Crumbling metal...

Finally got back on the forge today.  I started with trying to make a drift out of the A2 steel I had been given.  Things started out okay but on about the 3rd or 4th heat, I took the steel up to a nice yellow, hit it with a hammer, and watched it crumble.  Not crack, it just look like cheese that crumbled apart.  Hmm...  Guess its time to check the spec sheet on the A2.

So I decided to make the drift out of mild steel.  The drift was because I decided to remake most of the frame other than the corner posts.  I'm simply not quite happy with the current frame.  I did not form the tenons or mortises very well.  Not a whole lot of time wasted.  Anyway, the drift is so I could make the mortises on the posts consistently the same size.

After I made the drift, I resized all of the mortises on the corner posts.  I used some new files to clean up the finial on one of the posts.  Coming out pretty nice...  :) 

I hate work...

Will get very little done over the next few weeks.  Busy time at work.  Just when I was starting to make good progress...  :)

Thinking can be dangerous

I was just thinking about possible remaking the cross pieces of the frame.  I made the mistake of making them at demos and they are not as well shaped as I would like.  Yeah, they are just simple straight pieces except the shoulder of the tenons are not as well formed as I would like.  I might do one sample piece just to see if it is worth my time to remake them.  I think it will be.  More to follow.

BTW:  I'm posting a lot here recently because things are actually going fairly well.  I know sometimes the progress stands still but during that time I'm usually learning a lot.  Boring for the reader, fun for me.  :)

Minor update.

  Just a quickie update.  I cut the pattern out for the motif pattern that will be one both ends of each corner posts.  I was going to start the filing but decided that I wanted to make sure that I soften the metal up before I do that.  Just to make sure that I didn't harden any of the posts accidentally.



  The motif is in the upper right side.  It is referred by horologists as a pregnant lady motif and it was common in the later parts of the middle ages.  The slot on the left side is used to register the correct spot on the posts.  It matches up with the mortises on the posts.

Umm... Wow!

First some minor items...

Last night, a friend gave me about 40# of A2 steel.  A2 steel is one of those alloys thats great for blacksmiths.  It is very resistant to heat and it air hardens.  The stock size is perfect for chisels and punches.

Also, tried today to use the char cloth.  No great luck so will have to try some other way to make the cloth or change the cloth I start with.  Could also just be the way I'm throwing sparks on it.

So today I decided to remake the corner post that I screwed up a few days ago.  Starting from scratch, I had to cut the post to length, trim the center section, punch new mortises, cut the thin post and mount the finial.  I suprised myself.  All of that I managed to do in under 3 hours.

I've had several posts in the past where I mention something like this.  I am really surprised by how far I've come and how much better I'm getting.  Things that took me several days now just take me a few hours.  My confidence is rising.  I just need to make sure I always pay attention so I don't make too many mistakes like last week.  Earlier this week I reread my blog from the beginning.  It was very humbling.

So, anyway, all 4 corner posts are done other than minor cleanup.  I'm really going to push to get the frame done within the next two months. 

Char cloth 2, Bomlin 1

So I made some char cloth.  The 2nd batch came out somewhat okay but it was obvious that I took it out to soon.  So, for the 3rd batch I followed some online advice and I stuffed the tin very tight.  I baked it at 550 for about 1 hour 20 mins.  This batch was much better.  Near the top and bottom of the container(near the vent holes) the cloth had burned too far.  At the very center, the cloth could have used a bit more time.  But in between those areas, I believe that I have some good stuff.  Will try it out tomorrow.  I may have to put together a simple article together for our Kingdom newsletter.  Essentially, it would be how to start a fire in a period way.

Char cloth 1, Bomlin 0

So today I decided to make some char cloth as part of my long term project to make my demo area at events more period.  Char cloth is essentially cloth that has been heated to the point of combustion but deprived of oxygen.  This allows the cloth to gas off anything that's non flammable making the cloth very susceptible to burning.  It is great for starting fires with a flint striker.  Real charcoal is wood that has had the same process done to it.  You are left with carbon molecules that burn very easily and hot.

My first attempt involved packing a tin container with scraps of fabric about 2" square.  Very small holes are poked to allow venting but not too large so oxygen can't get too rich in the container.  I popped the container in the oven and put the oven on the clean cycle. When I came back four hours later, the char cloth had burned too far.  I'm not sure if the heat was too high or it was just in there too long.

Anyway, second batch is in the oven.  This time I'm just going at 550 degrees to see what that gets me.

Humilty, you are a bitch...

Today I decided to spend a few hours getting the finials on all of the corner posts.  Overall, things went really well.  I'm very happy with my progress of skills even from just 6 months ago.  Everytime I've overcome a challenge, I get a little bit better.  Having said that...

I once heard a story about safety and woodworking.  Woodworking is a fairly unsafe hobby.  Don't believe me?  Go to a woodworking convention and look for all the people with missing fingers or long scars on their hands and arms.  The funny thing about that?  Most woodworking injuries occur to experienced woodworkers.  With experience comes the ability to do stuff without thinking too much about it.

What does that have to do with me?  Take a look at the pictures below.  The one unfinished post has a bit of a problem.



I cut the thin post on the wrong side.  Sigh, 1 step forward, 2 steps back.  I will have to make a new post.  That will take probably about 2-3 hours total.  I have to make sure it is precisely that same as the others.

Excellant day...

About 3 years ago, my company (a major telecommunications firm) was facing a possible strike.  Because of that, a large number of the managers (myself included) had to take training to act as fill in labor during the strike.  Go ahead, call me a scab but its better than being fired.  Well, the job I was trained for was home installation of phone lines.  As a part of that training, I had to buy a pair of steel toed work shoes.  Well, after the accident yesterday, I decided to dust them off and use them to protect my already injured foot.

I started the day by finishing the forming of the finials.  I got done with them just in time.  The fuller that I fixed last weekend at an SCA event was beginning to give out.  In addition, I noticed a stress fracture on the backside of the finial die.  I'm not sure home much life it has left.

Still, the making of the finials went pretty fast.  I had some time left and decided to go ahead and attempt to get a finial on one of the corner posts.  I took one of the corner posts and cut some of the metal in order to form a thin post that the finial would sit on top of.  Surprise, surprise it worked.  Here are some pictures of the first post to get its finials.







I did some preliminary cleanup with a file but I'm very happy with how its looking.  As a reminder, here is a picture of the original clock.



So, things went very well.  The other posts should take just about an hour a piece to get their finials on.  The last thing I need for the corners is to file some decorative motifs into the post.  The motif is called "pregnant lady" mainly because it looks somewhat like a pregnant woman in profile.

Because of the difficulty I had in coming up with a workable technique for the finials, here is a recap.  All of the steps assume the metal is hot unless otherwise noted.

1) Start with 1" stock.  This is fullered with a 1" round top and bottom fuller.  This gave the metal a "waist".





2) Top half is cut off and discarded.



3) Bottom half is cleaned up and filed.  This forms what the top of the finial will look like.

4) This piece is hammered into tool steel to form a die.



5) Steps 1 and 2 are repeated to form the first finial.

6) The finial is cut off from the stock about 1/4" back from the start of the curve of the top of the finial.

7) The now separated finial is placed point down into the die.

8) A pointed 1/2" wide punch is used to start forming the socket.  This is alternated with a square 1/2" wide punch.  I found alternating back and forth between these two gave the best results.

9) The thin post on the corner post is slight upset on the end.  This causes it to be slightly wider on the end and gives the finial something to grab onto.

10) The cold thin post is hammered into the hot socket of the finial.  Then the sides of the finial are hammered causing it to grab onto the post. 



11) That's it!

Why does my foot feel wet?

Because my shoe is full of blood...  (details to follow)

So today started with a visit to the local flea market.  There is a good tool place at the flea market.  The owner specifically only stocks the place with American made tools, no cheapy Chinese knock-offs. 

I ended up buying a very nice Nicholson rasp for $7.  The rasp is around 20" long and looks like new except for one or two minor rust spots.  For those not aware of it, Nicholson makes some of the best files around.  Anyway, the rasp is used for hot filing metal.  Very good for rapid removal.

I also picked up a new wire brush.  That's just used to remove scale from the metal.

Finally, I picked up a new set of hinges for my post vise.  The hinges I originally got for my post vise were too small (I knew that at the time) but it was the largest available.  The new hinges are much large.  I'm reposting a pic showing my post vise standing showing the old hinges.  The new hinges are longer and stronger so will see if they do the trick.  If not, I will forge a nice long pair of strap hinges.



I got home in the early afternoon and decided to start work on making the finials for the clock.  I was making good progress and was on the second finial when I dropped a big hunk of hot steel (with a point) on my foot.  Surprisingly, there was no real pain and I continued to work. 

After one or two more heats on the metal, I noticed that my foot was feeling wet.  I looked at my shoe and noticed there was a small hole where the metal quickly burned a hole through my shoe.  I sat down and popped off my shoe and saw a sock that was soaked with blood from about the arch of the foot forward.

I called my girlfriend outside and she was kind enough to clean and dress my injury (she used to do the nursing thing.)  I was confined to a chair while waiting for the bleeding to stop.  So, I decided to play with the fire striker and flint.

I had great luck.  I used steel wool and pine needles as my tinder and within a minute, I had my first fire.  I continued to play with the striker and successfully started about 10 fires.  It really is one of those things that once you do it once, its pretty easy.

Now, my foot is propped up on the couch and the lady is going out to pick up White Castle grease bombs -er- I mean hamburgers.

I guess its not a real project until it makes you bleed.

Got it...

Today I was able to put in some good time on the forge.  I started work on the finials again.  The first attempt was using a technique I thought might work that I detailed in a previous post.  So, I went back to a attempting to punch the socket into the finial while the finial sat in the die.  The one difference I did was to use a punch with a point instead of a flat faced punch.  This was to allow the metal to push out to the sides some.  I then finished it up with a flat face punch and this worked.  Here are pictures of two finials I made today.  The finials are about 1" across.





They are not absolutely perfect but it would only take minimal cleanup with a file at this point.  I am very happy with the results and I think I may try to get the finials on the posts this weekend. 

If I do the finials for the corner posts this weekend, I will try to fully photograph every step so that is easier to understand.

Finally, I took a break between the two finials to create a fire striker.  This is a hard piece of steel used in combination with flint to start a fire.  My goal is over the next year to have a more period presence at SCA events.  The striker came out fine but I cant get it to work.  Not sure what the problem is but will do some research online tonight to see if I can figure out the problem.  Could just be how I'm using the flint.

Finials continued...

So this was an SCA weekend and had plenty of forge time.  I was working on the finials most of the day but I will come back to that.  First, some of the other interesting tidbits...

Had a lady approach me.  She was complaining that she had injured her leg and that a friend had given her a cane.  The problem was that the cane was too long by several inches.  She asked if I could help and I said sure.  I took my hacksaw and cut about 3-4 inches of the cane.  She was very appreciative.  Next, a gentleman approached me.  He said that because of diabetes, his spurs were tight on his feet.  A few quick taps on the anvil and he was very happy.  Finally, another gentleman approached me because he has some misshapen tent stakes.  After a quick dip in the forge, straightened them out.  It was just one of those days when I felt like the local village blacksmith.  Most blacksmiths spent a bulk of their time fixing existing items instead of making something new...

I forgot to bring a camera so will have to describe the things I did.

I started with making a new master finial top.  I used a file and got it nice and clean.  I took my tool steel and created another die.  I took a break and made a few crucifixion nails(don't ask...).  I then proceeded to attempt to make a finial for real.  I started with the fuller and in the process the fuller broke.  So I had to stop to fix that.  Luckily a friend was working with me so it was bit easier.  After forming the top side of the finial I cut it off from the stock.  I then had a piece about 1.5" long and 1" wide.  I then took that piece, heated it and dropped it into the die and proceeded to attempt to put the socket in the bottom of the finial.  Then I realized the error of my ways...

Because the finial is sitting in the die, it is *VERY* difficult to form the socket.  Quite simply since I am attempting to punch the socket into the metal and the finial is sitting in the die, the metal has no where to go.  I think I could form the socket with enough patience as it would eventual go out to the sides.  I think the better idea may be to not initial form the top of the finial.  Have the actual punching of the socket push the metal into the die to form the top.  I will give that a try sometime this week.

Getting close with the finials...  The good news is that most everything else on the clock should be fairly straight forward.  Not saying that it won't be challenging.