Another chest

I've been asked to make another reproduction of the Mastermyr chest.  This is meant as a gift to be given at Gulf Wars to another Kingdom's royalty.  I am not going to do the lock mechanism which was the big time killer with the last chest.  However, I may try to put some marquetry on it just to make it a bit more decorative.

A different perspective

Well,

  I got to the Smithsonian (I will post pictures later as I forgot the cable to upload photos) and headed to the two clocks that I wanted to see.  Both are from the 1800s.  I will spare some of the details until I get the pictures uploaded but I did notice something that I was kind of happy to see.  I noticed the lack of perfection.

  I'm not slamming on the original makers of the clock but sometimes when you are first starting out doing something, you feel that there is no way you could ever get to the level of those around you.  Well, I first saw these clocks about 3 years ago.  Seeing them again today I noticed the slight imperfections in the forging.  Just little things but it made me feel a bit better about my own stuff.  I'm nowhere near the skills of the clockmakers that made those clocks but I'm getting there.

  On a final note, saw a presidential motorcade.  The gentleman with the machine guns riding in the van with the windows down got my attention...

Not as productive as I had hoped...

This weekend was an SCA weekend.  Usually when I demo at events, I can get a lot accomplished.  This is because I start early in the morning and work all day long.  Unfortunately, I had a hectic week and was behind on sleep.  My energy was pretty low.  Still, I did manage to finish the shaping of the middle crossbars.  I started to work on the tenons on these pieces but had to stop as I was getting too tired and needed to pack up and head home due to needing to get ready for a business trip.

As I type this, I'm sitting in the airport waiting to go to DC.  I'm thinking of making a return trip to the Smithsonian today.  In the museum of American History, they have a very similar clock to the one I am making.  Even if its not medieval, I can still learn from it.  It all depends on whether or not I have the energy.

In case you haven't seen them before...

Pictures of one of my wooden reproductions of the clock...

What I'm working on...

To make it a little easier to visual what I am currently attempting, this picture from the British Museum is helpful...



Look at the top and bottom of the clock.  In the center are the cross bars with the bulge in the middle.  The bulge is used to hold two vertical bars that hold the axles of the clock.  Click on the image to enlarge.

Progress...

Started and mostly finished the rough shaping of second horizontal center bar.

Why I don't do swords...

Want to annoy a blacksmith?  Ask them if they make swords.  In particular, ask them about folding swords (which will show your amazing ability to watch the movie Highlander.)  It is one of the most common questions I get.  Do you make swords?  How much would it cost?  THAT much?

Alright, I do have a desire someday to make swords.  However I do want to make them correctly.  That does mean blending steels and irons, folding and welding the metal to make the sword.  So what's the catch?  That type of work is extremely time consuming and difficult if you work without a power hammer or a striker.  So, I've made the decision that I won't make a real attempt at a sword until I have a power hammer or a volunteer that I can trust to work as a striker while I figure out how to make the sword.

Just as a bit of info: most swords available today are swords that were made by stock removal.  Someone has taken a hunk of steel and used a belt grinder to shape the sword.  This will produce a fine looking sword or dagger but it will not have the strength of a real weapon.  It is also not the correct medieval technique.  They are fine for "show" weapons and it is a cheap alternative.  I have my own stock removal sword that I use for SCA outfits.

So why all this discussion?  The piece that I am working on the clock involves taking a larger piece of metal and hammering it to be a thinner, longer shape.  In many ways, similar to part of the steps involved in folding/welding/drawing of a sword.  This really is a lot of hammering.  If I was doing blacksmithing everyday, it wouldn't be so bad.  But I got a case of Popeye arm today.  The muscles temporarily bulk up and tighten the skin.  This happened when I was making the cross piece for the clock.  Once again, it starts out as 2" x 1/2" and ends up being about 1" x 3/8".  The following pictures show the progress.

This first picture shows what I did on Saturday.


Starting to define the center a bit more by spreading out the metal.


Starting to form the other half (top of picture)


Getting close to being done.  This picture shows it approximate position on the frame.  Where the bulge is will be two vertical bars going down.  It splits the clock into the time keep side and the bell ringing side.  In clock terms it is the Going Train and the Striking Train.


Blacksmithing secret...  If you are going to do some filing on a piece, always anneal it prior to working on it.  That means heat it up to a low orange heat then let it cool slowly.


Finally, a comparison of the nearly done piece to the original stock metal.  Keep in mind the new piece is also not as thick.

Steady progress

Fired up the forge today.  I started on one of the central horizontal cross pieces.  These will hold vertical bars that will hold the ends of the axles for the clock.  The cross pieces are 1" x 3/8" except in the middle where there is a central bulge of 2 1/2" by 3/8".  I am making this bar by starting with 2" x 1/2".  The central bulge is made by spreading the metal in the middle.  The ends are then squeezed down to form the ends.  I will post a picture of one of them when I am done.

I also spent some time squareing up the frame.  It looks a little better and its getting tighter.  That is, it tends to shift around a little less.  I also uncovered a mistake I made last week that I corrected.

Finally, I made a small rectangular punch that will be used to make some holes used to hold the clock together.

Pictures of the frame progress

This picture shows the frame with the crossbars in place.



I have some minor straightening of the bars to do but its pretty close.  The rope is just to hold the frame together.  I was going to smith today but the wind is a little too strong.  Strong winds make for a fire that is difficult to control and metal that cools a little too quickly.

I next need to straighten the bars a little to make sure everything is squared up.  Then I will add to horizontal bars in the middle of the clock.  These bar represent the dividing line between the time keeping and the bell ringing sides of the clock.  I will also add two vertical bars on the end that will hold the rods for the gears.  Once I have done that (other than some other minor work) I will secure the frame together.  Then it will be time for the clockwork.