JKindy

Quad-State can range from HOT! to COLD! (one year I had ice on my water bucket in the morning and wore a pair of army surplus wool overpants over my jeans) to WET!

I would spring for a cheap camping cot over sleeping on the ground just in case we have a wet year...

Primitive camping has trees but not ones spaced for hammock duty, (and they go fast!) If you don't like dogs barking at night ear plugs are suggested.

Oh yeah, I will be camping in the primitive camping area. Since there probably no trees for my hammock, I guess I'll be sleeping on the ground. Look for the Don't tread on me flag! That's where I'll be.

Jeff

I'll be there!

I plan on going for the whole weekend. I will probably have to take off Friday to make the trip, but I plan on being there for everything I can I can get in.

I will most likely be just observing, and buying, and learning as much as possible.

Jeff

That looks like a lot of fun. Nice set up you have going there as well.

That's great first! You got the talons worked out nice. Like you said proportions are next. Makes a nice chicken claw though LOL.

Keep us posted on your progress. Looks like an interesting project. I just wish I could remember these things when I go to the forge!?!

Happy Birthday!

Wish you many more.

Congratulations all the goodies. Especially the Daughter.

I call it!

Just got a couple questions.

What would shipping to 48192 Michigan cost?

Do you take PayPal?

Jeff

Nice video. Very well done. Thank you for sharing, I'll have to give it a try.

Prayers sent.

May God give the strength to endure, peace and tranquility.

Welcome to the forums!

Putting your location into your profile may prove helpful in the future.

As far as your anvil, congratulations. I'm sure someone with way more knowledge than me will be along soon.

Giving the size that you want to thread would be helpful. If its under 3/4" you can hand thread with a die. Put your piece in a vice and turn the die set with the appropriate wrench. A twisting wrench with 2 handles will work too. The main thing is to start it straight. As a millwright I tap and die rod and holes all the time. Sometimes up to 1 1/4".

That looks very nice!
Thanks for the inspiration.

Great job on that knife!!

A credit to the maker and the teacher.

Keep up th e good work, looking forward to seeing the second knife.

Jeff

Dont pass it up. I am sure if you decided it was not for you, you would have no trouble getting rid of it on this or another forum.

In fact tell me how much you want for it, my brother is very interested in one. You of course should make some kind of profit on procurring it.

Jeff

Very good job on that!

I like the shape quite a bit.

The scrap yard in Wyandotte will let you roam the yard. He has good prices for what you pick out.

I did get a piece of steel for ya, just got to get it out of the plant now.
Tomorrow we are changing some RR tracks in the plant. I will see if I can get the welder to cut us a couple pieces.

I'll let you know.

Jeff

Looking good, Jeff. Try to draw out the stem of your leaf and make a hook to hold a key ring. Also, while it is still black hot, rub with a brass tooth brush. Leaves a nice brass colored finish. When it cools, hit it with a quick spray of clear coat.
http://s758.photobucket.com/albums/xx224/Curly_George/?action=view&current=BlacksmithItems039.jpg

Hooks are very simple, quick and easy. You could probably make nough for them to take one home even. Just start with a stock as close as the finished size as possible. Square would save you time from having to square it up. Draw one end to a point, scoll the tip, couple twists and bend into hook. Fire poker is another. Marshmallow/hot dog forks. Leaves, small letter openers from some 1/2" square stock is easy, and you don't have to worry about anyone getting cut. Tent stakes with a fancy twist and a curly top. Tent stake puller, dutch oven lid lifter. Dinner bell and dinger.

Here is a link to thread that may give you some more ideas and some visuals of what the look like. Demo items don't need to be intricate or hard. Quick is better. Bring some of your wares to show what can be made with some skill and patience, but show how easy some of the stuff can be.

What are you taking to craft fairs this year?

The scrap yard near me usually has some on hand, I'll check for ya. I may be able to get some out of work after we change some rails next week.

Very nice, I am a tad concerned about your little helper you made your the forge. Depending on what you are going to hold, it could cause the forge to lean and possibly flip. Maybe you should add a drop down leg for the odd occasion that you are working with heavy stock.

Here is some stuff we made this weekend

A tool rest for the forge;


A leaf


A drawer handle I made yesterday


Some simple hooks and 2 leaves


Not a lot, but I'm still working the steel. Trying to get used to what the hot metal is doing under the hammer. Building stuff out of structural steel is what I'm used to. so making stuff out of stock is a little trickier.

Jeff

I'm just atrating out too, so yes. Here is a set of tongs I made, I flattened the jaws as others have suggested, they work better that way.



Very simple twist method of 1/4" X 3/4" flat stock 36" long cut in half for the two pieces.

coal rake, and others too as we go along. I eventually even want to forge my own hammer.

Sounds great to me! Why send the money buying it from the scrap yard when you have it available. Take the other three brake drums and make some forges to sell on Craigslist to buy some other stock for you pile and pay for your forge.

Here is how I built my simple forge;


I added the two half rings to help hold in the charcoal and get the fire higher in the pot.
I have since added a stock rest made from 1/4" square with two tee's to rest the stock on, sticking into one of the angle legs openenings at the top next to the drum.

The blower is from Grainger, $65, the gate allows you to adjust the air flow, incidently you only need it open about 3/8". it will run off my 100 watt car inverter too.

The grate is from Lowes, stainless floor drain grate. It has lasted so far for 7-8 heats with no damage. Should last a long time.

I followed this link from another forum; Lump Charcoal ratings

I first used the Cowboy brand, my brother uses it down south for his barbeque.
I found that it heats very hot, but burns very quickly! So I went to a couple local stores looking for brands list on the comparison chart for the longest hottest burning lump in my area. I found Meijer had the Frontier brand. So I bought 5 bags. The pieces are very large, too large. LOTS of ash, it looked like it was snowing! Couldn't get a good heat in the forge, the pieces were too big to concentrate the heat. So we put our last bag of Cowboy in.

By sprinkling a little water on the top of freshly added lump, it slowed the burn down a lot. Not only that but it created a beehive fire as well. I burned the first piece I had in there due to the fire being so hot so quick. Cowboy brand pieces are just the right size, start very easy, and with some water added to the top, burns for a good amoount of time. By adding the water, we burned one bag in the time we would have burned three without water. And got a hotter fire to boot.

I learned about adding water to a coal fire from Backyard Blacksmithing, and thought of trying it on the lump charcoal fire to make it last longer. It worked great!

Cowboy brand is hot, small manageable pieces, burns long (with sprinkled water), actually I soak the top layer with a single hole in the bottom of a soup can on a handle, is $7.50 for 10 pounds, is readily available in most areas. Cowboy brand is also available from Kmart as another name. They use lumber cut-offs from flooring. And when its time to cook lunch, shut off the blowwer and add your steak!

Jeff