Don A

Those are really nice. I love copper. Did you do the tin wash yourself? What did you use (pure tin?) and how do you work it? Excellent work.

Some of the originals had an iron body and a brass bowl. Some have a forged iron body and a turned bowl. Either of these would be threaded. The only advantage to ever be gained from removing the bowl of a pipe hawk would be for cleaning (when it comes to smoking, a clean pipe is a happy pipe). I seriously doubt the originals saw much throwing.

Very nice. Good work.

Here's a rig I made for use as a charcoal sideblast: It's just a modified drop from an I-beam with a hole cut and a pipe welded in. The verticle piece in the back isn't necessary, but it is handy. You could just as easily weld up a 2 piece pan... a back and a bottom. It gives me just a form for a fire pot, so I can arrange fire brick to form the size of the pot I need. It looks like this in use: I'm using a bellows, but any sufficient blower would work. The main thing is to get a good, deep fire. Then keep as much fuel over your piece as you have under it. It doesn't take much air to get good heat. I have welded in this fire many times. Don't let the big masonry forge fool you. There is an old burned our coal pot beneath my charcoal rig. You could use any type of heat resistant stand or table to accomplish the same thing. Good luck, Don

Welcome to Iforge Stephen. Good work as always. Don

Welcome. Looking forward to seeing your work once you get going.

Wow! Great job. What are the finished dimensions (height, diameter)?

Not necessarily a goose wing, but well worth watching anyway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQaaS71yfvM I'm sure some of the techniques would cross over.

Very, very nice work. Top notch. Good job.

That looks mighty nice. Now you need to forge a chain to hang it with. Good work.

I love copper. Did you forge hot or just forge it cold and anneal it? Very nice work.

Also, you might be hitting it too hard initially. A weld is best set with light, firm blows. Especially wth the round surfaces, you could be getting a little slippage intead of stickage (appologies for all the technical lingo). Best thing to do is to take all of the advice you are given, practice 'til it works, and then do it that way from then on.

The only reason I ever had for quenching during temper is when I am using a torch or similar heat source and watching the colors run from spine to edge. The heated spine, if it's thick enough, can store heat and continue to push it toward the edge after the edge is judged to be good. Same holds true for a thick bodied chisel or axe. I might want to stop the edge at bronze or near-purple, but the resevoir of heat in the thick section will push it past if I don't stop it. Hope that make sense. When using something with a heat control (oven, etc.), I just turn it off and let it cool on its own.

Nice rig Wesley. I like that a lot.

Second the wire wheel on the bench grinder. But protect your eyes and hold on tight. That's one of the most dangerous tools we use.

Phillip, Let me be the first to congratulate you on a job well done (1st here anyway... I saw it yesterday on the other forum). It looks beautiful, but I love the flex shot. Most first-timers (myself included) would tend toward too stiff, too thick, and too heavy. The fact that the pattern weld lends itself to this much spring is a testimony to your craftsmanship. Well done, Don

I started out in an 8x8' shed and "moved up" to a 10x12" space, so it doesn't take a lot of room, espeacially when forging smaller stuff. The shipping container is a great idea, but you might want to look at making everything semi-portable... either on casters or easily moved with a dolly. That way, when the weather is nice, you could move your forge and anvil out and have plenty of space. You could even fix a canopy for shade. If you do choose to work in the container, be 100% sure you establish PLENTY of ventilation. You coulds seal yourself up in there and die from CO in short order. Good luck, and keep us posted. Don

I'm diggin' that sub-hilt in picture #4. The only thing I would offer is that on the next one you would round the edges of your guard and handle more. No complaint; just a suggestion. Other than that... great work! Don

Yeah, I 've got some pictures of the TN side of the Great Smoky Mountains in the 20's & 30's and it looks like Mars with stumps... The lumber co. with the rail skidders scalped it and left it. What the tourists see now is all second growth. A stick of virgin timber is a rare thing to find on this side. Now the bugs are taking what is left. Chestnut (long gone), balsam fir, hemlock; now ash and dogwood. At least we have kudzu and mimosa to keep things green.

Great job Ric. Excellent presentation.

Might be... kinda hard to tell from the picture. It's going to look and feel like a coarser version of what blue jeans are made of... tightly woven cotton.

double post... sorry

My wife/accountant always says the same thing ;) And yes, somebody got a great deal on some nice iron work. However, don't stress too much about it. I have found that you can't charge a customer for your learning curve, so as you get faster / more productive, you profit margin will also increase. Also, when you are building a base and you are aquainted with the folks you are doing business with, it don't think it hurts to cut them a break to get your name out there... as long as you are comfortable with the price. Think of it as part of your advertisement budget. When you get the time & material estimation thing down and folks start coming to you... then you can start moving up toward "going rate". Good work, Don

This is what I use: http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=126334-968-51028%2f9FF&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3010455&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=rel&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

IMO, in the picture, you have it in pretty good shape to start draw-filing. You will be amazed how clean you can finish a blade with a good file or two.