Hand Forged Rose

Hey Guy's & Girls Josh Back here with another Instructables. Been a while but i am back, here is a Blacksmithing/Metal-work Project, but this isn't your Typical How-To i urge you to Take away what you learn from this Video & Incorporate into your own Work. Their is no need to Copy. Learn your own Style & Create new Art with more knowledge. I will Mention a Few pointers & Techniques you can use. Also a Few Mind boggling Complication's dure in the Process. Any-who i have Blabbed enough. Let's do this!!

Please feel free to watch my Video & i hope you learn & take away something no matter what your Skill level is!!

Material List

Round Bar

Used for the Stem & Leaves I used 12mm (1/2") but this is Optional use what you feel is the Correct Diameter for the Rose!

Sheet Metal

Used for the Petals of the Rose, of course you don't have to use this & you can Forge a One Piece Rose, but this is my Approach. I went for 1mm 0.03" due to what i had Available & also it's maneuverability after normalization!

Welding Wire

Used to Weld the Leaves to the Stem & to Connect the Petal's to the Stem & Tack it all up, but you can also Upset the steel with a Propane Torch if you would prefer, but this seem's the Strongest way & Quickest & when you have a few to make, it's the way forward.

Coal/Propane

While Forging you will need a Fuel to Heat up the Steel, whether you go for Propane or Coal, that is Your choice!

Grinding Discs

You will need to Cut the Petal's out & Shape them, Whether You Have a Die Grinder, Plasma Torch, or Dremel Hanging around they need to be Cut & Shaped!

Now this Rose Is Obliviously Forged, not completely, but the for the most it is despite Welding & Shaping so this call's for the 3 H's. Something to Hit with, something to Hit on & Something to Heat the Steel! Now if you have been Forging a while & You're fortunate to have a Anvil then great! but if not, just find a Solid Base of some sort. Get a few good size Hammer's 2 up-to 4 Lb Preferably. Light up the Forge & get some practice in! But remember, You don't have to Forge it, you could Fabricate it, but that would kind of take away from the whole Point off Hand-Forged really!

Anvil

Let's Kick this of with the widely Recognized Anvil, you will Need something with a Hard Surface to Hit-on.

Pliers

After Attaching the Petal's how ever you see Fit you are going to want to Shape them. IT would be a Great idea to Invest in some Pliers. Needle-Nose & Long Nose are My go-to, but as a Blacksmith, we tend to be Cheap, so on that note, use whatever you can to bend to Shape. Heat it up & Shape with your Teeth. (Don't do that, Iv'e tried, trust Me it Hurt's) P.S. I never said i was Smart!!

Hammer

You need something to Hit the Hot Steel with to Move it to Shape!

Welder

Now their is Various Welding Processes you can use. For me i used My Mac MIG Welder i'm Fortunate enough to have, but you can use MMA (Stick) & TIG also, but if you have no Welder, don't let that be an off put, you can use Oxy-Acelaline or just use the Hot-Peening Method, for Attaching the Leaves i'm not to sure, maybe some REALLY Strong Epoxy of some sort, i'm not all clued up on this, as i just weld them on so i'm not all that sure!

The Forge

You can go as Fancy or as Poor-Man as you like on the Forge, from Coal to Charcoal to Gasses like Propane & Acetylene, the choice is Your's, as long as it is suitable for the Project in Hand & Heats the Area your Hammering on well. You have yourself a Forge. Just don't go Killing yourself & doing something Stupid like Blowing up the Neighbor's Cat you may Laugh, but i'm sure they Won't!!

Forging/Metal Working Chisels

For Making Mark's in the Steel or Leaves or what not, you are going to need something with an Edge that can stand the Impact of Carving Steel. I would recommend Making or Buying a few different Size Chisel's. Always come in Handy!

Angle Grinder

This Boring Time Leaching Process has Got to be Done one way or another, so pick up Your Weapon of choice & Get to Cutting these Fidgety Pieces out, for me i Personally use an Angle Grinder with a Cutting Disc & then did the Final Adjustment's on the Belt Grinder!

Trouble-Shooting. Now throughout the Project you will run into a fair few Issue's no matter how good you are, just part of being a Blacksmith, but you have to be able to cross the Bridge & figure it out.

Leaves

When i started making the Roses i had No idea what so ever on how to make them so any good Blacksmith i did what you Normally do in 2016, I turned to YouTube for some help. Don't judge me! their i found many great Video's on How-To make them, then i went to the Anvil & Figured it out technique's for myself to be able to create a Leaf! As i repeatedly will keep saying & sound like a Parrot, it's all down to Practice & Making Muscle Memory!

Welding

Now yes i know most Smith's are Pure at heart & want nothing to do with Modern Welding Machines & would rather be able to Forge weld it all together, but we are not making Gate Features, or Billet's here, it would be very Hard to Make a successful Forge Weld on these little Fidgety Leaves so i would Make an Investment into a reasonably good Welder (Buy once, Cry once) MIG, TIG or ARC, the choice is Your's to have a nice Strong weld to connect all the Petal's & Leaves to the Stem.

Petals

Cutting & Shaping the Petals is easy, but Shaping them on the other Hand is Not! i know this might Sound a little Sour, but if you ever make them you will realize, it is an Art form, but like any Piece, it is a Jigsaw you have to slowly Mold to Perfection! It is Tricky but with Practice & many Failed attempt's you will Latch on to it, just figure out how you will Curve the Petal, where it will go & how much bend you want to it.

Twisting the Stem

We all want to add abit more Fascination into our Pieces! So we decided to give this Plain Round bar Stem a Little more Life with a Reverse-Twist!, Yet again, it's about getting up to the Forge & Practicing, but i think it gives a lovely affect to the Work, just a shame it slightly cover's the Twist with Spray Paint.

Thorns

They are Optional, but what is a Rose without Thorns? This is a little Feature We added as i never saw it, but i think they look Great! I was lucky enough to Come across some Old Hand Forged Nail's in some old Beam's so we used them, cut them to Size, Grinded a Point, Forged them to Shape and Just like that we had a Beautiful Thorn! But i'm sure you could use some Elbow grease and 3-4mm Bar & do the same thing, all just about Experimentation!

I hope you have Enjoyed this Instructable, it has took a few night's off Writing so i hope you Appreciate the effort, i wrote a lot more than i anticipated on. I sure hope you take what you learn & put it in your own work. I truly encourage you to get Outside & Make something, maybe even give this a try, a little Head Scratching at first i must admit, but a whole lot of work & they look absolutely Gorgeous, If you found this Useful please Share it with Family & Friend's & please don't forget to go check out our Video & maybe even Like, Comment & Subscribe. As Always Don't forget also, to let me know what you think of this Instructable in the Comment's Below and Hit us up on Our Pages!

You Rock!!

Sincerely

Josh & Toby

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