Bit of welding and forging

[Everything Mac]

Not all that bushy I know but fun all the same.

This last 3 weeks at home has been a busy time for me. Lots of wedding organisation stuff and a trip away with the full family which was great.


In the between times I even managed to get some shed time with a lot of welding admin getting sorted and a little forge time.


I made a start on a "product line" of bbq tools forged from horse shoes.

A steak flipper and a fork. I'll be adding a spatula type doodaa when I get back from the rigs in about 3 weeks.


I've got my first ever show coming up this year so it will be balls to the wall in the coming months trying to make as much stuff as possible.


I'm also on a quest to make a good number of bottle openers too...

As for the welding - Ive needed to get a few projects off the ground for a good while.


This will be a portable forge once it's all finished. (For the show) - All I need is legs and to sort the front of it out a little bit. - the hand cranked fan weighs a ton! I've got another forge to build too as I've got all the bits just taking up space so best get welding and sell it on.

And finally I needed to sort out my swage block stand. I threw the last one together and being a bit skint at the time I scrimped on the legs - so you had a tripod of pipes rather than anything solid.

I also didn't have a recess to hold the block vertical which was frustrating as well as the original stand being too high...

The added bit of angle iron at the front acts as a place to store my angle grinder which works a treat.


I did the whole project with the stick welder, I desperately needed the practice but it's nice to see I'm getting there.

I had actually run out of wire on the mig and got some yesterday - It seems I now need to practice my mig skills again...


Thanks for looking all the best
Andy

 

[humdrum_hostage]

Like the horse shoe idea!

welding looks nice and neat. I hired an arc welder out to a novice once who was apparently going to repair his own iron gates and he called me to say it wasn't working so I asked him if he had connected the earth clamp to a painted part of the gate and he would need to make sure its on bare metal and he replied "no, I have it clamped on to the tow hitch of my van to earth it"

 

[Dreadhead]

nice one mate

 

[milius2]

Neat idea with the horse shoe line of products!!!

Going mobile is cool thing, any event can be great opportunity to find a job or two. You're on a good track my friend

 

[Everything Mac]

Thanks guys. It's going to be an interesting year for me I reckon.

Millius - I wanted to build the forge early on so I can sort out any teething problems it may have. I'll be using charcoal while I'm at the show which will be nice. (I love charcoal...) I'm just hoping the pan is deep enough. We shall see.

Glad you all like the horse shoe stuff! They're quite nice to forge, i.e. fairly soft under the hammer but there is an awful lot of work going into each one. I wish I had a bigger workshop and a power hammer, then it would be a doddle.

All the best
Andy

 

[milius2]

Well if it's in your destiny there will be nothing stopping you from bigger workshop and power hammer. Maybe a few laws but there is always a chance.

 

[vestlenning]

Nice horse shoe tools! Forging (and welding) is still on my "would very much like to try"-list...

 

[Everything Mac]

Forging is one of those things that people think is difficult to get in to, but it really isn't.

You just need the following

1. Something to heat the metal up. - a hole in the ground filled with charcoal and a pipe with a hair drier will work fine.
2. Something to hold the hot metal - vice grips or pliers work
3. Something to hit with - i.e. a hammer.
4. Something to hit on. - you don't need an anvil. A large sledge hammer head works just fine.

And that really is it.

Trouble is that once you start doing it, it's more addictive than crack. Before you know it you're knee deep in equipment, you've made your own bushcraft knife and you're eying up discarded bits of metal and wondering what you can make with them...

All the best
Andy