Another Stand

I've been working hard the past couple of days in the workshop, forging the guitar stand that I designed about three weeks ago. It has taken me a little longer than normal to make this as I've had to forge all the bars by hand, it wouldn't have taken as long if I had the power hammer running. But even without the power hammer and a gas torch I feel that the stand came out very well. There still a few little tweaks I would like to amend but even without them it still looks really good. What does everyone think of it?

Workshop Development

Up and early again today as I was finally having my first workbench delivered to my workshop which means I can get my leg vice bolted up and ready to use. Its amazing how much you use a leg vice in most elements of metalwork and blacksmithing. As you can see from the photo its prefect and with the extra storage underneath it means the floor space in the workshop is more clearer, also means the pillar drill now has a home too and I don't need to use it on the floor any more.

Looking more and more like a workshop each day, just need to get the power hammer working now and I'll be ready for an open day.

Gate's coming along nicely

As I said I would I was back down the workshop working on the Gate and the Microphone stand. The mic-stand is now drying with its coat of black paint and I hope to finish it off tomorrow but my main focus today was the latch of the gate. The design I did for this back in my second year wouldn't have worked so I redesigned the latch with a back plate and rivet to still work with the original pieces and now it work perfectly.

All the plates have now been cut brushed and look alot more cleaner, All the bars will be painted black to emphasize the plates as negative space.

This is my 100th post of this blog!!!! Thank you all for reading my blog and supporting my blacksmithing dream, I look forward to the next 100.

Projects on the go

While I'm waiting for my workbench to be delivered as well as a few other important things I have a few tidy up project on the go. Firstly I be speak to a local Bristol band who has taken an interest in work, although they can't afford to buy any of work they have a studio space at Factory studios where they have offered to have my Microphone stand with a poster and business card on display there to try and advertise me and my business. My Microphone stand however has seen better days and dew to it sitting in my workshop over the past eight months has got alot of surface rust on it, so I decided to give it a completely new makeover. Instead of using black boot polish I have gone with matt black paint. So far I have put on a primer over most of the stand and it will dry over night so tomorrow I will be putting the black coat on.

My house is undergoing alot of changes new bathroom, new kitchen, out house is being redone, etc... So I thought it would be awesome if I could get a new gate done for the front garden. I started this gate in my second year of college and never got round to finishing it. So as well as the Mic-stand I've fixing this gate up too. All the bars are now secure in place and I need to now work on the locking hatch. Soon this gate will be up and running in no time. So tomorrow will be another busy day!!!

Stand fully cleaned

Yesterday I spent all day in the workshop cleaning up the stand I made the day before. Cut brushing, flap disc, files, you name it I was using it but from the photos I took you can see the finish result made it well worth it. I was testing out a Ukulele on the stand but when I got home I also found it fits a guitar too so its become a multi purpose stand!! What do you all think???

 

More productive days

As I'm getting in the workshop more and more over the past month so the days are becoming more productive and today was no acception. I had a couple of friends come and visit in the workshop this afternoon while I was cleaning through all my college samples and found an interesting find and while I had the extra pair of hands I decided that I'd finish what I started. In my final year I made a small scale model of a guitar stand I designed but never finished forging the legs and riveting it all together. The main connection is one rivet that connects all the bars together and so it required more than one pair of hands to successfully rivet it together,, but with a little helping hand from my friends it was done in no time. I'm to spend tomorrow cleaning it up and putting the heat shrink rubber on it. Its just the right size for a violin or ukulele so hopefully more picture to come soon.    

  

On to the next project.

I been working on a new project over the past couple of days I wanted to add a guitar stand to my portfolio of work as I keep saying I can make one and have designed several big ones put haven't gotten round to making one yet. After talking to a few guitarists it was agreed that a big stand would look amazing but wouldn't be practical enough for on the move and so I should be thinking on a slightly smaller scale. I own a few guitar stands myself and they are all different shapes and sizes but there is an overall universal size and space for the hooks of the stand and most stands just about fit in to an A2 size paper. So the challenge was set the design a guitar stand that would fit into a A2 sheet of paper and after a couple days of drawing I finally came up with a design I was happy with and is a great size for a guitar stand. I've designed it to be forged out of 16mm squared bar and should take about a 12 hours to make but that depends on if I can get the power hammer up and running which should mean it'll be quicker, I'll also need the leg vice ready to use as well or I won't be able to create the right bends. So I have a few extra jobs before I can start making it but I very pleased with the design anyway.

   

Another full day

I was down to the workshop early today as I had a full day planed out, first I was going to make a hammer rack for the wall behind the anvil where I will have easy access to all my other tools like my flatter and cold chisel, etc. After I made that and screwed it the wall I moved on to other small tasks around the workshop as I waited for my first delivery of fuel and steel to arrive. First my ten bag of Smithy Breeze coke arrived which meant I could top up the forge as I was running very low on fuel, then not long after that my steel turned up. I ordered in some flat bar so I could fabricate some brackets to hold the steel on the back wall. I made three brackets all lined up and bolted them to the wall and as you can see from the picture its holding the steel nicely, I still intend to make another three so I can store more steel above this lot and not over load these brackets. I will be back in the workshop tomorrow to continue kitting out the workshop!

Blog's new look and Facebook page

Well as you can see the blog has a new look, I wanted to make it seem a little professional and more to my style which I think looks alot more brighter now.

I also have a new facebook business page, to generate more interest in me and my work. Its only been live now for about 24 hours and its doing well so far I will be excited when I hit 100 likes. So please if you haven't already liked it get on to facebook and show your support and spread the word. The more people that know about my work the more my business will grow and develop.

Here's the link to the facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hammer-and-Tongs-Jon-Bull-Artist-Blacksmith/565352753476710

Family visit.

Today while I was down the workshop I had a visit from some of my family. My brother Ben hadn't seen the workshop for at least three months and had heard that I'd fixed my forge and could do some work but had not seen what had changed in that period of time. He was very impressed to see how much had changed and what I had accomplished. So as a little treat I showed him a few forging techniques and got him to help me rivet a pair of tongs together, I even let him swing a sledge hammer when I using a flatter.  

 
It was great to show Ben what I really do when I come to my workshop. Normally my family only see the finished results and never the hard work and techniques that go in to making a product. All in all Ben really enjoyed himself and got a little insight in to my blacksmithing world.