Larry H

Ahhhh the memories of my '65,...... the car was four when I got it.....not me. 289, headers, custom four speed...hurst shifter, I forget the rear it had.........other memories super cede it

when you improve like Dave Custer, large growth....short time

has anyone noticed that the original poster hasn't posted since April 2012 ? F. Whitaker stated what every smith eventually realizes. Pughman.... only time will temper your hardness, it happens to us all. Its a good trade, with more to learn than we have time. Anyone who can suffer through the hazards and/or trauma that comes with years of smithing, is for sure a smith. The choice you must make is .....what kind of smith to you aspire to become ?, if you are satisfied with the work you produce now, your growth will be stunted. If there is always something you think you could improve...and then you do it for no other reason except to satisfy yourself, then you're onto something. By the way, I started working with smiths in '68, started shoeing in '75.....Union smith in '84 ......and 591 days left until retirement

Me thinks you protesteth to much.

worth saying twice

Well, it seems the standard has already been set. Did you see the Link ? Everyone can think what they want.....You can call yourself a ninja, just pray you don't have to prove that one

Tim....that link will shake the bones of some noobs. I don't know whether it will wake some of them up or not, but , just to think that those skills were what you need to become a qualified APPRENTICE . I guess all the protestors have those skills, thats why they are ..... Blacksmiths........ (Legends in their own minds). Thats why the trade almost died, everyone who had a torch, and could heat it and beat it, could call themselves blacksmiths. When push came to shove.....they weren't.

clean looking tool, i've done a few for the union roofers on my job,..without the nail puller, but yours probably look a little "sharper" ( not in the sharper tool sense, in the sharper lookin' sense )

I've been using only coke for 28 years. That being said.... forget about the rheostat to control the air, use an air gate, the blower will run free air without issues and the pull of the lever will increase or decrease the flow. The tuyere isn't necessary, I have an air blower,air gate, right angle up to the fire, with a thick grate, right angle to the ash clean out. I can melt 3" sq. by accident. Don't restrict the air, cut it off with the gate....I hate to say it , BUT...that fire pot may ( will ) get red hot so keep that in mind when making the frame. Coke isn't like coal, it's way hotter

wadau tawkin about........I'll be lookin' fa yoo at Ashoken

Well said Doc, ......one of my thoughts :...when you're capable of concentrating on what you have to do with hot metal rather than what anvil or hammer is available,......... a tool is but an extension of a mans hand

whut ?

well I had to make some quickie doors for the shop to keep the wind out, and the snow, at least they look ok from the street !

you've been doing more that reading !, nice work

nothing wrong with that, the result is what matters...and that is a good result. Nice job

what size did you start with ?

sorry twice

sorry

Yves...thats what they thought about that not so sticky glue.......then they thought about it ....and invented post-its. You just haven't found the correct use for them yet. Oh yeah, I prefer to draw them out, usually by hand....so far....but I AM getting older, I think a store bought power hammer is in my near future.

Thanks and I appreciate the info, and I " shall endeavor to persevere on this matter" ( ring any bells ? ). Well any way, I'll try to find Robs post, I have a few anvils to practice on....I wish I had a big milling machine....and knew how to use it.

Thanks for the info, any preheat ?

Sorry but I can't find the post on anvil repair I saw last week with the stoody rod for anvil edges and faces.....1100 something, can any one help ?

it looks like some kind of latch

The best way I have found, for me, is to make a ring of the appropriate width to equal the depth of your bowl, put another ring of 1/2" around the top edge ( so you don't mark up the outside of the bowl ) use a rounding hammer to depress your metal into the ring, planish from the inside on the anvil, ( with the round side of hammer ) using this method you will never be at a loss for the right size "jig"

how ever many you have to make, double it, when you finish, you will have a new view of the process, compare them to the first, and stand in awe of what you have accomplished