Blacksmithing for Beginners-Forging Lesson #3: forging nails

[@jacoklopper4772]

You're explanations are really well. Thank you for sharing Sir!

[@tobyjo57]

Superb looking decorative nail. Worthy of any Church Door or such application. Thanks for sharing

[@JandDProjects0965]

Hey man. You are a really good teacher.

[@tompok76tompok76]

Thank you for your decorated nail, nice work. :)

[@DesertOwlForge]

No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@nathanheng8954]

You made something as mundane as nails into something beautiful. That's so cool.

[@sean9462]

Great video as always please keep them coming.

[@juanro343]

I enjoyed this video. Thank you very much!

[@ivorboyd7551]

Simple and also brilliant

[@wolfiepower8103]

Great video. Will be trying that tomorrow.

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks! Have fun with it. Also if you want send me pictures and I will put you on one of my videos.

[@ChristCenteredIronworks]

Nice instruction on the video! Did a great job and nice clean forging.. God bless

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks! I am enjoying doing basic level forging again. Sometimes I forget how enjoyable it is, and how "funny" it is that I struggled so much to get it right when I was an apprentice.

[@HardRockMiner]

Nice work! Makes one realize that nails used to have to be MADE by hand!

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks! Yes, nail making actually became it's own trade. In the medieval times there were specialized peddlers who were making nails on demand.

[@nrgmgmt01]

Thanks, what a great way to practice the skills and make something cool looking. New Sub here

[@catherineasselin7986]

Wow, thank you. It the first video I see and not the last. I subscribed now . Sorry to right like a 4 year old boy ... I'm a French Canadian so be indulgent. Merci beaucoup de partager votre savoir.😀

[@DesertOwlForge]

Hey, thanks for the comment!

[@NicoProps]

nice tutorial very helpful

[@tomalapai8246]

I like your style. Very nice. Keep up the good work!!!

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks!

[@carlosolvera1923]

Ecxelente trabajo, muy bonito acabado!!! felicidades!!!

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thank you Carlos!

[@dutchy7230]

nice clear instruction keep it up ,looking forward on more videos

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks Erik!

[@godfreyjoseph8165]

Nice piece of work

[@robmiller7]

good on ya thanks and keep em coming

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks!

[@DIYTechnician]

Great video man. Very informative! Nice work and thanks for sharing

[@DIYTechnician]

New subscriber here.

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks for subscribing. I am getting ready to return making content again. I had a rough past year and wasn't able to shoot videos at all.

[@DIYTechnician]

@@DesertOwlForge sorry to hear about your year. Look forward to more creations. Take care

[@SuperiorEtchworx]

Great tutorial. I have liked , shared and subbed. Please keep up the good work, you'll end up as famous as DiResta

[@tacticalgamer7777]

Cool video man and very informative you just got yourself a subscriber. Keep up the great work

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks! We are approaching the first "larger" project that will utilize all the basics I taught so far. I am hoping to get there in 3-4 weeks. Stay tuned.

[@tacticalgamer7777]

Desert Owl Forge thanks!! That's AWESOME!! can't wait to see it!!

[@wolfsangelsden]

wonderfully instructive. Would suggest 2 things that my help. 1:instead of having the nail header hanging off the anvil, place it so that it runs lengthwise; helps elevate banging into it and it bouncing about, which leads to.,.... 2: look at possibly using an Anvil Holdfast to hold down your nail header, so it doesnt go banging about as you do the decorative touches. Keep up the awesome demo/tutorials, great work!

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks for the comment, but I like to do things the way I do. I do this for living for the last 22 years. I like to have my tools free moving because it helps you to work faster and more efficient. Better ergonomics. The bouncing would actually increase due to a longer contact surface with the anvil. Instead of the small area that touches the anvil the whole of the tool would rest on it. Not to mention if your anvil's surface is not straight. I never ever used a holdfast for the same reason. It is clumsy and restrictive. When you have to do hundreds or thousand of the same thing, that is the last thing you want to have. Imagine how cumbersome it would be to remove the nails when your tool is in a holdfast. Also if you have any "jams", it would be a pain in the rear to clear it.

[@Fernando-qg1zv]

very nice video thanks!

[@franciscodantas2908]

Show amigo muito Bom ,irei copiar !!!

[@billabong9215]

Good tutorial. Is your anvil a bit noisey.My anvil sounds same as yours , friend told me it was too loud and I was losing efficiency. Any tips to quiten it? Nice shop. Extremely tidy!

[@DesertOwlForge]

Hey Sean, thanks for the comments. Don't listen to your friend. Although it is loosing a bit of "kick back power", the anvil that can bounce a bit (not too much) has better harmonics. This will be beneficial for you joints as well your ability to forge more fluidly. I believe in forging with technique and rythm rather than brute force. If the anvil is too bouncy though will really ruin efficiency and can come off the stand and injure you.

[@chadmallory316]

On your nail header bar what are the 4 sizes of holes you have and how far apart are they ?

[@gateway8833]

Sir, superb video. I would like to suggest not to cut the nail off of the Mother material, rather cut almost through the nail, place the nail on your header plate and then brake the nail off that way there you don’t have to go find the nail. It is amazing that one change will speed up the process.

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks for the compliment. I recognize your name from I forge Iron, welcome to my channel here on KZbin. What you're suggesting will help only of you're making a few nail at the time. When I am making larger quantities I forge all the shanks and cut them off using the same heat. Then I put the hardy away and get the header tool out and do all the head at once. This speeds up everything even more because you don't have to change between tools and just keep doing the same method over and over. If you have good practice and can make one nail using only one heat then what you mentioned is very true.

[@TheGrmany69]

Awesome channel, great material. Wish I had a workshop to do all kind of tools. Do you have any sort of tutorial about scissors?

[@KOTEC525]

Is your nail holding tool easy to make? Just looks like a piece of steel with some different sized holes drilled in it.

[@DesertOwlForge]

Yes. It's a piece of spring steel forged over to have a bit more thickness and a handle part. It is not heat treated at all since it gets heated constantly during use. Various sizes holes are for various sizes of nails as you can imagine. You could make the holes square and it would be a bit better and would keep the shanks of the nails nicer. Spring steel is great for this but you could use mild steel, it just wouldn't last as long before you have to do maintenance on it.

[@KOTEC525]

@@DesertOwlForge thanks!

[@piessevauxmathias3495]

Nice one ! :)

[@DesertOwlForge]

Thanks!

[@clintonholenstein9348]

Fun question... why tap the hammer on the anvil? I have some speculations but googling it just isn't that fun!

[@DesertOwlForge]

Clinton, thank for the question. It comes up quite often and I'll make a video on it in the next few days, so stay tuned.

[@1mack1yak34]

Is your nail header custom made? I’d love to buy one like that.

[@DesertOwlForge]

Yes, I made it from an old leaf spring I found out in the desert.

[@1mack1yak34]

Thanks for getting back to me Tim, I’m gonna have to make one the design is perfect.

[@DesertOwlForge]

No Problem! If you make one send me a picture and I will feature it one of my videos (but only if you're interested).

[@1mack1yak34]

I’ll take you up on that offer Tim. It’s gonna be a few weeks, I’m finishing up my little shop and once it’s done Itll be one of the first things I make. Till then keep up the great work!

[@Friidom2]

Good video. Might want to turn off auto focus. The camera went in and out of focus some. Cool music. Skal

[@PKPK-rr3rs]

Thumbnail looks like mushroomed rounds.

[@DesertOwlForge]

It looks like and expanded square hollow point.

[@ianmcgougan1173]

Why the horrible music and all the talking? Just show what you do slowly or speeded up, that's enough! And when are you people going to go decimal like the rest of the word? Three eighths? Come on:(

[@DesertOwlForge]

That's non of your business. If you don't like it don't watch it. Also metric system sucks. I stopped using it years ago when I moved to the US. Imperial is more intuitive to use in the shop, but you need to know your fractions. It way easier to divide and multiply without a calculator.

[@ianmcgougan1173]

@@DesertOwlForge I tried to watch it as you are clearly a skilled blacksmith and I loved the way you made the nails. But twelve inches to one foot, three feet to one yard, 1760 yards to one mile. Where's the logic? Thanks anyway for your kind answer.

[@DesertOwlForge]

First I wrote a very nasty answer but KZbin removed it. Your comment is arrogant and condescending. Metric system is better for certain things, like conversations, but imperial is better for actual shop use. You have to be more skilled and educated to use imperial. It's not about logic it's about tradition. I hate the arrogance of Europeans and at one point I was guilty of it myself. Also despise any globalist agenda that destroys uniqueness I'm the world, like using a global uniform currency or measuring system.

[@DesertOwlForge]

Where the imperial system really shines is on the workshop. Say you need to divide up an inch or a centimeter. Using imperial measurements you just go like 1/2", 1/4", 1/8", 1/16", 1/32" and so forth. All these have corresponding marks on the tape measure. But in order to be able to use it efficiently you need to know your fractions and conversions. With metric it's quite difficult to do the same. Where is the 0.25mm mark on your tape or the 0.125mm ? Not to mention the 0.0625mm mark. Also of you want to multiple these in decimal it's way more difficult without a calculator. With fractions it's easy to do in you head. 1/16", 3/16", 3/8", and as I said they all have corresponding marks on the tape measure.