Mainely,Bob

That is just an incredible knife! The attention to detail is top drawer and the whole package is just so well balanced and visually pleasing.That is truly a knife that anyone would be proud to wear on their belt and it looks like it`s just as much of a joy to use. I look forward to the next in the series and where can I see pics of the first? Thanks for sharing this.

John, If someone on these boards can`t tell the difference between aluminum and stainless when they pick it up then I`d say they were on the wrong boards. Pretty large difference in weight for the same cross section.

WHOOAA! That looks like a pink sea urchin after the spikes fall off. I`d like to see a diver try and pick THAT one up. Gee thanks! Now you`ve got me lusting after a mega-press. Which comes first the tire hammer or the press?Anybody got a quarter?

Thomas, I just love your choice of ranking upgrade.I`m dying to upgrade to "highly trained rust chaser" but I don`t have enough posts yet. BTW-The post office was out of the small flat rate boxes so you were upgraded to the $8 and change one OK?I`m gonna have to line it with ply and then fill if I want it to stand a chance of making it to you.They allow up to 70 lbs don`t they?The postmaster general in the haba(harbor for you folks "from away")won`t tell me how much I`m allowed as he almost broke his truss when I shipped the last bunch of tools to my brother in Utah. Love those flat rate boxes! :D

Hey Jason,do you understand what the numbers on those rod cans mean? Just asking because around here 6011 is called "junkyard rod" and in most small boatyards anything goes. The most simple weld certification you can pass requires you to weld 7018 both vertical and overhead.There`s a reason for that. I once worked with an old Russian welder on the maintenance crew in an aluminum extrusion plant.He`d weld on live hydraulic lines because the foreman didn`t want to shut the press down.I refused to do the same as I like my skin the way it is as opposed to badly burned.The Russian felt I wasn`t a "real welder" as he had been getting away with welding on running presses for better than 15 years.6 months later he was up on the Mibert press welding a shear line when the operator hit the shear.The flames blew him off the press and burned a good percentage of his upper body.If his helper hadn`t slammed into him on his way down he would have snapped his neck and died when he hit the press foundation.As it was he was just crippled for life.He always used 6010 on the hydraulic lines because they were "always oily" and he didn`t want to clean them off. I feel the foreman who kept telling him to weld on running equipment because "that press makes over $1000 an hour" was at least 50% to blame for his fate.The other 50% was his own fault. I`ve worked the oil fields and in shipyards and can still count to 10 on my own fingers and have all my toes.No one has ever been hauled away in an ambulance because of anything I worked on or did.I knew when to say no and when to stand up to an ignorant foreman willing to risk others life and limb. If you want to keep all your body parts and care about your fellow workers learn what the numbers on the cans mean and also learn to tune out the foreman and do a right job you can be proud of.

On another(WW hand tool)forum I post on they ask you to post what experience you draw from when you hand out advice. The practice was started by a very experienced craftsman who`s last name is Addy.Now whenever someone suspects someone of speaking with no experience(had to think of a polite way to say that) they say "I`d like to invoke the Addy protocol". We could do the same thing here only call it the "Powers protocol". Mainely,Bob-30+ years banging iron and welding/fabbing in shipyards,yacht yards,bike shops,factories and plants only to come home and do it there too.

My friends in the guilds and local artist co-ops are reporting the same thing as my contractor friends.Things are down all over. That doesn`t stop me from asking them if they need anything on a regular basis though. There`s always the dreaded online auctions.Some folks seem to be doing good offering welded trinkets and poorly made or thought out tools so the real thing made by a real smith may go over surprisingly well(nod,nod,wink wink,say no more). Surprisingly,repairs on bronze deck hardware has gone up in demand after minimal activity for years.

Far as I know the only way to get a brushed stainless finish is to make it out of stainless and then take a brush to it. As they say on TV,"I`m detecting a pattern here". :rolleyes:

When I was a platoon sgt. I used to tell my men"There`s always a million reasons why you CAN`T do something.You just need to find one reason you CAN and run with it". I picked up that idea from an old driller I met in the Texas oilfield.I once told Clyde that a task he assigned me can`t be done.His reply;"Son there`s only two can`t around here.If you CAN`T handle it,you CAN`T stay".Needless to say the job got done after some creative engineering.

How may posts till you get "Curmudgeon" ranking?

If you`re worried about the upsetting block hanging off the side then eliminate it and upset on the anvil face using a cover plate if you`re worried about the face or put the plate on the floor and kick it under the anvil when you`re done.I like as little as possible between me and my main work area,the anvil face.I made the footprint of my base as small as possible(almost vertical) on the working side and as small as practical on the rest. If you feel you need to have the upsetting block always at hand then simply make some of the 1" steel plate you cut away from the footprint of the anvil into gussets and weld them under the overhang to reinforce it.

I would suggest using a freshly sharpened bit, low speed and an aggressive feed rate(keep the bit cutting a good chip) with cutting fluid or oil.One of the biggest mistakes made is to use too high a speed when trying to drill.Let the bit do it`s job.The larger the bit the slower the speed. If the anvil is older material or newer semi hard(or hardened) material it`s important to also keep the bit firmly engaged in the cut.Older anvils may have slag inclusions you will need to break up and power thru and newer semi hard anvils will try to resist the cutting action and chip the bit`s edge if not aggressively engaged or used dry. When too high a speed,no lube or not enough pressure is used to try and cut steel there`s always the danger of the bit just spinning and work hardening the bottom of the hole.Once hardened it`s a bear to get through with anything less than carbide. If the bit stops cutting don`t keep at it.Clear the hole and bit,look to see what`s wrong and fix the problem before you waltz yourself off into trouble using a ham handed approach.

It may not be the Titanic but if you`ve ever been thru Wiscassett Maine back a few years ago then you probably remember seeing the 2 shipwrecks that used to be right up by RT 1. Those wrecks were the Hesper and the Luther Little and were abandoned there long ago(when there was a dock there and not just pilings). The town decided to dredge up what was left of the wrecks and place all the timber on town land near the transfer station.It sat there for anyone to pick over for 2 years(I have both oak and yellow pine timbers from it) and then the town burned what was left. Long story short,I have several buckets of wrought iron decking and frame nails(1/2 and 3/4 diameter)that I would be willing to share with anyone interested enough to pay postage on a small flat rate box.They should make great historic stock for small projects or blade fittings. Who knows,if I don`t use the wrought chainplates and anchor swivel soon I may be willing to trade those off too.

Glen makes a good point about draft not being allowed to work if you don`t bring in outside air.Even the best engineered chimney is useless if you don`t supply it by cracking a door or window. For indoor forging I`ve seen some good set ups that allow the blower to draw from the outside air but once you shut down the blower that air is still being drawn in thru the forge and the fire can get out of hand unless a blast gate(think woodworking dust control)or something similar is used to shut off the air source. One of the best approaches I`ve seen up here has ducting set up to bring in outside air for both the blower and a duct set up overhead that blows down and toward the forge.A blast gate isolates and controls air to the forge and once the blower is off the overhead duct brings in air from above to keep the chimney supplied and working. Radiant heaters set up overhead and aimed at where you are actually going to work are great if you have the cash.If not then just dress in layers and shed clothes as the work progresses. I find the biggest problem I have is just getting started in sub zero temps.If I can get everything going and all the tools warm before I get a chill in my hands and up my arms then things usually go well.If I allow my hands to get chilled due to handling cold tools,iron etc then things are not going to go as well no matter how quickly I get to work and warmed back up. Don`t forget to warm ALL the tools,even those tongs you think won`t be needed if everything goes well.You`ll be needing those too,trust me.

I understand what Ed is saying.While an Acme thread is more geared toward clamping than it is punching that shouldn`t keep you from building new tools using whatever follows you home. The "Acme press" would add more control to a pressing operation due to it`s reduced velocity. It could also be used to more easily control incremental bending if a locking collar or stop nut was brought into play to limit the travel of the ram. If you`re looking for a cheap alternative to a flypress to use for punching or embossing then why not just make the manual conversion to a punch press as per instructions elsewhere on this site? If you`re in spending mode(as opposed to "followed me home" mode), may as well spend the money on a complete old machine that has multiple uses as spend it on new parts for a make do machine that may fall short of your expectations. YMMV,it usually is calculated differently than mine.

Getting my youngest son(mid 20`s)into the craft.That way I`ll have someone to push me. While Joe was up for the holidays he kept talking about a bladesmith who sells thru the shop he works at.Seems he`s quite taken with his custom work.I reminded him of the do it yourself approach to getting what you want and was surprised to find him open to the idea. We pulled and reworked old hammer heads he liked and rehandled them to fit him using local wood,buffed up some tools I had doubles of and even roughed out an anvil from some heavy rail I had out in the yard.I`ve since found a small electric blower that will work well on a brake drum forge and will bring that and the other prefabbed forge parts down to PA when I deliver the anvil. With any luck SWMBO won`t have to worry about selling all the tools when I finally decide to cross over.

Change is always tough on everyone involved. The members want their old familiar forum back and the admin folks want a forum that runs more smoothly and doesn`t require as much time away from their other responsibilities (like family for one). Members will adjust to the changes,we always do. Admin will make the needed adjustments to carry the old into the new.They`ve worked long hours during an already trying season to make this happen for all of us.Try putting whatever initial disappointment you may feel aside and see this for what it is,a way to move this great forum forward. I want to thank Glen and the rest of the crew for the time and trouble they`ve gone through in order to let us kick back and enjoy this new site going into the new year.It`s become such a part of our day to day lives that we take it for granted sometimes and forget how much work it must be to keep it running and moving forward. Take a break guys and enjoy what`s left of the holiday season.We`re in good hands here as we`ve always been.Things will get fixed and before you know it the forum will be back,only better. Might be a good idea to thank all those people who make it happen for us every day and put the criticism aside in light of what they`ve accomplished while we were all enjoying time with the family. Thanks again Glen and crew!

As stated above,in shipyards this is called "slugging" and if you`re caught at it then you get to gouge the whole weld out and start over.Not up to any standards other than farm standards or oilfield work(when nobody`s looking). If you need strength then use a backer or better yet,learn to fit properly. For junk work there are no rules so do what you like.Just don`t think techniques like this are acceptable for anything but junk.

The good news is that rust rings dissipate over time.Soon you won`t even know it`s there. At least they didn`t have to drill or use a hypo needle like an ice cream scoop to dig the FOD out.Been there,done that. I also have spare eye protection and ear plugs available for anyone in the general vicinity of where I`m working.They either put them on or the work stops till they leave. I`ve always been very conscious and careful about my eyes.I became more careful about other`s eyes after an industrial accident that cost a co-worker an eye. One of the machinists in the plant had come to the maintenance area to look at an assembly we had pulled from a press.We were in the process of driving a large gear off a shaft and he needed to make a new shaft so we could get the press up and running again. He took his safety glasses off and was cleaning them while standing about 10 feet away when a bad hit from the sledge bounced off the shaft and hit the edge of the gear(cast of course) and took a small bit of one tooth out.The piece lodged deep in Al`s eye,too deep to retrieve so he lost the eye.He was in the process of putting his cleaned glasses back on when it happened.Since then I`m much more aware of what other folks around me are doing and where they are in relation to the work.

Just one example of a "free" job that more than paid for itself. A contractor(carpentry) that I had worked with at the yacht yard I was working at found out I did motorcycle work on the side.He wanted an old sidecar mated up to a mid size Jap bike.I told him I only work on Harleys and Brits.He`s a real card and talked me into just coming by and looking at the job.Long story short I did the job for him at his place using his gear and really enjoyed both his company and the challenge the job presented.Pretty much every nite he sent me home with something I could use.Came time to settle up and I told him he didn`t owe me a dime. 2 years go by with him constantly dropping off "little bits of steel"(wrought iron to heavy structural and none less than 8' long,great stuff)at the yard for me. He found out we were building a new house and asked if there was any work I might throw his way.I asked him for an estimate to do the framing of the walk out basement for the modular house.He just showed up with his crew,did the job in one day and refused to accept a dime from me. I finally got him back though.His son thought he`d like to try smithing.I dropped off a forge w/blower,leg vise,about 10 sets of tongs and various other tools and hammers I had doubles of(he already had an anvil). He sold the rice burner,bought a Harley(from me) and we ride together when we can.

The other side of the coin is that we throw away an incredible amount of still usable equipment and material. one of my side projects is periodically going to the dump and rescuing machines that have been cast off.I`m to the point now where I can`t house anymore machines or electric motors.Most of these machines are woodworking related and thrown away just because they are rusty.I clean them,oil them,tune them and then give them away to my woodworking buddies who can`t afford to buy power tools period,never mind the sweet old iron of the past. In return they bring back things like wrought iron chain, bronze prop shafts from boats,bronze fittings,tool steel.stainless.I beams and channel and anything they feel I may remotely need.I can`t remember when the last time I had to buy stock for a personal project. Being a poorboy pretty much all my life I know that if you don`t have a lot of money then you usually have more time than others.Take your skills,do what you do best on what you can find that helps others and it usually comes back around. You don`t always need a lot of money to get what you want or need.

I try not to loan out my electric tools.Too many have come back being held by the cord and smoking.:^( I have yet to have some hamfisted dub kill one of my air tools.The best part about air is that when you overload or hang up they just stop. Believe me, air tools are several steps up from electric.Lighter to work with,usually smaller for the same or better power,the air going thru keeps it cooler than any fan,quick and easy to rebuild,the list goes on. That being said,I have been able to find used electric tools at flea markets and garage sales(ALWAYS test run B4 buying). 5" angle grinders usually go for about $10 up here.7/9" less than $30 if you look around.Look for ones that have at least a metal gearcase assembly.Some of the ones I have had luck with are Dewalt,Milwaukee,Sioux,Black&Decker(early ones,Their Wildcat 9" is a top notch tool) and Makita has proven to be a a rugged grinder too. At these prices there`s no need to just have one and overheat it or have to stop work and change wheels from grinding to sanding. If an electric tool is smoking then I keep in running and hit it with compressed air till it`s cool.I`ve never had brushes seize to the commutator using this method.The stop and rest after smoke has seized more than one of my lender grinders. YMMV. Hope this has helped.

Daniel, On counterweight setup,did you put it all in in one weight opposite the hammer or divide it in two and place each about a third of the way around the wheel? Just wondering if dividing the counter weight in two might help performance.

Can`t be of much help with your metal box forge but if you Google simple forge or torch forge you should be able to come up with pics of forges/furnaces made with stacked firebrick and a torch that maybe would be helpful as far as burner placement goes. Good luck with it.

Dave,I`d just try bolting or riveting the pieces of the forge together if I was planning on lining it.Welding cast is tricky and near impossible w/flux core. To clean parts I`ve used both white vinegar and pool type acid in plastic tubs or buckets to good effect.If you decide to use acid then get long gloves(acid proof) and wear a faceshield.You WILL drop something and splash,DAMHIKT. The parts will come out of the vinegar or acid black,brush/rinse the black off and then dry and IMMEDIATELY spray with oil, WD40,etc or it will be rusty again in the morning. I`ve had good luck freeing up hopelessly rusted assemblies and nuts and bolts with the vinegar.It is not as aggressive and takes longer than acid but it`s safer too. You can always Google electrolosis if you`re in a hurry and have a battery charger around.