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Our water treatment plant has an iron removal filtration plant they are rehabing. Any chance this iron would work as a smelt. Havent tried to see if it is magnetic, but I dont think it is. Basically when dried sit is red dust

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Welcome to the group Tongs need to fit the material you will be working so there is no easy answer Many started with a vise grip or use a piece long enough you dont need tongs.

Welding cable is easy as it already is in a bundle. I weld mine in a half round bottom swage usually in a power hammer but hand hammer will get the job done. I weld round first then twist while stille round the change the pattern then flatten into a blade shape or square up and forge weld to other pieces to make a larger blade. First thing to do is make sure ther in not none metal in the center. Some calbe has a hemp or other rope in the center and this is not good for welding. Heat your cable to welding temp somewhat slowly the center needs to be as hot as the outside. and the thin outside wires want to get hot quicker than the middle. I use anhydrous borax but twenty mule team will work. In a gas forge use a touch rod which is a thin rod drawn to a piont that when it is the same color as the billet when you touch them together it wants to stick. If it dont stick in the fire it will ot stick on the anvil. A touch rod may work in coal also. Once you have made the first few hundred welds it will be so easy you can almost do it with eyes closed as it realy isnt magic. Billy Merrit I think Indiana welds all kinds to thing together for his blades. Google IVBA blacksith they have some events coming. Mar 23/24 near davenport IA (dates wrong on web site it still lists 2012 events) and an event at Salem IL. Neither demonstrator does damascus but surely someone there would help you out. I plan to be at Scott Co and have some DVDs on the subject. Indiana blacmiths have summer enents and ther is a reginal conference in July at Pontiac IL with 3 demonstrators I do agree with the above post about a knife makers anvil as spending a grand or more for a new anvil depending on size. That grand might be better spent on materials for a Junk yard hammer. (sorry all anvil salesmen but that is my 2 cents) Now it you were planning very fancy or stainless damascus that is not a beginner project

One of the Wood Wright books described how to make a cutter to make wood screws. I dnt believe you can swage wood

I have seen a smith use a thin slurry of furnace cement

Lost styrafoam inside the sand inside a building isnt too good either but I am sure someone somewhere is trying it as you read this post

Thanks for posting Havent thaught about Mike Ameling for a long time This brought back great memories of past get togethers

Yes the playing I mentioned is the brass color transfer. If the transfer is not happening it is ussually too hot

I like a brass bruch from Northern tool. It has a yellow plastic handle. Not all brass brushes are brass. Check with a magnet to see if yours is steel brass coated. It has to be nonmagnetic to work and as said before too hot also doesnt work. You should see it start to plate then as it cools it will take more and more yellow

Have a safe trip and good luck with the new shop

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Normally on struck tools the struck end wears out first. If you find an old handled tool and look at a new one there was a lot more material above the handle than the old worn out one. As this pertains to the question of mild steel when the stuck end starts to bulge it needs to be reheated and forged back dont let it continue to bulge till pieces start to slit off

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If you want to use nickels put a layer of copper in between. Roof copper will result in the finished material being twice as much white than copper. I made a drop out punch to made copper slugs the right size for the nickels. You can also work the billet on ege but only while hot to draw out stock to make braclets ect. Fuze the quarters flat with torck plates flatten slightly then reheat and work on edge. If it starts to come apart reheat and work on the flat again to refuze

Beautiful Thanks for sharing

Most rail anvils I see are worked the other way with the ball (top of rail) as the top of the anvil and a horn and heal or double horn worked out of that so It looks like a normal anvil just small. The bigger wight the rail the bigger the anvil

You need a dip tube installed to the bottom of the tank to get liquid. You can't take vapor tank to tank

Wonderful Thanks for sharing

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looks great to me congradulations

welcome

Try a piece. I would use a chop saw to but a length say 6" Look at the middle to see if there is hemp in it not all steel If rope in center take it appart and discard the rope. If you want more material in the bundle than the cable provides and have an arc welder take the cable apart into the makor bundles of wires. make a bundle of several of these till you have enough material. they will not go together like a calbe and look strange in the bundle but will lay next to each other. Wrap this bundle with a strand or two of tire wire. arc the ends together and I weld a handle on one end to make it easier to go from the fire to the hammer or anvil. Bring to an orange heat this will burn off the grease, flux with your farorite vodo powder and bring to forge welding temp. I weld mine in a bottom swage under a hammer into a round solid then twist this round either left or right depending on what pattern I am looking for then forge into the knife blank or square up to forge weld with other pieces similarly done. If you do left/right/left twists ect you get herring bone cable you dont have to weld the whole piece of cable at once just the part hot enough then back into the fire further in continue welding till all is done.

thanks for the link

keeps it hotter as you are working the material more