Monday, January 24, 2011

The Weathervane Project, Part II: Forging diamonds.

Our Weathervane Project has several different shapes as part of the design.   C-scrolls, tulips, and diamonds are repeated themes.  Let’s look at how the diamond forms are created at the forge.

They are formed from low-carbon steel bar that is ¼” by 2” by about 5” long.   The first 3" will be used to form the diamond shape and the rest formed into the tail approximately 5/8" thick and 2.5" long.
The diamond shape is forged out of the bar over the edge of the anvil.  This takes several heats and goes faster with assistance from a striker with a sledge hammer.  This one is half done:
The finished diamond then is forge-welded to the crossbar.  That is done by two smiths working together to hold and weld the pieces together into a finished bar.
The welded bar is quenched in water and cleaned up.

The diamond is then framed by two scrolls to create a form of a Fleur De Lise.  This one doesn't have the final collar yet but is still quite striking in silhouette.

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