Coolness...

  I managed to get my company to have me out in Dallas for a big blacksmithing convention.  Nothing like getting the company to pay for me to learn smithing.  :)

I can do better...

  Filing on the key last night, I realized that I wasn't overly happy with certain aspects of it.  So, going to ditch the key and start the key over(this will be key #3 for those counting).

Victory is mine!!!

  Well, now would be the perfect time to commit a crime.  On my way into work, my fingertips were hurting.  I assumed I was getting a blister or something from all of the filing.  When I looked at one of my fingertips, I realized what the problem was.  Because of all of the filing, I had removed the fingerprint on one of my fingers.

Being period sucks!

  Well, circumstances made me decide to take a vacation day today.  I decided that I needed to get on the forge so went out to make slide #3 (#1 and #2 having problems).  I started around 10 am.  By 1pm I had the new slide done including the holes for the key and wards.  I next decided to anneal a tool I had made some time ago.  The tool is a top fuller and would have been very useful for this project but I forgot about it.  Anyway, annealing involves heating the steel to a red-orange heat and then cooling it very slowly.  After heating it, I put it some wood ash.  I needed some extra wood ash so gave me an excuse to clean out the fireplace.  After getting the fuller in the ash, took a lunch break.

  After lunch I did a little more work on the slide, fitting it with the wards.  Once I was sure the wards would fit, I moved onto the key.  The key gave me a little more problem then the first key did.  It developed a stress fracture.  I think the key will be okay but just to be safe, I brazed the crack with some brass to try and keep it from getting worse.  I created the pin for the key(the pin fits into the slide) and I marked the key for where the wards will hit the key.  I then put the key aside and moved back to the wards.

  The wards are VERY small parts.  around 3/16" square and a little over 1/2" long(I reduced the size from previous photos), they are the smallest pieces I've ever worked with.  They are actually quite a bit smaller than the first set I created.  Well, I was paranoid about the wards but I managed to get them onto the slide without a problem.

  Finally I moved inside with the key and slide.  I spent some time this evening working on filing the key to fit the wards and slide.  I have many hours of filing to go.  The problem is that the filing requires that I use very small files.  When you use small files, it takes a long time to remove any metal...  Well, fingers are cramped and its been a long (but productive day).  Time for bed.

!$#^#$*%

  Well, I'm done with the remake of the wards.  It is a good thing I went ahead and started over.  The wards are so much better.  Also, I took them down to the size of the originals and it will make the key so much easier to fit.  I am very, very happy with the wards.  Hopefully I can get them on the slide without damaging them in anyway...

  I carefully punched the holes in the slide for both the teeth of the key and the wards.  When I punched the hole for the pin of the key, I screwed up.  To be honest, I just was not paying attention.  My attempt to fix it, made it worse.  So, I decided to scrap it.  It really was a much better slide than the first.  So the third should be even better...  Still, I did lose probably about 5-6 hours.  2 steps forward, 1 step back...

Update...

2nd ward done... again...

Filing, part deux...

  Just finished filing down the first of three replacement wards.  Much happier with the results.  The ward is much more square and I did a much better job with the filing.  I worked in a much more systematic way this time which helped with the final results.  Also, the shaft this time is rectagular rather than square which will give me a more secure fit when I attach it to the plate.

  The pic below shows the ward.  It also shows a partial gate hinge and pair of scissors that I played with making last weekend.  Neither the hinge or scissors are actually finished.  Just did those for the fun of it.

These next there pics show the ward from a few different angles.  Note that the shaft is an extension of part of the cross.  This allowed me to more easily file the ward to be a nice true cross shape.

Good progress...

  Came home a little early from work and got on the forge right away.  In just 3 hours I was able to recreate the slide part of the lock and get some of the holes punched on it.  I made one minor mistake but it looks much better than the first.  This project is definitely a confidence builder.

Calmed down now...

  Well, after some serious consideration, I think I may redo the entire lock mechanism.  There are a lot of "little" things that I'm not happy with.  Any one of them on their own would not be a big issue.  However, when combined together it is enough that I wouldn't mind redoing things.  Its part of learning...  A short list of the problems include...

  * Key has to me remade because of me removing too much metal.
  * Wards(the little cross pieces) were filed slightly off square from their shaft.  I didn't notice this until I put them into the slide part of the lock.  It caused the crosses to be slightly twisted.
  * One ward not seated properly in plate.  I think I could fix this one but with everything else...
  * Wards not as true to being a cross as i would like.
  * Wards not as centered as I would have liked in slide.
  * Ward plate little too smashed.
  * Ward plate rivets not rounded over very well.

  I don't want to sound like a perfectionist but there are just too many little things that are off.  Now, for the good news...

  I don't think it will take too long to redo the stuff.  I have a much better idea how to proceed.  I think I can make up most of the time over the weekend.  I don't have any commitments and can spend both Saturday and Sunday smithing all day.  If I am lucky and I work hard, hopefully will back on track soon...

Good stuff, bad stuff...

  I took a few days off of work to relax after being on the road so much.  So today I went back to working on the forge.  I was able to get the cross wards on the lock plate.  They are riveted in place and other than one or two small problems, came out pretty well.  Then, I discovered a problem with the key.  In my rush to try out the key for the first time a few weeks back, I had cut away too much metal.  I MAY have been able to get the current key to work but the problem is that I would only know after about 3-6 hours of filing.  So, I decided to stop where I was and make a new key.  There will definitely be complications having to redo the key at this point but its part of the learning experience.  I figure that this will be a lose of 8-16 hours.

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy, and bruised."
 - Zapp Brannigan

  Got back into town late Friday and woke up early Saturday to pack up the truck for another demo at an SCA event.  I was setup by 11 and spent all day working on the forge.
  I started with a gate hinge.  Using a pattern I found on a Texas blacksmithing site, I put a fleur on the end of the hinge.  This was (I think) the second time I tried to do a fleur.  It actually came out pretty nice.  With a minimal amount of practice, I could do a fleur in probably about 30 minutes.  However, I was busy explaining some blacksmithing techniques to someone and burned part of the hinge.  It probably could have been salvaged but I wasn't worried about it.  I went ahead and waxed the piece but really don't plan to do anything with it.
  The next item I did was a pair of scissors.  I've never made scissors before and I was able to make these in under an hour.  Once again, I didn't worry about actually finishing the scissors, I was just playing around.  Although the scissors did end up looking like a pair of child safety scissors.
  I briefly toyed with making a tool I need, but I didn't have the right size tongs so I put that aside.  My final project for the day was a ladle.  I want my setup to look more medieval and my current water can is little more than an old tin can with a handle.  So, I do want to make one.  The ladle didn't come out like I wanted so I stoped that as well.
  I've really come to the conclusion that at events I don't like to work on personal projects.  It is much more fun for me to experiment at events.
  Something else that is happening more and more is that I am getting people asking me to do commision work.  I very rarely do any kind of commision work.  The main reason for this is that I don't like production work.  I really want to learn how to do more advanced items and its easy to get stuck in the rut of making what sells.  Somewhere down the road, I may do commisions but not yet.  I'm not in the blacksmithing for the money, I do it for the joy of learning.
  I received 3 serious commision offers and probably about 10 casually requests for stuff yesterday.  I do feel bad turning people down but until I finish certain projects, I don't want to get sidetracked.
  I did accept one commision though.  One of the groups in SCA is getting elevated in its status to barony.  He asked it I could do some combination pole holder/list poles for them.  Since this is for a group and not an individual or household, I decided to take it on.  Also, I have a long time to get the items together.  I'm not charging for my time, just materials.  Its part of the way I can use my skills to give back to the SCA.  Another group that I used to be part of wants something similar.  However, I would like to be a little more decorative with those items and I have to figure out what I want to do.
  And finally, there were some reporters in the campground yesterday for the Palm Beach Post and they ended up talking to me for at least half an hour.  I know a lot of photos were taken.  I'm going to have Swapna's skin tone in the photos if they use them.  It was a windy day and by the end of the day my face was very sooty.
  Today I am just going to relax.  I am beat, tired and sore but feeling good...  If I get a chance, will post some pics after I unload the truck.

Might have to scam the company...

  Well, not really scam the company but will have to try to get them to schedule some trips to my benefit.  There is a major blacksmithing conference in Dallas in early June.  I never did get into the blacksmithing shop here in town but I did pick up a flyer for a class that they do.  I might take it if I get the chance.

Try again today...

  In Dallas this week (yuck) but I did find out about a blacksmith shop only a few miles from my office.  Drove there yesterday but nobody was in.  I'm going to try today at lunchtime to see if anyone is in...  I'm hoping that its not a weekend only type of place.