VaughnT

I really like lawnmower blades for things other-than-knives. Right now, I'm working on a dead-bolt that uses a mower blade for the back plate. Keep up the good work, hoss.

Great score, ID. Those 2 other things are sheet metal stakes for curving and dishing thin metal into bowls and such. Definitely worth a dollar or two!!

I have wanted a source for longer lengths of 1/4" square stock for a few projects. I'm not a big producer of things, but I do get rather tired of squaring up round bar because I can never get the edges really sharp and uniform like the rolling mills do. The keystock around there is pretty pricey and not always available, so I wouldn't mind knowing I could call up the NJ Steel Baron and get a few 6' lengths of square mild.

Paint it brass or copper so it blends into the period look, but stands out against the black. Copper and Brass go really well with old power hammers. Though, probably the best thing to do would be to mail the hammer to me so you don't have to worry about someone needing to know where the off switch is.

Looks to me like the really important part of that vise is the adjustable rest for the workpiece to sit on. Other than that, it's not really doing anything that a set of jaw covers for any vise wouldn't also accomplish. Making the adjustable rest wouldn't be too hard because all you need is a series of holes that you can pin the rest in place by. The gear teeth are neat, but certainly not the only way to accomplish the adjustability. Not saying that I wouldn't love to have a dedicated upsetting device, though. We all need more tools!

​You'd better kick up the price on those openers! That's every bit of a twenty-dollar bill, and don't let anyone tell you different. You need to remember to value your work like it deserves to be valued. Blacksmiths are rather rare in the world today and what you're producing can't be found at every gas station and big box store. Even my most basic opener is always priced above $20 simply because I'd rather not sell them than let them go for a loss. The way I look at it, the folks that spend $25-35 for a bottle opener are the kind of folks that will appreciate it and take care of it. I forged a rather nice opener the other day. It's meant to resemble an old strap hinge, like some poor fellow in the countryside needed to pop a top and used what was handy to make an opener. The finial is thin enough that it can be used to wedge open a can's tab.

Trying to forge down the threads will simply collapse them, leaving voids hidden under the shmooshed peaks. While this is horrible for knives, it's great if you want a very nice little detail on a piece. The collapsed threads will leave a spiral of fine lines circling around the metal. This is great for snakes, lizards, bottle openers, wizard hats, and scrolls. I once did just this on a set of cooking tripods. The spiraled finials always amazed folks and they could never figure out how I did it. Of course, I never enlightened them, preferring that they think I was simply a master blacksmith plying the secrets of my trade!

I'm really curious to see how you can adjust the machine without stopping it. To go from a 2" throw to a 10" throw is a pretty substantial difference, and to be able to do it on the fly.... well, I'll have to see it before I believe it. Sounds like you'll be able to make anything from cooking trivets to sledge hammers on this old girl. How soon til she's up and running? We're going to need lots and lots of video!

It's been that way for awhile around here. Single-buyer contracts are lucrative because they eliminate guesswork and trouble spots - you know you're getting paid for everything you can gather up, and you don't have to worry about dozens of people walking around your yard. There was one large scrap yard I heard rumor of. They turned their yard into a very nice, organized, sales floor with everything laid out by type, size, etc. The customers could walk through the aisles just like they were at Lowe's or Walmart. The downside to an operation like that is that it requires a lot more labor than simply dumping stuff in piles, and it relies heavily on the craftsmen and artists of the region actually coming in to shop. In my area, it would never work because there aren't enough small businesses that need a bit of this-or-that.

And just so folks can see just what's possible with a not-a-london-pattern-anvil and minimal tooling....... I present to you the masterful work of Bogdan Popov! http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=25866&hl=%2Bancient+%2Brussian+%2Baxe If you follow along with Bogdan's tutorials on the bladesmith forum, you'll be amazed at how they made anvil stumps and were able to get anything accomplished even though they didn't have a hardy or pritchel hole on their anvils.

Very nice anvil. I love pondering all the things an anvil like that must have seen in its lifetime.

New one on me! I've never heard of a hammer designed like that, and I'll definitely look forward to more photos of it. Maybe you can shoot some video of it running so we can see this switching mechanism in action. I've been considering a guided-helve hammer build and really like the small footprint this thing has. I've never seen such a short helve on a full-size hammer. How much room do you have between the dies? It looks like you're able to adjust the height of the hammer guide by loosening the bolts where it clamps to the upright. Not something you'd want to do often, but a neat feature if it meant you could set the hammer up to do a specific task.

Andy, I agree in part with what you're saying. Sadly, the Perceived Value of an anvil doesn't necessarily reflect reality, and all the talking in the world won't change that. While the new guys see us old hands with big London Pattern anvils and think that they need one if they're to have any hope, what they don't see is that we've been around for a long time and have had plenty of opportunity to grab anvils as they come available. Perception v. Reality. Do we need to demonstrate the use of other types of anvils? Honestly, I don't think it would do any good. With the ton of videos available on the internet, you would think it would be rather common knowledge. With examples of smiths in viking towns using rocks or 10# chunks of iron, you would think that new people would have plenty of historical reference to learn from. In either case, it's very very easy for a luddite like me to find alternative anvils, so I'm a bit perplexed at kids these days that can't find the same stuff on the internet. What's missing in the equation is imagination and drive. The internet's right there, but somehow we still get new guys asking the same questions over and over, asking us to give them an immediate answer so they don't have to do two minutes of research. Instead of using a sledge hammer head like shown in the kukri video, the new guys will whine and cry about not being able to find an anvil anywhere in the world.... or they'll ask you if they can use a section of railroad track instead. As more people get into blacksmithing, more people will get out of it. While the membership number might be climbing, I don't think it's an indication that the demand is also increasing. A lot of those members have long since quit, and a lot of the new guys will quit just as soon as they see how hard a job it really is. Call it a passing fancy.

Thanks for the reminder. I keep saying I'm going to weld up a backer plate like Aspery uses, but keep forgetting. I've wanted to try my hand at making a turning wrench like that ever since I saw his video on it.

Honestly, hoss, you don't sound like you've got the experience or tooling to make a hammer. Your questions, to date, have been simplistic, to say the least, and indicate that you're just starting in the trade, yet you want to jump right in the deep. If the plethora of information already published on the internet is too hard for you to grasp, you're definitely not ready to try forging a hammer.

No doubt, Glenn. He just asked me to say hello and pass on his good wishes to everyone. Neighborly chap, that fellow!

As I'm sure most of you have noticed, Ausfire, our brother Down Under, hasn't been around since the IFI update. Sadly, the update to the site has caused some issues with his being able to get on to it. He can read your posts, but can't reply. Emails have been exchanged with the admins, but nothing seems to be working. I know a lot of us are having to continually log in when we visit IFI and suspect that Ausfire's issue is similar. Ausfire's a good chap and didn't want anyone to think he was ignoring them or didn't want to participate in the forum. If you've got an idea on how he can fix the issue, he's all ears. Feel free to chime in.

I'd love to use that section of gun barrel as the base for a power hammer!

You do beautiful work, hoss. Absolutely stellar kit.

Gorgeous anvil and stand. I've really like to get my hands on a heavy stand like that. I'm trying to wrap my brain around the Crossley era cost-cutting measures. Putting out unbranded equipment doesn't seem like it would be a good financial idea in the long run. Of course, maybe they saw the writing on the wall and knew their days were numbered.

That's a gorgeous set of springs you have there! I like the tools you're making from them, but the springs are sure pretty. I guess you know you're a blacksmith when you're just as happy with a photo of some good "scrap" as you are from some nicely made tools....

Definitely interesting. I've never seen that type of design before.

You'll use that portaband a lot! Mine gets used every day for general stock cutting and it's a wonderful thing to have!

​If you have a bench grinder, it's very easy to grind a concentric curve/taper onto some 1/2" round stock by chucking it in a drill and spinning it against your grinder. Round-nose punches come in real handy for a lot of things, and a few quick hits with a file will turn a round punch into an oval to make an eye punch, etc. I lucked into some 1/2" roller bearings and have been making punches and chisels out of them b/c they don't need any heat-treat.

Chalkboard paint on MDF..... brilliant! I've been struggling with how to do larger designs because I don't have anywhere decent to draw them out to full size. I'll look forward to seeing how you do the various elements of the gate.