[TheForge] Mastermyr - Fire Grid

[April & Bill Clemens]

  The things I learned while making the fire grid.

1.  TEST PIECES ARE OFTEN NEEDED and easier than working on the real 
piece and ruining it when you plan doesn't work.  I made 3 corner test 
pieces   2. LISTEN TO OTHERS ADVISE - If I had I would probably have 
only done one.  The first test piece I made was from Wrought Iron.  3. 
LEARNED / RELEARNED THE NEED TO WORK WROUGHT IRON HOT.  Trying to make a 
right angle bend along the grain of WI is not easy.  4. HAVING THE RIGHT 
SIZE STOCK SURE MAKES THINGS EASIER.   Blacksmiths from days gone must 
have spent a lot of time taking the stock they had and making the stock 
they needed.  Have often heard this but it really sinks in when you look 
at you pile of collected pieces of WI and try to decide which one(ones) 
you can easily hammer into the stock you need.  If I had tried to use 
WI, I still be hammering.  The result was the decision to use Pure Iron. 
 The pure Iron stock wasn't the exact size I needed but was much closer. 
The second two test pieces I made ( the ones I wouldn't have needed if 
I'd have listened to Phlip)were for my plan to make a hook on each piece 
of angle meeting at the corner.  Looked good on paper but...  Would have 
 been a nightmare trying to match the two halves up especially 
considering that there's a rivet directly under the hook.  Had to bend 
the single hook out of the way to install the rivet. (Phlip that curly 
que hook labeled 31A, I was reading another description of the fire grid 
and it's describes it as a modification/repair. I'll send you the 
website if I can relocate it)  5.  MAKING TOOLS IS PART OF THE JOB  Had 
to make several tools to make rivets and protect the bottom rivet head 
while hammering the top.  Made a half dozen or more test rivets,  first 
in a single piece of stock and then in two pieces. 6. YOU ALWAYS PAY THE 
PRICE FOR GETTING IN A HURRY  When I switched from riveting corners 
together and grid pieces to angle sides (same size rivets) to riveting 
the thin center strips I didn't bother to do a test piece. Half way 
through doing the first rivet I knew something was wrong.  The head was 
way too big and the rivet still wasn't tight. I had done the 
calculations (Just the wrong ones) I forgot I wasn't riveting through 
the grid pieces but between them. Now I had the fun of removing a rivet. 
 And yes, even now that I knew what I had done wrong, I did a test rivet 
before continuing.  (You try cutting a 1/4 dia rivet out of two less 
than 1/8" X 3/4" strips without ruining them once and you'll do a test 
rivet too.)   7. WHAT WORKS IN ONE CASE DOESN'T WORK IN ANOTHER Made the 
right decision to predrill the holes for the grid pieces in the side 
angles before I assembled the frame.  (Yes I drilled the holes rather 
then punch them - same reason I used PI instead of WI ) Then I made the 
wrong decision to predrill all the holes in the center strips.  Even 
though I had pre formed the top strip over each grid piece, as I worked 
on the rivets, I found the fewer of the remaining holes lined up.  Spent 
lots of time with a drift and heating the strips to realign the holes. 
 Luckily I had riveted the strips to the frame and both ends and started 
with the center rivet.  If I had worked from one end, I probably would 
have given up half  way through and had to remove all those rivets. They 
would have been easier to take out though, since there would have been 
no need to protect the strips. 8.  A DISCARDED CHAIN EYE MAKES A GOOD 
TOOL TO HEAT RIVETS IN THE FORGE  Was trying to decide how I was going 
to heat the rivets in the forge when I looked down and saw a poorly 
welded chain eye I had tossed on the floor.  With only minor 
modification to tighten up the eye hole, it worked perfectly to hold 
rivets and not loose them in the bottom of the forge.  9.  IF YOUR 
 FIRST IDEA DOESN'T WORK TRY ANOTHER ONE  My plan for the swivel eye on 
the top plate, form the rivet head, slip it through the top plate then 
heat and form the eye.  Phlip's plan form the eye, slip the end through 
the top plat and then hammer the rivet head.  I tried them both. 
 Neither way worked, for me.  My way, I had a nice rivet had for the 
swivel but the plate got in the way of forming a nice eye.  Phlip's way 
I got a nice eye, but it got destroyed when trying to hold the shank to 
form the rivet head.  I stopped this attempt when  I started to deform 
my top plate.  The method that worked was to make the rivet head then to 
partially form the eye (open  U shape) with  the tapered wrap end bent 
at 90 degrees to that.  This could be slid through the top plate, then i 
just had to heat, close the U  to form the eye and wrap the taper around 
the shank.  10.  MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BIG ENOUGH OVEN TO HEAT  FINISH 
YOUR COMPLETED ITEM.  I had to shoe horn the grid into my sister's oven. 
 All the racks removed at tilted at a 45 degrees front to back.  The 
result is that my baked on beeswax finish is not as uniform as i would 
have liked it.  If you look carefully at the pictures You'll see some 
dark brown, not black areas.  

Well I'm sure there's some I've forgot.  I'll post them as I think of them.


For Phlip who's considering making one of these out of mild steel to 
use.  Here are my thoughts:

1.  Use angle iron for the frame.  I left a 1/4" x 3/4" x 1-1/2" piece 
on the ends to form the hook  I forged the 3/16" thick frame out of 1/4" 
stock but left the 1/4" thickness to form the hook.

2.  Turn the ~ 1/4" x 1/2" grid pieces on their sides  doing a 90 degree 
twist at each end for the rivet.  Will strengthen the grid and should 
eliminate the need for the center strips with all those extra rivets. 
 Or you could use 1/2" square if you don't mind the added weight.

3.  Use regular chain (forge welded or store bought - your choice) 
 instead of the eye chain.  Or you could simply bend the eyes closed 
without the weld.  Maintaining nice cleans eyes was a problem. 
Especially the second one, forge welded with  the previous eye linked 
in.  Finally  used a 1/2 circle chisel that I dulled.  It slid down 
inside the the second eye with the first eye  nested on the inside the 
half circle allowing the eye to be reshaped after the weld.

When you starting Phlip? send pictures.

Bill

Phlip wrote:

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "April & Bill Clemens" <newky2@ceinetworks.com>
>To: <theforge@mailman.qth.net>
>Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 8:07 PM
>Subject: Re: [TheForge] Mastermyr - Fire Grid
>
>
>>Just posted  2 pictures of the completed Fire Grid.
>>
>>I met Roger Duncan as planned a 3pm in Harrisburg and the Fire Grid is
>>on it's way to the Conference.
>>
>>Bill Clemens
>>
>
>Congratulations!!!!!!
>
>I'd compliment your work, but I'll hafta wait until that bloody site decides
>to let me look at the pictures.
>
>So, tell us about it. Aside from working against the clock, and wrassling
>with the hanging loop, what did you do, learn, luck into, and cuss the most?
>I'm all ears.....
>
>Phlip
>
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