Alec.S

Also... drawing the taper is no sweat! it took me 9 heats ( brian it took him six ) swinging a five pound hammer.... dont get too anxious about it... just reduce surface area contact to move more metal and use a heavy hammer. http://www.youtube.com/user/alectheblacksmith#p/u/16/U-C31MskGQs that is me at brian's tapering the drift with his five pound hammer.... and if i ( a very small thirteen year old ) can do it... every one else has the potential do it way better because they are a foot taller than me, weigh twice as much and are much stronger than me... it is just about using the correct techs to get the job done faster.! happy metal moving, phil!!! alec :)

the taper portion equals to how much you grab... and the drift i described has been proportioned by someone who has made hundreds of hammers and many hundreds of top tools ( brian brazeal ) and with each one having to have used a drift... i am sure he has experiance in this field! but i believe, before you flatten it to make it capsule shape it is about 9 inches + or - a little bit....... is what i seem to remember

one of them engineer's vices ( on its side) that the jaws swivels and has a pipe vise on the bottom is my bet.... but it could also be an artists rendition of having bad eyesight... alec

oh yeah, 5160 would be brilliant... but with a hand hammer.....hhmmm

when i was making drifts with Brian Brazeal. we used a piece of 1 1/8 1045 . first heat, on the end, forge a steep taper down to 5/8. Then using 4 inches of remaining material, behind the taper... you draw your taper. One must try and make it as round as possible. then cut off 4 inches from where the taper starts and stops and forge the handled part, just a hex taper... it could aslo be round square or left as a bar, your choice. then turn it bake to the long taper and flatten two sides all the was down so you will have a " capsule shape " . i hope that made sence.... alec

Here is some of Dan's work! he hast figured out how to post the pics himself yet, so he emailed them to me for me to post! this steel magnolia is BEAUTIFUL, dan!!!

The style is completely up to you...try loads of styles and use the one YOU prefer. In terms of weight... It is advisable to start with 2.5 pounds and over. alec

Oh man that thing is cool, Larry!! You running that thing off of a compressor?? You should go into mass production of these thing for the blacksmiths Market !!!!! So cool Alec

WOW.... It is all so so so beautiful!!

Great sets of pics, Lyle!!!!!!

Thanks Bob and Bob! Thanks for the advise about the corners!

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention that is stands 30 inches high..

Great, Monty!!!

Thank you, Francis!

Thank you very much, Monster! Yes, it does make me happy !!

Thank you, BWF!

Thanks , Freeman!! yes, it is very handy.... an it will also force me to keep my tools in their place because everything now has its place and it looks untidy if it aint in its place!! yes, you should build one! but i suggest using bigger material for the legs... i am worried about how long those legs will last considering the weight that is on them!! alec

Thank you very much also, Bryan!

Yeah, that would be better wouldn't it! But this was at hand and I will probably put a thin steel top on it any way!!! Thank you very much, Clinton!!!!!! alec

Well, here is what i did on monday... https://picasaweb.google.com/100129294872680468528/StrikingViseAndStand It stands ( to the top of vise jaws ) 30 inches high. This was a 5 inch peter wright leg vise... I can still clearly see the name p wright then an engraving of what appears to be a forge, horse, man, hammer and anvil, then it say patent solid box. All legs made out of 40 x 80 mm 1/4 inch wall box tubing. The legs are at 98 degrees ; 8 degrees off vertical. The top plate was initially two pieces of 1/4 inch diamond plate welded together with supports underneath but i then added another piece of diamond plate on top of those two. The feet have holes to allow me to stake or bolt to the earth so it does not move. Yes, i know it isn't very good of me to have welded the vise to the stand, but i do not have the necessary equipment to do other wise. Anyway, i dont ever intend to use this vise off this stand, and if i HAVE to take it off i can simply knock out the wedges. This is a tool, and so in mounting it in this way i have made it far more useful to me, as a tool. Personally, this wasn't a pleasant day, because i hate welding, cutting and grinding.... but after a long and tiring day, i am VERY VERY pleased of what i had accomplished! Thank you very much for looking! comments and critique are very welcome!! so please do!! alec

Well, this was this afternoon's work.. An adaption of Brian's design. Same principal just different design... https://picasaweb.google.com/1 00129294872680468528/TvTrayAdaptionOfBrianBrazealSDesign .... I hope to take these tools to the BABA AGM and demo his techniques to show people how with Brian's techniques.... it is VERY simple and easy to make very esthetically pleasing and strong tools and things, so long as you understand the techs that Brian teaches! Comments and Critique on the TV Tray are very very welcome! and will be greatly appreciated!! thanks for looking alec

You have got your self a beautiful anvil there! I have always wanted a ? Portsmouth pattern ¿ ( i believe that is what they are called ) ! Great price too!!! alec

Hello, Mike... Welcome to IFI! This is not really an answer to your question .. but... on the 5,6 and 7th of august, at croft on tees in NORTH Yorkshire is the BABA ( British artist blacksmithing association ) 's AGM... Where there is a Forge-In... This would be a great thing for you to attend and it would give you a great head start in forging! I would also suggest you joining BABA as a member. also, look up Brian Brazeal on this forum ( user name = brianbrazealblacksmith ) http://www.iforgeiron.com/user/4954-brianbrazealblacksmith/ and look through his posts and topics. You can either serch in the search bar or look through these ( they are not all of them though, they get erased after a while ) http://www.iforgeiron.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=user_activity&mid=4954 ... Brian Brazeal is an amazing smith and is willing to share so much of his knowledge! The techniques he employs into forging make it so much more simple! If you ever have the time, try and look through as many of Lyle Wynn's photos of his time with Brian ( https://picasaweb.google.com/LDWynn ) ... i and others have learnt so much just by looking at photos and videos of those two people! also, if i havnt over loaded you too much = https://picasaweb.google.com/brianbrazealblacksmith ( more pictures of his techniques ) sorry for over loading you with info about just two people, but what ever you learn from looking through those photos, videos, topics and posts... WILL be worth it, i am sure! good books are, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Backyard-Blacksmith-Traditional-Techniques-Modern/dp/1592532519/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1311257784&sr=8-8 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Modern-Blacksmith-Alexander-Weygers/dp/0898158966/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1311257784&sr=8-11 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Artist-Blacksmith-Design-Techniques/dp/1861264283/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311257784&sr=8-1 and, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blacksmiths-Craft-Primer-Tools-Methods/dp/1580175937/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1311257784&sr=8-3 alec post scriptum, sorry for overloading you a bit!

great pics, lyle!!! you know i love looking through your pictures!