When I was 6 years old I asked my mom if we could build a forge in the back yard. She said no. I ended up asking my Grandpa Koehler (who is a welder) if HE had one. He did. He has everything. He said this was used to fix the neighbor's farm equipment years ago. He thought we could make a metal rose that he had made with some of his welding students. We tried to get the forge hot enough, but had trouble. Grandpa added charcoal to speed it up, but it still didn't get hot enough. So he brought me into his barn and we used the blow torch. He and I heated the metal, then pounded it flat with hammers and made the coolest rose ever.
Grandpa is powering a fan that will help the fire burn hotter that will heat the metal. (The best part of this picture is my Grandma's face in the background. She is not so sure about this project.) I love my grandfather's barn. We are taking turns hammering the rose petals flat. It's nice when you work out a rhythm, but you have to be careful. |
We decided to use the blow torch to heat the metal. It is fast.
We dipped the rose in water to cool it down.
Grandpa Koehler is awesome.