northcoasthobbiest

Ironwolf I'm a bit further north than you I'm in British Columbia! Brrr it's cold up here, lol. So I set up a shop vac to catch the dust coming off of my sander, and I'm under the impression I won't need a dust mask now? I think it's catching nearly 100% of the dust coming off. Maybe I'm being overly paranoid I heard the dust can be really toxic but the more research I do the less toxic it's sounding. Always better to err(or?) on the side of caution!

Thanks for the reply Phil!

Seeking advice on the risks of sanding hardwoods. My personal research on the internet has basically concluded that some hardwood dust can cause irritation and basically wear a dust mask if in doubt. Long sleeves, wrap around goggles, etc. I want to make a handle out of what I suspect is gumwood (rub rail from an old fishing trawler) am I safe to just sand it with a dust mask and maybe a fan blowing the dust away? Thanks!

Thanks bob! Nice to see some fellow Canadians!

I never thought about making a hardie tool with sharp edges, great idea! I will weigh my options with the horn. Good point about the cost of rebuilding vs. the cost of buying a new one outright. I will keep that in the back of my mind!

Phil I agree with the point looking funny I added the drop (unsure of the terminology here) to it as a afterthought and the bevel really gave me a hard time so it never carried well to the tip. On my next knife I'm going to work on getting crisp lines on my knife. The handle feels great but it sticks out an inch past my hand and I haven't added the butt to the knife yet so I think I'll trim it a bit.

Well as much as I hate being the first to reply to my own thread, lol, I'm hoping ot get some questions answered about proportions and finish. Does my handle appear too long? I think I'm going to trim an inch off it on a angle because something about the look of the knife just isn't sitting right with me yet. Now for finishes can someone suggest a couple to look up? So far I'm interested in using gun blueing or trying to make a mustard patina but are there any other options available that don't require chemicals that are hard to come by?

Beautiful job on that anvil! On my anvil what I've noticed are the edges are pretty rounded which makes doing some things a bit of a chore. Again I'm very new so maybe it's just my lack of experience so I'm just going to live with them for now. There are also a few torch cuts here and there and one bad one on the bill that really messes me up. If I was to do anything I think I'll fill those cuts and sand down the surface using a wire wheel.

This knife is made from a section of coil spring and the handle is oak and moose horn from last years hunt. This is my third project as a black smith after my ugly tongs and a cold chisel. I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out so far. I double annealed and then brought it up to Currie Temp and quenched in oil and tempered in the oven for two hours. Have had a real hard time getting it to 'look' like a knife. I found by changing the direction I filed from I could get the light to reflect differently on the bevel and make it look like it wasn't just a flat piece of metal. Anyway, any suggestions are more than welcome, thanks!

Wow that knife is simply incredible. Great inlay work!

Thanks arftist everyone is telling me it's fine so chances are I won't resurface it. Is it okay to take a sanding wheel to it and knock some of the rust scale off it or should I really do my research before doing anything to it?

Well I just started this hobby so this is my very first anvil and it's replacing a big block of metal I was using before. It's seen better days but I might look into resurfacing it as I think it's quite a neat anvil and I believe it's got a lot of history. Flaws aside I'm in love with it. Anyway, here's a picture!

Thanks AndrewOC As for what I plan on casting...I mean, what don't I plan on casting?? I do a lot of projects and having the ability to cast custom brackets, parts, etc is very very handy. My current project is a 2-3 kilowatt windmill with a homemade permanent magnet generator. I've also built a desktop CNC mill which will be cutting my foam billets for lost foam casting. I may start making small plaques for friends but I'm not sure if I'm going to go that route yet.

Nakedanvil - After spending hours getting mine to where they're at watching him do that in 30 seconds makes me want to make another set of tongs he made it look so easy! Amazing job, wow. Thanks for the reply Bryce! I guess I should clarify though and I apologize in advance if it runs on. I'm using a PDF that I found linked here called Basic Blacksmithing by David Harries and Bennard Heer. They listed some good accessible sources for low medium and high carbon steels suitable for various tasks. My question though is will a truck half shaft give me the right diameter (I'm guessing a half shaft would be a 1"-1.5" diameter?) for a heavy enough hammer? This will be my first hammer and will hopefully replace my 4 pound sledge. I live in a very small, remote community where buying proper black smithing tools is probably out of the question and I'd prefer to make them myself. To be quite honest I'm not entirely sure what sort of hammer I should start off with or what weight. Advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys! You're right they did teach me a ton! Prior to making them I'd never even bent a piece of hot metal before so it was a whole new experience, a great learning experience and a heap of fun! I think my next project is going to be making a cross peen hammer to replace the 4 pound sledge I was using I read half shafts from trucks make good stock for this, can anyone verify this?