joshua.M

hey! i'm in Ontario too, i would suggest that you buy a crappy cast iron anvil to learn on, there is no sense in using a family heirloom to practice your hammer control on, save it for when you don't need to worry (too much) about missing the steel. Regards Josh

Thats the goal!!!

Hahaha well i'm a young farm boy and do the same, but i was still making mistakes.... I was just putting it out there for everyone who reads this

YOU CAN! and i encourage you, but having input from as many people as possible will help to refine your skills

For striking: split firewood, throw throw axe from your shoulders, tired yet? now, same axe same wood, this time bend your knees and turn your whole body into a spring, put the axe as high in the air as you can for yours swing Because: FORCE=MASS x ACCELERATION force is how hard you hit the steel, there is plenty of mass in Brian's (trust me), Acceleration is the key, if you use your arm to throw the sledge down you will be soooooo tired.... if you use every muscle in your body you will last much longer and hit the steel harder. Josh

SURFACE AREA CONTACT! that was etched into my brain after my weekend with Brian, i can only imagine after 7 days!

I believe that Joe is a good enough smith to make sure he tests the tool before he received payment for it. And if the tool is not to the standard the carpenter wants, he will either remake it or edit it to the customers satisfaction. Josh

i think he means these

i get 2 rasps a week from a local farrier who thinks they wear out

I can make you jealous >:D i struck for Brian and he struck for me to make my hammer in a class :D

I learned more in that weekend than I have in 4 years of smithing, Brian completely changed my veiws on 99.99% of blacksmithing, now i need to get my shop re-organized so i can apply all I learned :) (and I love my hammer) Josh

Went to my local spring shop today, The owner is my neibor and has become a good freind. He called me and told me that he had some steel for me. When I get there he has about 150lbs of new drops and 300lbs of used springs to load into my truck. He assured me that he uses ONLY 5160 in his shop (less complicated is his explanation). As I was leaving, another young smith walks in looking for springs, so I inroduced myself and we had a good conversation. I ended up splitting the stock with him (i already have more than i could ever use and don't mind). He has only been smithing for 3 months, Invited him to my shop, and now I have a striker. After that young smith leaves my owner freind sais "hey come tell me what you think of this" and brings me around back to see his 100lb LG laying on it's side covered in a tarp. It had no motor or dies or any of the delicate and important parts. When I asked where he got it and if he had any of the other parts he reminded me, he is the fourth generation owner of the shop and it was his great grandfather's (who bought it new) and he has all the important parts hidden away. He is gonna haul it up and refurb it and was contemplating selling it to clear up some space and let it get used, seeing as he is my neibor and wants to tinker in a shop, I offered to put it in my shop and let him use my shop with me. He is sereously considering it as he would hate to sell somthing that he is the 4th generation owner of. So all in all: roundabout 200lbs of springs, new and used new smith encouraged, and striker/helper in my shop (as long as he can learn from me that is) POSSIBLY a 100lb LG on the way Oh I almost forgot, a small mastercraft wood lathe was loaded into my truck hile I wasn't looking :ph34r: ... And he wants me to call him about a 4x8 workbench he has with a 1/2" steel top tomorrow (why, I don't know) Pics of the steel and lathe tomorrow and maybe the other stuff within the week, he has all kinds of other fun things hidden away too (such as his foom with 2 5.5" poost vised and 4 anvils and swage block :D it was a good trip past my bedtime now!

I'm in a 45' x 60' shed roofed, open air building, lil cold in it when it gets to -35 with snow drifting around me, but hopfully i can put up walls soon, I started at 10x10... and now i am finding that 45' is very narrow vw 60' length, so i need to figure that out... Josh

I thinl it would be super cool to be ironic, and use chainsaw blages, to make a handsaw lol! lots of work though

mine is 45' x 60'.... no walls and slanted roof, walls are (hopefully) soon to come. I find my shop to be too narrow for it's length, but as I see it now, my shop is quite wide! lol

No, i pressed it once, my computer is screwed up....

wow.... don't know what happened there....

you gonna sey that right beside the other big lady? I wish i could have one lol Josh

you gonna sey that right beside the other big lady? I wish i could have one lol

you gonna sey that right beside the other big lady? I wish i could have one lol

you gonna sey that right beside the other big lady? I wish i could have one lol

ya i'v had a few email conversations from the guy in granton, he wanted to buy my near mint 110lb PW for 150, because "thats all it's worth" I replied and asked him what he was going to sell it for and he never replied

put the drift to her today, not to the quality i'd like, so i will be doing more tonight.... that is ALOT of work for one person and one HUGE fire

well it's too late to go back now, hole is mede and squared up, just need to throw a drift through it to make it right Josh

how well would a peice 2.5" x 3" work? I have one cut to 12" and another to 8" (would have rather had 10 and 10 but thye are drops) Josh