From the thumbnail I could not imagine how you made this cross. I watched the whole video and not only did I get to see exactly how but you explain in terms that I fully understand. Thank you for the great vid
Focus you Fak! lol Thanks for sharing...I really enjoy your cool measured style of teaching! You take the time to explain the do's and don'ts So we understand why they are do's and don'ts Which leads to "Us" having a better understanding!
My Dad just passed away. A nice tribute for a Faithful Gospel preacher. He always showed an interest in blacksmithing. Thanks for the tutorial. It will be at his grave site.
I enjoy your vids i can have a cup of coffee and relax while you explain your work you are full of information i learn while you teach thanks nice work
It's raining here in Michigan too... flood watches til the 19th of March... Robins are here, red wing black bird has visited the feeder... thanks again. Now I really want to make up a holdfast to go in my pritcherd hole like you have used here! Keep up the great work!!!
Blovie I was wishing the same thing a few years ago. I had hammers and not much else. I started going to a local blacksmith club to take notes. I built a coal forge using a hair dryer and scrap metal. A friend found a piece of railroad track I could use for an anvil. Fast forward 3 years and now I have a real Peter Wright anvil, a hand crank forge blower, and I've made most of my necessary blacksmith tools from scrap metal. Long story short, you can do it. Start small and see if you really like it. The whole thing is slowly taking over my life, and I'm better off for it. BTY, my next addition will most likely be a home made gas forge!
18:01 R.I.P. headphone users. I've made quite a few of these. A lot of folks love having them made out of rail spikes. The spike head is flattened so the cross will stand on it's own. Nice little project. These were one of my first blacksmith projects.
I often wondered how to make these crosses. Now I know, thanks to you! Thanks for the video(s)!! We got rain/wind and then snow/wind too in the NW Denver area. Made for an interesting trip yesterday to pick up a tool from a CL ad!
There's a friend here close by in the IBA that does these in 3/16 for ear rings and such. I have yet to figure out how he cuts them. He also does the snow flakes which takes 3 splits. I have a picture of one of them next to a penny and the penny is actually bigger.
At SOFA QUAD STATE this past September, the Saturday night forging competition. The object was forge a hummingbird from precut cross blanks that opened up into an X shape, and then the head n beak, wings, and tail details were forged out of each arm of the cross...
One of my favorite ornamental pieces. Nicely instructed with a pleasant end result. Thankyou for having us out to the forge today. If you make the base/stand video...we will watch and learn. Appreciate all you do for us. Hahaha I feel like I need to send a check for Professor John tuitions 😁. Blessed days sirSir , Crawford out
While i am well aware of where you were hammering with hands and fingers away from the danger, i couldn't help but be nervous with you flattening the cross on the face of the anvil with the cut off hardy in there.
Thanks for the informative video, I now understand how this is done. However, I don't remember you explaining why you left a cube of material on the bottom; can I assume that is meant for a means of mounting in some sort of stand?
Mostly because if you split clear to the end the upper arm would be as long as the base. But it also provides some material to forge a tenon out of for mounting.
Well John...this is about the 5th time watching this one(wife wants a forged cross) and I just caught the line "cussing til the cows come home". and I had a chuckle at the idea of cussing while forging a cross, is that wise in the first place?
I'm thinking splitting the 3 cross ends into thirds and bending the 2 outside peices to create a cross on each arm of the cross. Hope that makes sense?
It's not out of focus, that knob on the light stand is as sharp as can be! Isn't it amazing what the cameras can choose as a focus point sometimes? I make a lot of these crosses from 1/2" square bar for friends, family, folks at church. Eschewing certainty and risk, I go for pragmatism and efficiency: a tiny tip on the plasma cutter and a jig built from heavy flat bar lets me unzip these things quickly. Otherwise, it takes longer to slit them than to forge them.
Very nice job, might be a silly question bit will my cold chisels work as hot cuts or should I change the bevels on a couple and devote them to be hot chisels only? Thanks for sharing your videos I really appreciate the way you teach :-)
I would like to add three or four dedicated camera position. But besides the extra cost, every camera added into the editing takes about an extra hour to edit. Hopefully someday I will have the ability to do that.
You Tube been wanky lately. Haven't done a split cross in a hot minute. Used to do rr spikes with a different cut pattern to save the head for a base. Used the glass marbles from empty spray paint cans to sag into the diamond for a nice visual effect in a sun-filled window. 🐾🔥⚒
I think if I were making a bunch of smaller ones for craft shows I would probably do that. But on the larger ones, I really like the look of the chisel cut.
Just curious... What set up are you using for your auto strike on your acetylene torch? Oh and by the way I really like all your videos.. They are so instructive and very well put together and you take time to explain different scenarios.
It is a Smith gas saver or economizer valve. It has a pilot light on it. I'll show it briefly in tomorrows video and go into more detail perhaps next week once I am through reorganizing my torch set up.
Also at SOFA last year, imagine a cross made from a precut blank 27" long 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" weighing about 65lbs done by the Brotherhood of Friendly Hammermen
I would have sworn you did a split cross once before. Was it back during the "Blacksmith's Challenge" series" 3 inches of 1/2 x 1/2 ? Maybe I'm just dreaming that up?
Thanks for the video! I'll be having fun with this project. More importantly I've been watching you for a while and have been wondering every video if you know the love of Jesus Christ!?! Thanks again for the videos!
Yep, I saw that and put some text over the video to acknowledge the fact that I knew about it. But its one of those things that doesn't become apparent until I edit and then it to late to re shoot that section without running into a second day.
A small piece of angel iron say 1/2x1/2 through the center of the cross will help to stop it from slipping while upsetting in the vice... be well and be safe....
From the thumbnail I could not imagine how you made this cross. I watched the whole video and not only did I get to see exactly how but you explain in terms that I fully understand. Thank you for the great vid
Lovely to get to see a skilled blacksmith doing old school stuff. Each one teach one.
This is one I'll be replaying AT the anvil
My mother in law just showed me a picture of one of these a few days ago and asked if I could make her one. Perfect timing! Thanks John.
Hope it helps
Focus you Fak! lol
Thanks for sharing...I really enjoy your cool measured style of teaching!
You take the time to explain the do's and don'ts
So we understand why they are do's and don'ts
Which leads to "Us" having a better understanding!
Camera's just aint skookum as frig nowadays
Thats like blaming your car if you get a speeding ticket
Ha, another AVE fan
@@wallcarpentry2006 Yes we are many... We are legion! lol
My Dad just passed away. A nice tribute for a Faithful Gospel preacher. He always showed an interest in blacksmithing. Thanks for the tutorial. It will be at his grave site.
The man knows his craft!
Very good of you john to share this I thank you very much
Great job.
I enjoy your vids i can have a cup of coffee and relax while you explain your work you are full of information i learn while you teach thanks nice work
I thought my eyesight was going for a second, I appreciate you pointing out it was the camera. Great project, thank you for your videos!
Mostly it was the camera man not changing over to auto focus.
thank you for sharing your knowledge of blacksmithing. awesome
It's raining here in Michigan too... flood watches til the 19th of March...
Robins are here, red wing black bird has visited the feeder... thanks again. Now I really want to make up a holdfast to go in my pritcherd hole like you have used here!
Keep up the great work!!!
Holdfasts are one of those really useful items
Your videos really makes me wish I cud set up my shop to learn blacksmithing. Really good videos. Regards from Sweden
Blovie I was wishing the same thing a few years ago. I had hammers and not much else. I started going to a local blacksmith club to take notes. I built a coal forge using a hair dryer and scrap metal. A friend found a piece of railroad track I could use for an anvil. Fast forward 3 years and now I have a real Peter Wright anvil, a hand crank forge blower, and I've made most of my necessary blacksmith tools from scrap metal. Long story short, you can do it. Start small and see if you really like it. The whole thing is slowly taking over my life, and I'm better off for it. BTY, my next addition will most likely be a home made gas forge!
18:01 R.I.P. headphone users. I've made quite a few of these. A lot of folks love having them made out of rail spikes. The spike head is flattened so the cross will stand on it's own. Nice little project. These were one of my first blacksmith projects.
Yes please for a base
Awesome
You might make a split cross, hook of the week. maybe. Love to watch you.
That is a great project, nice job! Wayne Love to see the base!
I often wondered how to make these crosses. Now I know, thanks to you! Thanks for the video(s)!! We got rain/wind and then snow/wind too in the NW Denver area. Made for an interesting trip yesterday to pick up a tool from a CL ad!
Sounds like Denver was a real mess yesterday.
Thanks, I vote yes for the base video. :)
New tongs, nice
There's a friend here close by in the IBA that does these in 3/16 for ear rings and such. I have yet to figure out how he cuts them. He also does the snow flakes which takes 3 splits. I have a picture of one of them next to a penny and the penny is actually bigger.
I wonder if he uses a jewelers saw
Great little project, fun to watch and i learned something as well
Finally, a slit cross friedegg thingamadohicky that makes sense.
Thanks that's great!
I have made these before but never with the hot cut. I used a hack saw and you are right that the bevel looks good on them. Thanks for the tip!!
I’ve made only a few small crosses and they didn’t come out as well as I hoped but you did a great job John!
What an interesting piece John. Thanks for another one.
Yes please to the base
Got mine starting to open
Thanks
I love that "clamp" I was trying to figure out a way to hold something well and now I see a way, do you have a video on that clamp?
Very inspirational.. Love all your work.. You make it look so easy.. Millwright Carl.
At SOFA QUAD STATE this past September, the Saturday night forging competition. The object was forge a hummingbird from precut cross blanks that opened up into an X shape, and then the head n beak, wings, and tail details were forged out of each arm of the cross...
That would be a fun followup
I would love to see a fancy base. Been trying to find a good plate design for my Castle door hardware...
Fun
Nice video sir
Oh, it's on focus. On the black knob on the right...
Very Nice Project ! Also great instructions ! Keep them coming !
One of my favorite ornamental pieces. Nicely instructed with a pleasant end result. Thankyou for having us out to the forge today.
If you make the base/stand video...we will watch and learn. Appreciate all you do for us. Hahaha I feel like I need to send a check for Professor John tuitions 😁.
Blessed days sirSir , Crawford out
Glad you enjoyed it
Lol that focus
Yep, when I'm rich and famous I'll hire a videographer.
The final exam, blacksmithing 101
Is the torch tip you use a mini rosebud or just a large welding tip?
What size tip do you use on your torches for heating the ends of the cross?
Geile Nummer ! Echt .
For anyone that doesn't wear glasses......yes, that's what it looks like for us without our glasses.
Now I am trying to think of how to do this with wood.
While i am well aware of where you were hammering with hands and fingers away from the danger, i couldn't help but be nervous with you flattening the cross on the face of the anvil with the cut off hardy in there.
Thats the reason the hardy is on the left well away from my hammer hand
Thanks for the informative video, I now understand how this is done. However, I don't remember you explaining why you left a cube of material on the bottom; can I assume that is meant for a means of mounting in some sort of stand?
Mostly because if you split clear to the end the upper arm would be as long as the base. But it also provides some material to forge a tenon out of for mounting.
Good rain! - How are those rainwater tanks you put in last year working out?
Hope you made it through the blizzard ok. Thanks for the video :)
We had a small amount of rain and almost no snow. Sounds like your area got hammered pretty hard.
Glad to hear. Yea we got Over a foot, with an underlay of ice, and about 50mph winds at some points :). It was crazy
Does that mean no classes for the rest of the week?
Black Bear Forge yesterday and today was no classes. We will see about tomorrow (friday), but I am guessing class will be in session
How about a horse shoe trivet for a dutch oven?
Well John...this is about the 5th time watching this one(wife wants a forged cross) and I just caught the line "cussing til the cows come home". and I had a chuckle at the idea of cussing while forging a cross, is that wise in the first place?
I'm thinking splitting the 3 cross ends into thirds and bending the 2 outside peices to create a cross on each arm of the cross. Hope that makes sense?
That would be interesting
It's not out of focus, that knob on the light stand is as sharp as can be! Isn't it amazing what the cameras can choose as a focus point sometimes?
I make a lot of these crosses from 1/2" square bar for friends, family, folks at church. Eschewing certainty and risk, I go for pragmatism and efficiency: a tiny tip on the plasma cutter and a jig built from heavy flat bar lets me unzip these things quickly. Otherwise, it takes longer to slit them than to forge them.
I'm impressed you can accurately split a 1/2" bar with a plasma cutter
fastest forge in the west
Very nice job, might be a silly question bit will my cold chisels work as hot cuts or should I change the bevels on a couple and devote them to be hot chisels only? Thanks for sharing your videos I really appreciate the way you teach :-)
You should put in a overhead camera above your anvil
I would like to add three or four dedicated camera position. But besides the extra cost, every camera added into the editing takes about an extra hour to edit. Hopefully someday I will have the ability to do that.
Did the rain turn to snow? We got 16" up here in Lake George Colorado. Great project thanks for sharing!
Mostly it just rained, but we did get about a 1/2" of snow over night last night.
You Tube been wanky lately. Haven't done a split cross in a hot minute. Used to do rr spikes with a different cut pattern to save the head for a base. Used the glass marbles from empty spray paint cans to sag into the diamond for a nice visual effect in a sun-filled window. 🐾🔥⚒
Comment #892 :-) yes I'm late today lol
Thats OK, as long as you're in focus.
I suppose you could do the splitting with a bandsaw? Of course then it would be more fabrication than smithing.
I think if I were making a bunch of smaller ones for craft shows I would probably do that. But on the larger ones, I really like the look of the chisel cut.
I'd like to see the base, i am curious as to how to do a rock base.
Hammer drill a hole into a rock?
That's what i figured, then i guess glue or epoxy?
@@deemedappropriate4790 I think a nice tight fit would be ok but you could epoxy but it might make a mess hard to clean epoxy of stone.
Awesome job John! What’s the dimensions of your anvil, if you don’t mind sharing
300 pounds about 33 inches long and 5 inches wide
Thanks for the reply! Do you ever or have you ever had to fix the edges on your or anyone else’s anvil? Do you just grind them?
Just curious... What set up are you using for your auto strike on your acetylene torch?
Oh and by the way I really like all your videos.. They are so instructive and very well put together and you take time to explain different scenarios.
It is a Smith gas saver or economizer valve. It has a pilot light on it. I'll show it briefly in tomorrows video and go into more detail perhaps next week once I am through reorganizing my torch set up.
@@BlackBearForge thank you sir!! That is awesome!! I really appreciate that!! 😉 Thank you!!
Also at SOFA last year, imagine a cross made from a precut blank 27" long 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" weighing about 65lbs done by the Brotherhood of Friendly Hammermen
Thats more than I want to wrestle
The Brtherhood is a large group of smiths and they all had a hand in it and they use special floor mounted jigs to open it
I would have sworn you did a split cross once before. Was it back during the "Blacksmith's Challenge" series" 3 inches of 1/2 x 1/2 ? Maybe I'm just dreaming that up?
I did a split bar trivet earlier, but not the cross
Thanks for the video! I'll be having fun with this project. More importantly I've been watching you for a while and have been wondering every video if you know the love of Jesus Christ!?! Thanks again for the videos!
How was the epic bomb storm in your area?
A real non event for us, but in Pueblo 20 miles east it was a real mess due to the wind
@@BlackBearForge Glad you dodged that mess. Thanks for all you do for us.
I'm first😁
Lol, I thought I forgot my glasses at the start.
Can you mention the lay out measurements? I didn’t see it in the video. What are the lengths of the splits and what is the distance of overlap?
Thanks
If you have no cows, then the cows will never come home, so you're stuck forever. At least until you get some cows delivered.
Bit blurry at the start John, just some feedback.
Yep, I saw that and put some text over the video to acknowledge the fact that I knew about it. But its one of those things that doesn't become apparent until I edit and then it to late to re shoot that section without running into a second day.
@@BlackBearForge Good John, glad u worked it out, a lot of things aren't seen till editing.
Also, here's a link to a cross template that seems to work pretty well: drive.google.com/file/d/0B4PML-47cH2LT1FFWTVjcXdDR3M/view
Nice reference
@@BlackBearForge just saw this, glad that template is still out there.
Бля ты же видел, когда монтировал, что фокуса нет...минус на
Заметили ли вы, что это исправлено в следующем кадре? Попробуй в следующий раз стать немного меньше жалобщиком
@@BlackBearForge Отписался от канала
Спасибо, вы явно больше понимаете вопросы производства, чем образовательную ценность контента.
@@BlackBearForge намного больше, даже больше чем ты можешь себе представить.
A small piece of angel iron say 1/2x1/2 through the center of the cross will help to stop it from slipping while upsetting in the vice... be well and be safe....
true