matto

my wandering about a spring swage for tenons is because i have about 55 roses to make for a client. so i thought it might speed up the making of the rose stems. but i do like the info on using a square tenon.

thanks for the input i will go with 1"x 1/4"

hey all i am new ti knife making but have 6 year blacksmithing. i happen to have a bunch of 7.5", 10" saw blades and a few 14" concrete saw blade also a few 36" buzz saw blades, can you use them for knifes or what else would they be good for?

when making a spring fuller or swage what size of strap is best and is mild steel ok to use? example: i want to make a spring swage for making the 3/16 tenon on the end of my 3/8 stock rose stems will 1" or 1 1/4" x 1/8" strap be ok for the spring

You can use a steel tri pod mark aspery has a plan in his first book. They are nice because you can move them if you need to and are very stable. I can't get my picture to come up but it is in the anvil form under my anvil stand

I went with the two burner blacksmiths model and am glad because it has the hinged side door on it. No matter what one you go with make sure to have or get some extra fire brick. They are nice to set the forge on and use to close off an opening if you need to. They also work for stock rest off an opening. On my two burner I can have two smiths working out of it. I am only running at five psi.

mine is M. O. forge and metal works. i think it has that 1920's and 50's retro/art deco ring to it. plus it is my initials and what i do.

i would like to be able to put a trap door in the only problem is the walls are 16" thick. as for your sidewalk example i think that is a good point and that is what i have started to do. thank you all for your thoughts.

Brian, i think that randy has a door in the outside wall at forge hight so he can open the door and send long pieces through the wall.

does anyone else have a crooked horn on their trenton? mine is a little crooked to the near side of the anvil if your horn is on the left. or i would say a little to the right if you are looking at the horn

fridge is well stocked in the office.

here is my trenton, got it for making some brackets on a boat trailer. it was covered in industrial hammered green paint and bondo. they thought it was a junk anvil. i thought it is an anvil. then alittle cleaning and presto a trenton

i hope to find a mentor around here with some of your skills. they all look great.

thank for the info.... i will look it up then post some pics after i get it built.

i have been using etra virgin olive oil for a about to years and as thomas said by keeping a lid on it it will last a long time. if you can find the new instruction you can make a batch of rob gunter's super quinch. i think the hammers blow or the california blacksmiths have details. or you can talk to your local oil supplier and see if the can still get chevron"s quinching oil last time i checked you could only get it in 55gal barrel.

i like it do you have plans for it so one might be able to copy it

mine is a 125# it is a great anvil to work on. i also use a magnet under the heel to quiet the ring. just stick it on and move it in and out on the underside of the heel till it quiets the ring.

I have used a 220 stick welder that i have used for 5 to 6 years on a 120 foot 10-2 with ground cord and have never had any problems. it needs a 50 amp breaker to run it.

I use a fifty pound bottle on my two burner. A lot of people around here use a 100 pound bottle because it is cheaper to fill.

more power to ya jacques the legs are cut at 20 degree angles on top and bottom. they are 2" heavy wall tubing. they are cut based off the end hight i wanted the face of my anvil to be, my legs are 15" long. the square frame that the anvil block sits on is 12x12 and is 1 1/2" heavy wall tube. the block is 3"x12"x12 made from 3x1 elm glued together. there is a 1/2" 12x12 plate under it welded to the frame work. you don't need it though. i have 2 more just like it that don't have the plate. i lag or through bolt through the frame tubing. with the turn buckles lags work fine. they're just there to hold the block on to the frame if the anvil is not on it.

i know there is a post of this on here somewhere but i have figured out how to add pictures. so i am just starting a post. this is a photo of part of my shop in kearney where i am setting up my smithy. nothing is bolted down yet and i don't have the sidedraft hood up yet. i am figuring out where i want everything. six to seven feet to the left of the coal forge is a five foot x eight foot roll-up door. the wood box in the right corner is my coal bin. it may move to a new location to give more room for the other forging station and the power hammer. the 25lb LG is on the right wall. there is about a four foot to five foot working triangle between the forge anvil and vise on both sideds of the forge. the forge blower will be controled by a adjustable switch by the tong rack where you can reach it from both sides of the forge allowing two smithes to uses the same forge. I also have a gasses on a roll cart that canbe uses by one or both smiths depending on where you set the cart. the power hammer is about six to seven feet from the coal forge. other wall areas not shown have work bench steel racks a small office paper work and the start of my smithing library. any suggestions would be great, knowing that nothing is "set in stone" yet.

hear is a picture of my anvil stand. the stand is based off of mark aspery's tri-pod farriers stand. the turn buckels are great for anvil hold downs making a very solid base and for quick removal for transporting. there are hole in the feet to anchor to the shop floor or for stakes when doing outdoor demos.

i know there is a post on show me your vise can't find it. so i am showing you here.(if my pictures come up) the stand is a 30gal oil barrel filled with concrete. the vise plates are bolted with all-thread attached to the rebar in the concrete. at the bottom of the barrel are brackets that fit 5/8" pins that slide into holes in my shop floor. that way i can move it to different location if needed. i do have a spot in the shop that i anchor bolt it down for most of the time. the 2 1/4" tube with the pin in the top is for my bending forks and other form and jigs i use. i have a 2" tube welded to them to fit into the 2 1/4" tube then pin them so they stay put. ( basically your trucks tow hitch) so what do you think? it really works good and is very solid when just pinned to the floor or bolted. the reason for 2 vises on it is because i use my vise to hold a lot of my hardy tools, so i can still have a tool in one vise and still have an open vise in the same area. it also gives me the ability to have another smith working without taking up more floor space with another vise snd stand.

check into diamondback iron works economy line of forges. fire up right out of the box. you can get a one or a two burner for under $400 plus about $45 shipping. i think the one burner is about $250-$275. gives you a good quick way to get started then when time and shop space are better you can build one more to your liking. i have been using the 2 burner blacksmiths model and have only been running at 5 psi and i get 5/8" stock up to nice yellow forging heat in no time.

more good books; the backyard blacksmith by lorelei sims, the skills of a blacksmith vol. 1 and 2 vol. 3 when it comes out by mark aspery, new edge of the anvil by jack andrews, a blacksmithing primer by randy mcdaniel, the blacksmiths cookbook by francis whitaker, a blacksmiths craft by francis whitaker then any books about past blacksmiths. " for it is through the past that we will build the future" or " learning to use the tools from yesterday, today, will build tomorrow"