Ecart

That wasn't it, but it looks easier than what I was looking for. Thanks for the link!

Hi everyone, I give my apologies up front. But I searched for a certain thread and didn't find it. Some time ago I saw a thread on how to find out if truck leaf springs are cracked or not. I remember that there were several steps to it, but one of them was to spray white paint on them to help reveal any cracks. I am trying to get my forge set up again after our move to our own home this summer (our first home ) and I have some broken semi truck leaf springs out in the scrap pile. Since they are already broken, I would like to check for any other cracks before I start heating and pounding and having hot steal fragments flying in all directions from a shattered piece. This may be a rather ambitious idea for my skill level, but I would like to make an axe out of a piece of it. Any help you can give would be wonderful.

Very interesting knife. I saw an unfinished one when I went to school for my job a few years back. The teacher had forged it but he had not etched it to bring out the pattern yet. Maybe a year or two after I left the school, they shut down the saw filing department, but created a blacksmithing department so the teacher could finish out his career with the state. The last time I spoke to him- last year- he told me he had eight forges set up and there were lines of people waiting for them. I'd like to see how his knife came out. I'm sure your daughter was well pleased to receive such a beauty.

I sharpen the wood cutting bandsaw blades at the mill where I work. The two types that I sharpen are 8" and 11" wide. They are both 15N20. Very good steel for knives and Damascus as I'm sure you know. I would dare say that the narrower blades that you have are probably bimetal. But then again as far as I can see in the pics, the rust is the same on the teeth as it is on the body of the blade. I could certainly be wrong here- and someone who knows better please correct me if I am- but the rust patterns on the body looks the same as on the teeth. So, maybe it is the same metal? My reasoning is that I have an old axe head that is iron with a steel bit. You can see that the bit is rusted differently than the rest of the head. Just my thougts on the subject.

oh! My side hurts! That's too funny!

I posted a thread somewhere on here about a time when I had water on my anvil. It popped the way Thomas Powers said. I am a Veteran and I get a little jumpy now and then so the pop nearly sent me into hiding So yeah, it scared the . . . um . . . stuffin' out of me.

When I was doing Civ War reenacting, I knew some guys who had rebuilt a forge wagon from that era. It was an interesting piece of equipment and a step up from what they were using before.

Correction on the name. It's Gerardo. I've worked with the poor guy for 6 years and am just now getting his name right. Anyway, I got news today that he is doing well, but still in the hospital. Thanks for the prayers.

There's a hispanic guy at work. His name is Geraldo (probably badly misspelled). As far as I know, he's legal. He's been at the mill much longer than I have. He works hard and has worked his way up to millwright. I didn't know it, but he also works at a convenience store. Last night, two guys went into the store and robbed it. They put a shotgun to Geraldo's head. He got a hand up and shoved it down before they fired. He was hit in the leg just below the waist. He is going to be all right, but he could use your prayers. I don't know if they got the robbers or not. But they could use your prayers too.

There really are no words that I can express to ease your pain. But you and yours are in our prayers.

I'm interested in seeing how this turns out for you. I've got about three or four small bandsaw blades and as much strapping as I want from work. I may be trying this soon too. Post pics if you can.

That's a really nice job you and your dad have done there! Now you have to post the work that you do tomorrow. I look forward to seeing it.

You all know why I started this thread don't you? To get ideas for my birthday in April! Seriously, it looks like we made out like bandits this year.

Hehehe! I usually have to turn around a time or two when I go someplace new. I can see a gps being blacksmith related when it gets you to the blacksmithing site. Less time trying to find the place = more time hammering!

The Cartrette house is like a lot of homes this year. Christmas was a little more slim than in times past. But it has been a good day. But I was delighted to find that among the gifts that I received, I got a nice pair of welder's gauntlets and a brass brush that I'll be using in the forge. So, what blacksmithing/metalworking items did you get this Christmas? Ecart

Merry Christmas to all. Hoping everyone has a good time to rest, reconnect with family and friends and remember the good times of Christmases past.

Ya! Sounds familiar.

Too many! Got a nasty little burn on the palm of my left hand today. I was punching a RR spike that I was turning into a nail header. I was moving from the shelf? (forgot the name at the moment) of my anvil to the pritchel hole when I wrapped my hand around the punch that I was using. As I sat with my hand in the slack tub, I thought to myself, "You're punching a piece of steel that is at an orange almost yellow heat. Why wouldn't the punch be hot!!?" I used it as an opportunity to tell my son that one moment of letting your mind wander will get you hurt.

I just filled it out. I don't have much experience with the national group, but I was a member of the NC ABANA conference once and got nothing out of them, so I left it. I joined again this year, and have learned much from them this time. The biggest problem this time has been getting my schedule to work with theirs!

Y'know, I haven't actually thought of fixing it. But yeah, I suppose I could do that. I may try it sometime soon.

So THAT'S what happened to my soup pot!!! I have a small galvanized tub that I use. I had a bigger one filled with peanut oil, but I had it sitting close to my vise. I was using an ax head to open a space in a piece that I had welded the end of. It wedged in, so I knocked it out with the hammer. It fell into the quench tank. I didn't pay it any attention until I finished what I was doing, then I pulled it out of the tub. The fact that it was somewhat difficult to get out should have been a hint. Next thing I knew is that I had peanut oil running all over the dirt floor. After a couple of seconds of panic, I dumped some trash out of a metal trash can, I dumped the remaining oil into it where it still is today. I put a 1.5" or so gash in the bottom of the old quench tank. So now it holds some odd pieces of steel that are waiting for a new project to claim them.

This is just too tempting!!! Let me check things out again and see what I can do.

ALWAYS unplug your angle grinder when changing sanding disks, regardless of whether you are the only one in the shop. It slipped, and the switch caught the edge of my work bench. A suddenly spinning 50 grit disk cut straight through my long-sleeved shirt and into my arm. That one smarted for a while.

If I didn't have a Thanksgiving trip to GA to think about, I'd be there for sure, and I'd do my best to win that anvil. Wouldn't know what to do with a real anvil though. The improvement from a Harbor Freight anvil to that thing is beyond compare.

GREAT NEWS!!! Glad to hear it. We will add a praise to our requests for the two of you.