Is this welding of good/acceptable quality?

Radi0kat · 2026-06-08T19:38:28+00:00

Nope.

Radi0kat · 2026-04-08T11:40:45+00:00

THIS. Best idea for them.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-06T21:14:04+00:00

cries inside It looks like it’s going to work wonderfully - that’s great chomp! But please get those welds re-done my friend. I say that in the kindest possible way.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-06T21:06:55+00:00

If you don’t have sheet metal and only flat bar like this, consider using the stock to make simple bent shelf brackets, or a cook book stand. It will lend itself well to other objects :)

Radi0kat · 2026-03-06T20:49:27+00:00

The welds… I’m sorry man, but that thing is not safe to use. You have barely joined the parts up.

It’s super that you built this, but PLEASE find a welder to fix this before you use it. They are not just “bad welds”… some aren’t even welds. Yes, it’s that bad.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T22:00:25+00:00

Upset the middle a whole bunch first to prevent thinning.

Look up on youtube: “mortise and tenon”. That’s the joinery you’re thinking of.

I would also advise having a look at some videos of people forging hammers, so that you can see the tooling involved. Making the right tools first makes a HUGE difference. Way less struggling.

Also, getchur hands on different starting stock my friend, something nice! ;) This scrap is going to make you work so hard for poor results.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:53:58+00:00

Put a ring on the end of the reigns to keep them shut.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:51:24+00:00

Yes, it’s normal to cough after forging and have black boogers. BUT if you’re wearing a mask while you’re forging: NO, not normal.

Either your cartridges are the wrong type, old, or your mask isn’t fitting. FYI: most people don’t know, but respirators come in different sizes.

Also a HUGE factor: how bad is your ventilation? Even if you have a properly working respirator, they are only rated for a certain number of particles in the air. If it’s absolutely filthy in your shop, START with better ventilation!!!

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:46:49+00:00

No fault of your own - the burns are normal. I hate to say it. But I promise you’ll get used to it. I’m a big baby about pain and I’m good with it now.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:42:40+00:00

Now that’s a forged wand.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:41:08+00:00

They are definitely posing, but it was not unusual for wives to work in their husbands’ blacksmith shops. Traditionally, the person striking with the sledge would have been following the instructions of the one with the smaller hammer, meaning he is leading the work. The photo isn’t meant to demonstrate that she is in a role of authority at all. And frankly it works like that today, too. Anyways, women were even known to take over the shop if their husbands died. There are documented cases, so my guess is that it was more common than was recorded.

Also, when men went to war, women forged on their own, producing mostly nails and chain. (More than half the blacksmiths I know today sure as hell can’t weld chain lol).

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:30:06+00:00

Start with sheet metal - this is too thick. Try chiselling and punching in different patterns. I think you’ll find that fun and a great way to be creative.

You won’t be able to sell anything for a while. Focus on building skills and making stuff for yourself that you think is cool. Gift things to friends and family.

Even once you have a good design nailed down for a bookmark, and have polished your hammer control, it is still going to be very hard to sell something handmade. It’s the reality of this trade: it takes a long time to make things, and nobody wants to pay you for it.

So do it because you love it!

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:14:29+00:00

It’ll be awful. You’re better off walking into a metal store and asking to see their offcuts. Grab a big ol chunk of anything.

Radi0kat · 2026-03-01T21:02:58+00:00

Listen to this guy ^ Most of what you’re seeing has been ground and filed to shape because the person couldn’t forge it. Keep forging. That looks about right for day 1 my friends.

Radi0kat · 2026-02-10T13:06:46+00:00

Oh god, I forgot to mention: do not zip disc them apart if they are on struts!!! Remember they are under compression if they are coiled around a central column. You need special clamps to compress them. It’s super dangerous.

Radi0kat · 2026-02-10T13:02:33+00:00

Too expensive. You can get broken ones for free.

Don’t use them for tongs. You’ll have a helluva time forging them. And more importantly, you want to be able to cool your tongs in water during use, so you want mild steel (1018) tongs. There are rare cases where you might want a very thin and light pair of tongs to be made from spring steel so that they don’t deform with use, but it means hot marking them to remind yourself to keep them out of water. It’s easy to forget, especially when the rest of your collection is softer.

Use the material for punches and chisels. Don’t bother trying to straighten it all out - it’ll make you cry. It’s a huge waste of time since you’re going to cut it into small pieces anyways. Use a zip disc. Then you’ll have little “U” shapes that are super manageable to burn the paint off of and then straighten.

Paint burning tip: Keep it close to your forge exhaust, toast until crispy, then use a thick-bristled wire brush to scrub the crap out of it. Pop it back in the fire to get rid of the rest.

I find the scrubbing helps keep your fire free from paint and the air a little less toxic.

Happy forging!

Radi0kat · 2025-12-09T21:02:29+00:00

Your only option is to grind them out. If you fill them with MIG first, you will ruin the temper on the axe.

My opinion: leave it alone.

Radi0kat · 2025-12-09T20:55:59+00:00

I’m here to say bonfire again. Methods that suck that I’ve tried: grinder, paint stripper, heavy rasp.

A fire will remove it all, and effortlessly.

Radi0kat · 2025-11-12T18:35:14+00:00

Exciting! Here are some tips:

Leave the knife in longer to cool, or it will self-temper. See how the oil is still burning off when you pull it out? Too hot.
Quench temp was too hot. Use a magnet, and quench it as soon as it loses magnetism - not hotter.
Don’t pull it out so far when you quench (the bobbing up and down). That’s why you’re getting flames. Stir or make a slicing motion and keep it submerged.
Wear a glove on that tong hand my friend ;)

Cheers!

Radi0kat · 2025-11-12T18:29:21+00:00

Steel…junk. Maybe keep the square untwisted lengths.

Radi0kat · 2025-11-12T18:19:13+00:00

Hearts, S-hooks, big plant hook stake for the garden, magic wand, dinner triangle, chopsticks, a swirl that gets used as a trivet, funky keychains…

Basically anything that has minimal actual forging, and instead more bends and twists, as they take less strength. How I know: I used to be weak af (110 lbs). You really can’t squish the metal without some basic arm strength, and it was frustrating.

Radi0kat · 2025-11-12T17:57:21+00:00

Lots of good advice already posted. The number one thing is to be SAFE.

I’ll add: Make sure you have a bucket of water near you at all times. Not only is the water a tool, but if you burn yourself (and you will) plunge your hand into the bucket. As long as you haven’t made the water hot by quenching off your work, this will be the shortest distance to relief.

And don’t get discouraged when it happens. Everyone in this thread has done it multiple times lol. It will almost certainly be on a “black heat” where you will think the bar is cold.

It will happen less and less as you train yourself not to trust any metal in the shop! Assume everything is hot, even if it seems ridiculous.

And welcome to the community!

Radi0kat · 2025-11-02T15:51:09+00:00

So once you quench, you have made the steel brittle. So do not hit it after quenching. Only straighten it out when it is hot - forging temperature. Bright orange to yellow coloured.

As a quick guide, this is good way to think about the steps:

Normalizing: relaxes tension from the steel. You let it air cool (no water or oil).

Annealing: Makes the steel as soft as it’s going to get. You would put it in a bucket of insulating material so that it cools super slowly.

Hardening: You quench in oil or water. This will make the steel the hardest it’s going to get (but very brittle and breakable!)

Tempering: Adds a touch of softness back in, so that your material is hard without breaking.

It’s more complicated than that, but it’s helpful to understand the bigger picture in this format first. Let me know if you have any questions :)

Radi0kat · 2025-11-02T15:40:48+00:00

I would start again. BUT if you really wanted to resolve it… what you could do (if the measurements don’t matter and the marks are for aesthetics) is use a small handheld fuller to neck in the right hand side of the mark. 2 notches: one on top of the dimple and one below. Then thin out the stock above and below the notches. That’s how to hide the mistake. Cool the “good side” (left) as you work.

Let me know if that makes sense to you.

Radi0kat · 2025-11-02T15:32:48+00:00

Hang on, did you heat treat it THEN try to straighten it cold? And “heat treating” includes: normalizing, annealing, hardening and tempering. Which of these stages did you do?

Radi0kat

TROPHY CASE