Blacksmithing and forging

[Lis2323]

Don’t worry guys. No matter how much stuff I sell I will still have lots of “stuff”.

Maybe I should start a separate thread or post somewhere you guys don’t frequent. Sheesh!

BTW. I listed my homemade welding bottle cage today...

[VaughnT]

When it rains, it pours!

Supposed to take a picture for a customer last night, but forgot. The battery in the camera was charging and by the time I remembered....

So, today I make sure the battery is good and that I take the camera into the shop with me. Get everything set up and ready to go.... and I forgot to put in the memory card!
Unbelievable!!

I pay attention to omens, and that was certainly an omen. So, I put the brackets into the forge to burn off the galvanizing (fans blowing out the window), finished up what little I had to do while that was going on.... and not I'm enjoying a cold beer.

27 hooks forged and ready for the mail. Missed the USPS deadline by a few minutes, which is par for the course, so everything will go out in tomorrow's mail. Still behind on orders, but I'm slowly making a dent in the backlog.

25 railroad spikes drilled with a pair of 7/32" holes and ready for forging.

8 bracket blanks cut from 3x3x1/4 parallel-wall angle iron.

Tomorrow, I've got a slew of work to do!!

[Lis2323]

When it rains, it pours!

Supposed to take a picture for a customer last night, but forgot. The battery in the camera was charging and by the time I remembered....

So, today I make sure the battery is good and that I take the camera into the shop with me. Get everything set up and ready to go.... and I forgot to put in the memory card!
Unbelievable!!

I pay attention to omens, and that was certainly an omen. So, I put the brackets into the forge to burn off the galvanizing (fans blowing out the window), finished up what little I had to do while that was going on.... and not I'm enjoying a cold beer.

27 hooks forged and ready for the mail. Missed the USPS deadline by a few minutes, which is par for the course, so everything will go out in tomorrow's mail. Still behind on orders, but I'm slowly making a dent in the backlog.

25 railroad spikes drilled with a pair of 7/32" holes and ready for forging.

8 bracket blanks cut from 3x3x1/4 parallel-wall angle iron.

Tomorrow, I've got a slew of work to do!!

so glad you have orders to fill, Vaughn. That should keep you outta trouble while filling the piggy bank!

[whtbaron]

I never thought of building a cage for the O/A bottles.... never had one escape...

[ronsii]

I never thought of building a cage for the O/A bottles.... never had one escape...

Well..... from the rumors I've heard... he uses it for more than bottles

[Lis2323]

You’re just hurt because he hasn’t written.

[ronsii]

You’re just hurt because he hasn’t written.

He never was much good with pens and pencils....

[VaughnT]

I actually talked the customer into a waxed finish for that traditional look..... and have been kicking myself ever since. That galvanizing would make a very nice primer for a black finish and I wouldn't be sitting here smelling the fumes from burning it off.



Such is life, though.

Only 7 more to go and I can get them out in the mail. Of course, I'll have to work them in as I can. While they are desperate to get them so they can finish their stair railing.... I'm just a wee bit behind and can't afford to put them at the front of the line.

[ronsii]

I actually talked the customer into a waxed finish for that traditional look..... and have been kicking myself ever since. That galvanizing would make a very nice primer for a black finish and I wouldn't be sitting here smelling the fumes from burning it off.



Such is life, though.

Only 7 more to go and I can get them out in the mail. Of course, I'll have to work them in as I can. While they are desperate to get them so they can finish their stair railing.... I'm just a wee bit behind and can't afford to put them at the front of the line.

You know there was a movie with Michael Keaton a long time ago...... I'll bet the technology has improved a lot... then you'd have plenty of time to get other things done

[whtbaron]

Michael who? Is he any relation to Buster Keaton?

[ronsii]

Michael who? Is he any relation to Buster Keaton?

Well... he did make a few comedies... I think Buster was funnier though



This is the film I was referring to in the post earlier
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117108/

[psacustomcreations]

I finished up a handful of crosses today. The two on the left are a little simpler, while the other three have more texture to them.







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[ronsii]

I finished up a handful of crosses today. The two on the left are a little simpler, while the other three have more texture to them.







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Very nice!!!! I really like the look of them


Have you thought about tyring some of the acid coloring stuff on them to give them some red/blue/orange/green patinas here and there.. or maybe one color on the whole thing??? just an idea... I used some of the stuff one of the guys was selling over on plasma spider site and it worked kinda cool!!!

[psacustomcreations]

Very nice!!!! I really like the look of them


Have you thought about tyring some of the acid coloring stuff on them to give them some red/blue/orange/green patinas here and there.. or maybe one color on the whole thing??? just an idea... I used some of the stuff one of the guys was selling over on plasma spider site and it worked kinda cool!!!

One of these days I want to get some of the metal dyes so I can use them on various projects. Jason from Fireball Tool had a video where he demonstrated some of them and they looked great.

[psacustomcreations]

I made a handful more of the crosses. This time in two sizes but also changed the finish on a couple of them. Two of the smaller 6"x9" ones had my acid wash applied to them. It gives them a wooden type of look.

[Lis2323]

Nice Pat. Do the photos accurately represent the actual colors ??


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[psacustomcreations]

Nice Pat. Do the photos accurately represent the actual colors ??


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Very close. It seems like the colors were too dark or too washed out in some pics.

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[whtbaron]

Nice work...looks good...

[VaughnT]

One of eight brackets I forged up today. Really aggravating to try and hold the things while I knocked in the edges to give them that hammered look.



Bet I caught three cases of metal fume fever trying to get that thick galvanizing off the stuff, too. Finally managed to find a new container for my muriatic acid and gave the things a nice long soak. Of course, after that, I had to heat them all back up to a nice cherry red to burn off the acid.

Lots of work for very little money, but the customer's happy and has paid in full. Now it's just a matter of getting them boxed and in the mail!

[shortfuse]

Vaughn, you probably already know this (or do this), but I'm mentioning it anyway. Do away with the muriatic acid on galv items. Use regular vinegar, soak overnight, rinse with water, soak for a minute or two in a baking soda solution to neutralize the acid, rinse again, dry...heating to remove acid is way overkill. On heavy galv you might have to change the vinegar and/or use a slightly longer soak. Messing with muriatic acid is not a safe, fun way to clean metal.

[psacustomcreations]

I use a method similar to shortfuse for galvanized material.

I have an area out in the woods behind my shop where I put the items in a bucket of muriatic acid then place another larger bucket or lid on top of the original one. Let soak until it stops bubbling, flip or move the item around so it gets to all areas. During the flip I scrub the stubborn spots with a plastic brush or cheap wire brush. Soak until bubbling stops.
Remove the item, give a quick rinse with fresh water then place into a baking soda and water bath. Let sit for a bit then scrub to make sure all the acid is off. Another fresh water bath.
I wear my half mask, safety glasses and latex gloves during this.

If it is the super heavy zinc coating from structural items or is something I will hammer on, I sometimes run a coarse flap disc or grinding rock over the item to remove the bulk of the zinc. This only takes a minute or so and reduces the soak time considerably.

I have used vinegar before and it works but takes quite a bit more time. I seem always need to get the order done as soon as possible so don't use vinegar unless I can let the item sit overnight.
I use the same rinse and neutralization technique for vinegar.

I would rather do that technique than try to burn off the galvanization and risk carbon monoxide poisoning from the forge and metal fume from the galvanization.

[VaughnT]

I've used vinegar in the past, for small items, but don't really like how slow it is. It works just like any acid will work, but dang is it slow!

Wanna get the muriatic acid really bubbling, put in metal that's too hot to touch. It doesn't need to be showing any color, but if it's been pre-heated a bit, that seems to wake the Muriatic acid up and get it running.

This angle iron was from a cell tower and the legs of it are evenly thick rather than tapered like most angle iron is. That made using it for brackets very convenient, and I can see me using it for a lot more stuff over the coming winter. Because it's 1/4" thick, it'll make very nice corner supports for fireplace cranes, window grilles, gates and the like.

Interestingly, it forges harder than mild steel, but drills just as nice as mild steel. I'm going to have to come up with some way of holding the stuff better, though. Maybe some knee tongs would work.....


The one upside to this adventure is that I proved that using Cold Blue (selenium dioxide) will work well to darken galvanized screws. The screws in the pic haven't been through the fire to burn off the galvanizing, just soaked for a few minutes in the Cold Blue solution. They have that vintage look, but it takes a lot less effort to get there. Not perfect, but I'll take that over having to soak dozens of screws in acid or cooking them in the forge. Plus, the galvanizing is still there to protect them from rust.

I'm still looking for a source to buy un-plated slot-head screws in bulk, but haven't found anything economical. Blacksmith Bolt has them, but I'm always worried they'll run out or not have the size I need when I need to order replacements. Plus, they're pretty pricey. When you're buying 1000-3000 screws at a time, having to pay 30-50¢ a piece is really expensive!

[psacustomcreations]

I tried the cold bluing on the harpoon I made a while ago. It aged it pretty quick and was definitely an easy way to go.

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[Lis2323]

For some of my projects I like using Sculpt Nouveau. The downside is cost. Shipping into Canada doubles the price but the upside is that it goes a REALLY long way.

[Lis2323]

Oops. How insensitive of me. I have to remember to be more inclusive...

I took another photo ...