ironsmith

LOL, I think Macbruces LG in a VOLVO wins hehehe :blink:

Just got back from a 3 hour coal run, loaded up 20, 40lbs bags of coal in my nissan maxima, ( 1000lbs with me ) just wondering whats the most weight others have hauled in their mid sized cars :))

nice work man, here is a link to an iforge topic on the crosses with holes in them i.e. fredricks cross http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/18586-fredericks-cross/

hey guys, this anvil is up for auction here locally, this is the only picture available I could find, I haven't seen one with that type of horn. Does any one know who made this? or have any info?? Thanks, Jodyanvil.bmp

Looks great , no need to heat treat unless your working cold metal :)

awesome work! if it's not too much trouble could you give a brief description of your process ? perhaps a how to? thanks!!!

those are looking mean!

petere76. for the fullering dies, I started with round stock, 1 1/4 inch i think. cut to desired length of the die, took a heat and flattened them down to the desired thickness ( about 5/8 to 3/4 inch maybe, i didn't measure. ) then ground the bottom flat ( very hard to get parallel ) a mill would be great for this. the top radius was then flattened down on the grinder to oval out or dome? not sure how to explain. I then bolted two plates to the tire hammer disengaged the head so that it would fall and used a clamp to align and tack weld the two dies to match on the plates. then removed and finished the welding. as for my punch, there are a few write ups on how they work. search the forum for it. personally my punch is smaller and I finish up with a drift. the drift is left in to flatten the cheeks during the process. it does do a little of punching and drifting as you stated. :) hope that helps. fuzzy smith! my swage block has been used mabe twice since i bought it a year ago LOL. but since i built the stand i have used it to shape the round die on my hammers , works a champ only problem is keeping the side you hit on the hammer square as i don't have a striker or extra hand to hold a flatter :)

there worth the money... B)

already signed up... lookin forward to it!

thanks Vaughn the swage block is from the saltork craftsmen, they sell them on their website http://www.saltforkcraftsmen.org/swage.shtml

http://media-cache-ec8.pinterest.com/upload/153122456051002391_wi4e7VFK_b.jpg as it is from another page I posted a link to it, but this is a dragon head fire pit... good for inspiration :) :D

drill some holes? lol

I am a big fan of the retro/ 50's style glasses! looks like you got a nice pair... i would like to get a pair of the mesh sided ones for the forge. seems like they would fog up less...

ahhh, will have to look into that, forgot they made flap disks for die grinders...:) thanks

Hey guys, I got one of the salt fork swage blocks and I need to clean up the rounds on the side where is was cast. anyone got any ideas how best to approach this? I was thinking of using a burr tool or sanding but I am open to suggestions Thanks!

dIdo on the compliments man! lookin good

Hey guys, here is few pictures of things i finished up today! Here is a set of "cheeking dies" I started this morning and finished up. took forever to get them to line up and then to weld them to the plates for the tire hammer! Brian Brazeal made me a set of these already but i have been having problems getting those to work for the larger hammers from 2 inch steel. Here is my new swage block stand! made from a blueprint from Iforge!!! while the steel was cutting i made the dies :) still need to add some welds and adjust the height for the long side (an easy fix) I punch my hammers by myself which isn't too hard but takes a few more heats! I had to make another top tool punch because of the abuse i gave my other one! (this was started the other day and finished this afternoon!) and finally all that work got me to this!!! the larger hammer was made with the new dies today and the new top tool. the smaller one was done last week :)

the belts I buy have an arrow for the direction of travel, don't believe it's too safe to put them in reverse, I have done it with no issues though...

it's a very Small Crown in the wheels but it is there, give it a shot with out it, I started out on mine using castor wheels I put bearings in. it did the job just fine. it also tracked the belt ok as well... Just saying ( my kids say that all the time) :P

I got mine from beaumont metals since i did not have access to a lathe. the ones i have do have a 1 degree crown on the idle wheel and drive. the crown is good for your tracking but not sure if it makes a difference on the drive. they are broke over on the edges. about an 1/8 in or so. hope this helps. Best regards

here's one if you like the irish stuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBN1eGNGEYI

after forgeing and cooling down from a lower black heat, take a veg. oil soaked cotton towel and wipe the piece down until it stops burning off the oil. or your happy with the look. the carbon from the cotton towel and the oil from the rag gives a luster and dark color and will protect the piece. (learned from brian brazeal)

I bought those plans and wasn't a member at the time... you can actually call the office and order over the phone as well iirc... good luck , i still haven't started mine yet.

Hey FF, Yeah i got a powerhammer, the first two welds i stuck with the hand hammer, the other ones i did on the PH. I was using some OLD 20 mule team borax, that has more or less clumped into a big rock from moisture. Brian demoed iron mountain here when he came to do a class, just haven't bought any. seems like it'd definately improve my welding :/