 3~4 hours of grinding for three knives. Then a light heat and a quench to make sure the tips were hard, (as hard as you're going to get medium carbon steel anyway) a polishing regimen, and then a very careful coloring routine, and an oil quench. These two are the rejects, the best one is in a cabinet at my dad's place.

Lotta words, hey?

 

[divrguy]

They look very cool. I can't say I have ever seen an oyster knife...and if I had, I had no idea lol

 

[pointcity-homebrew]

I have been making wood bottle openers for a few years now.

I recently decided to start messing around with steel openers, this is one my my first.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1477346777.901115.jpg

 

[bobeer]

Pretty awesome to see the other talents we have at HBT. I wish I had time to get into another hobby. I hardly have time to brew!

 

[TwistedGray]

Revive, revive, revive

Would like to get into this; however, it seems awfully expensive to just get started (not interested in coal forging).