joshua.M

yves cut off the rivet, then weld on new reins, DONT GIVE UP! i did too but after the *hit* *metal fly's through air past face at yellow heat and curls the hair with how close it was* Josh

guys i would suggest trying the drop tong method, i had the tongs done in under 20 minutes and screwed up both welds (havn't been in the shop for quite a bit Josh

So i have been on a tong making kick and tried a new method, drop welding the reins. I have never done drop welding but I can stick a faggot/billet weld just about every time. Drop welding is way more fun, and i got a nice set of tongs out of it. so what is your favorite way of making tongs? welding? upsetting? drawing out? How do you do it? Power hammer? hand? jig? Josh

looks extremely old to me, pre-hardie hole means REALLY old as far as i know

i think this has become one of my life goals.... thanks for sharing

i think the reason is that the top tool handles are very prone to being struck, and it make alot more of a headache to drill out the eye than it is to just knock it out josh

Stuart that anvil is obviously defective, if you pay shipping to me i will make sure it is disposed of properly josh

i have a mini fridge, radio, about 4 box fans to circulate air, a baseball bat and punching bag (creative moments aswell), and last but not least..... LUNCH!

so someone at this end needs to volunteer to host and contact Mick Smith... simple as that

Guys I wasn't looking for pity in this post! I wanted to hear your stories.... You're all making me feel bad lol

ya, im kinda sketchy around compressed gasses, especially flammable ones, and i've never worked on one of them

i think it needs a new regulator, the one on it is pretty corroded, i am getting it checked out by my farrier who runs the same brand (1 size upp from mine) before i light it up

ya, now i need to figure out how to run a gas forge :P

sorry, they all uploaded sideways and their crappy iphone pics

finally get to post here!!!! YAY!!!!! I heard of an old blacksmith shop through some people in town using the TPAAT the abandoned shop was wayyy out of town here and went for a little trip to see it, drove in the lane way and there was a house so i went and knocked.... they had sold the contents of the shop (sad me) until the elderly gave me the name of an older guy who bought lots of the stuff, so after lots of cold calls and wrong numbers searching through the phone book, i found him!.... he parted it all out.... :( BUT! he had some other stuff for sale because he was just retiring, so i got: 75lb "Canadian" farriers anvil 2 burner N.C tool forge with all lines and new lining 10 pairs of tongs 12 hammers 5 rasps (3 given to dad for horses) tons of misc farrier clippers, dividers,hoof stands and hoof knives for dad 8 misc files 15 horseshoes (new, perfect for hearts) hardie for anvil swivel base vice with hardie post welded on home made shoe vice (great for filing bevels) small bench vice aluminum farrier tool box (given to dad) tong/tool stand hand crank grinder lead ladle 500 horseshoe nails COST: $200 it is a very happy day Josh

i don't use anything for a mask. just get used to it

i once wore a mask like that while working because my parents were concerned about coal dust, it lit on fire from the heat of my forge... not a good idea

I am in eastern Ontario, I think that if a new guild were to be started it should be a sub-guild of the OABA, I know from conversations with the president of OABA Mic Smith that if we want to move some events east, it is as simple as saying "i have space to hold a meeting/demo/class" and then work with the board to organize it. I would not be interested in joining as I believe it would be cause for a whole lot of unnecessary drama and politics. Josh

Having a soft hammer is bad because it is much easier to just buy a softer hammer than to risk ruining your main hammer. Ps I'm 16, i was 12 when I started :p

if you re going to soften it (i wouldn't recommend it) i would find a crappy ballpein hammer and heat it to non-magnetic in my forge then put it in a bucket of wood ash overnight, that would leave you with a softer hammer and your nicer hammer. Read up on "annealing" and "normalizing" steels Josh

When I took my class with Brian we wore welding gloves on our tong hands for a good bit of the work because you need to hold the drift and to forge the cheeks on the head (drift is used like a swage/mandrel) and to reset the hammer you flip the drift so it is struck side down and slam it on the anvil, causing scale to drop on your hand.... you only forget the glove for one reset.... trust me. Joah

personally i like to make my tongs from 2.5" round.... nice and flexible that way ;)

my parents kept telling me to behave or i'd get presents

i got some new cleats and receivers gloves for football this fall aswell as some underarmour and clothes. For blacksmithing related things i got 4 feet of 1 7/8" 1045 and 2 feet of 2.5" 1045

forge weld???