clinton

I think you made a good choice to buy a hammer over building one. I think building a hammer would take up way more time than one would estimate. (It would for me at least) You would spend much time researching and tracking down all the parts. Then add on the time to cut, grind, assemble parts. I would look at the Say-Mak self contained hammer, it would take up more floor space but you do not need a compressor to run it Contact Neal Steelworks (503) 440-1073

When I light my gas forge I just put a small piece of brown paper in there and light it- then I turn the gas on slowly to each burner (my forge has 2 burners) Once it is lit I open the valves a little more untill I get a good flame in there. I have seen guys get lit up with propane- one guy on a cutting torch opened the gas valve then began looking for a striker= a big ball of flame covering his upper body and head- no more eyebrows all facial hair singed, hair singed badly. He was not seriously hurt but badly embarrassed.

So you will be forging locks on rocks? Brent Bailey does some amazing very clean work, I would love to get one of his carpenters hammers (note to the misses) hint hint

Well he may think it is a tool if you look at how it fits in the "Anvil" I bet somone will buy it

Heidi- Ho neighbor I am in Salinas, I know Kirk form CBA events. I have a shop at my house if you feel like stopping by sometime, I maybe able to help you in finding some tools also. I have recently gotten into metal detecting as well but I need a better one (of course)

I use the 3-m respirator when I am welding (usually galvanised metal or structural steel) On stainless I do not use anything as there is very little smoke created (yes there are fumes) not good for you. http://www.ramweldingsupply.com/products-view.mcic?s=5134

I have been wearing the Carhart Bibs or pants for welding at work for around 15 years now. I get the ones with the double layer on the front of the legs. Getting real hard to find ones that are made in the US now, but if you look hard you can find them (the ones made in Mexico do not fit the same). I have not burned myself up yet with just the regular ones and I have done some structural welding along the way, welding with around 250 amps (pretty hot)

Don- I just got a broom from the hardware store and took the top piece off, then forged a piece of 1 inch pipe down for the socket. It is held in by drilling a 1/8 inch hole through the side and I used a piece of welding rod to pin it in place. Brian- I guess I misspoke, and yes there are some variables involved, this was a big chunk of iron to get hot, I had to use a glove on my hammer hand it was putting off a lot of heat.

Thanks Jake, it was a challenge for me. I spent a lot of time getting the fit up right. The main upright is 3/4 inch so I forged a tab on the end of each leg that was 1 inch by 1/4 inch, so the corners would be filled,(each one laps over to one side) This shows the fit up of the legs and the main upright without the collar. I have hear Brian Brazeal tell people that this is the easiest type of forge weld to make. This one had a lot of mass to it so it needed a good heat to get to welding temp. I would not say it was easy but I did get it done and it was a good learning experience.

Someone must have thought it was a good deal, it seems to be gone now. Did you get it?

I would say no its not worth that to me. It maybe worth it to someone else. Antique dealers will not usually lower a price, they will often have things on consignment so they get a portion of the sale- lower price= less money in their pocket.

Could I weld another piece on? With the mig welder sure. Doing another forge weld on this I would have surely ruined it. And after all the work it took me to get this far that would not be good. My first "attempt" at the base of this went into the scrap pile. I wanted to forge the bottom into a hexagon with a point. I got it forged but in the process it worked the legs down to until they were too thin to support the load. The bottom of this one just has a crude ball forged to avoid this mishap.

Good job on the table, and just getting the pictures uploaded at all has been a challenge for some lately.

Thanks guys- and Phil you are right on the final, my plan was to make a loop like on the tools but when I was drawing it out it started to split open on me so I put some more flux, got it to welding heat and was able to get it back together. After that I decided to go with the point (design change). The balls on the end of the arms do foul you up so I left the loops open enough to slip over the arm. I may add some twisting to the main post on the stand, everyone always says how much they like a twist. (They do not know true workmanship but a twisted bar is just so neat)

This is the best advise I have heard, monstermetal- if the trail is still warm I would be digging through every scrap bin in the yard. This stuff can not be replaced it must be found. Tweekers are a problem everywhere, should be open season on them

Use clinker to start a fire? I would like to see that, just because it is on youtube does not mean its right

Well that is about what an anvil sells for here in CA, unless you get lucky. You may want to ask if they will take payments, maybe $25.00 a month and when you get a job pay it in full and take it home with you. You would be paying full price but if the anvil is in good shape it would be worth it in the long run.

I made this fire place set a couple of weeks ago, now I can post some pictures. I am going to be selling at a flea market in Dec. This is a flea market that is held once a month a Deanza College in Cupertino, CA. They get 15,000- 20,000 shoppers on a good day, a friend told me that crafters do well here, so for $30.00 I get a 14x14 space. So I made this set using the forge welded bundle that I learned from Brian Brazeal. It has the bundle top and bottom to hold the arms on. The arms were forged out of 1/2 inch round stock and the feet were 3/4 inch round. The tools are just a simple basic design that I have used in the past, not too fancy just quick and easy.

I try to test as I go, but sometimes they do stack up.

There is an anchor in a neighbors yard that he recovered from the floor of the Monterey Bay, here are a couple of shots, may help for reference. I tried to get this guy to sell me this anchor but he wants to keep it. And don't forget the chain (so no one takes it)

Those look good, and that looks like a proper way to test them- with a good German beer. Now I have to go to Bevmo and find some of that beer so I can do some "testing" of my own.

Ya they are drilled- the focus is on the kelp, the frame could be made in several different ways, my idea is that this element could be used for many items- fire place screen, gates, railings, doors, ect, ect many other possibilities I am sure. The kelp is just sitting in the frame it can be turned (more drilled holes)

You need to re-size photos now. I was finally able to figure this out with the advise from David Einhorn given in another post. My pictures were around 90kb 100x75 pixels worked for me

Thanks Macbruce- I ended up using 3/4 inch bar stock for the frame (I have a bunch of it) I ran it through the flat dies to get rid of the factory look. I wanted to keep the frame simple, this is just a sample and the product is the kelp. I think by keeping the frame simple it will allow people to focus on just the kelp. I made the panel of a size that can be taken to the customers site so they can see how it would look in their setting. It measures 32 inches wide by 46 inches tall

One thing I can suggest is that when you are welding you want to start by getting some good tacks on each side, then check your square again. welding will cause distortion and things will move when you weld them. This can be corrected by welding on the other side. Clamping things in place or using temporary spreaders can help to control distortion. I like to get things fit up and then step back and look at it- your eye can pick up on something that is out of whack and you can fix it before you weld it up (a lot easier). I will make small welds and move around to the other side or a different part, this helps to control distortion also. Attending the build would be a great idea, looks like it is not too far from you