Odds and Ends

One of the jaws on the tongs I use to make buckles broke the other day, so I had to make a new pair.  It was kind of sad, because they were the first pair of tongs I ever made.  But, I made them a little too thin and years of being heated, quenched, and beaten on finally did them in.  I made a mistake on the new pair.  Notice how the old pair has a nice taper on the reins (what blacksmiths call the handles) and the new ones don't.  Yeah, I kind of forgot they don't handle right without being tapered.  They work great, but feel just a bit heavy, so sometime I'll have to take them apart and taper them.  Man, I need a power hammer.

I've been trying to think of a use for the plug that's left over from the hole I chisel in the bottle opener buckles for a long time.  I usually just save them in cans and leave them out for the scrap metal guys, but I thought it would be cool to make them into some sort of scrap metal art.  So, I came up with these skull pendants.  I'm going to list them soon in the store and they will be under 10 bucks!

These haven't been cleaned and finished yet

I am working on an order of containers for a client in the steel industry who gives them out as corporate gifts.  They are almost done now, but here is a progress picture from last week:

My new old motorcycle

I finally finished off my 1978 XT500 project.  For now anyway.  It's a super fun bike, especially with all the dirt roads around here.  I stripped it down to the frame, removed the stuff I didn't need, and changed a few things.  I also reworked a smaller tank to fit the frame, made a seat pan and had it upholstered, and modified the stock exhaust.  There are a few other custom parts here and there, and pretty much everything that doesn't make it go or stop is gone other than the head and tail lights.

Surfrider Foundation Buckles

A good friend of mine works for the Surfrider Foundation in Oregon.  The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches.  Check out their website here:

http://www.surfrider.org/default.aspx

He wanted some buckles with their new logo to give out as gifts to his friends.  So, rather than have the logo laser cut like most people do these days, we decided to do some old school manufacturing instead.  We had a stamp custom made and I hand stamped each buckle using my flypress.  I think stamping creates a really unique look, and it's a lot more fun than just punching some buttons on a computer.  Check out a video of the buckles being made here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbVcdOGzwaQ&feature=feedu

 

New Belts!

I am so excited to introduce our new line of industrial grade super duper tough belts! Strong enough for the Florida sugar cane factories, and definitely tough enough to hold up your pants for a long time to come!


I had always intended to replace the commercial belts we have been selling with something handmade. Initially, when I started the buckles and they began to take off, I just wanted something I could sell with my buckles to hold people's pants up. But, over time I noticed that the quality was not always the best, and I was tired of pairing the buckles with a non-handmade product.

When I first started brainstorming, I just assumed I would be working with leather. But, I'm a big animal lover, and my house out here in the Everglades is surrounded by cow fields. The cows are like my neighbors, and I would have a hard time looking at them day in and day out while I was slicing up their friends' hides to make into clothing. To tell you the truth I'm not a vegan or vegetarian, but I have a lot of friends who are, and I often hear them mention the lack of choices when it comes to normal clothing items like belts or shoes. I decided to find another material and it just so happened that a friend of a friend has a job selling industrial belting products!
Perhaps you are thinking, "But, I'm used to leather and these are more expensive than your other belts, why should I buy one of these?" Well, for starters, everyone else has a leather belt, so right off the bat, you'll have something cooler and different than everyone else. These belts are also tougher than leather, and won't stretch and wear out the way leather does. How do I know they are tougher than leather? Well, I looked through two huge books of belting samples for industrial applications and there wasn't a single one made of leather. When was the last time you saw a belt driven motorcycle with a leather belt or industrial tools that use leather belting? Been a while, right?


So, if you are in the market for a new belt, make sure you check these out! Keep an eye out because we will have more new belt designs and materials on the way!

www.metalogical.etsy.com

Eric's Shop

Here are some pictures of my friend Eric Velleca's blacksmith shop. We met when I moved down to Florida and called him with some questions about the area. Eric is thinking of moving out of state, so I wanted to post some pics of his cool shop in case he moves. There aren't that many parts of the country where you can have an open air, tropical blacksmith shop like this. Eric is a really talented blacksmith who does a lot of large architectural work. You can check out his website here: http://www.vellecametaldesign.com/


Power hammers for forging steel:


Forges, quenching bucket, and anvil:



Another shot of the anvil with an industrial press and tong rack in the background:



Gas forge:



Drill press:



Seems like no metal shop is complete without at least one motorcycle project. Here are a Harley and Honda CB 750 Eric is building:



CB750:


Large gate:



Samples:


Here's a picture of Eric's sweet custom Toyota Landcruiser which he built. There are a lot of cool custom parts, but unfortunately the interior pics didn't come out very well:

Fall in South Florida

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale!

Black Friday / Cyber Monday SALE! 15% off everything my Etsy store until the end of November! To get your 15% discount, just add the item(s) you would like to your cart and check out as usual. Enter the word BLACKFRIDAY in the coupon code box and the discount will be applied to your purchase.