Paul42`

Just finished this cookset. Pretty basic stuff for most I guess, but I had fun doing it! I used a stick welder for the horseshoes, but the fire poker has my first successful forge weld on it! My only concern is the high-temp BBQ paint I used... this stuff seems to scratch off real easy. Hopefully it will harden up a bit once over a fire.

St Thomas, Ontario here! Have you checked out OABA here yet???

I've been having the same problem... went through a lot of bits too...lol! I believe the steel needs to "normalize" (let it cool down slowly on its own - no quenching) before drilling. I've had good luck with this, but still have the occasional piece that gives me trouble (usually about half-way through ). I bought a "cobalt" drill bit and this seems to be working without the normalizing. I think speed will be a factor too, but I'm sure others can better explain. :)

Now Dan... if you would've said a six pack of brown pop & some day old pizza - I might've been interested....lol!! Been working on campfire cookset & a couple of trammels... The trammel here is much too big for this cookset... live 'n learn!

Yep... electrolysis is great on paint. Sadly, it does nothing on lead. I purchased and old cast iron cooking pot (from the UK, early 1800's)... it had been painted black. The electrolysis removed all the paint... that's when I discovered someone had used the pot to melt lead. Wish there was a way to safely remove the lead, 'cause no one's using that pot for supper now!

Some from Ontario, Canada too.

Looks great! Hope you post a few more pics once it's fired up. :)

Here's a trammel I made the other day. It's pretty big... adjustable 18" to 25" & still needs a coat of high-temp paint.

If you can get the anvil into a large enough tub, electrolysis will do a great job and you won't have any sanding, scraping or grinding to do at all.

Really like those pliers Naz.... great idea! Gonna use this one for sure!

Nice job... and I thought I was the only one still drinking OV! B)

Outstanding! I can't even imagine doing something like this... maybe one day. :)

Really, really nice Sam! Great job!

Very impressive! Would love to see pics of it installed.

All I can say is WOW!

That really is a thing of beauty! Great work!

Those are beautiful! A lot better than just another knick knack for sure.

Here's what I use... 1 part bees wax 1 part turpentine 1/2 part boiled linseed oil Apply with black heat - it'll smoke some. Once cooled, polish with a rag.

Phil... Does one wrap the anvil or one's wife with the chain? Andrew... Like the stand - looks sharp!

Thanks! Yes, I did try it and it works very well. Takes a bit getting used to but after the first piece of celery... no problems! :)

I've recently been intrigued with a hand-forged mezzaluna I came across on-line. I was at an antique market yesterday and found an old draw knife that made me think of the mezzaluna. I removed the wooden handles and started up the forge! I wish I had taken a "before" pic, but this one from google is pretty close... Here's the final product, but I still have to heat treat it... I'd like to try this again but use some antler or wood for handles. Not bad for a few bucks!

Looks great!

I have a couple of small pieces of iron and am wondering if they could be wrought iron. The top piece (bar) was pulled from what we think was some ship timber that had washed ashore in southern Georgian Bay. I know there are quite a few ship wrecks in the area. We probably shouldn't have taken it, but I'll blame this one on my kids...lol. We just dug up the second piece at the back of our yard today. (My oldest wants to be an archeologist!) Our house is about 100 years old and backs onto a ravine. We've discovered that many previous owners must have used the ravine to dispose of their garbage. This piece almost looks like a knife, but it is way too thick and the edges are squared. It was really, really encrusted with crud, but cleaned up nicely. Wish I knew what it was originally. Both almost look like they have a wood grain to them. I did a spark test, but really don't know what to look for. I compared the spark to a piece of hot-rolled mild steel and there was definitely a difference. The old steel sparked a little & wasn't overly bright, but it didn't "shower" like the mild steel did. Thought about picking up a metal detector, but I don't need yet another hobby... at least not yet. Now the question is... what to use them for????

Well, I might be getting off topic a bit, but here's a pig I roasted for my 40th birthday. Did it "cuban-style" using a temporary bbq built from concrete blocks. Here's a link to full set-up if anyone is interested. Pig Roast Cuban Style Here's to the weekend!