Forging and Final Lug Sample

Attempted forging last week. I was surprised that most of the class seemed to exhibit a fair amount of disinterested in the form, but it meant I had a lot of alone time with the forge. Here are some pictures of the sample iron rod I had manipulated:

The twist was fairly easy to accomplish, but curving the rod back into itself in a aesthetically pleasing manner was a bit more difficult. I also attempted flattening the other end and stamping a hole through it, but got too tired and weak doing it. Too much hammer swinging...

How it looked when I started. Rainy day.

I also attempted another lug sample after getting advice from one of my peers and faculty with some pretty good results:

Ignoring the large puddle of silver, the lines on this attempt are otherwise extremely clean compared to my past attempts. The reason for the puddle is that these two tubes didn't really fit together flush, creating a lot of gaps and inconsistencies. Hopefully, the real deal lugs and tubes will be much more precise.

Still going on plenty of road rides and fewer off-road rides. The longer distances I go, the more I buy into the whole Bicycle Quarterly philosophy. We'll see how I end up building this frame in the long run.