Sunday, January 17, 2010

Day Twelve

Photos:
Working on the waxes for the silver charms, coins, pins and pendants.. yes.. the scope has expanded. nice glasses eh? i like to call these pictures "wax dork".

Almost didn't get this post up becasue I have been forging like a maniac all day. Its great to have gobs of uninterrupted time to work on something.. anything..
Yesterday in the smithy, I re-learned ( you can never learn from too many teachers, well good teachers that is) the basic composition of a coal fire, the three steps in heat treating and how to hold my hammer. We're making a grille.
I made a square punch from some tools steel we found out under a bush in back of the shop. I oil hardened and tempered it. It didn't work. It bent. I then water hardened and tempered. Its works. All of this was done with Wally watching over and directing. Hands-on learning with a great teacher is the best!