Here are the strap himges that I made for my blacksmith shop. I wanted it to be old school to match the post and beam construction that I built the shoo out of. The beams are from a barn built in 1874 that me and Scotty overkill tore down a few years back. The hinges opened up are about 4ft and are made out of 1/4"x4" flat stock. Everything was done on in the coal forge and the anvil.
Thank you all for the compliments. I made 6 hinges, 3 for each door. All told I have approximately 40 hours start to finish.
Welcome blacksmith. Scotty has posted some pictures of repair work he has done on some pieces from his own collection, and I guess your shop is where the magic happens. Those hinges look great. The taper from the hinge end down to the decorative end are a nice touch. Do you have multiple pieces heating in the forge while you work at the anvil? I just worked up some 1/4" bar two weeks ago, and I ended up putting a few pieces in at a time so there was less down time between hammering. Here is a garden gate support I did for a neighbor to help with the post movement on a retaining wall. 1/4" stock, drifted holes and hot rivets peened over. I snuck a few hidden welds on the back for extra strength. The top bracket wrapped around the post. I'll be looking forward to more of your work. I use mostly small flat stock and rods for decorative pieces. I may do a sliding barn door for the laundry room. I have more ideas than time, unfortunately.
I don't know what kind of forge you have but mine is a coal forge. If you are familiar with a coal at all you have a good chance of over heating and burning the steel if left un attended, so I do not like heat and work more than one piece at a time. Now if it's a heavier steel that doesn't need too much shaping I will put in a few pieces, it just depend on what your doing. I am jealous of the guy's with the gas forge because you do not have to worry about burning the steel due to that you can set it a a particular temperature. But I am old school so I'll stick with the coal! As for the post support looks good and there's nothing wrong with hiding a weld that won't be seen. I assume that the pictures that were taken were of the inside of your shop? I wish my shop was that clean. Right now mine is polluted with tree climbing gear and chain saws! Hahaha. Once I get my shop cleaned up I'll have to send you some pictures of the inside and my layout.
Thanks that would be great, always curious as to how a fellow smith's shop is set up! Although I can't promise any pictures of mine any time soon but I'll do my best!
