Blacksmith twisting wrench - forging a simple twisting wrench
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2017
- Twists can be fun to do and they add a nice touch to many forged iron pieces. But, you will need a twisting wrench. Today we will look at how to forge a simple yet highly useful twisting wrench that will serve for years to come. The wrench show will twist 3/8" and 1/2", it is made from 30" of 1/2" square mild steel.
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You are a naturally talented teacher with an appealing style of delivery. I appreciate your correct use of English, lack of profanity and descriptive vocabulary. Very nice videos.
One of the first things I will make . One day.
You really make some of the best videos on blacksmithing. Easy to follow, easy to understand you, and just so informative. Thanks for doing these.
I am glad they helped
Thanks John for the twisting wrench video
You bet
Oof, that ring on the horn lol. Love your videos
You are amazing. Me being a retired tool & die maker it kind of hard to sit still on some of the
Things you do (Wink) when you ponded out the
Hanging ring I thought why not just weld a ring on? Now under stand this is about black smithing. But when you finished I thought heck
He did that faster then I could have cut a ring &
Set my welded up & welded that. Black smithing
is a amazing skill. I,m having more fun watching.
I thank you, your channel is my favorite. Fly
It is tough sometime to think like a blacksmith and turn your back to the modern tools, but the more you do, the easier it all becomes
I really appreciate you doing forging with common man tools instead of big expensive tools that the beginner has or can make thank you
Make it ornate and pretty by adding a twist on both ends .The twists will also help grip. Great channel ,Thank you !
Your channels are an invaluable asset to newly motivated and inspired begginer smiths!!! I've only fired up my forge 3 times now and have only made one punch, and broke one side of my first tongs so I'm in the process of making a second set... the improvements every time I forge can really only be explained by my knowledge gained by you're videos. Thank so much for taking the time out of your day to help newcomers to the craft with your expansive knowledge base!! You are a boss!!!
Awesome. You could have people guessing if you were to twist the handles on the twisting wrenches
Wonky, that's a great word! I am going to incorporate it into my lexicon.
I made fire place poker and shovel years ago and twisted the 1/2" square stock with a cutting torch and a crescent wrench. I finally put it in a piece of pipe to keep it straight. This was about the time you retired. Love your videos.
Another awesome video thanks
Yes, there are other videos like this out there. This is more easily understood for me. In my efforts to outfit the old blacksmith shop at the museum, these are the sorts of lessons I need. Thanks!
I am glad it was helpful. I will try to continue doing basic tooling videos
I've subscribed and then unsubscribed to a lot of different blacksmiths on YT. This channel has survived because of its usefulness and John's way about doing things. I don't feel this channel is about John, but about the craft. Way to rock it, John.
Wow good twisting wrench. So simple to make and yet way more user friendly than a scrolling wrench I would imagine. Another great video John.
Thanks
Genius design. Great project for the beginning blacksmith.
Blacksmith: I liked it so I put a ring on it
Saw what you did there.
I am glad you made this video, when I first saw one of these IN one of your earlier video's, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.
It is a really neat tool, and like you said no need to ruin a good old antique.
I am glad it was helpful.
Thank you. Just went and made one for 1/2 and 3/8. Took about twenty minutes or so with the loop on the end.
Nice simple job good for a beginner
Thx again another great video John
Looking forward for your next video
THX...PAUL
love your videos I was inspired by this to made the same item myself this evening and yes I'm as clumsy as you (in the nicest way ! ) thanks for posting !!
Appreciate ya!
At my Grandpas forage he had scads of those bridges, I always thought they were some kind of steel stir ups, I had forgotten all about those, thanks for yet another lesson.
A future twisting tool in my shop!! Thanks
Nicely done!
I agree with you... its a shame to ruin a functional antique tool by welding/modifying it.
I really like the length and details you put into your videos.
Thanks for the video...
Thx john great simple design, now i know what to forge next...
Fantastic, simple tutorial. Thanks again for a great video - now I have a project for today!
You can just put a old speaker magnet on the underside of the horn. Heavy magnet with good power is going to absorb the vibration and quiet the ring but it won t shake off. :)
Love it! Simple n easy, a tool that will last a lifetime
I'm not sure why but I now have "The Twist" going through my head........ yeah lets twist again, like we did last summer...... 😂
I have thought about adding that song to any video with a twist. B ut I would probably have to pay for the privilage
Black Bear Forge you could just add in some not so subtle hints..... like "getting ready to...... do the twist..... again" lol
Very comprehensive coverage. I have seen another more advanced method for forging a bending fork, but technically a bending fork and a twisting wrench are not quite the same thing, even though in a pinch, a bending fork can be used as a twisting wrench especially if you use two at the same time..
Well made and informative video. Thank you and keep up the great work!!!
I need to make a set of these. Thank you John!
Another thought is using a old style tap handle. It's basically two parallel square stock bolted together capturing item to be twisted.
Thank you
Touch mark
That is a great project. Thanks for sharing.....
Thanks for posting the video, very well done.
Glad you enjoyed it!
What is the glove you are using in the video? As a newbie....Thank you for this content!!!!
I've seen Brian brazeal with a few of those "lazer cut" twist wrenches
LOL, my first was a pipe wrench too.... And then the old monkey wrenches I also find very fiddly and prone to jamming..... I like this option better. THANKS!
It's nice to hear you mention Roy, yours and his are my two favorite smith channels. I'll be making a twisting wrench soon! What kind of steel do you use, A36?
Yes, the twisting wrench is just plain A36 mild steel.
Thanks John. I've been struggling with a pipe wrench with a welded handle on the head. It never seem to fit just right.
Glad I could help
Never subscribed to anything on you tube until I saw your series.
Very informative.
Not over complicated.
Myself and a friend are building our forge and a power hammer for his shop.
We are in need of a good anvil... we may even try to make one. Any thoughts on types of steel and such for that endeavor?
I am glad you enjoyed it. I will try to keep posting relevant material.
Black Bear Forge would be most appreciated
The Outback Tinker making one out of some mild steel we had in the shop. 3 inch solid round stock.
Gonna "case harden" it in a fire pit after build is done.
Then a plate of tool steel for the striking surface.
What is the issue with a 'waxy' anvil? It got so humid this summer that all of my forging tools started to rust. So when I get done forging for the day I was everything. Including my anvil face. I use Minwax paste wax. Similar to Johnson paste wax. I haven't noticed any detriment to the work when I forget the next time.
, just FYI Oleo Acres carries the machined or laser cut twisting wrench you showed initially. Perhaps if he sponsored the channel you would recall where you found it.
Interesting, but i doubt I got it from them. Its something I picked up at a blacksmithing conference and I don't recall Oleo Acres attending back in those days
Gina make my self a at this weekend thanx. Ur forge hood has a smoke shelf ?
Yes I do have a smoke shelf on the hood, it doesn't always help when the wind blows though.
It sounds like hardened steal top cap of your anvil is hollow from the horn to about half way to the hardy hole if you watch this video footage when you are hammering on the horn you can see scale bouncing across the top of the anvil until it hits the spot it is still connected and the scale makes a definite line and there is a crack running down the side where the top cap has separated
Interesting observation, I will have to take a close look at it. I hope it's not the case, but it isn't uncommon to see in an old anvil.
Revisited as I now have a "smithy" with a tin roof , no sides, and dirt floor. Need a bending wrench for 3/8 & 1/2 square stock. Could you recommend a vise which won't emaciate my bank account that I could mount on a pole embedded in the ground?
Searching the local used market is the best plan. Search for both leg vise and post vise on places like Craigs list
Any consideration about the length of the handles and the radius of turn clearance where your leg vice is mounted? It seems if the handles were too long, they would not clear your table top. How short can you go and still have good leverage?
You are correct. Long handles can be a problem. Having a vise mounted on a free standing post with no nearby obstructions really helps. So does mounting it a 45 degrees on a corner of a bench. Handle length is largely dependent on stock size. I have a small wrench I can twist 1/2" bar if the bar is good and hot, that wrench has about 10" handles. It is possible to twist by taking 1/4 turns and re positioning the wrench, but it is a pain. My vise is away from the wall on a post and the table is very small, only large enough to set a few tools on. I probably have 18" to the tool cabinet you see in the video. That would be my limiting factor on handle length but I can twist 3/4" bar pretty easily with my larger wrench that fits that space. You can also twist vertically if need be.
Thanks for the insights, John. I'm just now setting up my shop and I want to avoid things that cause me headache later on down the road. Love to know any lessons learned when you arranged your shop.
Great video, thanks for sharing. Do you still go to mountain man rendezvous? God bless
It has been years since we have been to one.
I know you forged your wrench to fit a specific size bar, but would there be an issue with giving the wrench a tapper in the area where it grips to accommodate various sizes? Would it cause gripping issues?
My thought is that it would tend to slip, but I also haven't tried it so I can't be sure.
Black Bear Forge I was thinking the same but I wasn’t sure if you had tested it already. Thanks for the reply. Love your work by the way.
Mr why don’t you make a 3” twist on the center of the handle for more styles wrench
Put a magnet under the heal of the anvil takes the ringing right out that’s what I did if I take it if I definitely notice it
Interestingly this anvil seems to sound louder on video than it does in person. It has had all sorts of magnets and chains with some success. I have an idea I will present in an upcoming video, so we will see how that works.
Silicone the bottom of the anvil to silence the ring some .also chaining .
ua-cam.com/video/Z3365vFHXhw/v-deo.html
Black Bear Forge sorry forgot to put my ? Mark . As in would they help silicone and chaining as I have a bad arm making it impossible to move on my own . Thanks anyway
I think the handles on this twisting wrench, should be twisted
I don't understand the use for a coal forge hood if it doesn't actually pull smoke up the chimney half the time..
I think you jumped to a mighty big conclusion from only a few minutes of observation.
I've watched at least half of your video library and hundreds of other blacksmithing videos here on YT across all my devices and I thank you for your donation to the community. While most of your videos don't even show your heating methods, and much of the time you use gas it's not the first time I've wondered at a video where the smoke is billowing into the shop. And by far your videos aren't the first time I've seen it happening. In fact most blacksmith shops I've seen [of which yours is among the cleanest] have forge hoods coated in black soot on the outside and I've come to wonder why these hoods are accepted across the board as functional when they clearly work only after a few moments of the blower being on and the flame flickers in and out of it until finally a draft is created.
I understand that there are other concerns for a working blacksmith and this open side draft design is needed greatly when working with larger flatter pieces such as plows, shovels, pots etc and needing the extra space in and around the forge.
I know there's no sense in reinventing the wheel, but it's things like that which makes a guy like me ponder if there is a way to make a hood like this work for ALL of the smoke. The first thing that comes to mind is running a small squirrel cage blower into the flu via a pipe inserted about half way pointed up creating a venturi effect, in essence a vacuum, drawing air into the hood. Much like how sand blasters work.
Currently I keep my gas forge near my open back door with a fan in it, and my garage doors open while working, and I plan for the day in my hopefully not so distant future when I build a blacksmith specific shop. One I imagine will have quite a bit more ventilation built into it than my current woodshop/auto/bs/wood turning/storage shop.
My apologies for my original comment. It was an offhand thought right as I was falling asleep.
Anyway. Thank you for everything you do. I look forward to watching the rest of your videos.
Most coal forge hoods have trade offs between draft and work space. It seems to be an age old issue, there are old texts that show telescoping hoods that can be lowered down to the top of the fire. A side draft hood such as mine tends to work better in most cases because any room air being drawn up the chimney must pass over the fire which also pulls smoke up the chimney. A good draft does require that the chimney is up to heat, so they draw better after an hour or so of work. You can install a draft inducer and I have seen a simple air line inserted half way up to create a venturi. I find the occasional smoke that doesn't make it into the hood less trouble than dealing with more equipment.
Craftsman still makes monkey wrenches