Caladin

If you can get it, the bottom of some gas bottles (like an argon tank for a tig welder) is a great shape.. some have stmaped letters in them if you dont' have a welder they are a pain, others are great... If you don't have a stum, you can do a suprising amount in a depression only an inch or inchand a half across... take a piece of hard wood 4X4 chuck it in the vice end up, so the bottom is supported, take a ball peen and whack it into the same spot till there is a depression 3/8 of an inch or so... then use the hammeryoua re going to dish with and hit the same hole till it;'s the shape of your dishing hammer and still about 3/8 of an inch deep.. You have to have alot more accuracy, but you can dish in one suprisingly well.. You can also grind with a grinder, or a dremel and get a bigger dish on the 4X4 used it for years before i got metal dishing forms of course if you dish is the same size and shape as the boss you want, you can dish is (make it bowl shaped) and Bouge it (smoother it out, kind of like planishing, but by hitting it agaisnt the bottom of the form) and it makes making them WAY easier...(8 to 10 inch diamter gan bottle bottoms are about perfect.. i got mine on ebay for about $25) if your hammer roughly matches the diameter of the dish, it's even easier...(you can use a hard black rubber mallet and shape it on a belt sander or flap wheel)

I agree in a perfect world I'd have a wall of stake for my hardy and stakeholders... but for now...

here are some pics... Dunno if this will work, picasa is a pain in the butt since google + came out... ball welded to a union floor flange wtih a 12" pipe nipple in it (this one is galvannized, only for cold metal work) (In the back you can see the botoms cut off welding gas tanks, I use them to dish metal) (There are rules to cut them safely, learn them before you evne think about cutting it) floor flange next to anvil (need to replace this one with black iron)( Ball screwed in to a dog leg stake.. Dog leg ball stake set up for use... (with my swedge block in back) A bunch of balles welded directly to pipe nipples (not as good as to a union, you can't put them on a dog leg to work inside helmets and etc) One cool thing, the inch and a quarter ball welded directly into a pipe union fits in the HUGE thumb hole of that bowling ball, so I can do cold sheet metal work on it for large stuff like helmet tops.. If you guys can't see these I'll need to get a new photo sharing site... Cal-

Here's what i do for armor work...(note these websites are just where i found them online, in a quick google, not reccomended) Get the iron balls from one of the strucutural iron places...This place has them up to 4" for a reasonable price (as do the places linked above) http://customironworks.com/30809-p-436.html?cPath=1_31 Get 1 of each size from 1.25" up to what you can afford say 4" for bigger you can get replica canno balls on ebay, or shot put, or hammer throw hammers... ball bearings all kinds of stuff...(ball bearing get expensive quickly after 2" or so) Get an equal number of 1" malleable black iron pipe unions like this one http://www.deerso.com/product/d45020/coupling?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=goog_shopping_click&utm_campaign=ppc&gclid=CK73jpey0bwCFajm7AodC2gAlQ Weld the pipe union onto the"bottom" of the balls Get 1 1" black iron floor flange, like this one (r more, for more locations for your stakes) http://www.idealtruevalue.com/servlet/the-9961/Detail?gclid=CMuVw5Wx0bwCFXBk7AodajUAcg Screw it down where ever you want your tools (I have one on a table and another on the anvil stand where an upsetting block would go) Get a 1" pipe nipple, say 12" long thread it into the union on the ball, and into the floor flange, and you have a great planishign and shaping ball stake...(change length to taste) Need it tall or shorter, just change the pipe nipple... wnat a different tool, just swap it out... Need your ball on an offset stake... 3 short pipe nipples, and 2 90 deg elbow pipe fittings and you have an offset stake... you can weld up whatever other fittings you want also... all your tools are reusable, adjustable... and movable.. and all with off the shelf componenets...(just dont' use galvanized) I'll try to get some pics of some i have welded to the pipe nipple (not as good as welded to the union as above) so you can see what I'm talking about. Cal-

lawnmower motor + car alternator +(plus blacksmith fu) + batteries (slowly aquired?) = lights and fan and radio at shop....

Hi all, Caladin here, fairly unskilled smith, been dabbling off and on in smithing, welding, knife making and armoring for most of my life...leatherwork,sewing,carpentry basically all kinds of 'making stuff'... Been lurking a while decided I ought to say hello... I live just outside Austin Texas. If anyone could point me towards how to make the jaws on wolf style tongs i`d be mighty grateful. Cal-

I picked this one up as it was the best price I found... hasn't arrived to play with yet. If i really like it I'll pick up a nice one later http://www.stockhoffsonline.com/acatalog/Rounding_Nordic_Forge.html#a778 Cal-