Fair Days

I finished my stint at the fair on Friday. The weather was so cool in the afternoon that people were wearing sweatshirts. Man, what a blessing for a blacksmith! I made a crowbar for a guy from a piece of 1"rebar. I wasn't sure when my helper was going to get there so I went solo on this one. I could have used a little help with the hammering but it came out looking pretty good. This guy had seen a crowbar made out of rebar and thought it would be pretty cool to have one made from a piece taken from an old dam from his area. Sort of an historical keepsake crowbar, as it were. I'm not sure how much carbon is in the steel but I hardened it up and drew a temper on it so if he actually uses it, it should be functional.

When I first started teaching it was pretty common to make crowbars in school. It taught you a litttle bit about forging and heat treating and you ended up with something that would last you a lifetime. The only tricky part is putting in the relief for the nail head on the bent end. On this one I shaped a piece of 3/8" square and drove the end of the crowbar down over it to form the relief, split the end of the bar with the hot cut and then opened up the tapered slot for the nail to fit in.

The other photos are of one of two candleholders I made. Pretty well covered both ends of the blacksmithing spectrum. Artsy-fartsy and industrial. Next year I need to make something for myself. I'm always making crap up for other people and don't really have anything that I can point to and say I made. I did finish the fireplace tools - at least the brush, poker and shovel. The Missus has been after me to make a set of tongs so I should do that if nothing else. I also need a stand for the tools. We've got some fireplace tools that came with the house and they're OK but I'd just as soon toss them out and have something of my own manufacture to use. Maybe that will be the job for next year. Or better yet, maybe fire up my own forge this winter and put it to use.

All in all, it was a pretty good week. It's nice talking to the people who stop by and Craig and I work really well together. He hammered out a wood chisel blank from an old file on Friday. I'm anxious to see it when he gets it done. We made a cross this week as well and as soon as I put the finishing touches on it, I'll post a photo.