Augus7us

Thanks Tim, I didn't realize there was a difference. I always thought they were the same thing...

It was a motorcycle technically and had an engine. It was pretty cool zipping up and down, though I wouldn't want to be in the side car or what he was appropriately calling a "hot seat" Nice photos Jacob, I heard they poured an anvil the first day and I was disappointed I didn't get to see that. Looks like they did a fantastic job. I was actually at SOFA for two weeks for an ABS bladesmithing class right before Quadstate and got to meet and spend some time with Butch. He is a great guy and really knows his stuff. There was also an ABS knife show the weekend I was there and Butch had some of his tomahawks on display. Highend stuff!

Hey guys I thought you all would enjoy some of the photos I took at the quadstate here in Ohio this year. I figure if anyone is going to appreciate them it would be you guys. I'm sure a lot of you have heard of it but if you haven't the Quadstate Blacksmithing Conference here in Ohio is a fairly large gathering of blacksmiths, bladesmiths and various vendors along with quite a few demonstrations of all sorts put on by Souther Ohio Forge and Anvil, or SOFA. I believe there were 12 or 14 demos this year and I spoke with the president of SOFA who was telling me they had their biggest showing to date. The demos were fantastic, I watched Matthew Parkinson forge a kitchen knife, there was a fella who made some fantastic medieval looking lights that were amazing I wish I could have got a picture but the place was packed. Sadly I didn't get to see Ric Furer's demo as it was Sunday I wasn't able to make it then. For blacksmiths its a paradise. Anvils, post vises, steel, and pretty much everything you could want as far as the eyes can see. I bought a nice giant vertical forge for a song and if I wasn't looking for a house I may have picked up a 100lb little giant as the prices were pretty good. So enough rambling on to the photos! These were just awesome and the last two actually played! Not sure how to insert photos on the new code so I'll make a couple posts so my descriptions match. This anvil / swage transformer was pretty cool and massive Looks like the board will format it for me, posts are getting merged These were some youth knives in the display area This bike was really cool. The attention to detail was incredible. Note the handle bars are tongs, I missed that the first couple times I looked at it. It ran too he was driving it up and down the rows of vendors. I saw this guy last year and thought it was pretty cool. And finally my new vertical forge. It needs lined, a burner and a blower but I paid a hundred dollars for it so I'm pretty happy with the deal. It will take up to about an 8" stack of damascus if I so desire Far more than I need now or in the near future but eventually that 100 pound hammer will land in my shop... Well I hope you guys enjoy them. If anyone else was there and has some pictures please post them I'd love to see them. So much there I no doubt missed stuff. In addition to the forge I picked up about 4' of 1" cable, a couple of hammers for cheap and a few small things I'm forgetting. Didn't buy a whole lot, but I went there for some tom tongs and the guy that usually sells them wasn't there this year due to illness. I got to see some new and old friends and I met and had a chat with IFI's own Steve Sells All in all it was another fantastic time and I'm looking forward to next years. -Clint

Thanks Alan that is fantastic advice. And I'm glad you mentioned working on the dove tails first because in my haste I would have kept going on the dies and realized that afterwards which would likely have lead to loud cursing. I'm calling engineers blue dykem and plan to go that route. Fortunately the last tool I brought back to life was my surface grinder and it may see some action when I'm making the wedges. I'm going to try to get this as squared up and true as I can. Thanks again -Clint

No worries Alan, I appreciate the opinions. If I was doing mostly blacksmithing stuff I wouldn't have messed with the shape of the dies at all. But with the way I come across the dies length-wise I had to even them out some. I'm not really doing any major drawing as I'm starting with bar stock and drawing the blade out from spine to edge along the length of the dies. The dies are definitely hardened but I have plenty of grinders and belts so I made some good progress last trip out to the shop. A little more hogging to do then I will even them both up and move on to the dove tails. Looks like I'm going to go with the files and arm power and true them up a bit then check for fit with dykem as mentioned above. I just don't want the dovetails to crack or break off. I got a good deal on this hammer and its in fantastic shape and I want it to last another 80 or so years. But I won't deny it gets harder and harder to look at it sitting idle each time I make it out to the shop! I'll post updates as I work on it. -Clint

Alan its primary purpose will be for bladesmithing. How I've been trained and what I have been told the best dies by far are what were referred to as "Euro" dies (the last photo). And now that I have practiced on several small and large hammers I'm not sure how I would use two different sized dies with any success. -Clint

I started grinding the top die down after a little fighting to get it out. I want it to be flatter like the lower die is. Once I finish that I will clean up the dove tails. Not sure I am brave enough to try a router, 78 did you slow yours down with a reostat or something? Mine runs at some ludicrously high rpm. I may get tired of hand filing and try it. Either way its going to start hammering metal. Tired of looking at it idle and I just picked up a massive vertical ford for damascus! I'll keep you guys posted. -Clint

Interesting stuff Frosty, good to know! I've been forging for a little over a year and here's what I've found so far. Coke definitely creates less smoke while working the fire. When burning only coke I can pretty much keep the smoke to practically non existent aside from getting it started. It burns very clean for me. The downsides are getting it started is a real pain. I can't get it started without using charcoal or wood. Keeping it lit is also difficult compared to coal. It doesn't clump like coal. With coal I can make a "cave" out of the coal so its hot on the sides, top and bottom. Coke pieces won't stick to each other. It also burns very hot for me and find it much easier to over heat my steel with it. I get more clinkers with coke also which I've found odd. I love coal. I like the smell, I like how easy it is to maintain a fire, I like how easy it starts... I don't like the smoke when I'm coking coal though. By comparison I can start a coal fire with one sheet of newspaper. I get less clinkers and find my temperatures are easier to manage with coal. Over time I'll probably have different experiences with each and right now I may have to go back to coke to limit the smoke. But so far I'll take coal over coke. As Frosty said get a bag of each and find out which one you like better. Once you've decide you can mix them to use up the one you don't like as much.

The hammer runs fine and was in use when I bought it. Aside from the dies and motor it appears to be completely original and well cared for. I couldn't find any evidence of cracks or welding but I may remove the paint and double check before repainting it. Not sure if I'm going to go through all that yet. Just want to get this sorted first and go from there.

I thought it looked like a weld bead also. I figured if so they were filling a dip or something. What would be your concerns?

The main reason is because everything I've read said it is important that the key rests flush with the die and dovetails or else it will wear improperly and could break off the dovetail. Since this guy doesn't have the removable sow block I'd like to prevent that as best I can. I'd also like to replace the dies, the pair that was included are not really to my liking. Would you guys use a file? I'm not sure I could get an angle grinder in there and truthfully I don't know that I would use one even if I could for fear of removing too much material. Ultimately I'd like to have a pair of dies in it like the photo below. -Clint

Hey Guys, I figured another Mayer Bros thread was just what the forum needed One of the few issues I've found with my hammer is the lower dovetails look worn to me. There is hardly any angle compared to what I see in photos and literature. So my question to you guys is how would you fix it? You can see from the photos that the top dovetails look pretty good but the bottom is almost a straight up and down. I do have Kern's book and a pdf from Sid, I believe, but none of them really detail what process and tools to use. I think the book says use a mill which is not an option! Also would you grind into the dovetail or grind the die and just clean the dovetail up? Thanks -Clint

Hey Larry, its funny you mention this as I'm about to make a post on my 25lber because the dies do not match up and I want to use it for knifemaking and would like more precision. I'm thinking of regrinding mine until I can get some steel and make my own. I've asked on here about making them and I know a lot of guys do. It was recommended I look at some scrap forklift tines. As far as actually making them or star hammers I'm afraid I can't be much help but I'm sure they folks here will chime in. Your Mayer Bros hammer is coming along nicely btw. -Clint

Cool video, quite impressive. I would have thought Thor's hammer would have been forged in Valhalla, go figure.

I feel compelled to read this book for no other reason than it being written by someone named Lord Bacon.