Simple metal christmas tree

Simple metal Christmas tree

This is a really simple metalworking project that you 

should be able to make as long as you have some 

basic tools and know a little bit about metalworking.

This is the first post in a small "series" where

I will be making tutorials on some Christmas

themed items.

So for this project, you will not need a lot 

of things. All you really need is some thin

sheet steel, aluminum, copper or brass.

And something like sheet metal scissors to 

cut it with.

Don't do anything from this post if you 
dont feel comfortable doing it, there is 
plenty of ways to hurt yourself while
blacksmithing, so always use your 
eyes and head and use proper
safety equipment. 

I started making a stencil by folding a piece of thin 

cardboard and drawing half a Christmas tree.

I ended up making two trees one from steel and one from copper. These sheets are about 1mm thick but you can go both thinner and thicker as long as you are able to shape the material.








                                             

Then just use a sharpie or similar and draw around the 

stencil onto the metal.

If you are using metal around 1mm thick you can easily cut

it with one of these sheet metal scissors.

I still ended up using some cold chisels forged from spring 

steel to do this.

For chiseling out anything really I use this piece of 2mm

sheet metal that I have folded over the edges of the anvil

so I don't damage my anvil.

Whether you chisel or just cut the metal all you really need

to do is follow the lines. Copper is really soft

so it is really easy and quick to chisel it out.

 Steel is quite a bit harder but as long as it is under 1,5mm it

is still easy to cut and chisel.

When you have cut out the trees it is time for the most 

time-consuming part and that is filing. However, make 

sure you put a good amount of time into filing all of the 

sharp edges. 

When you finally filed all of the edges the basic

model of this Christmas ornament is finished.

If you want to you can just spray lacquer.

However, I wanted to go a bit further 

with these ornaments so I started off 

by cleaning up the copper tree with

some steel wool to get it a bit 

shinier.

Then I used a small cross peen hammer to make 

some marks along the edge of the tree.

 Then I used a ball peen hammer and the cross

peen to strike some round marks in it to 

give the effect of Christmas ornaments.

For the steel one, I just heated it with a propane/butane

mix torch and hammered it on the anvil

to give it a nice forged look. (Forgot

to take a picture of this but it is quite

simple)

Once the steel tree had cooled down I finished 

both trees with some glossy varnish/lacquer.

And here is the finished product, this cud be used as is 

for decoration or turned into a Christmas tree ornament

by drilling a hole in the top and adding a string.

I will be putting up some more Christmas themed project 

in the coming weeks so if there is some kind 

of special item or type of item just leave 

a comment and I will try my best to 

make that item.

Dice bottle opener

Dice bottle opener

This will just be a quick "tutorial" on how I made two

"dice bottle opener", in this case, they ended up as

fathers day gifts.

And then a quick disclaimer before we start.
Don't do anything from this post if you
don't feel comfortable doing it, there is plenty of ways to
hurt yourself forging, so always use your eyes and head
and use proper safety equipment

Start off with some 12mm square bars, just a random length at 

this time.

Then I punched, drifted and fine-tuned the ring

of the opener itself. Then just punched the little 

"tab" that grabs the edge of the cap.

To make the dice shapes you want to make anything 

from 1 to s many as you like, in this case, 3. First,

mark them out with a sharpie or scribe and 

then used a cold chisel to mark along the lines.

Now I just cut the grooves deeper with my Dremel

rotary tool and a thin cut off disc. Just make sure to 

not go too far so you weaken the metal too much.

After this, I used a square file to file off the corners

where I cut the groves (so you don't end up with 

sharp edges when you twist the handle).

Now mark the eyes of the dice again with anything you got

remember that the sum of eyes on oposit 

sides should be 7 and that is how you make the 

dice "realistic/correct".

Now just heat up the steel twist the dice how you like them

and you are don. I finished them with a wire brush while the 

steel was still hot and then let them cool. Lastly a 

layer of spray lacquer.

This is how I gift wrapped them, just some hand folded 

cardboard boxes with some wood shavings made

with a plainer.

This post was a bit shorter and simpler than usual

I kind of messed up time scedule but Ill try to get

into it better for next week. Hope

you still had a good read and if 

you would like he to show how

 I made the gift boxes just lease 

a comment.

How to make a simple bottle opener

How to make a simple bottle opener

This is a quick and simple bottle opener. Cud be a quick

gift for someone or maybe you need one for yourself.

For this one, you will not really need anything 

special maybe a pair of round nose pliers.

And of course the standard heat, anvil and hammer.

And then a quick disclaimer before we start.

Don't do anything from this post if you

don't feel comfortable doing it, there is plenty of ways to

hurt yourself forging, so always use your eyes and head

and use proper safety equipment

I will make this one from a 200mm piece of 6mm rebar.

Let's start off by flattening 15-20mm at the end for the opener.

You want to flatten it to about half the thickness of the full material.

Then you want to bend it to a hook, for this I used my 

scrolling tongs/pliers, but you can really use any 

pair of pliers for this. 

The cool it off and try it on a bottle, you want it to grab the 

edge of the cap without catching onto the glass "lip" of 

the bottle. If it doesn't work just reheat and adjust until

you got a good fit.

Next, I decided to hammer down the ridges of the rebar a

bit to make it more comfortable, you cud leave them if you

want, doesn't really make a difference.

Next, I hammer out the other end to a taper, maybe 30mm long.

Now just heat up and bend it around the horn of the anvil
about half way.

I bend it about this far and then just close it up on the anvil.

And here it is all don. You can finish this one in many
different ways but spray lacquer will hold up the best

Here are 2 more styles with the same sort of opener, if you

like any of them better.

That is all for this post hope you liked it and maybe 

give it a go.

How to make a blacksmith S-hook

How to make a blacksmith S-hook

This is a really simple project however its also 

a really useful item, so let's get int the tutorial.

For this project you will need:
First, you will need your heat source,
hammer and anvil.
You will also need a pair of
6/8 mm tongs and a pair
of round nose pliers.

And then a quick disclaimer before we start.
Don't do anything from this post if you
don't feel comfortable doing it, there is plenty of ways to
hurt yourself forging, so always use your eyes and head
and use proper safety equipment

For this project, I would recommend 6-8mm round stock.
For this one, I used 6mm rebar.

You want to start drawing out maybe 20-30mm
and smoot it out square at first.

Then round it out by hammering down all corners.

I use these round nose pliers, that I made, to 
turn a scroll on the end. Any round nose 
pliers will do, however.

Then just heat up the end and cool off the scroll after
that carefully bend the hook around the
horn on the anvil or just over the edge if your
anvil doesn't have one.

Once you have got the shape you want you
will have something like this.

Now it is time to cut off the material. I got two marks

the one on the top is how much whole material I 

want to be left between the hook bends and the 

second mark is where I will cut the material.

Here is a picture of the jaws on my 6mm round stock tongs.
They are made in the same way as the 10/12mm tongs,
that I have a post about, except the jaws.
(If anyone is interested I can make a post on how
to make these jaws)

Here is how you hold the workpiece with these tongs.

Now just do the exact same thing as before but just
remember to bend the scroll towards the hook.

Once you have bent the other hook you are finished.

Like I said S-hooks can be used for a lot of things. Here are
2 other styles that I made for hanging extension cords 
as well as the cords for my stick welder.

And that is it for this post so hope you liked it 
or had a good read and maybe even get some use 
out of it.