Rusty

I don't know enough about tempering and heat treating yet to comment on that aspect, but I can tell you right off that from a firefighting standpoint that segment was a disaster waiting to happen. They were working with a flaming liquid on a wooden pallet, they were not wearing any sort of SCBA or air filters, they used the fire extinguisher improperly, they used a sub-optimal type of extinguisher, and they when they failed to extinguish the main fire, they decided to remove the oil-soaked, flaming hammer and hit it with compressed gas... they're lucky that didn't spray flaming motor oil all over that one girl who was holding it. All in all a rather poor showing of common sense.

It's not permanent, it's for five years or so only, and I'll probably not have my own property (renting an apartment or something)- one of my reasons for getting on this board is to find a place around or outside Worcester where I can rent a space to set up a shop. That NEB event looks pretty great, I'll have to get in touch with you after I get myself moved.

I'm currently in central NJ, but at the end of the summer I'll be moving up to Worcester, MA. I'm mostly interested in making decorative home pieces- candlestick holders, coat hangers, hat hooks, etc- and knives.

What is the bare minimum for a amateur forge in regards to tools and equipment?

What are the practical differences between making something out of steel and making it out of bronze, in a DIY setting? Like, say, a recently constructed BDF (brake drum forge) with a manual blower? Additionally, what is a good source for bronze? I was unable to find it at Ace...

Cripes, he /forged/ that? That is amazing.

Well, I've been through the blueprints and I can't find anything like this, so I figured I'd bring it up here. As a gift for a friend, I plan to make a likeness of a fist on a pedestal (out of steel, not iron) but I really have no idea how to go about it. Should I cast it? forge it out of Rebar or something? any help or advice is appreciated.

My father is missing two fingers on his left hand from an accident with a table saw, and his old partner has all the fingers on the left hand the same length sexcept the pinky and the thumb, not sure what from. This looks like an awesome and immensely useful product.

Anything that makes you look like a mad scientist!

Where are you working? Is that whole shop yours, or are you an apprentice or something?

Holy crap. It might just be because I'm new, but that cutlery looks amazing to me. They look like something you might buy from a fancy knife store or something. That's amazing. Is that normal, or is this your occupation?

Holy cow, you people have a lot of hammers. Are all those necessary for an amateur, or all of you professsionals?

So, how many people have the goggles to protect their eyes and how many people have them so thay can wave around some glowing chunk or steel, cackling like mad, cutting a perfect Mad Scientist figure?

Hello, there. I'm a bit new to this, in case you haven't guessed, and the closest I'm ever come to blacksmithing is watching the farrier booth at SCA fairs. My father is a metalworker of the lathe and milling machine variety, but I always thought that was a little boring, if rather useful. I hope to get a start blacksmithing as soon as I've got my own place, and I figured the best time to start learning was now! I probably won't post much, because I don't know much, but I hope to learn a lot from all you grizzled vets. Thanks! -Rusty