For my Birthday I went to school

Between doing crazy concept jobs around the clock for companies changing the world... I happened to slip out the back gate for a bit to grab some new knowledge from some old sources, were talking really old....

I have always been hooked on metal forging and its possibilities for making things are. Just the idea of taking a piece of 4140 chromoly steel and moving the structural graining in the metal to make it stronger then the way the steel mill made it, just twist your mind because you can't see it move...

Its all in the brain of the person holding the red hot block of metal..... all pure metal-crafter knowledge with every hit of the hammer.

The whole blacksmith / forger thing is very new to me and its super hard to sit in class because my brain runs wild with prototype parts I have always dreamed of making.....

 Being in class also has it draw backs.... One of the main ones is I am always the youngest by about 40 years so using an Iphone in class is really not really cool or talking about building things that blow up or go fast isn't really either...

 So most of the time, you won't hear this ever again... I hide from my MLS identity for safety of harassment and over questions of why I am here...

Trust me, being an Aerospace kid at a Blacksmith class doesn't go down well.... Its like cats and dogs sometimes....

come along for a quick run of the last weeks, I wish I could show you some of the concept things I have been working on.... don't worry you will very soon.

This is Toby the teacher of the class

This is a round bar (1.5 inch dia.) piece of 4140 he was making square, that could later be used for 

a press brake die or another forging tool. The idea is to move the grain structure from running long wise down the bar as its made or "drawn" at the steel mill, to grain that now runs in all kinds of directions in the now square blick, making this piece of 4140 chromoly steel very strong in all directions when at room temp. Thats kind of my quick in a nut shell description. 

This class is SOOOO loud

Class had 6 giant forging power hammers running all day

Ready for the MLS forging project?

Here we go....

Quick projects for my buddy Rodney and one for Sarah.

Rodney's gift is a exchange for a custom MLS brass head badge he made for my speed bike.

My buddy Matt had these rad bottle opener blanks all cut out so it was a great starting point. 

I had a cheap adjustable wrench ready to help in the project. 

I cut a few inches off both of them and Tig them together 

If you have an MLS t-Shirt with a vise on the sleeve.... Thats what you helped me get, and thank you...

A classic USA made " Pattern-makers vise or sheet metal vise ". If you love sheet metal like I do then you know all about these vises and you know why they are the best. ( do your research they are really cool )

I did this over at my buddy Matt's shop and all by hand

Small parts like these really don't require a power hammer for blending the metal.

Its a weird one to hold with the tongs to get the shape you want. 

One broken hammer and a Dads root beer later ..

We had a custom MLS bottle opener.

Also works great for taking off those hard to reach bolts on your hotrod or home appliance.

Enjoy a beer for getting those bolt off.

Made Sarah a custom Kissing Lockness Monster opener 

This shows a few techniques such as splitting the metal to form 2 legs and then rounding and curving.

This is how pitch forks are made from a solid piece, they are flattened, then split in to 4 sections which are made into small rounds. This is why they are so strong because of the metal grain structure. You never removed metal you just moved it around. 

Ok, back to the shop. I need to toughen up, damn my arm is sore....

Making light titanium parts all the time doesn't make you very strong.

Enjoy.