Michael

I like it! your descriptions of the various connections are very clear.

Nice video. I'd edit it down a bit, off cut, pointing etc could be quicker. Your camera placement and blocking are spot on, that wrap around the mandrel is something I've been struggling with while the stock loses heat for a while now. Very clear from your vid. I had early success with the Hofi method, followed by frustrating inconsistancy ever since, but I get lucky sometimes. Love the handles, some slower close ups of those would be nice too. I thought the music intruded, honestly, but I'd definitely shoot for a shorter run time, under 4 minutes if you can. I'd video'd an evolving kenetic sculpure project and the first edits were close to 10 minutes, by the time i'd gotten to the 3rd itteration of the project, the vid was under 3 minutes. edit, edit, edit. Great location, the view out past the anvil is nice.

Nice find! Not too many of those Mouseholes out here in the Left Coast.

Thanks for the compliment! Great idea for extending the twist, I can put the whole family's initials (all 4 of them) on a square section between twists.

Got about 90 minutes of forging time during Ice Dancing broadcast yesterday. Made a stag horn hook for one of the cutting boards in the kitchen. I'd vinegar'd the zinc coating off the bolts, then shaped up the heads some. Need to work on punching smaller hang holes. Also worked the 1/2 bar stock of a pinapple twist down to 3/16 and formed a loop. This is the handle for a firepit poker for my BIL, but I don't think the 4 inches of P twist is sufficient for a handle. I'll keep working on it regardless till I make a decision or finish it.

That's a great looking shop! Can't wait to see it full of smithing gear, fire going and sparks flying. Great Job!

The chest pocket on the welders apron I sometimes wear is very useful for slim things, soapstone, sharpie, 6 inch metal ruler. Always thought a patch pocket, like on a sweatshirt, would be useful about waist level, opening pointed backwards, away from flying scale. Have to try that sometime I did cut a slit up the front, like chaps, not a skirt! . Makes it easier to hold tongs and long bar stock between my legs as a third hand

Estate sale a few blocks from home. Not much in the way of tools, save yard tools, but on a shelf in the garage I found this flatter, with a small chip out of the face. Never seen a flatter in the wild, and haven't used one either. Time to get try talking the teenage daughter into striking for me again.

out to do a little forging. Best friend from college, best men at each others weddings, now lives 600 miles away, but his son started college near me, and finally had my friend over at my shop for an hour or so while his wife and son were stocking up the dorm room. Fired up the gas forge and showed him how to make a nails out of 1/4 inch bar stock. We have a long history together of 2x4 dorm furniture and various remodeling projects, he makes archery bows and turns wooden pens on a lathe, but no metalworking experience. Great fun to show the craft to my oldest friend. Now to get his strapping, and now local, son trained into a striker!

water, I've got a little tomato paste can that sits in a hole in the stump on the far side of the anvil from my working side. Tip from Dorothy Stiegler a few years ago, wipe the water off the punch! Funny how I didn't notice the drip of water was cooling my iron in the process of finishing up the hole. Now I wipe the punch off on my leg or apron out of habit. the little box full of coal dust to lube the same punch is on the tool table.

I have been told when putting a smaller tank in a water bath to keep it from freezing, you want to bungee the tank into an upright position, so that when it floats it won't tip over and allow liquid propane into the regulator/hose.

Nicely done! a whole heck of a lot better than my first pair.

Looks great, did he get a chance to see it red hot? The horns are nice, any tips on cutting them? I always end up with little stub horns.

Here's a stock stand I sketched from one of the Woodwright's shop episodes with Peter Ross. Tripod stand with riveting, collaring and pass thru tenons. Really should get to work on that. other images '> '>

That sounds totally doable. I'm picturing a V bend in some rod stock, a punched screw hole, two is probably better to keep it from turning on a single screw, and two arms angling down with upturned leaves on the ends. Bottom edge of the plate resting in the leaves, and leaned back against the wall. Get a cheap plate or two from Goodwill to give you some sizing help.

Some fine, innovative opener designs here, many now saved for later imitation/sincere flattery of the originals When I first started out I made some massive openers, as suited to bashing in the stave of a beer keg as pop the top on a bottle. Railroad spikes for some train enthusiasts are just as heavy half inch stock really does make a beefy opener but stepping down to 1/4 x 3/4, with some Brazeal style horsehead embelishment so I'm finally making some openers that won't injure a foot when dropped.

Roy DOES try to touch everything it seems. A lot of the blacksmithing episodes are cringe worthy as he is just about to get burned or hit.

Nice! I really like the handle on the first one, wrapped around a mandrel?

in the interest of getting a fire going as soon as possible, instead of fashioning a dump gate, the end of the ash dump pipe can just terminate in a bucket of water under the forge. As long as the surface of the water covers the bottom of the ash dump pipe, the air blast will go to the fire and the ashes will be extinguished as they fall thru. That was my solution when the pipe cap I screwed onto my ashdump had to be cut off with a grinder.

That'll do! Just weld a couple of 1/4 inch rod bits across the tweer hole and your set.

I always start a smithing session making a few nails, trying to get them all the same length. Good warm up, focuses the mind a bit. I know what you mean about the tinkering, also have a few projects going at any one time, some showing more success than others. It can be good to step away when you get stuck, work on something else that's in mid process. Sometimes I come away from a couple of hours of forging without much to completed to show for it. Recently challenged myself to have to make the bottle opener before I could crack the beer. Punched the hole, drifted and toothed the ring, twisted a handle then I could have the cold one. Your mileage might vary but it worked for me.

I agree about the metal shelf being a heat sink, especially when working small stock. when I built mine, I sized the legs and the opening so the bottom of the front door was one firebrick off whatever surface the forge is sitting on, then I use firebricks for doors and a couple of bricks in front of the forge give a nice porch to lay work on and support long stock as well

425 lbs. 3 x 112 is 336, 3 x 28 is 84, + 5 lbs. Nice find! I'm jealous, my lower back is relieved you got it instead of me.

Those are great! do you know how that particular chunk of rebar reacts to a rapid quench? good to know if it was a higher carbon piece.

Here's a compressed pdf of the CBA article.I checked with the author and mag publisher before posting. Michael Bondi, who was involved in making the original troll had some FB comments about the credit for making the new troll . -8:48pm Oct 21- Ok I want this straight the troll was made by all the guys working in my shop , as a collaborative piece, I invited Freddy to participate because I knew he could add something special too . My shop guys where Felipe,Alfonso,Socrates and Humberto I was contacted about making it the Monday before the bridge opened by the one of the same guys who where there when I suggested making the last one.i was leaving at noon that Monday for italy . We sealed the deal and did early drawings by email from the airport. And I got Joe Koches to get Freddy to my shop. The rest is history- Rode out along the bridge bikepath last weekend (22 miles round trip from home) looking for the new troll, who is supposedly visible from the path. Didn't see it but maybe next time. CBANOV-DEC13 troll story.pdf