Shop Tips n' Tricks

I've been using powdered graphite punch lube ($5 per pound at the local John Deere dealer) for a while now and really like it's performance characteristics, but application was tricky. I tried squirting the dry powder, and mixing up a paste with water, but didn't like the mess or the steam blowing it off my tools and work pieces respectively. My solution was to mix it into a thick paste with linseed oil as the liquid. I can dip in a tool or paint it on with a chip brush, little mess and it mostly sticks where I want it to. Plus when I knock the container over there is a minute or two before it spills.

Our old blacksmith shop is looking tired and I have decided it needs a make-over. We want to make it more accessible to visitors, so that they can walk in and get a close look at the anvils, forge, bellows and tools etc. I have posted some pics of the shop as it looks now - a bit of a disorganised mess. I want to group the tools together - tongs, punches, hardies, etc and add some labels explaining what they are. There are hundreds of tongs and all different shapes, sizes and uses some of which are a complete mystery. I hope I may be able to post a pic or two of some items to help me in identifying some of these things. This is not my everyday work forge of course. M…

Stealing an idea from the preppers, I've decided to keep my canola oil in the freezer, in its original jugs. Should keep it from oxidizing so much between uses. Note the labeling of the caps.

I recently replaced the handle of a ball pein hammer that has been with me from the start of my auto body career. I dressed up the new handle and got their junk off of it sanded it down and gave it a burned look as well as gave it a beeswax/linseed finish. After all this work and cleaning up the head ( since it had been such a good hammer to me) I thought about why I had to replace the handle in the first place. Over strikes! I don't know if this would happen much in black smithing but there could be times and it's simple to protect a nice new handle from certain unjust cruelty. The fix is simple. A section of leather around just under the head then punch some holes …

I like RivNuts. If one's smithy be a shack, a shed, or a pallet glom, a rivnut and some unistrut for mee's the bom.

Very hot and humid weather this week, making for sweaty hands, slipping handles, and blisters. It occurred to me to grab some weightlifter' chalk, which helped immensely.

To relieve hard edges in swages, (or even to smoothe out mistakes, welds etc), grinding your metal with a twisted wire wheel or twisted wire cup brush whilst your metal's hot is a real time saver compared to filing. Very controlable too.

Since I moved o Italy a short while ago, I have been wondering about the many terms we use for our metalworking tools. I'd love to see someone post some of the tools' names in different languages!

A pal of mine just turned me on to this process whereby you can transfer a copied image onto a piece clean,smooth metal. It's very handy for laying out images onto your workpiece for reposse type layouts or in my case for Zipmax work..... First, your copies can not be made on a bubble jet printer, it must be a laser printer that only uses black toner. I had to go to Staples to do mine. Second, clean the metal, tape the image FACE DOWN on the metal pour on some acetone, rub the paper with a clean cloth or paper towel firmly till the acetone all evaporates and bida bing! The toner ink transfers to the metal and is very tough, you have to rub it hard with Scotch Brite …

A comment about jacks elsewhere reminded me of a post I did awhile back I thought I'd share that might help those of us who occasionally need to repair or replace fences and gates and need to remove posts. I had to take down a fence damaged in the storm back in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy for a customer. Needed to pull a few 6x6 fence posts and thought some might find this useful, It's probably old stuff for guys like me who are used to running equipment or fence guys, but some others might not be aware of this. Earlier that summer I also had a few 6x6 posts to pull and replace in a barn for a customer and picked up one of the HF farm jacks. I'd have preferred a bett…

Avoid the noise from the bar of the vice....put an O-ring ( it worts ! ) .

I though of something a minute ago when commenting on shipping things. If you've never used shrink wrap, you need to try it some time. I keep one of those small 4" rolls on the truck all the time. It's perfect for securing hard to bind items like small steel rods and flat stock. Duct tape also works well, but can leave a sticky residue. Down side of shrink wrap is it can be a bit "fragile" on the roll. Drop it and ding the edges and the wrap wants to tear rather than stretch when using it. I like to keep it in it's own little cardboard box so things don't ding it up when it's not being used in the truck. Same goes for the bigger rolls. One good use for big rolls o…

Please post pictures what you have repurposed for your shop.

If my pics upload at right angles, clicking on them usually rotates them back to their correct orientation. Not sure these are commonly used or not... Mag drill vise bracket, speaks for itself really. Made mine in a hurry from scrap RSJ & a couple bits of angle. If your pillar drill has keyless chuck and does up too tight on larger diameter bits a strap wrench around the collar gives you better grip to undo the chuck easily.

This may be total obvious to some and ridiculously basic but I see many a smith with their anvils not fastened down properly. I know many now use fabricated anvil stands but I have always liked stumps. This method is a quick, simple and inexpensive way to fasten your anvil down. It also requires no special tools other than a hammer, forge, hardie and anvil. Pictured below is my 400 lb anvil held down with 8 spikes forged from 5/8" square steel. We regularly strike on this anvil and it has not come lose to date. It may be a bit old fashioned for some of you new school smiths but it works well for me in a professional setting. I started out with a 24" bar of …

If you are looking for software solution to organize digital files I am sorry, this is not the topic you are looking for I never had a satisfying solution to store my key files in way that -they don´t touch each other -they are visible so I don´t have to search very long -is cheap and fast to make -is extensible Behold, the Multichamber File Management System, MC-FMS: Over 40 files in those 2 displays. I used left-overs from some Multichamber roofing sheets, cut them to length and taped one side shut. Done.

I'm working on a floral gate commission at the minute that uses a lot of small diameter round bar steel wrapped around the frame (leaf stems and climbing shoots) and I realized I needed a way of calculating steel lengths for the wraps etc. After a bit of research I came across braid on braid mariners rope which is sold (in the UK at least) in the same diameters as round bar steel, which is very handy. I'm sure there's lots of other objects that will do the same job but some plus points are - it's perfectly round, if you're careful with it it doesn't kink and will hold it's round shape when bending/wrapping it at sharp angles, it's pre-stretched, it's colourful so it's eas…

Other than French chalk, what pens and pencils do you use in yout workshop and for what application? I.e hot work, cold work, precise marking out, colour coding...

I came up with this in the process of overhauling my workshop, and the last big change is going to be throwing out the improvised wooden table that held my belt sander, and replace it with a sturdy workbench that will hold at least 2 of those grinders, and possibly 3 sometime in the future. anyway, aside from being sturdy, I wanted the thing to have no legs. The wall itself was not 100% flat, so that made it impossible to just buy wall hooks for supporting my workbench. They would not be level or equal. And most of the off-the-shelf stuff is not for for heavy loads anyway. So I bought a load of steel L beams, roughly 3/16" thick, 1.5" wide. First I mounted the vertical b…

I'm probably jumping the gun by posting this as I've not used the stuff yet on metalwork (though I have no reason to think it won't work) but I thought I'd post whilst it's on my mind... I heard about this stuff called Sugru on the radio a while ago, it's a moldable putty that hardens, not rock hard but kinda dent-with-your-fingernail hard. The inventor said she originally made it from a mix of decorator's caulk and saw dust. Anyway, it comes in a variety of colours and is good for fixing a million and one things, Google it. Reason I'm posting about it is because I make bowls, sometimes with feet, so I'm going to try using it on the bottom of the feet so they won't scratc…

Hello easy to build , this simple tool makes many services . Pascal

Making a Cyclekart with my son, it uses motorcycle wheels. Had to take a motorcycle tire off the rim so I could drill mounting holes. Didn't have the special spoon tool for removing the tire. So I used a holdfast. Normally used for holding metal down on the anvil. It worked great. I also used my post vise to hold the tire. Going to make a couple spoon tool before I put it back on.

I have found that steel wool buts a nice finish on aluminum, steel and copper in a relatively short amount of time. It is easier to work with than sandpaper and creates a very uniform look. To remove a coating it would be easies to wire brush first, then use the steel wool. The wire brush is more abrasive and can clean rust good, the wool is better for polishing, but I have gotten some pretty decent results from the wool in seconds. It is good for removing the patina of copper. Sorry if this is already mentioned somewhere here.

I bought some magnetic strips on sale at harbor freight and finally got around to putting them up. While I have a backboard on my workbench with lots of hangers, the magnetic strips are great for oddball shaped items. Anyway, the big thing to note for those who might want to try this...prepare to use 2 strips. One strip is ok for small stuff like jigsaw blades, screwdriver bits, SMALL files, etc, but my longer punches, bigger files, etc all needed 2 strips (spaced a couple inches apart). With 2 strips most of the stuff you may want to hang should hold....if you plan on magnetic strips for hammers...you might consider stacking 3-4 to get it to hold (anything over 2 lbs…

Greetings all, Tired of looking for that just right spacer for your post vice . I thought i would pass this on for the newbies and the pros . I made these from some scrap I had from a parking meter.. You can make them easy from some 1/8 x 1 flat stock.. drill some 3/8 holes Put a a 5/16 by 6in round bar through with key chain earrings... It works slick ... I put some of these in IRON IN THE HAT and the pros were fighting over them... go figure they are easy to make.... MOST OF THE TIME THE SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE IS THE BEST ( comments welcome ) Jim