Prospect Hill Forge Products
These
are
things we've made that we can be talked into selling, making again, or
making something
like. This
is sort of a cross
between a gallery of works, a catalog of items for sale, and
a
source of inspiration for commissions.
Dragon Door Knocker
This was given a hot waxing for indoor display. (Sold)
Baby Dragons
Mild Steel, waxed while hot. They vary in maximum dimension from 1.75"
to 2.25"
Young Dragon, "Gene"
Gene is 5.5" from tip of tongue to curve of back.
Mild Steel, waxed while hot.
Instrument stand:
This instrument stand was made to fit a rebec on display at the Boston
Early Music Festival.
It's got some weight to it and is therefor fairly stable. It folds at
the pivot and becomes somewhat
smaller. The leather wraps were done with leather thong. Future
instrument stands will probably have the leather stitched or laced to
fit.
Door handle:
Candlestick
(soon to be a pair)
We got hold of some square tubing and y'know, when y' heat the stuff
up... there's a lot of fun to be had. If you're careful.
A new handle for the double-chamber bellows.
Made from 3/4"
square iron stock with a four inch wooden handle wrapped in leather.
This is the handle that you pull to actuate the double-chamber bellows
to pump air into our forge #3.
The leather strap goes up to a cast aluminum buckle (cast at the forge)
which allows us to adjust the height of the handle for each student.
The top of the leather ties into a rope that goes over a set of pulleys
in the ceiling and pulls up on the bottom board of the bellows.
The handle was made heavy to help counterbalance the weight of the
bottom board of the bellows.
Bathroom Tissue Holders
Each
has provision for three screws to hold it to the wall. No wobbling, if
the wall is solid, and the screws are in tight, the holder isn't going
anywhere. And there are no moving parts, changing rolls is as simple as
it can be.
These are great
fun to make and are a wonderful opportunity to play
around with shape and ornament.
From left to right:
1. Ha'penny scroll to pyramid (hi-res
image with detail)
2. Ginko-leaf to split scroll (hi-res
image)
3. Right-angle curl to fullered spike (hi-res
image)
4. Fiddle-head to scrolled leaf (hi-res
image with details)
5. Veined-leaf to simple scroll (hi-res
image)
Images will open in a new window
Doing my Bit(s)
This
set started as a play on the carpenter's spoon-bit. I made the
bit-spoon from a used drillbit, and of course I had to keep going and
make a bit-fork, and bit-knife. In each I feel I managed to keep a
little of the shape of the head of the drillbit.
This picture has been submitted to be part of a book entitled "500
Knives".
Who knows, maybe they'll like it. We'll find out in late '08.
Whatever happens, these bits wil never be boring again.
The knife is wickedly sharp.
Suffolk Latch made at the Fourth Annual Fitchburg Forge-in
These were quick-before-I-never-see-it-again shots with the phone
camera. The pieces were on a park bench.
The "Outdoor Suffolk Thumb Latch with two staples" was the third of
three competitions. We were given the stock and an hour and a half. I
had enough time at the end to very nearly complete an additional piece,
the catch that goes in the door frame.
Rumor has it that things made this year will be auctioned off next year.
The 'V' shaped marks were made with a chisel I picked up years, nay,
decades ago and have never had a use for until this day. It just seemed
like the thing to bring.
Iron Jewelry: Onyx Pendant on a leather cord
Dave Anderson, jeweler and blacksmith, stopped by and gave a quick impromptu demonstration of welding-up his style of stone setting
using the jeweler's oxy-acetylene torch. Well, it stuck in my head and
I lost sleep thinking about how to make it my own. This is one of the
ideas I came up with, it measures 3" from loop to loop.
When I showed it to him, Dave promised me that he was going to "knock it off" and put it in his store, I'm flattered.
(This one is imperfect in several ways, all visible in the picture. When I make a nicer one, it'll be here instead.)
Sharpening a wrench
Dick brought in this jaw from a Stillson wrench and suggested I might be able to do something with it.
After an hour of waling on it with a 4# hand hammer and a 12# sledge, hardening and tempering, and a visit to the wheel, I had a decent kindling hatchet.
I was amused by what happened to the teeth.
Candle Sconce: Vita Brevis
I've been playing with skulls a bit. This one came up looking a bit like something from a medieval Dance-of-Death woodcut, so I stamped the phrase, 'VITA BREVIS' in the candle cup.
Double Caliper
A classic blacksmith's tool. Used when forging to a particular width and thickness of stock. Yesterday I needed one. So I made one out of scrap from the pile.
The wing nuts look oversize and at first I thought they really were too big, but in using it I find they're not in the way and they allow me to tighten it down good and solid.
The tapered-square-shank bolt in a tapered-square-hole is a good trick and one I'm sure I'll use again.