Work on another twist handle.

 

Patti update:

Patti is doing great. I know she is feeling better because she is getting very bored and is anxious to start driving again.

More twist handle work:

The second handle that I tried to make was a little different than the first one in that it is made in five parts. The first part was the Basket Twist grip. which you saw in the last post.

Next I made the “legs” for the handle.

These I made from 1/2” rod that I punched a square hole in one end of and then drew the metal down to a taper and put a twist in them.

In the below picture you can see how the handle fits to the legs.

 

Next, the two leaves for the base had to be made. First, I traced the leaf pattern on a piece of 1/8” flat stock and cut the leaves out on the ban saw. Once they were cut out I heated them up and peened the surface to give the metal that hand forged look. Next I had to drill the screw holes and the center hole to accept the legs. Fitting the whole thing together was pretty finicky and took me a long time. I was hopping that I could push the ends of the legs through the center hole in the leaf and peen the ends over like a rivet. I tried that but couldn’t get it tight enough and it left a large lump on the back of the leaf so it won’t sit flat. I ended up grinding the lump off and welding the leg to the leaf.

Here is how it turned out. In the picture it looks a little crooked but the handle isn’t welded to the legs it is just slipped through the square holes. Once it is screwed down it will straitened out.

The last handle:

I started the last handle. I decided to keep the first handle that I made and make another one like it.

A new tool for the job:

I made a bending fork so it will be easier to bend the legs without distorting the handle. The bottom end of the fork fits in the hardy hole in the anvil.

First, I made the leaves for the feet of the handle. Then I cut the 1/4” rods for the basket and welded them to the 1/2” rod for the legs.

The next thing I will have to do is heat the work and pound it into the shape I want,
then twist the basket, bend the legs and weld on the leaf shaped feet.

That’s it for now.