"How To" Forge a Blacksmith Twist Handle (Basket) for those Who have not Mastered forge welding. 

Thanks heaps for this, with this I was able to achieve my first forge welds, my first basket and my first poker. Many thanks from Melbourne Australia.

That is so great. I am thrilled you were able to use the information to complete the project. This is the exact reason I have made the videos.. Thanks so much for posting back your success.. much appreciated. Best J.

thank you.. I hope you were able to take something of use away from it..

Hey, Thanks Joe and you are very welcome.. Congrats on your equipment and getting out there and smithing.. Sounds like your have been interested in smithing for a long time with the assorted equipment you have picked up.. Way cool on old Navy forging hammer.. :) Have you posted any photos of your shop/equipment to IFI yet? If you have, I'd love to see them post back with a link if you don't mind. Love old metal and seeing what people have going on. Send me a PM on IFI.. Love to connect and see more of your stuff.. Getting the school finished in a main priority. With this I currently travel about and teach and demonstrate.. Idealy once the school is finished here I will start to travel more and maybe even some over seas venues.. They have a blacksmithing meet in the UK that is really cool looking and love to attend.. One never knows where they will end up if the opportunity presents itself.. :) Thanks again for leaving feedback.. It's much appreciated.

Thanks for the kind comments.. My appreciate it.. Getting feed back like this helps me so much.. I too thought the "Most koolest" thing.. The extra rod count just adds that little extra dynamics.. Thanks again.. :)

Thanks for the kind words.. I hope it opens the forging door for you to access and use this skill set to good advantage..

Thanks.. people for some reason think, life stops when I do videos.. LOL..

Hello Ghost Forge.. Thanks for taking the time to comment.. You are welcome and my pleasure.. I"m hoping people who don't have a consistent lap weld find it useful.. It's applicable for those that can forge weld as well but was filmed with Semi skilled newbs and people with sketchy forge welding skills in mind.. :)

It is really cools seeing the basket open..

Your welcome..

Glad it was helpful! Your welcome

Was shooting for being a full professional with no hammer drops.. :) Just kidding. I was moving the hammer to a better location instead of knocking it off the anvil. I did have one drop but it was off the tool holder . I know you, know.. This anvil is shorter than the HB so just not enough storage space.. :0) .. The hardest part of doing any of the last 5 videos (non welded series) and then this one is the setup time.. Once things are all marked out or in this case put together from the 1st weld to finished product was like 15minutes..

Just kiddin on the drops! I just went from London to German and am having same problem. Not like enough stuffs falls on the floor anyways! what's one more

Like I said... "I know you, know".. it is funny how just a little change from one anvil to the other plays in like that.. I miss the HB in the trailer.. I miss the crown in the face and a few other facets like having the hardie to my left vs right near the horn.. I will eventually make the pritchel hole square..

thanks Toby, I'm was hoping it would open the door for many who's forge welds are hit or miss.

I use my phone to control 1 of the cameras so it has to stay on.. I'm lucky enough to have a sweetie to love.. :)

Good reply

Thanks. Keep at it Martin. I consider this sn advanced project for the newer person because of the complexity in fit up. With this its possible because i can do it. If i can do it then anyone can.

You are welcome..

Wow, thanks. I really love you commenting.. Thanks for taking the time to watch the vid's.. feed back is always welcomed as are questions.. Thanks again..

Thanks.. I'm glad you got it.. Lots don't really understand what happens when you start doing this once the basket is formed.. My pleasure and thanks for watching.. Please like and subscribe..

Michael Amos thanks for the great comment. This video was created for people who have inconsistent forge welding skills.. If you can do a basic forge weld while making chain or fireplace poker then you could use this technique pretty well.. Check out the chain making video if you need to learn more about forge welding..

thank you David.. This method shown really takes more time time to setup. But the results can be very good even for someone just starting out. Largest factor is just to take ones time and not rush things..

Not bad at all really.. Where I spent all the time was on the finial. Setup from a basic stand point is the time consuming part.. In the shop I don't use this technique but once every 10 or so years. But comes in super handy to know for other things as well.. Like welding on flower petals.

@@jlpservicesinc1452 I hear that ok. As for me I just started doing some forge work and even did my first leaf. It took a while but I was proud of it. Not sure how long I'll be doing it to get to the point that I can do a basket handle like you did. The thing of it is? I'm anxious to give it a try. Will see what happens. Anyway sir keep up the good work!

You are welcome.. Hope you find the information useful.

thanks..

That is a great idea.. Shop building?? I don't have any power to the trailer and usually the water is completely frozen from top to bottom.. Also on bigger projects where I know I will need water I just throw in a few pieces of hot iron and end up with as much water as needed.. Call me stubborn but with the water being frozen in nearly every video I have learned to try to control where the heat is being placed even more so than I used to.. Kind of a personal challenge of sorts.. Why make it to easy on myself?? LOL.. I've thought about solar and a small battery or 2 but it simply disappears when I look at all the stuff in there.. Once the shop is up I will move most the tooliing into the shop and then I will look more into the solar.. UP till this year I didn't even have lights in it.. :) 1/4" is super easy to do this with and if you can do a lap weld then forget this video unless you want to work with smaller diameter wires and end up with a great product.. This video is really made for those people who have a limited success with forge welding that need just a little more help keeping things together till it can be brought to even welding temperatures.. This process is doable by anybody, but it is still challenging..

Thank you. I hope you are able to use it to good advantage..

Thanks Jim. :)

Thanks Ron. :)

:)

Thanks, This video was setup so it really can be done by anyone who can forge weld things like chain or fireplace pokers, but its inconsistent with lap welds which need to be held or heated separately then placed together.. If you follow the video as instructed.. it will all work out.. The problem with setting the finial first is there is no way to set the rod length which strengthens the end of it when the additional material is welded in for the finial.. if the rods were not welded to the shaft to start with.. Then the extra material added, it would torque and twist away at the strands as there is nothing to hold them in place... The welding of the wires to the shaft has to be done before the additional finial piece.. Also it makes it easier to hold.. :) With the finial on any basket handle it is always finished before the basket is opened... Well except for a rat tail finial.. Or if your stubborn like me.. The problem with such a fine stranded handle is the strands are very soft when hot.. only 1/8" rods Not to brag but the only reason I was able to go from the mushroom finial to the round is because of knowing how to do balanced strikes.. this kept it from getting completely messed up.. Oh, and of course I wanted what I wanted.. :) Doing it again. I'd use shorter rods as mentioned and finish the finial before opening the handle.. Its just so much easier..

JLP Services Inc I’m going to try these. I think these would look really good on a new gate.

Will you go with the smaller rods or go with something larger? I only had the 1/8" in stock when I made this video so it's what I used.. It's a little small even with 9 wires in the handle (flimsy) If it were just a finial for a gate it would be ok, but for a tool I think the 3/16" might be the smallest I'd use unless it was for a candle snifter of the like.. look forwards to pictures..

I like the idea... Sadly there is no electric for the trailer.. During the winter the trailer lives about 100ft from a power source out in the middle of a horse pasture.. So, rather not move an electric cord for the horses to walk on.. I did this past fall start putting together a battery bank with the idea of putting a converter in with solar so I could get the lights on vs the video lights.. Again, that is a great idea.. Will file it away.. Thanks..

the show got moved to Oct I think.. If you go to iforgediron.com there is a thread there.. Also the ABANA site has the information there.. :)

Keep at it.. Maybe sometime soon, you too will be forge welding them on..

Thanks.. :)

I like to have the swage go all the way across the anvils face so I can work on the end of the swage.. I can also hang a branch of a forging off the edge without the anvil getting in the way. The other thing is with it going all the way across the anvil face it will hold the swage better in the hardie hole so there is less bounce when hit. Keeping things in line is more or less just practice, early corrections and a keen eye. There is a video on the JLP you tube channel on swages.. I arc weld on the shanks.. Welding them on in the forge is possible but not a great beginning for most..

Yes, for sure. The problem newbs have is holding all the pieces together. If someone follows the directions it will work every time. I've actually gotten feedback from several people with good results. Give it a try. Follow the instructions and you will be surprised how easy it really is.

@@jlpservicesinc1452 I'm not sure you understood what I was thinking, flip the basket twist inside out and weld the ends together, and the ends will be in the middle, the basket around it.

@@billwoehl3051 I get it now.. If you can do this please do a video on it. :) I know a bunch of people who would love to see it done.

@@jlpservicesinc1452 lol, I haven't successfully forge welded yet, was hoping to challenge you 😛😁

@@billwoehl3051 Been there and done that.. You will have to go over and check out the thread on iforgeiron.com Or search thru the google photo albums.. Tons of photos there.. Be really nice if photos could be placed in comments here..

Me too.. Fun to make.. The multi wire (over 4 wire count) ones especially so as its always fun trying to keep them even.. :) Last February on the anvil.. Overall I like it but it's got a few things I don't like.. The face is not crowned (toward/away) .. I prefer a crown to the face like Hay Budden's did.. Also I like my hardie hole where the pritchel hole is, so at some point will make the pritchel hole into a hardie hole.. and lastly they did that stupid reaming at the face of the Hardie hole.. this is the most frustrating thing out of all of it as there is no way to fix it . But overall it's a great anvil.. I'd buy another..

The reaming of the hardy hole, I actually like because I make a lot of my own hardy tools and a lot of times I don't have the time to make the tool out of solid metal and have to weld a 1" shank to the tool. The ream makes room for the weld and allows the hardy tool to sit flat on the face. This was a problem I've had with other anvils that weren't reamed out. I've also found it useful for small dishing and cupping applications as well truing up small rings. At least I assume thats why they did it. The one thing I can't figure out is why the pritchel hole is tapered? I had a hell of a time making a hold down. I have one that works well, but I don't have the adjustment I would have if I could run 7/8" all the way through. Trade off's I guess. What size is it? Looks like it's the 165 lb but its hard to tell. I have the 275 lb and the 77 lb love them both, they are a great anvil. But your right some things on them take a bit to get use too, for me it was the horn not having a sharp point, so I had to move to a traditional horn/brick for the hardy hole, which I've actually come to like better then using a sharp tip on a horizontal horn.

Aaron. If the anvil came through without a chamfer (which is what I would prefer) then there is no reason why you or the owner could not just do it yourself to the chamfer the person wanted.. Me about 1/8" radius is all I want.. It's plenty enough to straighten bars in.. I grew up on no chamfer and a very pointy horn.. All things I miss on this anvil.. Next anvil with be a Refflinghaus which will have both.. With the chamfer and blunted horn done at the factory then there is no option.. For you its nearly perfect then as they have incorporated all you could ask for.. That is excellent and happy for you.. I like my anvils to have all the stuff built into it so there are no loose parts.. Flat top, well defined tip on the horn.. You can not get much better for rigidity than to have it all be one solid hunk of steel. Adding on other things you will loose efficiency.. On other problem with this anvil, which is typical of german patterns is there is no ability to lock something into the hardie hole. unlike a London pattern with a tapered heel.. A U attached to the bottom of a swage and a wedge to go in the U can make that Swage nearly feel like it's part of the anvil yet easily removable.. As for the ARC welding of the tooling.. Adding a chamfer/gap before welding is all that is needed to get a flat bead on a fillet weld.. Or just Tig weld it with less filler rod and even nicer to look at.. Problem is with the chamfer you have less contact with the anvil for a given tool.. It also makes forging the tools less productive as the bottoms then have to be dressed if used in other anvils.. I have 2 other anvils with 1" hardie holes so any tools made in this anvil won't retrofit as the others don't have chamfers.. They started doing it because on larger anvils with larger tooling the holes in the anvils were not straight or even from side to side.. This chamfer allowed for the hardie tooling to sit more even with a radius at the shaft to boss.. These chamfers also helped with the heels of the anvils breaking off at the corners of the hardie holes.. It's a 275.. There is a whole thread on I forge iron on the trailer build as well as the stand built for it.. You might find it entertaining.. www.iforgeiron.com/topic/47208-portable-blacksmith-shop/ I am a person when it comes to the old blacksmithing stuff that less is more.. I don't want anybody fixing my tooling for me.. I'd rather do it myself to my standards.. :)

Don't get me wrong.. I do like it and would buy another one if the funds and need presented itself. It's a great anvil and is a good purchase. I would just prefer to have the 2 things I mentioned vs not having them.. I'm very glad for you that it's working out just the way you'd like..

Nice portable build, eventually I want to build one based on the civil war traveling forge.

You and me both (tedious that is).. Really just produced for the guys/gals still having a hard time with forging welding and keeping everything sorted.. This way everything stays where it belongs both, during heating, the tack welds and then finish welds.. Really will allow for a nice product which otherwise might not be possible.. No Website.. I have facebook and a google+ page.. Also an Iforgeiron handle.. You can pm me on any of those and I can get you an email address.. Would be nice to get feedback on someone who tries it..

It is for sure.. I love a solid mount.. If you have not all ready check out the trailer build on Iforgeiron.com or on google photos or on the jlpservicesinc facebook page. There is a story book on the trailer build and how the anvil is mounted.

JLP Services Inc my anvil is mounted with a two tone slab the slab has a ten foot rail track poured in place six foot deep and anvil table built on top . The first time I struck my ridged I broke a window.

Hi, thanks for the feedback.. I just watch 1 at a time.. :) and the split screen some love and some don't.. Funny thing about the internet is every body has a say.. :)

@@jlpservicesinc1452 My husband and I vehemently disagree with one another about the validity of your comment, so it's obviously not constrained to the internet! Ok, we made that story up... The truth is, we both laughed at the truth (and graceful tact) in your reply to Bruce Excellent video, by the way! We've been watching your channel non stop since he found a post on IFI talking about your wrought iron hammer video

@@christina9alls Welcome to the channel and so glad you guys have been enjoying the channel. Good ol fashioned simple blacksmithing. I'm a traditional trade smith so there is a lot of common sense in what is done. :)

To clarify what I mean by ergonomics, I mean that I always find it easier to maintain center when pounding on the hot end.

If you mean hammer the hot end.. It is faster to hit the hot end vs the cold end with the hot end on a stable object. I don't show hitting the hot end in videos with a hammer as it's a little more dangerous. With this said.. My suggestion is try both ways and see which way you like better.. Post back with what you discover.. Is this what you are referencing? If not put in a time stamp so we can be on the same page.

@@HomeShowTV It varies for what I am doing..

@@jlpservicesinc1452 You got it. Whenever I hammer the hot end, it seems like the upset is easier to keep centered. I hadn't thought of it as a safety issue. Thanks for the feedback.

@@HomeShowTV this video is for people who don't have much experience.. But with that said, there are many ways of getting something done and if you ask each person they will likely give you a different answer though it's really all the same. On smaller stock or short rods I will hit the hot end, but for longer rods I will upset against and object. Or will drop it on the floor.

Sadly I use the phone to control 1 of the cameras so it had to stay on.. But you are not kidding.. LOL.. Your welcome.. Thanks for taking the time to comment.. Feedback is welcomed and encouraged..

Hello.. My Name is Jennifer.. I did an intro video on the channel somewhere..

@@jlpservicesinc1452 Thanks Jennifer, It helps when I am recommending it! :)

@@geoffirvin4594 My pleasure. There is a bunch of info here and there are a few different avenues for contact and exposure... Facebook, instagram, RU-vid. reddit, and a few others. Tons of pages on the Google page as well as the Facebook photo albums... Have a great day and thanks.. :)

Nice..

Just pause on the titles and read them. Then hit play again once your done reading them.. Everybody wants something for nothing. This video as well as all the others are "Free" to watch and share. You never considered how much time it takes to edit the videos or the resources and years of practice to be able to even offer a video like this. Instead I get shut the phone off or you like talking better than the titles. I like the titles better, and I also like the dual view. It's the reason the videos are the way they are. What do you really want for a free video on excellent instructions on how to put together a project like this. Lol..

Yes, we are on FB.. :) I will check the page out.. Thanks

Right on. thanks for that.. :) I feel the same way.

Your welcome.. I find it annoying also.. Why is it that people always want to get a hold of me when I am shooting video.. Don't they realize I'm busy filming.. :)

hahaha, well, as your channel grows, they will start realizing it... And I can imagine you share the feeling, because you were doing things that require concentration and that could easily cause injuries... Since we all heard you tell him/her that you were going to be home soon, you could have made it into a little joke every time a message came in ;D

This annoyed me to no end. Seriously, mute the phone when you are filming.

Jennifer is a she.

1000 for??? :)

I was the 1000th like. It was just cool to see it go from 999 to 1k. Simple minds are easily entertained. Lol.

@@theferrouslife9138 Thats cool.. :) . I certainly appreciate the like and the fact you are 1000 like.. Thanks.. :)

Google translation: To much time to do work.. (to do a job).. Thanks for taking the time to comment.. I can only use google translate to get what you wrote and not sure its correct.. I would say... Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well both in fit and finish... Again the translation seemed sketchy.. This example in the video is for those that have a concept of forge welding and have hit or miss success with it.. This method will work and will if applied correctly will give a great finished product.. I personally can do this method quickly when working with fine wires But I can use many methods so this particular method shown is useful for some.. The whole process is shown for newer smiths.. :) Thanks for commenting.. And I hope the translation was correct..

thanks you very much for your feedback..

You and me both.. Sick family member in the hospital.. :(

thanks for your insight and expert opinion.