Mainely,Bob

Jake,If the metallurgy of a crooked knife intimidates you then try making one out of an old straight razor. If you like the way a crooked knife works look at a Japanese leaf knife or the larger leaf plane.They have the basic shape of a spear but are a single bevel edge like a hewing axe.What would be the tip of the spear is curved up so you can get into tight places by raising the handle,it acts much like a crooked knife when used this way.Further back the blade becomes flat and if you drop the handle you can quickly flatten and smooth large areas. It`s basically an Asian version of an overgrown rather flat crooked knife.The larger ones are fitted with a long handle and are braced against the body and pulled with two hands. The reason I mention it is that the geometry of both the edge and the tool are very similar to an open crooked knife,just on a larger scale.If you are looking for a place to start it might be something to hone your skills on before moving to the smaller crooked knife. I`m told W1 is much the same as the steel the Japanese smiths use for their laminated blades so that may be a good place to start as far as material goes. Good luck with it

You guys are really off to a big start over there.

It`s only a matter of time before we start seeing online adds for low interest anvil loans.Then the market will crash and the anvil foreclosures will start and you will be able to pick them up reasonable again. I`d post a smiley face here but I`m not really sure if I`m kidding or not. :huh:

Could be,if so he`s already half way there.I just assumed he was making separate dies so he could fit them to allow the stock to move thru them as I had seen on some factory made twisting machines. Wouldn`t be the first time I assumed something and found I was dead wrong. Say Clinton,could you explain how your die holder works?Do you plan to have the stock move thru the die or the holder move down the beam and how do you plan to keep the dies in place while twisting?

My previous post sailed off into the great beyond so... Thomas said most of what I said except that if you`re looking for ideas as to how to mount it do a search here.Brian B. and Frosty to name just 2 members posted bases with a lot of good pics and great design. Nice score!$10 for a bought leg vise is the record if I remember correctly.Shipping doesn`t count,though even adding shipping you still picked up a prize cheap,cheap,cheap!!

The wonders of capitalism.If you have the cash,cell phone with internet connection,a fast truck and time on your hands you can scoop up everything in the surrounding area.Once you do that you become the primary supplier and effectively set the rate of exchange. Your only choices are to be faster than Berny,look at sources other than the norm,travel outside his area of operations or pay shipping. Looks like Berny may become the anvil equivalent to OPEC in the bay area.

An alternative approach to avoid multiple dies would be to mount a vise or chuck and allow the assembly to move along the beam rather than have the material move thru the die. Come to think of it a 4 jaw chuck with properly radiused jaws could be locked down to the beam and the jaws adjusted to be slightly loose and that would allow the material to move thru the chuck.

If you have never made or used an adz before then follow Sgropp`s guidelines and get it in the ballpark that way.Fine tuning can be done within reason thru the handle. The traditional foot adz that boat builders,etc use(just a larger version with a longer handle than a hand adz) were forged to a common angle and then fit with manufactured handles.Most of the large adzes I`ve seen used for boat building were fit tight on the sides of the eye and had clearance front and back.The "hang" of the head was tuned by wedges fore and aft to allow adjustment.That`s one reason why a traditional adze has a squared eye rather than one like a pick. The same approach works for a small traditional hand adz.

Can you be a little more specific about the measurements you`re confused about and the type of work you`re planning? If you understand the geometry of the cutting edge then the only things left in my mind are the width of the cutting edge,which I would make wide enough to slit what I will be working and the height. The height of the tools just needs to be tall enough to comfortably work and still leave enough material so the occasional redressing will not leave it short quickly. Needless to say,a slitting chisel that works well for small hammer heads will fall short when trying to do things like large industrial strength gates made of heavy cross section material. A general answer would be the tool needs to be appropriately sized to do the work at hand. Count on making more than one slitting chisel.

Put yourself in his shoes and speak from the heart.The fact that you were there fighting the fire and helped keep if from being a total loss would go a long way if it was me you were talking to. I`d stop by soon and offer to help in any way you could so he sees that even though he`s retired at least one member of the blacksmith community has not forgotten him. Kindness,help and honest communication is always returned in kind during times like these.

I sometimes help out at Peter Korn`s place up in Rockport,right next to Rockland(do you folks see the pattern here?). You`d probably not recognize the place anymore.The ledge trimmers have been hard at work and have it almost looking like Kansas now. Maine,God`s country!Where even the snow blowers are rigged to handle rocks!

One of the reasons I gave up on masonite(called hardboard up here)and MDF is that it turns to xxxx if moisture gets to it. I use what I call ply(as in plywood)but what it mostly consists of is discontinued paneling bought at deep discounts.The stuff I buy has one face that`s just 1/4" birch plywood.If it gets a little rain on it between the site and the shop then it`s no big deal. The standardized templates that are used in the shop are made from either heavier gage sheet metal or aluminum(preferably from drops left from jobs) as they will be used repeatedly and they all have a hole drilled in them to hang up somewhere out of the way. Some people save almost all their jigs and pile them up anywhere there`s room.They get to the point that even if you could use one you don`t know where to start looking. I found it easier to just reduce a jig I suspect might be useful to an easy to store template with all the needed info written on it (including job#). I found them most useful as a start point when I`m brain locked as to how I want to construct a jig.I look at a similar type job`s`s jig template and info,harvest the ideas and I`m off and running. That series of pocket notebooks we`ve been talking about is also a big help at eliminating brain lock and storing info that maybe didn`t make it to the template. The template has the job# which leads you to the paperwork which tells you the dates which gets you to the notebook(in this day and age maybe even a file # or CD with pics!) that recorded all the PITA problems you promised yourself you would avoid if you were ever stuck on a job like that again. Ain`t havin` a system to fall back on grand!!

One thing I had to learn the hard way was that if you try to get by working at or above the max capabilities of things you will pay for it in time and frustration.Far better to get more capacity than what you think you may need and have a reserve there if you ever need it. My brother started with a Presto-lite plumber`s torch and then quickly went to an imported oxy/propane mini tank set when the Prest-lite wouldn`t cut it.Once he tried working with my Oxy/acet Victor torches and pro tanks he went home and sold hi set up(after kicking it a few times and calling it bad names).He now has Victor gear and rented tanks. Minimal gear restricts you to keeping to only that level of work.Buying a couple of levels above good enough expands your abilities and horizons. FWIW-I always start looking at the rebuilt gear rather than new when dealing with the welding supply house,most times rebuilt carries the same guarantee as new.If they don`t have it in back the rep will usually know of someone who has high quality gear at a good price who is looking to upgrade or get out of the business. I`m one of those guys who doesn`t care how it looks,what I do care about is how it works.About the only time I buy new is when I`m getting parts to fix the old or sometimes if the job requires it and will pay for it.

I have found that my partner`s enthusiasm goes up when she`s occasionally reminded that a tool made is one less tool bought.Start making them bigger or more complicated and then bring them in to show her while saying"Look at all the money I saved us". I can`t take credit for this approach,I actually learned it by watching her use it on me after she came home from a "sale" or after visiting the clearance aisle.I finally snapped to the idea that if they use it on you then they HAVE to support it when you turn it around and send it back. If her enthusiasm ever REALLY wanes then mention taking up fly fishing or golf and leave some of those high dollar catalogs laying around.Anything that features stuff made with carbon fiber and/or titanium will do the trick. B)

Hey,now if I shave my head(or you grow a pony tail)we can pass ourselves off as brothers. Don`t know if it`s apparent in the pics I posted but I have a scar that runs vertical thru my left eye.The things that cause them do give you pause don`t they? Glad to hear you are still OK brother.Remember to ice it for the first 24 for swelling ,heat after to keep the color down. Stop scarin` us for a while now will ya,we don`t want to have to put your wife on speed dial right next to Frosty`s wife,Deb. :o

My son is coming up and bringing the camera and cords with him.I think he`s supposed to be here on the 18th so I`ll get him to help me post pics then.

My brother took me to a topless beach.He walked the surf while I took off into the dunes and came back with a couple pieces of wrought iron I wrestled from some drift wood beams. We were both smiling for very different reasons. Does this make me a blacksmithaholic?

I use a lot of story sticks/boards for recording measurements,they are more accurate and foolproof than tapes. Some consider it a version of a story board but I learned about something called a joggle stick from wooden boat builders.You set up a piece 1/4" ply to record data on(or bending ply if it needs to be bent in more than one plane) and the info is transferred by the joggle stick.The stick is nothing more than a stick with a sharp point on one end and random V notches down both sides that`s been cut to appropriate length(mark one side as the UP/TOP side).Once the ply is in place then you put the point of the stick on the spot you want to measure while holding the body of the stick on the ply.You simply(carefully) trace around the body of the stick where it lays on the ply and then move to the next point and repeat. Once you place the ply on the stock or rough jig your merely put the joggle stick within the (carefully)traced lines and the point tells you where your measurement was again. If it`s a complicated piece that can`t easily be measured by one stick alone(like needing to reach around corners or obstructions) I just make as many different length or shape sticks as needed and label them A,B,C, etc on the up/top side and then after I trace I put the stick letter I was using inside the traced lines.The reason the V notches are random running down the sides is so if you try to put the wrong stick in the traced lines you will know because the notches won`t line up exactly. If you`re anything like me and can lose things quickly(especially pencils and pens)just cut you joggle stick out of thicker wood stock and then once it`s profiled just rip it into 2 or more sticks and they`ll all have identical profiles. If anyone prefers to make full size templates out of wood and you either missed the fit or what you thought was a repeating or mirror image shape turns out to be off(fits perfect on one but not the others) you can also use a steel rule as a joggle stick by just laying it on the template striking a line along one edge and recording the gap measurement on that line. If you`re looking to generate fair curves nothing beats bendable battens of straight grained wood or ply,spring steel or consistent fiberglass. Hope this has helped a little.

If someone asks why the price I tell them the item comes with a lifetime guarantee and go on to explain that as long as I am living and physically able to I will repair or replace the item if anything fails on it as long as it has not been modified from original.If you accidentally back over it with the car I straighten it for free the first time.If you saw it off so it`s too short or leave it in the bilge of your boat till it rusts in two then you get to buy new. I also tell folks that the cheaper imported stuff also offers what I consider an out of sight guarantee.Once you`re out of sight,the guarantee`s up. I`m not sure if the guarantee or the humor sells the work.I like to think it`s the former. Even if they decide to go with the cheap stuff I still smile and give them a card and tell them"When it breaks you know where to find me".

We used to use K O Lee tools to do things like punch holes on metal bulkheads. We refered to the tools as knock out punches so the company became Knock Out Lee.

Don`t know where in NE you are but here on the Maine coast it`s not so much mowin` the lawn as it is trimmin` the ledge,chummy. Yes,that`s an L as in granite ledge. :)

I saw how you made the quatrefoils from 2 pieces and never even suspected that was how it was done.The 2 parts mate so fairly thru the major diameter it is well hidden in the pics and I`m sure in person as well. I vote we elevate you right through the other levels and bestow the title of " Forge Shaman" upon you. If you are uncomfortable with that we can go with "Hammer Mage" or simply drop back a notch to "Wizard". :)

Neat new toy! I can see where you`ll be having big fun with that rig.I know I would be. One small tip for the hand powered conversion.I found a large diameter handwheel to be a lot more handy than a crank.The last hand powered machine I built had an old wheel off a boat helm that I salvaged and adapted.If I remember correctly it was around 3 feet in diameter and worked so well I now have another waiting for the next machine. The wheel allowed me to stand in place right where the work was being done and turn with one hand while applying the torch with the other rather than having to put the torch down or side step back and forth while using the crank.

I was thinking about these type of tongs when someone else here (I think it may have been Jeremy)posted them.I look forward to hearing what you think of them in use.

One last post and I`ll move on. To say the practices I talked about are past is not accurate. Look at recent reports in the news about things like Chinese toys and sheetrock that are toxic and have been recalled(which we pay for). The emphasis is on fast and cheap and that means made from the cheapest materials regardless of safety either during manufacture or at the user end. I would love to be able to have a sample of the castings used in a Striker or Anyang hammer and be able to do testing in regard to suitability,durability and ease of welding.I hope it would be of a quality that would show me things have evolved for the better in that respect. The simple truth is that the very recent aluminum replacement parts for motorcycles I have tried to repair for others give every indication of being made of low quality alloy if not recycled scrap.These parts are from US companies being made in Taiwan and most recently China. The fit and finish has improved due mostly to efforts by the US companies but the metalurgy is still not where it needs to be in order for it to be safe or durable. My friends in auto body shops say the same thing about the sheet metal replacement parts they encounter.They know it`s Chinese steel when they try to work or straighten it and pull and replace rather than try a repair. As in all things you can have cheap or you can have quality.If you buy cheap just be aware that you just voted against quality and most likely longevity. In regard to the Chinese hammers,I was up front about not having any experience with them,I also explained why.I know it may not be fair to view them through the same lens as the cheaper machines and tools.My concern from a working standpoint is that the raw materials come from the same sources as the cheap tools. Don`t take my word for it,as with anything you should be doing your own research.Go and ask your local welding and repair shops what their assessment of Asian metals is,especially cast iron.Let the man you will bring it to when it breaks tell you if the quality is there.I think you`ll find the only quality metal is coming from a few Japanese companies. Most any machine can and will work as long as it`s well lubed and not overly stressed. All machines either break or wear out if used enough.The quality of the metal parts defines if you can repair that machine or not.It also directly relates to the time involved between sale and failure due to breakage or wear.