If you are a beginner blacksmith you are probably looking for easy projects to make but that are also functional, or at least decorative enough to put on display. How long can you just hammer away at hot metal without ending up with something?

This is a quick idea and tutorial on making a triangle for ringing when it is time for dinner! Not a hard project and you can have it done in a jiffy. And you can get fancy with it and do all kinds of things. But let me just give you an overview and look at this blacksmithing project.

The heart of this project is a piece of rebar that was about three feet in length. And I used another piece that was about one foot in length for the striking bar with the colorful handle.

The thing about the rebar is that the sound is kind of dull, it rings just fine but I think other types of metals would make a brighter sound. But if you have some rebar lying around you can do this project in half an hour.

It pretty much is as simple as dividing the length of rebar into three equal sections and then heating and bending at the two points to form the triangle. For example: If your rebar is 36 inches long you would draw a chalk line at 12 inches and another at 24 inches. These two lines divide the bar into three equal sections. You heat and bend at the two chalk lines. Do not close the triangle. Leave it open so it rings correctly.

From there you can then do something a little bit harder by using a smaller piece of round stock to form the hoop it will hang by. This is shown in the picture on the left . You can weld the hoop to the triangle or just hook it through the open end of the triangle.

I had fun making this hoop, I had to use the horn of the anvil. And it took a bit of time to get it looking like a chain link.

Making the Handle

We got a little creative with the handle. We turned down a piece of pine so it was cylindrical, then turned some grooves and shapes in it and to cap it off we melted crayons onto it to get the bright colors. You run the lathe on a low speed, mark it with crayons and apply a torch to heat and melt the crayons.

A Blacksmithing Primer: A Course in Basic and Intermediate Blacksmithing

Virtually every task beginning and intermediate blacksmiths must master is presented in this excellent book. Over 400 detailed drawings help increase comprehension levels. This is a reference manual that will be found lying open on the workbench more often than found on the bookshelf and is highly recommended to anyone swinging a hammer to shape hot metal. This is an excellent introduction to this glorious craft and an excellent resource for advancing your knowledge, skills, and vision for blacksmithing.

Do you like making projects and exploring a variety of hobbies?

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