Forged a coal rake and tool stand today

[BobUrban]

Found a little time to get out to the forge and put together this tool stand to organize the poker, shovel and now new coal rake I hammered out today. Unfortunately the rake will likely have to wait until next year for a test run to see how well it works. If it fails, I will just tweak it until it works like I want but I am thinking it will be the ticket for moving the coals up front in my new stove.

 

[DexterDay]

Looks good..... New Tools for that New 30

 

[Sisu]

Very nice!! With that skill, you will have no problem making your own logging tongs!

 

[ScotO]

Nice job, Bob! When should I put my order in??

 

[BobUrban]

Scott - If I though I could make a living doing stuff like that I would quit my day job. My real passion around the forge is custom kitchen and hunting knives but I never have enough time. That and I am an amature at best so if I charged by "man hours" I would price myself out of business.

Like I mentioned, I am probably not going to get the opportunity to give the rake a test run until next burning season but if it performs maybe I will pound out a few and see who wants them?

I have made sets for friends but have never sold anything from the forge. Here is a shovel and poker set I gave to a friend and a serving knife set I did for him also.

My next project is going to be a shovel with expanded metal in the bottom to sift coals

 

[ScotO]

My buddy Joe and I both have forges. Mine is a Civil War era farrier's forge that I have yet to finish the restoration on, his is an 1890's mid-sized shop forge. I have two anvils, one is a 500lb former PRR anvil that had the sides machined off many eons ago due to extreme use, the other is a really nice homemade 50lb piece of railroad track. I tinker around on my buddy's forge (made my large bucking spikes for my 041 Super, some tomahawks, knives etc.) I want to get mine up and going someday but I just have waaaay too many hobbies right now! You do nice work, you should be doing it for a little money!

 

[Jags]

Damascus knife??

 

[TradEddie]

Beautiful! It's great to see that some people can still make things by hand. Already looking forward to seeing your expanded metal shovel/sifter. I made one with steel bar and some nuts and bolts, looks like hell, but works a treat.

TE

 

[BobUrban]

Jags - here is a San mai camp knife I made for my nephew out of true wrought and 5160 and there are a couple damascus blades in this group I hammered out of banding strap and band saw blades. Folding and forge welding is fun but can be very frustrating

 

[Jags]

The art of damascus knives is amazing. Some of the most expensive chefs knives out there are damascus. I would like a 12" chef knife, please. I'll send you a 6 pack of my favorite beer.

 

[ScotO]

nice damascus blade! When you do your damascus, do you use borax as a flux? I've never attempted any damascus forging. I will take pics of some of my stuff when I get time. You're no amateur, you look like you know what you are doing more than you let on! Fantastic work, bud!

 

[BobUrban]

Do a web search on damascus and you are correct - very, very expensive!! Makes the biggest and baddest chainsaws seem cheap. On that note I have seen plenty of nice knives forged from billets pounded out of saw chains. Now that I am getting a colection of used up chains it may be a future project that would be a big hit here I assume. Basically just a lot of flux, a lot of heat and a lot of pounding. With a lot of luck mixed in to keep out the inclusions. Form the solid billet and pound it into a knife. Grind, polish and etch.... whola a saw chain that is a blade and no one here could argue with you on that.

Most of my kitchen knies are of my making but all my damascus goes to friends. I like making them and can only use so many knives at once.

 

[Jags]

Do you have a power hammer or is this all done with your swinging.

 

[BobUrban]

Borax works but my friend has some propriotary brew he whips up that seems to work better. Scotty - those are knives that turned out, you are not seeing all the pounding for nought steel that I have blew it on. I have a 50lb power hammer so it helps get things to shape although you cannot use it forming damascus because it has to be taken slow. I am building a big press to use for damascus making. Just another project with no time to finish.

If you use borax bake it in the oven in an old cake tin or equivelent to get all the moisture out - helps a lot!! Less is best on any flux too - I learned that the hard way with too many inclusions from thinking more is better.

A hunter drop point I made for a buddy and a pearing knife I made for my sister. The spring on the anvil is what most of my work begins it life as.

 

[ScotO]

and all these years I've been throwing those old saw chains in the scrap bin......I'll have to give it a try sometime. I think that repurposing things (like a chain for a knife, as an example) is neat, not only for the end result but more-so for the story that goes with it. I made my bucking spikes out of an antique Jeep leaf spring; annealed them, forged them into the rough shape, ground and tempered, and finally polished them. They are tough as nails! Made my hunting knife out of a stainless locomotive exhaust valve, and it was a b*tch to pound out. also made the front guard out of the same material. But for a rookie it turned out OK. We've made hinges and other odds and ends, I really like colonial hand wrought items, and I have a small collection of ladles, forks, tasting spoons, pots and pans, and also around 70 trade axes and tomahawks (most were found by metal detectors, a lot of them from out your way!). Again, just too many hobbies..... Anyway, you are a master craftsman if you ask me, your work shows your patience and your knowledge!

 

[Jags]

I have a 50lb power hammer so it helps get things to shape although you cannot use it forming damascus because it has to be taken slow.

Would it not be possible to slow the hammer down??

 

[BobUrban]

I am big on repurposing and all the tools I make are from scrap at the steel shop. It is my friends shop and his company rebuilds old, hot riveted bridges all over the country so I have access to ALL things steel fabrication and a mountain of true wrought iron from all the 100+ year old bridges he rebuilds. I think they are going to have some sort of TV show on his company on Discover or some such thing. They have been following him around for what seems like ever so if and when it will actually take place is a mystery. All I know is they gave him all kinds of new stuff, forges, rivet guns, tools, hundreds of pounds of rivets, cases of gloves..... and the list goes on. I am just fortunate to have access to it all.

We do have a coal forge and it is sweet but it rarely gets fired up do to time constaints it is just easier to run the gas one we built. As I get things done I will post a few pics if people are interested. I just don't want to get off track and get "Moderated" on here.

 

[Jags]

As I get things done I will post a few pics if people are interested. I just don't want to get off track and get "Moderated" on here.

I am sure that there are many interested parties. If it is not wood/gear/stove related you can always drop into the Inglenook. It is a place for off topic stuff and I am sure that there would be no moderation against you. Matter of fact, I'll bet that a couple of mods will be the ones oooohhing and aaaahing.

 

[BobUrban]

Jag - it is basic at best and the slowest you can go is a thunk, thunk, thunk but that is with a loosy, goosy foot control and lots of hot things around so it is not slow enough. The ticket for getting your welds set is a press and we have metal munchers of all sizes for punching holes and cutting steel. I just have to fab up some dies for slow smooshing a weld together. Once the billet is forge welded solid you can hammer away with the power hammer but as soon as you get to the fold the press comes back into play. The other trick is actually soft, controlled taps of the hammer on the anvil to get the weld to take. You are actually changing the steel on a molecular level so there is a lot of science that goe into it but you have to be gentle to get your welds solid.

On another wood burner related note. I have seen some nice modified splitters used as presses for forge welding. Again, just fabbing up flat dies insted of the wedge that is on it. Just tough to fly solo with a set up like that. I need an upright with foot control.

 

[Jags]

Got it. I actually have spent time behind a metal muncher. Get the right dies made up and that might just be the ticket for a slow, mean squish. I could see where a log splitter could be used, but probably not very handy sitting next to the shop forge.

 

[Sisu]

I am big on repurposing and all the tools I make are from scrap at the steel shop. It is my friends shop and his company rebuilds old, hot riveted bridges all over the country so I have access to ALL things steel fabrication and a mountain of true wrought iron from all the 100+ year old bridges he rebuilds. I think they are going to have some sort of TV show on his company on Discover or some such thing. They have been following him around for what seems like ever so if and when it will actually take place is a mystery. All I know is they gave him all kinds of new stuff, forges, rivet guns, tools, hundreds of pounds of rivets, cases of gloves..... and the list goes on. I am just fortunate to have access to it all.

We do have a coal forge and it is sweet but it rarely gets fired up do to time constaints it is just easier to run the gas one we built. As I get things done I will post a few pics if people are interested. I just don't want to get off track and get "Moderated" on here.

Definitely show us your setup! IMO this is gear related, because you are making your own gear.