Chancellor

Yeah, I noticed that too. I wonder what the (dis)advantages of each are.

Do you know how the contraption that is grinding the mud for the bricks works, do you?

Oops, thanks for letting me know. I did a brief search, but nothing came up.

Here's a documentary from 1965 of an old Axe shop. I'm amazed at the economy of their actions. There isn't a single misstep, nor is there any wasted motion.

Absolutely! When do you get to Stephenville?

Thanks for the kindness, but Stephenville is about the same distance as my parents house. Hope things go well for you at Tarelton!

Hello all, I've recently moved into an apartment in Dallas from east Texas. As some of you may know, apartment complexes generally don't view blacksmithing on the property favourably. Some swill about fire hazards, noise pollution, smoke, etc. Since it is difficult to make it back home to my parents house to light the forge, I was wondering if anyone had a smithy in Dallas they wouldn't mind sharing with a po boy like me. I like long walks on the beach, and all that. I'd provide my own materials and pay for fuel, I might even be your friend (ok, I'll throw in the friendship with the deal). :) -Chance

Here's another one you might like. I haven't seen the one done in aluminium, thanks!

BobbyC, if I may ask, how did you attach the box part on the long blade?

Yves, thank you for your well informed and researched post. This is why I enjoy blacksmithing so much! BobbyC, I've been wondering what "trade items" were for blacksmithing groups. You did a good job, and brought an item that was more historically correct than the others. Is it weird that this has me so excited? Haha.

It is, indeed, already in my library, and I have perused it's pages often. Thank you for the recommendation!

Wow, I've never even heard of those. My current dream/goal is to forge an excellent pair of scissors or shears, and looking at these only makes me even more desirous of the project. You've done a good job, both making the snuffer as well as explaining it. Do they have to fit together precisely, to cut the end of the wick off?

The crack that I originally posted about was shallow enough to come out when smoothing. I did, however, find a new crack that looks like it is a boundary in face sections. Its interesting, and I don't think it hurts it much, haha. Do you have any pictures of it?

Well, I went ahead and cleaned up part of the face, and it is much easier to turn out clean work. However it has made it painfully obvious how soft the face is. Maybe it was indeed in a fire. I was greatly surprised at how little rebound it had when I got it home, around 30-40%. It's an anvil though, which is more than many people can say about what they use.

Hey, cool videos. That forge is remarkably similar to the setup of a Japanese bladesmith's forge, save the type of bellows used. Thanks again for more suggestions. My favourite is the grill method! The dutch oven lid sounds pretty good too. Today I decided to use up the ashed practicing going from square to octagonal, as mine always twist.

I'm not.. *ahem* --allowed-- to make charcoal. At our house at least. I've been meaning to ask my boss if I might be able to do it at work though. Now that I have time off from school and actually have time to work the forge, I'll be sure to ask. Really? I need to deepen mine for sure then, since my firepot depth was barely adequate for coal. I've been putting it off because of the cost of charcoal, thinking it would increase the amount of fuel that I use, which is right around 8lbs-9lbs an hour. (about 8$ an hour) Thanks for the advice, guys!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think that is the way to go. I'll have to keep a few small projects (1/4in maybe?) on hand for when things are winding down. If only I could finish these durn tongs. I DID get the reigns to stick first try without flux, but it later came apart in the fire as I brought them up to heat again. It takes a lot of charcoal to get a welding heat! :P

Hello everyone, I've recently made the switch to charcoal, and am enjoying it for the most part (except the cost and the finicky fuel selection). However, when done for the day, I have been treating the charcoal fire as I usually do a coal fire: just rake the coals out onto the table to cool. Charcoal acts a bit differently though, in that it burns itself to ash rather than extinguish itself like coal or coke, and it can take more than an hour for it to stop glowing. How do you folks who burn charcoal deal with your fire after you are through?

Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it greatly. I suppose most of the big things have already been mentioned. When tapering, try to pay attention to the height of your left hand, and you'll avoid a lot of the annoying bends and save time and heat.

Thank you for the clarification :)

Thanks guys, never knew that. So what about those huge copper cauldrons that people used to use? Were those tinned too? And I've read some who say that it is more a precaution against corrosion and pitting than a health hazard, except when vinegar is used?

Hey, great job. What can't you do? :P What is the advantage of tinning the insides of the skillets?

I was thinking the same thing about it being tapered and wedged in from the top. I believe your best bet would be to try to drive it out from the bottom. Though the gunpowder solution might be fun :P Tap the bottom of the pritchel and make a breech plug, with some black powder... (I'm not serious, depending on the weight of the plug, even a relatively slow speed like 500fps would send it through anything it wanted to, just about)

Thanks for the help guys, I'll look into the group that meets in Paris. I'm thinking about just making charcoal.