Wow how time flies. I know that saying I am busy is such a cliché but to be fair I haven’t even managed to get myself back into the forge since Conan the ambo showed up with half a case of beer last Monday. Yes you read correctly the man that treats his body like a temple has his days off from the shrine lol!!
I had managed only to produce 3 of the ear cuffs I was experimenting with when he turned up. After we exchanged the usual pleasantries and cracked open a beer, I put him straight to work. Handing him a hammer and a dapping punch I got him to shape one of the ear cuffs. He was impressed with his work as mush as I was. The shaping was spot on! Whilst he was hammering away I was in the process of shaping a small jig to ensure that the shape of the 1mm stainless steel was consistent. Well that all worked well but as you will find if you were to read what Tush had to say on the Red Haven Studios blog at http://www.redhavenstudios.blogspot.com/ , there is a definite down side to making these cuffs using 1 mm stainless. The upside though is that the material is thick enough to stamp and score different designs into. Oh I should mention Tush also posted pictures of the cuffs so it is worth the visit.
Shaping, patterning and blackening were perhaps the simplest part of the process. Polishing the little blighters proved the most dangerous. The number of times one of those little cuffs was torn from my grip and flung across the forge at supersonic speeds was numerous. Yes for those of you out there wondering why I don’t have a backboard to prevent such a thing.. I do but some how it missed it every single time!! I suppose the polishing did begin after the second beer so I am assuming that had something to do with it!
So here is what I learned from the ‘ear cuff’ project.
The thickness of the material, though needed to produce some funky patterns and designs, needs to be thin enough that the end user is able to shape and form it to the ear.
Patterning was simple and I was pleased enough with the results.
Shaping was an issue as none of the tools I posses were up to the task of dealing with such a small item. The small forming tool I created was successful though cooled the material down to rapidly to ensure an even shaping.
Polishing, even with appropriate holding techniques and devices is somewhat trying. Not a big issue but adds to the negative aspect of the process.
So will I be adding this to my growing list of products? Probably not, as there are far too many hippy shops with cheap arse asian versions far more funkier than mine. It was a good experiment and I will someday return to create some more but for now the effort / reward balance is not weighing in the right direction.
Now back to the lapse in Conan’s tea totaling. Well not really but more about the time he spent under instruction on the forging of his very first ‘s’ hook. Now the technique for creating such a item is not overly complicated in phases but I have to say Conan was a very good student. The only constructive observations I could make would be ‘try not to burn the metal when heating and don’t be afraid to use some of the brawn to hit a little harder’. Everything else though was handled very well and the hook he took home is evidence of good technique. I look forward to the next instructional session.
Now I would go on about all the things that kept me out of the forge this week but I wont. Nothing overly exciting mainly time consuming. I do have to report that my time was not completely wasted. Whilst I was at the local hardware store I was approached by the president of the ‘Dorrigo Show’ and asked if I was interested in providing an operating forge for the event. Now the Dorrigo show normally draws x amount of thousands of visitors but this year is the 100 year anniversary of the Show. This would mean that the draw will likely be more. So today I began on the creation of a small portable forge. The progress of which, I shall report on in my next blog.
Till then..
