jayco

Hope we don't hit a SNAG!

My forge blower is hand Crank.

I bought apples in a wooden crate.

A while back, a neighbor I've known most of my life,came to my shop one day and wanted me to "beat out" the edge of his old , blunt mattock. He meant draw out and taper,but that's how older folk around here would phrase it. I must also point out that the man is 74, able bodied, and was eager to help. After a minute or so , we(actually he) decided that he would do 'the holding"......and I would do the 'hitting. That's not my usual way of working, but I've known this guy a long time. After a couple of heats and some hammering on my part, he said "good enough". All this while he had been telling me how he used to help his Grandpa in the blacksmith shop more than 60 years ago. While he was telling me these things, I was thinking about how to quench this thing. Well, I never got the chance to quench in oil as I had planned. At the last hammer blow, he promptly took the quite hot mattock outside the shop and slammed the cutting edge into the damp ground in front of the shop.(It had rained the day before). That was a real surprise for me......I had never seen anything like that before! I asked him why he did that......and he said "that's the way Grandpa always done it"! 'Cools stuff slow so it don't crack" certainly not a scientific method of quenching.....if it's a 'quench' at all! Has anyone else ever heard of this? James

I watched 'The Blacksmith' years ago. It is funny! I've got to watch it again to be sure, but what struck me about it was that the tools, anvils, engine blocks, etc. were 'real' and not 'props'!

This game is Neat !

I'm gonna write a letter.

Don't touch that DIAL!

I didn't realize till I read your post again that the wood chisel had been sharpened like a cold chisel! Might still save it though, with some really patient grinding. I hope it hasn't been softened by overheating! good Luck James

Welcome gobinu........I got a 109 lb. P. W. too! But yours looks to be in much better shape than mine. Welcome to the site.....join right in....enjoy!! James

Wecome RainsFire! There's lots of information and lots of friendly folks here. enjoy!!

APP-Man-----If the chisel was only overheated a little on the corners,it may not have lost that much hardness. I'd probably try reshaping/sharpening first before attempting a full heat-treat. You can always do that later if the edge is too soft. I was taught in highschool carpentry class to always use a bench grinder with a tool rest to get a consistent bevel on a wood chisel. The chisel must be kept cool as possible during the grinding process.We were told to keep a cup of water nearby, and dip the point even before touching it to the grinder. Just soon as the edge you are grinding becomes dry,dip again. Usually no more than2 to3 seconds between dips. Final honing is done on a whetstone to give a fine edge and remove that little wire edge that will most likely form after grinding. This is just the old way shown in lots of woodworking how-to books.....but it works! James

Rich...that's a good idea(making a mate for the one I have) I'll tr to do that! Thanks! Welder19 ....I don't think it was ever a 'pretty' piece of work, but rather something a smith did in a hurry (because somebody needed a set of firedogs). You can still find old stuff in old barns around here.....kind of like iron archaology! And yes.......Im still looking for the other one!! James

My daughter and son-in-law had this old andiron or 'fire dog' on their front porch for many years. They'd found it in an old barn on their property. They only found the one........the other is lost I suppose. My daughter got tired of folks using it for a boot scraper and gave it to me. I find it an interesting piece and suspect it's very old. As near as I can tell,it was made from a piece of 1 in. square stock.......doubled back on itself and forge welded. The split section at the bottom which forms the legs shows 'half-holes'..........perhaps that part of the piece had been welded also at some previous time. The weld at the top of the piece is very good, but the mortise and tenon are a little crude. this piece was someting else before it was an andiron, but I'm not sure what it was. I like examining old work like this......It gives a glimpse into how things were done many years ago. James

Welcome to IFORGEIRON Tejota! This is a large site with lots of metalworking knowledge and lots of friendly folks. Enjoy!

This poll really made me think about tools and quality. Thinking is a good thing.I found myself asking other questions, like.....Why does the quality of tools and other products made in different parts of the world vary so much? I think the responsibility for quality rests on the shoulders of the company or manufacturer. The 'better' companies make 'better' tools........largely because they WANT to make 'better' tools. If the company is proud of it's name and proud of it's products and the employees are valued for their skills and paid accordingly.....then everyone is part of the "team". Good work and good tools are the end result. If, on the other hand.....the company merely exists to make a profit...then you find poorly equipped factories set up somewhere around the world where it is easy to exploit workers and skirt environmental laws(if they even have any there).....(i.e. sweatshops) And because there is no "team" of people striving to produce a good product......you get instead,....cheap,shoddy,imported goods. And finally,the company that cares about it's workers probably cares about it's customers as well. The company that doesn't care about it's workers probably views it's customers as someone else to exploit. Well,time to get off my soapbox.........James

A poreis a small opening.

Pease....according to Webster's.....the plural of "pea"...old English

I bought a box of stuff at the flea market recently, and this horseshoe was in the bottom of the box. It's unusual to say the least. I've never shoed a horse and know nothing of farrier's work. I figured some of the farriers here could explain this thing. Next to the shoe, is a sheet metal plate. The gray wedge is some kind of very hard, tough plastic The really dark(almost black) piece on top is leather. Just curious as to why a horse needed to wear this..... James ......

Welcome to IFI Makoz! A lot of smiths here also do a little woodworking . What is the tool in your picture that is inside the saw frame? The small one with 2 rivets? James

Gotta be TOUGH!

A cold in the NOSE.