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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Check the center portion of the tie plate for a taper. I used one the other day as base for a bell. I stuck a section of 6x6 wooden post on it and couldnt figure out why it was not plumb.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
psacustomcreations
Check the center portion of the tie plate for a taper. I used one the other day as base for a bell. I stuck a section of 6x6 wooden post on it and couldn't figure out why it was not plumb.
Good tip. I'll double-check just to be sure. Won't matter much because I'm going to cut the thing to pieces, but a bit of taper in in the field would sure be helpful!
You'll be happy to know the buddy who dropped it off really liked the Kerlin Bender. He's big into machine restoration so it was a treat for him to see such a rare piece.
Originally Posted by
ronsii
...worried you might have croaked...
Bah! I'm too ornery and/or curmudgeonly to kill off without a fight. Heck, even dragons try to get clear when I decide to get my game on! If you don't see a mushroom cloud on the horizon, I'm okay.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
psacustomcreations
... a bell....
Have you ever done any work on the inside of your bells to tweak the resonance? I was watching a video on the making of Taiko drums the other day and was surprised at how they worked the inside surface to determine how the drum sounded.
Made me wonder if we could do the same thing on metal bells. Maybe spot-heat around the outside with a torch to change the temper or deaden it a bit? Maybe focus up top where there won't be a lot of vibration in the steel. Or, add some weld bead to the inside, just a tack here and there, to add mass that'll dampen the vibration or lower the tone a few octaves.
Something I've been pondering on for a year or so and keep forgetting to ask about.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
I know of what you are referencing, but I am not musical so I could not tell you what note the bells are or what it changes to.
Heating to change the temper or adding/subtracting material in a specific spot is not really something I have ever tried.
Over the years I have made 1,2, and 3 cuts up and down the bell to create different notes. A single cut lowers the note. I posted a few videos on YouTube showing these effects.
I have also made multiple cuts about 40% around the circumference of the bell with interesting effects. One worked great, another not so much even though they were the same kind of tank.
On a couple of bells I have made spiraling cuts like a barber pole. One was successful and one just plain sucked.
I have plasma cut designs, engraved designs and welded some silicon bronze designs on bells. Those did not seem to have much effect.
A few days ago I put a large aluminum medical oxygen tank on the lathe and reduced its wall thickness by about half. That made it sound better. That is what the pic below is about.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
VaughnT
Thank you for your concern. I'm well and didn't know that WW had been fixed. Imagine how happy I was to click on the shortcut and get the proper page!!?!?!!!
I've been super-lazy since the economy tanked. Last year was bad enough, but this Kung Flu business has ripped the bottom right out of the boat!
Right now, there are two personal projects on the table that I really want to work on, so that's what I'm doing. Got two orders that need to go out in Monday's mail, and after that..... no idea when I'll see another order.
First up on the list of things to do.... turn these nasty cheap-o candle stands into wall hooks so my mother can hang some potted plants. No idea where she bought them, but the $5 price tag really illustrates why it's so hard to make a living building things for folks. I can't compete with third world countries.
Anyhow, I'm going to cut the dish away, and then chop the "stem" off just forward of the lower curl. That'll give me enough stick out that I can plug weld the thing to a backer plate and make Mom happy.
The fun part will be breaking out the die grinder and carbide burrs so I can dress up the welds a bit. The things are super ugly and will be 3' overhead where nobody will ever see the details, but I'm taking it as a learning experience. I'm really curious to see how nice I can make them.
Attachment 1709876
After that, I'll be using a new-to-me railroad tie plate to make a couple tools for the vise. I've got a plan in mind, but I don't know if things will work out exactly as my mind thinks they should. Reality often interferes like that.
Anyhow, it's a fun exercise and good training. The tie plate is 5/8" thick in the center portion and tapers to a fat 1/4" on the short sides. That'll make it ideal for any of a dozen different tools, but I don't have enough room to get all of them out of the piece. Still, if I can get two good tools finished and show folks how to "see" the potential in something because of its shape.... great.
Attachment 1709877
Curious to see what you have planned for the tie plates... I have a few of them around. I used one for my post anvil, but like PSA says, the "flat" surfaces are notoriously un-flat. I've seen them with the outer edges broken off from the square hole so I'm not sure they'll take a lot of pounding outside of the center. I was thinking of making a stake plate out of one to go on top of a stump. Edit.... cool... edit button is working again and my old pic files are back... this is the tie plate as used for storage/a Hardy on my post anvil....
Last edited by whtbaron; 04-05-2020 at 10:30 AM.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
whtbaron
Curious to see what you have planned for the tie plates... I have a few of them around. I used one for my post anvil, but like PSA says, the "flat" surfaces are notoriously un-flat. I've seen them with the outer edges broken off from the square hole so I'm not sure they'll take a lot of pounding outside of the center. I was thinking of making a stake plate out of one to go on top of a stump. Edit.... cool... edit button is working again and my old pic files are back... this is the tie plate as used for storage/a Hardy on my post anvil....
Cool. JD green and yellow
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
These are the tie plates I have left. You can see some of the angle on them. Plus they are usually not flat as Les mentioned.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
psacustomcreations
I know of what you are referencing, but I am not musical so I could not tell you what note the bells are or what it changes to.
Heating to change the temper or adding/subtracting material in a specific spot is not really something I have ever tried.
Over the years I have made 1,2, and 3 cuts up and down the bell to create different notes. A single cut lowers the note. I posted a few videos on YouTube showing these effects.
I have also made multiple cuts about 40% around the circumference of the bell with interesting effects. One worked great, another not so much even though they were the same kind of tank.
On a couple of bells I have made spiraling cuts like a barber pole. One was successful and one just plain sucked.
I have plasma cut designs, engraved designs and welded some silicon bronze designs on bells. Those did not seem to have much effect.
A few days ago I put a large aluminum medical oxygen tank on the lathe and reduced its wall thickness by about half. That made it sound better. That is what the pic below is about.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Maybe you could experiment with spraying some of this stuff (or similar) on the inside of the bells.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
psacustomcreations
These are the tie plates I have left. You can see some of the angle on them. Plus they are usually not flat as Les mentioned.
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Not flat, and the sizes/shapes can be inconsistent. The ones around switches can be significantly larger or smaller, depending on the application. With those ones, the 2 wedges look to be on top of a "fairly" flat plate.... with most of the ones I have, the wedge tapers right out to the square spike holes. The high carbon steel and coating of rust also add to the challenges if you want to cut them with a cutting torch... although I found out when making that rail shaped "hole", it can also be your friend.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
Lis2323
Maybe you could experiment with spraying some of this stuff (or similar) on the inside of the bells.
I have not tried something like that.
The spray on plastic dip stuff for car rims might also work. I am just guessing now plus it also comes in different colors.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Got a pic from a customer in Montana. Always like seeing what I make being used - especially when it's on a log cabin!
I really wish we'd have gotten some snow around these parts. I miss it.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
They do look right at home... if you really need snow I can send you some, had more coming down this morning. I'm putting together some storage cabinets for the shop and decided one needed some hooks for coat hangers. I heard your comments echoing in the background how it's easy to make one hook, not so easy to make more than one that matches...
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
I’m a firm believer that coat hooks are like snowflakes. No two should be identical. I’ve been saying that for years but no one listens.....
I deliberately make them all different mainly because I don’t possess the skillset of Vaughn and others.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Hey I like that.... I'm still looking for some connecting rods to fit my hat stand, but I may have to give up and resort to twisted flat iron. Strange day today... started out above freezing but we had light snow squalls and at one point even thunder this afternoon. Back to 0C now...
Last edited by whtbaron; 04-08-2020 at 07:49 PM.
250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC Stick
F-225 amp Forney AC Stick
230 amp Sears AC Stick
Lincoln 180C MIG
Vevor MIG 200A
Victor Medalist 350 O/A
Vevor Cut 50 Plasma
Les
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
It looks like Iforgeiron has gone offline today. It was getting really slow the last few days now I can't get there at all.
Miller Challenger 172
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Miller Maxstar 150 STL
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Victor Journeyman
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No, that's not my car.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
And as if by magic it came back as soon as I posted this
Miller Challenger 172
Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150
Miller Maxstar 150 STL
Victor 100C
Victor Journeyman
Oxweld OA
Harris O/A
Smith O/A little torch
No, that's not my car.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Haven't been on IFI in ages, and don't miss it one bit. Between here and the smithing groups on FB, I'm getting far better content and none of the IFI-famous thread drift from the "experts". They've done a good job of running off some serious talent, which is a shame.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
My forge stand is done. The bottom tray and side tray are bolted on so I can change it if needed. The tongs do not get hot at all.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Very nice! I've heard nothing but good things about those forges, and your stand is a really versatile addition to it!
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Got the candlestick transformation completed.
Overall, I'm satisfied. It wasn't possible to completely eliminate the nasty welds and the damage from the OEM grinding of said welds, but.. what can you do? At least they'll be in a semi-dark room and well above the eye line so folks won't think too poorly of them.
Seeing how rough they were turning out, I opted for a very basic back plate. Just some flat bar that I upset the edges on. I had thought about a chamfered edge, but decided the upset made for a neater look. Either would have been good because they both require a minimum of investment.
In the end, trying to salvage these things really made me appreciate quality ironwork. I'm glad to be rid of some clutter, and I still have the tripod ends that I can make into shorter candlesticks, but I certainly don't see me making a habit of doing this sort of thing. It was a good exercise that allowed me to try new things. Using the diamond-edge cut off disk to groove the joints between stem and leaf, for example, was quick and rather easy -- arguably more so than breaking out the die grinder.
But, yea, I'm glad it's over!
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
I picked up a similar styled light fixture a while back because I needed one of the electrical sockets for a pot light in the living room... I might have to take a 2nd look at the metal now as well.... looks good. This really deserves a side by side comparison to see how much work you did...
Ahhh.... call me lazy, but that's much better than scrolling...
Last edited by whtbaron; 04-14-2020 at 09:05 PM.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Thank you.
I highly recommend giving it a try if you can. If nothing else, at least you can say you tried.
Managed to get one of the hooks up, and I think it looks okay. I'm gonna have to do something with that ugly plastic hook/suspension system, though, since it seems to be swamping the nice iron.
If nothing else, having this piece hanging there really illustrates to me just how nice hand-forged ironwork can be around the house. Mother has a tendency to buy stuff without asking me if I could make something similar. Probably got these candle stands from some church sale or the like. Even if I had welded them up like the big company had, I could have done a far better job of welding and blending in the welds than they did, and that would have made a tremendous difference all on its own.
So, lessons learned and a fun adventure comes to a close.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Over the years I have suggested repurposed items for the house on many occasions, and got the usual snapping and snarling of disapproval. Lately my wife has seen some of the things I'm doing for the new shop and says, " Gee... that looks better than what we have in the house..." Do you think it's sinking in?? Naw... me neither.... We've got that same vine, every once in a while you have to trim out all the dead leaves, that will make it look better as well.
250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC Stick
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230 amp Sears AC Stick
Lincoln 180C MIG
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Vevor Cut 50 Plasma
Les
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Originally Posted by
whtbaron
We've got that same vine, every once in a while you have to trim out all the dead leaves, that will make it look better as well.
What you really mean is YOUR WIFE has to trim out the dead leaves. You’d most likely take it outside and place it in front of the swather.
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Re: Blacksmithing and forging
Nope... she killed all the plants she was looking after years ago. That one is in a high hanging basket over the couch where only I can reach it. We got it for a wedding present, so it will be 40 this year. No swather, but I swear that plant shudders when it sees the scissors coming...
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