Bentiron1946

Bronze= copper+tin(traditional) bronze=copper+silicon(contemporary)may contain traces of other metals to improve characteristics
Brass= copper+zinc may contain traces of other metals to improve characteristics
Scrap bronze is harder to come by than scrap brass. Scrap brass is the stuff that a lot of plumbing stuff is made of like hose bibs, shut off valves, unions, stops, tail pieces and in some electrical items like light fixtures. Now it hard to find scrap bronze and that you find in some really high end electrical products where there is a high corrosion factor involved. Most all bronze used today is silicon bronze for it ease of casting. Traditional tin based bronze is almost only used in fine arts casting.
Brass and bronze are very close to the same temperature for casting, so don't fret about that. Silicon bronze is the easier of the two to cast, brass the harder and more dangerous, it off gasses zinc which can be bad for you health. Only do casting in a well ventilated area, preferably outside, watch the temperatures and don't overheat it to the point where you start off gassing the zinc. Brass needs to be degassed with a degassing agent so you don't get a lot of porosity in you metal.http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com/Brass_Degas.php Casting is something one can learn with research at the library, I did, it is possible and it is a fun thing to do but be sure you do an awful lot of reading. Remember if the ancients could do it so can you and the internet wasn't even invented when I taught myself how to do it. Yeah, that was almost back in the Late Bronze Age.

I have it too, done a lot of hammering, the worst of it from repousse/chasing though, lots of short whipping strokes have done me in and that has only been in the last 5 years. The other 40 years of heavy forging didn't seem to contribute much to the problem it seems. Some folk are more prone to it than others. Using the wrist braces seems to help at night as it keeps the hand and wrist from curling up in the normal relaxed sleep mode. I have also developed another problem that is bothering my hands, both of them, not just my dominate. One idiot doctor wanted to operate on both wrists but she was wrong, it's my neck that's the problem, between C-7 and T-1 there is a nerve that is being impinged when I lay down that cause the most of my night time tingling and numbness, sure is an aggravation, so I need surgery there too beside my right wrist. I've been through the physical therapy and braces for both wrist and neck so now it time for the knife, not looking forward to that at all, however there is an endoscopic method that is supposed to get you back to work faster with less complications than the old open incision. I just don't know if it is covered under my insurance. Oh well, good luck with you procedure and I'll be praying for you.

If you want a good commercial rounding hammer made by a Master Farrier contact Jim Keith, they are a top notch hammer. He lives in Tucumcari, NM, just Google him.

Congratulations on a near perfect anvil, it's OK to aim for perfection but that will often frustrate you. I'm just trying to make the next one a wee bit better than the last one, there is always room for improvement but perfection will only bring misery.

You can melt aluminum with a wood fire but not much else in the metals that require higher temperatures like brass or bronze, like Thomas says for those you will need charcoal. I have made a number of melting furnaces out of metal 5 gallon buckets, crushed fire bricks,bentonite clay(think cat litter) and portland cement. This holds a small crucible real nice and then I use a homemade propane burner and shop vac as an air supply, melts around 10# of bronze pretty quick.

Nice looking effort, a real sticker you made there.

That's a nice looking anvil and not very dinged up, what do you want perfection from a used tool?

I like, or disliked, the story about the chain, many a jeweler had a horror story about polishing a gold or silver chain for a customer and then getting flogged by it as it gets wrapped around the polishing lathe spinning at 3,450 RPM. A jeweler friend of mine had to have over 80 stitches in his hands and forearms before he could back away from the machine, those fine gold chains cut deep at 3,450 RPM. Now a jeweler will just throw the chain in a rock polishing drum with some stainless steel shot to polish it up, no chance of it getting caught in the buff.

That is one nice piece of work, so cool! You done good!!

Nice find for $50, now go light off the forge and get the hammer and make something! Enjoy!!!

Just to let you know, antique = 100 years or older, collectors item = 50 years or older. I'm a collectors item not an antique no matter what my children think, Happy Father's Day.

My little almost unnoticeable scar on my left wrist is from trying to learn forge welding, I got angry. Anger has no place in the shop but I used to have a real temper and would throw hammers, tongs, well anything at hand or in my hand. I had a 1/2" piece of mild steel I was trying to forge weld and it just wasn't a happening. After about the tenth time on a 104F day I got really angry and threw it. It hit something and came back straight at me and I put my left arm up to keep from taking it in the gut. The last time I threw hot iron ever. Anger has no place in the shop. Now when something ain't going right I just leave everything and go do something not associated with anything even related with metal. I go talk to one of the dogs, it's just like talking to a Marine, they haven't a clue what you're talking about but they look like they do and that helps a lot.

I'm with Kustomsteel on this one, bump the thickness up to a 1/4" and cast it in sections and then weld them together and chase the seams. You don't need to cast it all in one big pour and if you want you could do each leaf separately in three sections and then weld them together. I know foundries are getting an arm a leg in fees these days, a friend of mine is getting all his stuff cast in Mexico because of the high prices here in the USA.

Interesting discussion. One of the things I like about the ancient metal workers was that they turned metal working into a religion and as long as they followed the proscribed method of worship everything usually turned out OK, it's when they blasphemed that things went bad and sometimes great strides in metallurgy happened. Maybe it just wasn't the ore body collapse but other factors included that caused the "secrete" of true Damascus steel to be lost.

That is a real work of art and I guess function but that's hard to prove these days of relative peace and quiet and real nasty folk carry guns, still is a wonder to look upon.

Nice Fisher and all those tools, your sure got a good deal and then some. You must be living right for sure.

Such wee tiny things, May God bless you all and give you and them strength, God holds you in His hands as you hold your girls in yours.

I don't know where that is in New Mexico but you have my prayers for the safety of the homes and the well being of the community. Fire is bad, I hope it wasn't man caused but by nature cause, it is somehow easier to take when it's caused by a storm than by malicious intent. May God protect all who fight the wild fires that rage across our nation and encourage and bless all those displaced by them. Amen
Jerry

Looked up where your town is located and I have taken the road from Demming to Hatch several times and those are sure some pretty mountains north of that road. Take care and go with God.

OH, I like the sling shoot guy, he's as nuts as can be!

WOW! A breeder hammer, I have often heard them described otherwise but "breeder hammer" will do for this forum.

Being an artist and not necessarily a tool maker I got to use a lot more of the car. Sometimes I would just reform parts of the cars to suit to what I wanted to make my "statement", that way I didn't need to overly worry about if it was a good steel for "tool" making only if it was suitable esthetically and it always was and if not I made it that way. Cars and most machinery are wonderful sources of sculptural shapes.

Sad to say there comes a time for all of older or damaged smiths to thin things out, have a good party!

Joy to you on the birth of two daughters! Now, I pray for you and your wife to have peace of mind and a soul full of hope that all will go well for them as they continue to mature in the NICU and there will be no undue complications. May God bless you both with strength and peace of mind in the coming weeks. You're in our hearts and minds as we pray for you, Jerry and Eva.

I made some repousse/chasing tools from old chisels and punches by using even older files purchased at yard sales and then used wet/dry sandpaper to shine them up. The work as well as the expensive store bought ones that cost about $15 each.

You did good and your girlfriend did too, that scale armour looks good on there.