ofafeather

Thanks Tony. No worries. Good advice is good advice and I wouldn't have known hold old you are if you didn't say.

Nice! If I get the run-in shed for a smithy they come with 1" thick oak kick boards that go 4' up the interior walls. I was going to ask if they could leave them off but maybe that would be a decent interior wall and I can get some sheet metal to finish off the rest of the walls.

Is a building that is built on skids a good enough surface for anvil work? (Our current shed). I think the specs on it are pretty good. It has 12" OC floor joists and 3/4" TG plywood floors. I could finish the interior or leave in bare to the studs. Reading Frosty's post seems to suggest that if I finish it it would have to go all the way to insure integrity against hot steel in the nooks and crannies. One argument against finishing is I hate doing Sheetrock taping and muddying. Any new building would likely be the run-in shed style which I would not finish the interior of. If I did have the wood and metal shop in the same building I would probably use my Festool dust extractor and use separate bags for metal cleanup vs wood. I would have to do a decent clean in between uses, but that would be a good work policy anyway. Would that work?

I think if I get the combo I might be able to put a sliding door over the run-in shed side that would go over the shed side. Guess we'll see what the options are.

HI All, Been out of the loop for a while. We've moved, built a house and left our free standing open-sided shop with our old home. We added a 12' x 20' out building shed that we use to store the mower, mortorcycle, tires, garden stuff, etc. http://www.bradsbarns.com/buildings/sheds/a-frame-deluxe/ (Similar to the Duratemp A frame deluxe pictured but with 2 sets of double doors) We're thinking of turning this into a workshop/smithy. This is the type of wood building that is installed in one piece so it is on skids and has a floor. Can this be used as a smithy? I have a gas forge on a wheeled stand and the anvils are on stumps which can be moved. It's unfinished inside (wood frame) but we have electrical outlets and lights. I would probably also use it for my wood shop. I realize that metal shavings and wood shavngs can cause a spark hazard for dust collection so I plan to make sure the work areas are cleaned separetely and not in use at the same time. We are looking at possibly getting another building of a similar size and have options there, too. One could be a run-in type shed on a gravel base with one side open. The one thing I don't like about this type of building is that we live in an area that often has high winds and that would leave anything inside potentially exposed to rain and snow. I like the 2 bay one with the lean-to. We most likely will not run electricity to this building but may get solar lights or something if needed. http://www.bradsbarns.com/buildings/horse-barns/run-in-sheds/ The problem is that this would have to house the smithy, zero turn mower, motorcycle with sidecar and garden she'd, then the other would become just the wood shop. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks! Eric

Had a chance to work on it today a bit. Cleaned up really well. Went at it a little with the 60 then hit it with the 120. Overall, I'm pleased. I am glad that I picked up a variable speed grinder. For something like this I was only at 2-3, with 6 being the fastest.

Thanks for the great input. I have got 60, 80 and 120 grit flap discs. I know I probably have some belts around, too, if I need them. I hand started to work with files and some emery cloth strips that I have but it was taking way too long. Not really looking to reshape much but the tip is fairly heavily mushroom and the are chisel marks on the upper surfaces of the table and horns (face is pretty clean). The lots of marks on the sides and bottom of the horn. I believe these are probably punch marks. I'm going to leave the ones near the bottom for now but want to clean up the sides. Thanks again!

Also, do you have a preferred brand of disc?

Hi, All, I'm picking up a 4.5/5" angle grinder and have an anvil that could use some help on the horn. There are some chisel cut marks and some other indents that I would like to take out and would also like to refine the tip. Someone suggested that I use a flap disc/wheel but I am wondering what grits to use. Also, to refine the edges of the face. Thanks. Eric

Hi, All, I'm dismantling a standard full-size boxspring. (The thing that goes under a mattress) Anyone know what kind of steel is used for the springs and if it's worth saving? I'm taking it apart regardless but just want to know if the metal is worth keeping. Thanks! Eric

Guess our posts crossed - sorry to be redundant.

Ian, It's not that all the weight is in the middle but more that the center of gravity or balance point is in the middle so that if you're working with the full face or pein the balance is the same. Many hammers are weight forward toward the face side which means that it naturally wants to pull straight down. This is useful for some things but not if you're angling the hammer to use the edges as fullers, or for other techniques. Hofi's technique is almost as if you were throwing the hammer - you use your fingers more to guide the hammer than to hold it and the grip is fairly loose. A weight forward hammer would require more grip for any blow angled to the sides. With a sledge, the same principal applies in that with the center balance you can control the angle of delivery well. I believe most traditional sledges with 2 full faces are balanced that way. The difference is usually in a hammer that has a face and a pein because the mass is not equally distributed on both sides of the eye. That's my understanding, at least.

Some people also say that we have two ears and only one mouth because we're supposed to listen twice as much as we talk.

Thanks! That sounds like a good plan.

Eric, I know what you mean! One time I was on a photography forum and a topic was titled something like "How to shoot children". As a teacher I had the same feeling - context really makes a difference! ~Eric Wiener

Here's a link to the item: http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/Templates/cart_templates/cart-detail.php?theLocation=/Resources/Products/Anvil_Tools_and_Swages/Spring_Fuller It's basically a 1" rectangular shank bored to accept two 1/2" rods perpendicular to the shank. The lower of the two would rest on the anvil. The upper rod is forged with a flat section, which becomes the spring. It seats in the far side of the shank, the spring section arches over the shank the returns the fuller rod parallel to the bottom rod. The upper hole seems perfectly intact but has some scale or such in it that restricts the hole. The lower hole is seriously distorted. My thought is to drift back to round and as close to final size as I can. My concern is that if I drift to 1/2" I don't know what the final size will be when it cools. I can drift larger but don't have a good selection of stock in in-between sizes to make a 17/32" or so drift and don't quite yet have the forging skills to forge a perfect cylinder in which case I'll probably end up with a larger than necessary not quite round hole! Oh, well. I may even forge a new shank out of mild steel then drill but would need to buy bits for that size. What to do? What to do?

Hi, All. I bought one of Grant's spring fullers and reforged the shank to fit my hardy hole - grinding was taking forever. In the process I manage to deform one of the holes that the fullering rods go into. I am wondering if I am better of drilling the holes or drifting them? The next question is size. The rods are 1/2" in. Does that call for a 1/2" hole? What size does the drift have to be to get a half inch finished hole? Thanks! Eric

Thanks, All, Hopefully I'll get a chance to forge a bit today and try some things out. I'll let you know how I fare over my next several attempts.

Definitely hot rolled, except for the occasional cold rolled.

Rich, you make good points. I take no offense at and I certainly can use more forge time. I believe though, that there is a combination of factors that cause the problem, as is often the case. I can tell you that the steel is worked HOT. I believe my issue is more related to BigfootNampa's description than to cold steel. The pendulum effect is what I was trying to describe but could not think of the words. I had heard Brian Brazeal mention the same thing. I think if I were able to forge in less heats it would minimize the problem. I don't believe that I am overheating the stem. It is possible, but I haven't seen any part of it go past orange. It is getting heated many times, though, without being forged. Nampa, you mention quenching...is that good or bad? I only really quench when I need to. Should I quench parts that I am not going to be working? I'll certainly be working on making more, hopefully in less heats. Just looking to see how I can improve things. Thanks!

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm using mild steel and necking in on a very worn anvil edge from 2 sides 90 degrees apart. The neck seems to be fine as I work on the leaf or draw down the stem. It's only has I approach completion that I find there are some cracks right at the join. Typically this area is worked HOT and first so I'm inclined to think that the stress somehow comes when I'm working the other areas. Could that be? When I get home I'll take a picture of the one I made yesterday.

Hi, All, I've been working on forging items with leaf or spade shape finials, such as hooks or key chains. I seem to always get cracking near where the finial meets the stem. I usually start my tapering the end then necking in to isolate the material for the finial. I have tried forging the finial next then drawing down the stem material. I have also tried drawing down the stem first then forging the leaf. I am getting cracks both ways. Can anyone give me an idea of how to avoid this? Thanks! Eric

Checked my records. It was $155 including shipping.

It's really fantastic. And, yes, it moves metal! I've especially learned to use the rounding hammer side and the different edges on the flat side to move metal more efficiently too. I think it was called the modified and cost about $155. He also made a beautiful center punch for me, too. I would absolutely buy another Brent Bailey hammer in a heart beat. He spent a lot of time on the phone with me, too. As far as weight goes, I already had a 3lb Hofi hammer and wanted something a bit lighter. The head on this is about 2+ pounds (don't have an exact #) and the handle makes the extra weight. My next goal though (besides getting some more hammer time) is to take some lessons with Brian Brazeal. The first thing he usually does with students is make a hammer and then shows you how to use it to best advantage by using the different dies the hammer surfaces offer, such as the rounding face, or the fullers that the different edges really are. Go for it!

+1! Brian, Lyle, thanks for documenting and sharing this. Great job, Darren!