Alan B

Happy Birthday Richard

Make a heart on one end and draw a long taper on the other and make shishkabob sticks.

This link will show you another option that Billy Merritt uses. He hammers the chain into a donut then flattens it into a bar. I like to punch out a link and lay the chain in strips side by side with all the teeth facing the same way.Hammer it into a square rod then fold and flatten. Good luck. PS. When you etch you need to use a high ferric chloride content etch to bring out all the color.

Very nice set up Thomas. Looks like your all ready to go. Good luck, have fun, be safe and welcome to the dark side. LOL

These indentations are the marks left after the anvil was forged. Picture a big set of ice tongs, thats how they moved the anvil around when they were forging it to shape.

Beautiful work Ed.

I recently took on a rather unique job for a real estate company. I made an old fashion sign post with their sign on it. I kept close track of the hours, material and all other expenses. This is how it all broke down. hours=27 ( this includes any help I recruited ) material= $183.00 Travel @ $.50 per mile= $62.00 ( 124 miles ) The job was bid at $950.00. When they went to pay me they had taken up donations, this was a gift for their boss, they had actually collected $1350.00. I wound up with a $400 tip. Pictures are posted in the gallery.

Silica sand should be available from any masonry supply outfit. It is used for concrete stucco applications as well as sand finished plaster.Sand is graded by particle size and silica content ( just for your information). The higher the silica content the higher the price.

This is a great challenge Strine. I've been studying it from the point of folding several loops in a piece of bar and then folding them onto them selves. That's the route I'm thinking might make this feasable. However, could you add some pics between the first set of pics and the second set. Breaking the knott down further might help.

Does anyone know a chemical or formula for putting a brass or copper patina on steel. I know about brass brushing at a black heat but for this job it would be impractical.

Your in my prayers Jr. God Bless

Once again I find myself turning to a group of friends, some of whom I've never met face to face. To ask for your prayers for my family and myself. My father passed away Sunday morning at 9:30 am due to a sudden death heart attack. This is a grievous loss for me and my family. I thank you all in advance because I know the kind of people that you are and I also know you'll send up some knee-mail on my behalf. Thank you and God Bless. Alan Brazzel