Do you know a blacksmith can help illuminate your home? Blacksmiths can help lighten your home by forging candlesticks.
Candlesticks are containers that help hold candles. It takes different shapes and structures; some come in fancy styles, conventional forms, and others in crooked shapes.
Candlesticks with simple structures are easy to forge. Others with complicated structures take more time to forge. But the forging is easy to accomplish if you follow laid down steps and procedures.
Forged candlestick will allow you to place your candle on it and also will enable you to illuminate your light. Indirectly, a blacksmith helps brighten your home.
Essentials
When forging your candlestick, you should make use of some tools to make your forging easier and faster. Some of the tools to use in forming include;
Forge
Hammer
Anvil
Crucible
Wheel cutter
Chisel
To effectively forge a candlestick, you should follow specific procedures. These procedures will guide you in forming a candlestick. Here are steps you should follow when creating a candlestick:
Instructions on How to Forge a Candlestick
Step 1: Get a Steel Rod
Before starting, you should get the material to use. Steel rods are very suitable for this purpose. You should get a steel rod of about 20mm wide. You will have to forge the steel rod into the structure of your preferred candlestick.
Step 2: Place the Rod in a Forge for Heating
You should place the rod in a forge and heat it for an extended period. Heating the rod in a forge will make the rod malleable and easy to forge.
You should heat the rod to a very high temperature until the rod becomes red hot. When the rod becomes red hot, you should retrieve it from the forge with a crucible.
Step 3: Forge your candlestick
There are various steps you will follow when it comes to forging your candlestick. To create, you should;
Quick Steps
- Beat your rod at a small distance away from the tip. While the rod is hot, you should beat the rod to make a neck for it. It should be thinner than the other ends of the rod.
- You should flatten the small end of the rod. After creating the neck, the rod will have a greater distance and another section with a short length separated by the thin neck you made.
- Beat the lower end with your hammer till it flattens out.
- Frequently reheat the steel to help it remain malleable.
- Cut out a cone shape on the flat part of the rod. You can do this by marking out the way with a pencil and cutting it out with a wheel cutter.
- Bend and join the ends of the flat cone shape together to form a solid cone shape. You should do this while the rod is hot to make it easy.
The forged cone will serve as the candle carrier, while the other part of the rod will serve as the shaft that carries it. Now, you have to forge a base for the candlestick. The bottom will help the candlestick balance well.
Step 4: Forge the Base of the Candlestick
After forging the cone and rod of the candlestick, you have to build the bottom also. To create the bottom, you should;
Quick Steps
- Beat the end of the rod to a circular shape. You should heat the end of the rod to make it easier and faster.
- Make a thread-like helix around the rod. The thread-like helix should be perfect and well-sized to allow the tightening of a nut.
- Get a flat block of steel. The block of steel should have considerable length and breadth with a reasonable width.
- Drill yourself a hole at the center of your steel block. The hole should be big enough to allow the entrance of the forged rod.
- Insert the threaded rod in the hole and bolt it up with a suitable nut.
- Tighten the nut well to have a perfect candlestick.
Step 5: Grind Your Candlestick
After forging, there will be scales on the surface of the candlestick. To eliminate these scales, you have to grind the candlestick with a grinder. In the absence of a belt-grinder, you should make use of the sandpaper.
Grinding the candlestick will make it shine more and also make it look presentable. You might decide to paint your candlestick to suit your taste.
Now that you have your candlestick, place your candle in your candlestick and illuminate your home.
FAQs on How to Forge a Candlestick
Question
How strong can I forge my candlestick?
The candlestick does not need to be rigid. The essence of a candlestick is to house a candle. A candle is not massive, so the candlestick should not be excessively big.
Forging the candlestick with steel guarantees a strong candlestick. Metals don’t easily break, so if you form your candlestick with iron or steel, it will be strong enough to last long.
Question
Can I forge my candlestick from rebar?
Yes, you can forge your candlestick from rebar. The stick is best formed from rods, and rebar has the shape of a rod. As long as you can forge a metal, you can make use of it to create a candlestick.
Question
Can the candlestick serve as decoration?
The candlestick can serve as decoration if it suits your taste of fashion. Some candlesticks are useful in decoration churches and other places. You can also decorate and illuminate your home with your stick.
Video on How to Forge a Candlestick
Warnings
There are many precautions you should follow when forging your candlestick. These precautions will help you towards safety. Some of these precautions include;
- Always put on safety wears to protect your skin from hazards.
- Make sure you put on goggles to protect your eyes especially when beating hot metals.
- Do not handle hot metals with your bare hands as they can burn you.
- Always follow safety precautions when forging.
- Get and prepare a fire extinguisher.
