John D. Harvey || Blacksmith

Artist blacksmith in Rhode Island

Teaching Toolmaking

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My 17-year-old solo student, John, learned the basics of tool making last night at @thesteelyard. He produced a round punch/drift and chisel that he’ll heat treat at home and via The Steel Yard’s open studios program. This was our last class. He’s a bright, focused young man. He’ll make a fine blacksmith.

Also pictured are a round punch/drift and chisel that I produced earlier in the week to demo hardening and tempering tool steel. We’ll see how they perform as I use them to make bottle openers and forged leaves. These were all made from scrap spring steel (meaning, mystery metal), so getting the heat treatment right is a process of experimentation, note-taking, and SWAGs.

Tool making is probably a thing I’ll do more in the future.

SHOP UPDATE! New GCS Drill Press, Post Vise, and other tools.

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Several additions to the new workshop! GCS Heavy Duty Benchtop Drill Press (14-inch, 12-speed), antique leg vise (to restore), Metabo 7-inch bench grinder, Drill Doctor drill bit sharpener, Columbian 3.5-inch swivel bench vise (to restore), and a drill gauge. Now I just need some benches and such to put them all on…

The leg vise was a generous gift from Bob at the Bison Forge Company (@bisonforgeco on Instagram). He also helped me get that drill press out of my car. If not for him, I’d be driving around with a drill press in the back indefinitely.

PATREON SUPPORT: https://www.patreon.com/jdhmetalcraft

SOCIAL MEDIA

INSTAGRAM: @johndharvey
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jdhmetalcraft/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/jdharv/

Video tour of my new workshop!

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After weeks (months…) of hunting, I’ve finally found a shop for JDH Metalcraft in East Providence, RI. This short video offers a tour of the space where I’m setting up JDH Metalcraft for blacksmithing, welding, fabrication, and other metalwork. Caveat, having space isn’t the same as having equipment. The video will explain more…

PATREON SUPPORT: https://www.patreon.com/jdhmetalcraft

SOCIAL MEDIA

INSTAGRAM: @johndharvey
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jdhmetalcraft/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/jdharv/

Wrought Iron Cthulhu Tentacle Bottle Opener

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Here’s a special variation of my tentacle bottle opener made from a special material. This particular opener is made from wrought iron sourced from Providence, RI. It came from a derelict building that was built sometime in the late 1920s (possibly very early 1930s).

So, this iron would have been contemporary to the period in which H.P. Lovecraft wrote his more famous and tentacular Cthulhu mythos stories (“The Call of Cthulhu”, “At the Mountains of Madness”, “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, and The Shadow Out of Time”, etc.). So, considering the vintage and source of the metal, it’s got some heritage and history attached to it.

Also, this is the very first time that I’ve worked with wrought iron. It’s very different from mild steel and is in some ways a bit less forgiving. My first attempt failed badly. This second attempt turned out fine, but it took longer to etch than I expected. All that said, I’m happy with the grain exposed by the etch.

I have enough of this particular wrought iron to make two more of these. I already have plans for them… charity auctions.

[envira-gallery id=’1509′]

Still Seeking New Shop Space

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My time in my current shop space is coming quickly to a close. This means that I’ll soon lose access to a power hammer. So, I’m doing tapers and tops for tentacle bottle openers until I run out of either time or round stock, whichever comes first. After that, things will move a bit slower on production. Maybe a lot slower.

Anyway, for the next few days these are getting done at a good clip. The ‘after’ photo includes the production from a half night the night before as well last night’s full shift. Just in case you noticed the math doesn’t add up and wondering how I’m getting my starting stock to mate and make babies…

Tentacle bottle openers in progress.

Forging a Leaf (blacksmithing tutorial)

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Here’s how I’m currently forging leaves. I’m still refining, but I’m pretty happy with the end results.
Start with 1/2-inch round stock and forge to shape. I use both a power hammer and hand hammering.
Start with 1/2-inch round stock and forge to shape. I use both a power hammer and hand hammering.
Forge in the center vein using a chisel. A curved- ended chisel works best.
Forge in the center vein using a chisel. A curved- ended chisel works best.
Use the peen end of a cross-peen hammer to create the texture on either side of the vein. Different peen sizes create different textures. Experiment!
Use the peen end of a cross-peen hammer to create the texture on either side of the vein. Different peen sizes create different textures. Experiment!
Secure the leaf in a post vice and use a chisel to create notches at the leaf edges. If the notches come out very sharp/jagged, take another heat and gently knock them down.
Secure the leaf in a post vice and use a chisel to create notches at the leaf edges. If the notches come out very sharp/jagged, take another heat and gently knock them down.
Place the leaf's center vein over a V channel on a swage block. Gently hammer a chisel into the center vein to form the leaf into a "V" shape.
Place the leaf’s center vein over a V channel on a swage block. Gently hammer a chisel into the center vein to form the leaf into a “V” shape.
Strike the back of the leaf on either side of the vein with an embossing hammer (ball peen also works) to create a bowl curve on both sides of the vein. Do this on a wooden stump to protect the texture on the other side of the leaf. A leather hammer is also useful to coax the edges into shape.
Strike the back of the leaf on either side of the vein with an embossing hammer (ball peen also works) to create a bowl curve on both sides of the vein. Do this on a wooden stump to protect the texture on the other side of the leaf. A leather hammer is also useful to coax the edges into shape.
7. Gently hammer the tip of the leaf into an upward curl. Because it looks nifty. Finish however you like. Cheers!
Gently hammer the tip of the leaf into an upward curl. Because it looks nifty. Finish however you like. Cheers!

Testing a Different Power Hammer Die

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All of the following using the new (to me) hammer die on test metal…

(Image 1) Tapered to square.

(Image 2) Tapered to octagon.

(Image 3) Tapered to hexadecagon.

(Image 4) This is as facet-free as I can get it using the flat face of the die (someone with better power hammer kung-fu could probably do better…).

(Image 5) A lot less faceting using the rounding surface of the die (probably hard to see here). So… success!

  • Square
  • Octagon
  • Hexadecagon
  • Tapered with flat face of die
  • Tapered with rounding funnel on die

Next Batch of Tentacle Bottle Openers

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(Image 1) This is eight tentacle bottle openers in waiting; 3/4-inch round stock.

(Image 2) But first, I need to get accustomed to a new (to me…) tapering die on the Bradley 50-lb power hammer. Eventually, it should make my life easier. But we need to get to know each other a little better first.

(Image 3) So, I’m going to bang away at this ugly bit of found scrap gifted to me by Nick Tomlin. Let’s see if I can clean it up into a decent taper.

  • 3/4-inch round stock
  • Tapering die for Bradley power hammer
  • Scrap round stock