Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Leland Stone

Members
  • Posts

    16
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Orange County, CA
  • Interests
    Blacksmithing, magic, history, woodworking, bicycling.

Contact Methods

  • Jabber
    ask
  • Skype
    ask

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

  1. Yup, looks like it will survive the NEXT hurricane! :)
  2. Thank you much for the input so far!
  3. Hello Anvil Clangers! A good friend in Kentucky sent me a hammer for my birthday and neither of us have any idea who made it or its purpose. We're both former farriers and guess the hammer to be a form of rounding hammer (the raised portion on one cheek looks like it COULD be intended for starting clips on shoes), and the cross peen, well, just looks awkward. There are no maker's marks, and the handle is attached with a 'safety' wedge (which, if original to the hammer, makes it a fairly late vintage tool). The tool was originally painted, and I've wirebrushed most of the paint away. I'm uploading a pic, and if you can offer any info, thanks in advance. :) Photos resized
  4. Planishing the metal at a dull red/blackish red heat has, to date, been my most effective means of reducing the ragged texture left on the metal by scale. Thanks to responses on this topic and the kind input of Glenn, I've modified my fire to a more carburizing environment, slightly enlarging the fireball, and slowing the blower a bit. Perhaps I've gotten impatient in my old age waiting for steel to heat. Thank you kindly for the input, Leland
  5. Welllll....I got started in '78, so that's a bit more than two years...
  6. All right, then, thankies for the info! After considering, I've purchased a large plank of ash at my local specialty lumberyard -- if it turns out the handles are no good, I've another project in mind for the ash. (I've been threatening to build an Irish drum -- I think it's called a bhodran? -- for years now, and ash will bend superbly for the purpose.) Anyway, the ash was a most reasonable 2.99/board foot for 8/4 stock, which is actually a shade more than 1-3/4" thick. I will indeed post pictures when they are available. :)
  7. Howdy! I don't know about your neck of the woods, but out here in mine, replacement hammer handles are becoming pricey and tough to find. Home Depot and Lowes carry next to nothing, and even traditional lumber yards don't stock many sizes. I get great deals on some good hammers at the local swap meets, but handles are $7 and up, IF I can get the size I need! Here's the deal: I can get 8/4 ash (about 1-1/2" thick or so) pretty reasonably priced, and I've got tooling for whittling my own handles. I know that ash splits quite well, but I wonder if despite this characteristic whether it makes a good handle. Y'all care to weigh in? Thankies! :D
  8. Yeah, just gonna go with what already been said. Good on ya! :)
  9. Well, thanks! I've been making tongs lately as an exercise in efficiency and consistency at the forge...I need another pair like a need another grey hair! I sorta had this pic in mind when I made these tongs: http://3.bp.blogspot.../MAforgeron.jpg Though no cross-section information was given, the reins looked squarish to me; round, of course, makes sense from a user-comfort perspective. The jaws on this set are V-bit, less than 90 degrees, which I use for either round or square stock.
  10. Howdy! One of the most vexing problems I have when forging is the formation of scale. No matter how clean I wire brush my work as it comes out of the forge (I use coal exclusively), the newly-cleaned orange-hot steel instantly forms a new coat of scale. I know this is inherent in forging; hot steel plus oxygen will always (and quickly) result in new iron oxide. Some of y'all may have some tips for reducing this scale, working around it, or otherwise NOT smashing it into one's workpiece. Your comments are welcome, and thanks in advance. :) Claymore
  11. I've been playing around with different styles of reins and materials for tongs, and have yet to use any medium carbon stock for tongs -- though I'm leaning toward sucker rod if I can find it. I also lean toward a medieval look, which is what guided the shape of this set, in the attached photo. Cheers, Clay
×
×
  • Create New...