swedefiddle

So no canister damascus:tm:? Boy are you ever missing the intended meaning of the saying. Left field, out of the park!! This is my saying, the key words are "If you don't create the box to contain your thinking, you can't be accused of Thinking outside of the Box". This has absolutely nothing to do with Canister Damascus. Neil

Good Luck, Which part of Alberta? There are quite a few Blacksmiths in Alberta. Neil

A Sawyers Anvil doesn't have a horn, it works wonderful for it's job. Neil

Good Morning Toor, Canada is a big place, can you be slightly more specific. If you put your area in your avatar, people will then know how to help. I live in Victoria BC. There are a lot of other association's across Canada, I was asking to help point you to someone closer to you, than on the interweb. Neil

Good Morning, What part of the rock do you call home? I would ask the supplier. Neil

Good Morning, There is a Cafe, here on the Island, made from retired 2" Wire Rope (main Line for High Lead Logging). It is called the 'Cable Cafe'. If you make a Door Frame, that would be 'the Entrance to the Chain of Command'. LOL Neil

Good Morning, Talking about a 'Left Handed Monkey Wrench', There is such a thing. There is a 'Left Handed Crescent Wrench'. Yes you have to rotate the thumb screw the other way. The first time I used it, it was awkward, Then I became used to it. Neil

Good Morning Bored, The wonderful world of Hooks is absolutely open to interpretation. Nobody sees the same way or procedure the same. What I teach is, when you draw out the tapered square for the part that is driven into the wood, I give them a half turn counter-clockwise (when hot). This makes a right hand thread. They will not fall out, regardless what you hang on them. Enjoy your Journey. Neil

Good Morning, mni Welcome to our world. The best Teacher is to pay attention to our "OOPS" and learn what the material is telling us. There is no failure, if you are learning. I learned from Tom Clark (RIP) to take the time and set up the blank with a small square, center punch and either 2 or 3 small drilled holes. Jennifer has a video here about a Handled Cold Cut she just made. She didn't predrill and she shows how to correct for an uncentered hole. She also shows how to create an oval Handle Hole by punching the hole with a Round Punch and then ................. 'watch the Video'. Enjoy the Journey, there is no Destination but it all matters!!! Neil

Good Morning Jerry, Actually, I never opened what was posted, to see what someone was maybe saying. Thanks for the reminder. I am teaching a Class right now and one of the Topics I try to stress is how to not get bitten by Fish Lips. It is a simple sequence, at the very start. Neil

Good Morning, To curtail Fish Lips, you need a special kind of Hook (LOL). Actually, Forge a very short taper on the end of the Bar, FIRST. This will allow the outer layers to stretch/draw out and you can clean up the end at the very end, with a File or ???? When you Forge, the effort of the blows moves the surface material first. When you use a Press, the effort goes to the center of your material to move the material. It is just a matter of fact of where/how deep the effort is moving the material. Neil

Good Morning, When you are drawing the taper or square, turn clockwise, back to center, turn counter-clockwise. Our natural reflex is to suck up on the Tongs when striking, going back and forth keeps the twist straight. Yes, it is just a little thing but is adds up. Neil

Good Morning Smith, Welcome to IforgeIron. There are folks on here from everywhere. If you put your locale in your avatar, there may be someone close to you. A friend of mine was making a lot of fence pickets with 1/2" square. he was twisting them by hand. slide a piece of 3/4 pipe over the twist section. hold in a vice, use a crescent wrench to twist. COLD. The twist is always even. Most of us have started with a large Forge, like what you are talking about. Most of us have the same Forge sitting in the corner. It doesn't have to be that large of a diameter to be long. I had a job to Hammer finish 3/4" solid square, 10ft long. 130 pieces. I made a brick Forge, 1 brick high, 2 bricks wide, 5 bricks long. I was heating over 3 feet at a time. I had a 1 3/4" burner pointed in one end. 3 bars at a time in a rotation. 10 feet in 3 heat sections, ended up over 11 feet. Good Luck with your design. The size of the soup can isn't critical, it just holds the insulation. You can make ceramic buttons {like a drawer pull) that are held to the soup can with a piece of wire (drill a hole through for the wire. the wire doesn't get hot), this holds the soft insulation in place, for a long Forge. Just a thought. Neil

Good Morning, Welcome, You didn't put your area of 'Shadow Making' in your avatar. If we knew what area you call home, I'm sure there is someone near you that can help you. There are lots of stories about 'Breaker Bits' being an 'S' series of steel. Most Breaker Bits are 1045 to 1060, a medium carbon Steel. A Breaker Bit will be good material for what it sounds like you are trying to do. Neil

Good Morning, Lary There are some very knowledgeable members of the North West Blacksmith Association, who live near you. Contact www.blacksmith.org and ask who else lives in the Gorge. I know of at least one who has his own Blacksmith School. You are missing a couple of basic steps. Neil