Stakes ?

gauchitogil - Friday, March 21, 2008 - 10:36pm

This year I would like to get more into forging of copper and silver.
Can you recomend any providers of good, reasonable priced stakes.
I thought about ebay but most ones don´t ship to Argentina.
Simple ones (mushroom stakes) I can get made here but T-stakes are not available down here.

May be someone can post some fotos of the stakes you use to forge a bowl of 20cm ( what seems to me a good project to start with) diametre and how the process is. Any good books available ?

Greetings from Buenos Aires

René
www.landsmann.com.ar

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visitor's picture

Raising

visitor - Friday, March 21, 2008 - 11:31pm

Rene,

Don't let the availability of stakes keep you from learning how to raise. Raising can be done on wooden stakes that you can make yourself. I would recommend "Silversmithing" by William Seitz and Rupert Feingold. It is probably the best book available and is very reasonable in cost.

Steel stakes can be made using a length of 1 1/2" or 2" (4cm or 5cm) diameter steel rod and ground down to the contour you wish with an angle grinder and then polished. This pipe can be held in a vise.

Let us know of your progress in raising.

Fred

gauchitogil's picture

Stakes /Raising

gauchitogil - Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 1:16pm

Hello Fred,

thanks for your comment.
Do you have photos of the wooden stakes you use or can I find them in that book ?
I will evaluate making my own stakes. There was a company called allcraft tools before but I can´t find them anymore.

Greetings from Buenos Aires
René

PD: Luckily the summer is ending we get back to the temperatures where I can move again. As a central european you have to do sort of a summer sleep like bears do in winter time.:)
René Bluhm
www.landsmann.com.ar

warren's picture

Make them

warren - Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 3:56pm

Rene,
I just tried Allcraft and now sends you to www.allcraftonline.com
But the link does not work so I do not know what to tell you.
Yes get the book that Fred recommends. It has the most information of any of the books.
If you want I also have a tutorial at my website that you can download for FREE.
I have done a little bit of raising and made the tutorial from some of my experiences.
Just to make a simple stake to begin with a piece of pipe will also work. Put a slight bend at the end to help position your disc as you hammer
Have fun.

warren
http://www.metalrecipes.com

gauchitogil's picture

Hello Warren, I think it´s

gauchitogil - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 7:27pm

Hello Warren,

I think it´s a good idea to start with less as possible.
Thanks.

René Bluhm
www.landsmann.com.ar

Will Jones's picture

Nice tutorial !

Will Jones - Saturday, June 21, 2008 - 4:04am

Hey Warren,
Just had a look at your little tutorial.
Think you've put more straightforward advice in less space than any of the books I've read up on raising.
Might even have another go myself!
I always find the thumb joint of my holding hand starts giving me serious grief after a while!

Will Jones, www.ironwill.org.uk

warren's picture

Sore thumb

warren - Sunday, June 22, 2008 - 9:37pm

Thanks Will,
I tried to make it as easy as possible. Most of the books are pretty much black and white and I thought a little color would make it more interesting.

Yeah me too, I can hammer and hammer all day but the holding hand, will need ice at night.

warren
http://www.metalrecipes.com

Ries's picture

Rene, a good place to look

Ries - Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 8:53pm

Rene, a good place to look at a wide variety of stake designs is Otto Frei-

http://www.ottofrei.com/store/home.php?cat=270

They are VERY expensive, especially in pesos- but you can see the variety of stake designs, and then could have them made for you there in BsAs.

I have not done any silver, but when I make 3 dimensional forms in sheet metal, I use a leather bag filled with shot- this is the auto panel beaters technique, as discussed by artisans like Ron Fournier-
http://www.fournierenterprises.com/toolsxxx.html

His book is excellent regarding larger scale raising and metal forming. He is not a jeweler, but he is as skilled a metalsmith as the best of them in his own way.
And the leather bag is cheap and versatile. You still need stakes for planishing, however.

I think it will make the most sense to make, or have made, stakes there in Argentina. The raw material, the steel, is cheap, and the labor there is much cheaper than US prices for finished stakes.
I am sure there are Herrero's there who could easily make you one.

I have not had a chance to search out and meet Porteno blacksmiths yet, but from browsing on TodoAr, I know there are several commercial blacksmiths still in BsAs, and I intend to meet them as time goes on, and I spend more time there.

visitor's picture

stakes, Allcraft

visitor - Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 9:57am

Allcraft has the most extensive selection of stakes and hammers. Their website is currently having problems. I suggest emailing or calling to ask for a catalog. allcrafttools@yahoo.com.

Using a wooden or plastic stake for raising a bowl is fine. However, if you wish to raise a disc taller, as for a vase, it is important to compress the molecules by working with a steel hammer on a steel stake after every 3 to 5 courses. This can be planishing over a mushroom stake.

I agree that Seitz and Feigold is an excellent book.

Have fun!
Cynthia

gauchitogil's picture

stakes

gauchitogil - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 7:25pm

Hello Ries, thanks for your post.
Well seeing the prices of ottofrei I´ll what I can get made here first.
For artisans in blacksmithing here in Argentina you have to look for "herreria artistica".
As well, I don´t know if you heard abour Carlos Reggazoni.
He works closed to Retiro train station and makes sculptures of old trains, rails and what so ever.
As well there is a theatre there and you can visit his atelier.
Look for him and his work on google images.

Greetings
René

René Bluhm
www.landsmann.com.ar

Gene Olson's picture

looks like there are a lot of spanish titles

Gene Olson - Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 10:00pm

Spanish titles?

Gene Olson
Sculptor Elk River, MN

gauchitogil's picture

stakes

gauchitogil - Monday, March 31, 2008 - 5:56am

What do you mean with spanish titles ?

René Bluhm
www.landsmann.com.ar

Gene Olson's picture

Sorry, I copied the link but

Gene Olson - Monday, March 31, 2008 - 7:44am

Sorry,
I copied the link but it leads only to the search engine, not to the search I did.
follow the link above and enter "herreria artistica"

Gracias

Gene Olson
Sculptor
Elk River, MN

gauchitogil's picture

stakes

gauchitogil - Monday, March 31, 2008 - 6:39pm

Hello Gene,

"herreria artistica" are just the words to look for blacksmithing art in spanish. If it was referred to Ries though he was looking for that down here in Buenos Aires.

René Bluhm
www.landsmann.com.ar

Gene Olson's picture

Sí, pero cuando realizan la

Gene Olson - Monday, March 31, 2008 - 8:57pm

Sí, pero cuando realizan la búsqueda con los términos en la página web anterior, he encontrado unos 30 libros en español sobre el arte de metal.

Gene Olson
Sculptor
Elk River, MN

gauchitogil's picture

stakes

gauchitogil - Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - 12:03pm

Hay más hispanohablantes entonces en este foro. Que bueno.:)
Me voy a fijar.
Gracias
René

René Bluhm
www.landsmann.com.ar

Nic East's picture

Stakes

Nic East - Friday, June 20, 2008 - 4:59pm

http://www.metalliferous.com/pdf/tools/TV1Stakes.pdf Try this link to see the current prices. This will probably convince you to make your own locally in Argentina.

Nic East, Jim Thorpe, PA USA
Creativity begins with a novel thought.

Jamie Santellano's picture

Hi,

Jamie Santellano - Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 11:37pm

Hi,

If you can find some old hammers that are cheap, and fairly large in size the heads can be ground down to the shape of the curve that you need.

Once you have designed your bowl, and have your template cut out then you can shape and polish the hammer to fit the curve you'll be working with.

I would recommend "SILVERSMITHING AND ART METAL," by Murry Bovin. It's got some great information, and pictures to refer to...it is black and white, but the info is good.

Jamie Santellano