CurlyGeorge

Gavin, go into your profile and put in your location. There may be a smith or six in your area. :)

According to Anvils in America, that serial number is from 1909. :)

Heat that leaf up and lightly pound on the face with the hammer slightly tilted. Tilt to the left down one side and tilt to the right down the other. This will leave a higher ridge right down the center of the leaf. I hope that was clear enough to understand. Then use a small chisel and put the veins in the leaf. The more you do, the better they will look. Good luck with them. :)

Tom, it was mystery metal. I found out, after I "hardened"it, that it was mild steel. So I cut off about 5/8" from the top, cut a deep V and beveled a piece of leaf spring. Then forged welded it into the V and reshaped the end. After hardening it that time, it works like a champ. :)

Thanks guys. It was fun to make. :)

Well, I wasn't sure that my tire hammer would draw out the 1 1/2" square stock to make the hot cut. But it worked like a champ. Here's a few pics of the process. :) Started with 1 1/2" Square stock and drew out to fit the hardy hole. Then cut off to leave about 1 1/4" of the square stock, on top for the hot cut, and forged it down on my tire hammer. I have top and bottom dies that are flat on the left and half round on the right. The hardy shaft ended up too long, for what I like. So I ended up cutting off about an inch. The finished and hardened hot cut. Boy do I LOVE my tire hammer!!! :D

Glenn, I don't think I could get a 20' section to stand upright to slip it into a 17' hole in my shop floor. :D

Welcome to IFI, bazron. Once you get started you will find changes that you want to make. But the main thing is to get started. You will get a lot of ideas that you can incorporate into your smithy. It's a never ending process. Have fun with it. I look forward to seeing your progress. :)

Good job. I just forged a hardy hot cut out of 1 1/2" square stock, myself. Boy did that tire hammer come in handy!! :)

IF it's a HayBudden, that serial number is from 1906. IF it's a Trenton, that number is from 1914, according to Anvils In America. :)

That's a pretty cool set up, Frank. Never seen one with the wedge set quite like that. Thanks for posting it. :)

Not sure what brand that my shop forge is. But it also has the lugs on it. I used the one on the right to hold one end of a 1/2" rod to hold a tong rack that I made. I have a stand that sets on the floor and adjust to height to hold my stock while in the fire. Those lugs are handy. :)

Hi Gary, and welcome to IFI. This site has lots of info and a lot of great folks on it. There's a lot to learn and to pass on to others. So join in on discussions. Hope to see some of your work posted on here, in the near future. Post lots of pics. We love pics. :)

WOW!! Francis, that is a cool site. I just had time to skim it. But have added it to Favorites, and will be going back. Thank you very much for posting the link. :)

The power of prayer is indeed powerful. Glad to hear that your wife is doing well. Maybe we all should rethink our own actions and what it could someday mean. Prayers for complete recovery and good health still coming from Illinois.

Try joining your state blacksmithing organization. They probably publish a newsletter that would cover events in your area. :)

Welcome to IFI, Nick. Looks like you are on your way. You will enjoy Lorelei's book. Don't stop with just one book, though. There are a lot of them out there with a lot of info in them. The main thing is to practice as much as possible. Find some local smiths and get together with them. Hands on practice will help you answer a lot of questions. Keep hammering. I look forward to seeing many more of your projects posted on this site. :)

Now Mike, That is COOL!! I like it. Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

Incredible!!! Glad to see it is being saved. Thanks for posting it, Jesse. :)

Welcome to IFI. Looks like you have got a great start to setting up your smithy. Look thru the Forges thread in the forum. There are a lot of good ideas on building your own forge, and doing it fairly inexpensively. Good luck. :)

Welcome to IFI, David. If you will edit your profile to list where you are located, you may find that one of the folks on here is close by you and would be willing to help you get set up and started. :)

I'll try to make it. :)

Hey Randy. Yes, I'm a member of IVBA. Is that the hammer-in at Pontiac, Or which one? they have several. :)

Here's a couple of pics of the carriage tires that a friend dropped off for me, and some other assorted pieces that he also brought me. Some RR clips and various other things. He had a wire holding a BUNCH of rings that were made from about 3/16" stock and about 2"-2 1/4" diameter. He didn't know what they were used for but thought that I needed to have them.