Shop Tips n' Tricks

What are some of the most useful ideas blacksmithing or otherwise you have run across? Large, small, simple, complex, as long as they were useful. A little explanation would be helpful as well.

There are so many. I was comparing these two letter openers, and it got me thinking. Here's a picture of two items that are 95% identical, but it's the little 5% that makes it go from rather crummy to something nice looking. Tell us about a little thing you do in your shop that makes a BIG difference.

Some classic methods for measuring curves in a drawing or on a curved workpiece: 1. Step off 1” intervals (or whatever unit is appropriate for the particular piece) with a pair of dividers. 2. Use a dressmaker’s flexible tape measure. (Make sure that the workpiece isn’t hot, or it could melt or burn the tape.) 3. Lay a length of string along the curve, mark the ends of the curve, straighten the string, and measure between the marks. 3a. The same thing can be done with copper or iron wire or a coil of solder. And here’s a new one, a variation of the classic wheelwright’s traveller: If you have a pizza cutter with a 2-3/4” wheel, its circumference…

It is the time of the year in Maryland where the wood bees and mosquitos come out and love to harass innocent blacksmiths- but I have a solution! go to the store, buy a bag of espresso ground coffee, add some to a dish (it will get very stained, so a metal dish or ceramic dish you don’t care about) and light it on fire like incense. the smell is bearable, but bugs hate it. It can clear out a 20x20 shop easy, and it burns steadily depending on how much you have.

The SLAG is back! Have a look at the embedded topic. It is extremely useful tips (hacks), or (truc), for the house and shop. Actually some of them are really superb, that I wish that I had known years earlier. Here Are 13 "Life Hacks" That I Wish I Learned Sooner (msn.com) Enjoy! SLAG.

So I started on round three of trying to cut a piece off this forklift tine... This time I remembered that I had a pneumatic rotary grinder and some cutoff wheels I got at a recent auction. It did not take too long to figure out that this tool was consuming quite a bit of air from my 10 gallon compressor, causing the grinder to bog down and making me wait for pressure to build back up. So I brought out my 3 gallon compressor and hooked up the spare air fitting on the 10 gallon with a line to the 3 gallon. I had done this before while I was doing some blasting, 30 percent more air. The grinder was able to run all out for a while longer before I had to stop. The 3…

A couple of ideas from the Prospect Hill Forge blacksmithing school in Waltham, MA. A combination wire brush and flux spoon, for easier forge-weld prep: (Also in this photo is one of their flexible “mats”, for shorter students to stand on to put them at the proper height relative to the anvil. It’s made of thick boards drilled through and strung on thin steel cable. They have two or three in different thicknesses.) A figure-8 loop of thin coil spring, to keep your vise handle where you left it:

I worked out a new (to me, at least) way to cut a wide kerf with a hacksaw -- in this case to cut an internal keyway in a gear hub. First, I ganged two blades in the saw and cut a kerf to the appropriate depth. Then I took one of the blades out and reinstalled it upside-down (teeth toward the saw frame). I found a piece of sheet metal a little thinner than a hacksaw blade, cut an narrow shim, and placed it against one side of the kerf. Then I put the saw back in the kerf, with the reversed blade against the shim. The shim forced the live blade to cut beyond the edge of the existing cut; the reversed blade rode along the shim without destroying it. I went to …

I borrowed a hammer drill from a friend and was struck by where he stores the chuck key.

I have a six foot length of 3/4-10 threaded rod. Dad had it driven into the ground at the Old Place, to stake a tree. As I often clamp bolts in the "vise", I usually double-nut the bolt, and clamp on the nuts, to protect the thread, and to increase grip force. This rod is in need of Restoration: Just try running a nut three feet down that. Hence, the Split nut, to hold the rod securely, especially in a leg vise, whilst I treat it with 40% ascetic acid (strong vinegar), followed by a massive cup wheel. Works so well, I am sure that I will be using these for other work - think straightening threads on the press....... Robert Taylor

Folks, Just when I started to suspect that I knew everything, (not really), I ran into this video. There may some tips, in it, that might prove useful for each reader. Regards, SLAG click here

This is an interesting trick to easily make a super strong electromagnet. If you take a 1 foot length of 4 and a half inch pipe and tack it horizontally off the edge of say.....a metal work table, you can wrap your ground cable neatly and tightly into a coil. I had to tack a piece of flat iron to the front to keep the cable from falling off the edge. The longer your ground is the better. Wrap the entire cable as evenly as possible working it from left to right about 6 or 7 turns a row. When you have 2 or 3 feet of cable left, clamp the end of it to the work table. Adjust your amperage (current) to a hot temp. Adjust your wire speed too if using a mig. The smoother …

rather than empty and refilling 5 gal of water every time I use the forge, I was thinking of a heater for the slack tub. I do have plenty of power 120/240v 100 amp. So I looked at small heated horse water tanks at tractor supply, but fear due to them being made of plastic. I have though of immersing an Aquarium tank heater, but would have to remove when in use. Also wrapping the bucket with heat trace tape, which can remain in place. Rather that attempt to reinvent the wheel what are others doing ? Sign me off as Shivering in Indiana :)

You guys have any idea what they used to mess around with this stove? Like moving the coal, open the door without getting burn, etc.

Recently purchased a Viking Shot Blaster with a tumble basket. It removed the job of sand blasting and wire wheeling the tools I make. The largest batch of hammers I have done right after forging is 30 and that took fifteen minutes. That batch is whats in the photo. Their is a 7 1/2 hp motor that flings the steel shot upwards onto the tumbling hammers. It will find it self into all the crevices and cracks easily.

Hey all, I'm a super newbie to all things blacksmithing, so I can't offer much to the site on those topics, but I a fair amount of work with metal...welding, cutting, restoring, etc. One of my hobbies is restoring bench vises, and removing rust is a common task. I've used most of the common techniques, to include electrolysis, wire wheel, etc but one of the easiest is a product called Evaporust. I understand it's a chelation process, and the nice thing is it's not hazardous, non-toxic and generally pretty harmless. I just started restoring an old Paker 975 vise (5" jaws, about 105lbs) and the swivel base was pretty rusty. I would normally just wire wheel som…

I just recently repaired a cabinet full of burnt wiring and welded contactors. Everything had worked for three years before the client noticed an operational problem. Long story short, the bolts on the contactor lugs weren't tight. Given enough time and opportunity, an insufficiently tightened lug will start arcing, burning, etc. In this particular case, it got so bad that some of the contactor terminals burnt apart, others welded, wires were scorched, just not good. I suspect I know the root cause of this situation. The bolts on the contactor lugs are multi-headed to accept phillips or straight bladed screwdrivers. Cordless drills are very common and phillips b…

I have an old work/welding table that is 3' X 5'. I haven't really cleaned it in 20 years. I would just grind or wire brush a small area to get a ground. I have used it for everything and as a result, it has 20 years of different colored paint. I'm going to clean the entire table now. I'm using an electric angle grinder with a twisted wire wheel and a grinder with a grinding disk that is most likely 36 grit. I was thinking that a solution of some sort may help the process? I was thinking of vinegar since it will help taking off rust. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

The 2 most common mistakes that beginners make are: Not getting the steel hot enough. Not using the right tongs for the stock they are trying to forge. Most beginners are so anxious to work that they don't let the steel get hot enough, before they pull it out of the forge. You want your steel a good bright orange. A corollary to this mistake is that they hammer too long, before putting the steel back into the fire. Hammering the steel at the right temperature just works so much easier, in the long run it takes less time. You end up with a better quality end product. Using the correct tongs is a safety issue. If you are not using the tongs properly sized and shaped…

Fellow metal enthusiasts, I just bumped into this site showing shop hacks. They are too good, not to share. The only suggestion that I do not advise is lubricating screws with soap. Use wax. Soap is hygroscopic. That is, it attracts water vapor from the air, and that could loosen the screw, and/or cause rust, and stain the wood. Try, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxviTLVjvDQ Enjoy, SLAG.

Like everyone else, I've long been using Johnson's Paste Floor Wax to coat the stuff I make. I never really had any reason to question it, and buying a little tub of JPFW was sure easier than trying to brew up my own concoction. You can imagine my displeasure, then, when I went down to the store to get a new tub and was quickly informed that they no longer carried it. To say that I was a bit miffed would be an understatement. The fellow at the counter pointed me to this new-fangled stuff called Minwax Paste Floor Wax and told me that it was pretty much the same thing. Looking at the tin of the stuff, I marveled at the similarities between it and the Johnson's…

What tips/tricks/advice have you learned as a blacksmith and made your own? (anything from "I drizzle Yankee Candle wax over my coke so my forge smells good" to "Coors light is the best quenching medium")

I'm having problems with moisture condensating on surfaces in my shop, namely my anvil and (propane) forge. (I know this is not a good thing for the liner, I take extra cautions to preheat slowly) I started working out of my detached garage around 3 months ago in the dead of winter and this issue had not occurred to me. Now that spring is -kind of- here in the Midwest we are seeing rain almost every day. A powered dehumidifier is not sufficient for the space, and I'd rather not throw more money into my electric bill. Does anyone else have this issue, and what are your solutions?

Just ran into this list of very clever hacks concerning all manner of subject matter. (including some, work shop and smithy ideas) It's worth a look through. SLAG.

This is so obvious it may not even warrant being called a tip. It seems on a par with "if you're cold, put a jumper on". In any case...a 5W LED on a magnetic base stuck to the side of your power hammer can help from time to time.