Tools

Should I let it go?

lesliereilly — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:56:57 -0600

So I have this large sculpture that I have kept with me, moving around the country, that I made in college what feels like a hundred years ago.

it is a 3' x 5', aluminum, lost-wax casting. i remember EVERYthing it took to creating this piece.

About to get started....

Whiskey-71 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:14:07 -0500

First a fond hello to everyone. My name is Scott Ellis and I will be commencing a second Bachelor's degree in January 2011. I'll be pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) with a concentration in Metals at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, TN. This is a satellite campus of Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN. I'll be studying a little bit of everything: jewelry making, blacksmithing, polishing, some design, etc.

Cool Little Tool: Panavise

Daverham — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:52:07 -0500

I just got this great little tool that is promising to be very handy, so I thought I'd share. You can get all sorts of expensive GRS stuff on Rio Grande - which is really great stuff - but you can't beat the price of this little Panavise. I got mine on Amazon for $25.

Work Supports

Rich Waugh — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:00:55 -0600

Air Curtain

Rich Waugh — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:56:33 -0600

New Tunnel forge

Rich Waugh — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:49:37 -0600

New Forge Project

Rich Waugh — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:51:42 -0600

Things have been a bit slow on the 'net for several days now so I thought I'd share with you all my latest shop project. The propane forge I've been using for the past five years has just about run its course and I decided to make a new and better one. The old one has been good, but it is a bit on the small side sometimes and isn't as adaptable as I would like. I put a 2" square port in the rear of it, but too often that isn't big enough for what I need to put through it so I'm forced to build up firebricks at the front of the forge and use the exhaust heat to get something up to temperature. Also, this little freon can forge can't accept the middle of a scroll, for instance. Such shapes are best done in a solid fuel forge, but most of the time I don't want to fire up the coal forge just to do one heat. I've been thinking for some months now of a new design for a forge that would solve some of my issues and still not be a huge, gas-guzzling monster that would drive me out of the shop with the dragon's breath and the waste heat. That waste heat is a significant factor in the tropics where I work, believe me!

The Morning After

AJTivol — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:21:42 -0500

The morning after the second class meeting and I'm awake at 3:37am. Seems like as good a time as any to think about metal.

Class was really great. The instructor, Jim, provides a safe, comfortable, challenging learning environment. His attitude is that we should explore and experiment as much as possible without worrying about whether we think he thinks we're doing art. If the weld holds, it's good. If we want to buff out the weld mark, fine. If we think having the weld mark is desirable, fine. Right now is about learning the skills that will lead to the craft. It's a terrific feeling of freedom and even the smallest gains feel like great accomplishments.

FOLLOWING JENLANE'S POST-Chasing and Repousse Tools-

ansuz — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:07:01 -0500

Each chisel (tool) has a history, a master, then handed from generation to generation .. The logos show the owners. There are tools with 6 or more logos .. It means that they are lost in time - date back to 1500/1600.The

FOLLOWING JENLANE'S POST-Chasing and Repousse Tools-

ansuz — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:06:17 -0500