MLMartin

They look great! Always nice to see clean file work

If you have a bandsaw just cut off 1/2" and heat and quench in water to test ability to harden. Fast and informative. No reason to start making plans when it's unknown steel.

A wonderful looking hammer there. I think most of the lookers that did not post are folks from USA like myself, we're not lucky enough to have Alldays over here. Good luck with the hammer

Wonderful industrial look. They will be a hit on some pub door

Make sure not to mushroom the key. I have seen many were people boogered up the narrow end and it would no longer come out. Also take some time and measure the two ends. The key should be tapered in one direction. I have also watched people hammer on the wrong side of the key and just wedge it tighter. Just because the key went in one direction on one hammer does not mean it goes in that same direction on every hammer. You can drill and tap a bolt into the wide end of the key and then use a slide hammer to yank out the key. I have pulled some jammed things this way. I just used the longest bolt I had, maybe 8" and placed a 3 or 4 pound chunk of round bar with a hole in the middle over it. Threaded bolt into place then repeatedly slid the heavy bar into the head of the bolt. Good luck

It's not always the tool you want, sometimes the tool you need. I will instal a railing next week and have everything I could think of set. Looked at the drawing again this morning and realized I needed to drill a few holes in a confined 5" space.... Right angle drill ordered. Ugg just another 200 spent out of profit. Another tool on the shelf

Yes you can bolt and screw together a large pad of heavy timbers. And just set it on the ground or sink it in the dirt some. I would think you would be able to reasonably forge 1" sq bar with a 30lb champion. I would not exspect to work that size all day long everyday. But surely you could draw tapers and general shape change bar that big.

Thank you Mr Miller for the kind words

I'm glad you like it. I just wanted to share a little bit of lightly decorated utilitarian forge work. It was good practice for just pushing out the work. I took very few mesurements and did no clean up work. The tenons were forged in the power hammer flat dies. The shoulders were wonky and all the lengths were a bit different. I am happy with it as a simple fast pieces that will be somewhat shrouded in use

My brother asked for a fire grate to replace his rusted out one. The replaced grate was dinky 3/8" round bar bent and welded. It probably lasted him 4 years. Were in GA so very few fires in the winter, more of a decoration. I forged him a new one pretty quick today. I used a bit larger bar stock but it's still light. This piece was no fooling no fussing just forging. I spent less than 10 minets filing joints. This will be viewed behind a mesh screen. I did not bother with any coating as it will soot up in the fire quickly. 24" wide 12" deep

The piece looks very fun. Good work. Now you can try out some historical paint and hand brush it on. I hope it's out in the public soon for everyone to enjoy!

I am sure such a thing is possible with out electricity after seeing such wonderful things made hundreds of years ago. You could forge over size then with a saw and chisels start cutting off excess material leaving the cups raised. Almost anything is possible. It's just time and materials

If you are top notch with your forge welding I guess you could weld wire rings to the arm. Maybe use a wood or raw hide mallet to strike the welds. The other option would be setting down the back ground material with punches then chasing the rings round

Afraid Why ?

The arm shank started as 1" round. It stands about 8" tall. Yes you can see weld marks! The cups are welds. I formed the cups with a tig welder by welding little rings with filler metal. Then I used little tools to sink depressions between the rings hot and chisel serrations. I like the option on sculpture of adding material where I desire with a tig welder, then back into the forge and push the material around. Another option I considered was to work down all the background material around the cups, but that just seemed inefficient.

Here is a piece I just finished up. It was made as a tribute for my favorite podcast, The Drabble Cast. There logo is a squid arm raising from the deep ocean. I plan to send it off as a thank you gift for all the great story's they have posted over the years. Mild steel, guilders paste and wax. M Martin Martin Forge Works

I think you have a anvil for shaping/bending pre made horse shoes

A common English approach would be to forge the two parts together then forge a stem on to make the arm longer

You can also buy belt dressing. A spray that is tacky and helps to stop slipping. Works well on my 50lb Also I have a 3.25 inch pulley, the size recommended by Sid of little giant. It seems a bit to fast to me. How do you like the 2.5" ?

Good insulation should only help to save fuel. What type of large work do you have for the forge?

It's English style. I would guess a solid wrought iron screw box. Could easily be from 1880 to 1950. It's hard to track age down on many vices becouse they hardly changed over the years

I sure wish I had a mailing address for those men. I would give them a few steel hammers and a steel block anvil. I am sure they are getting it done but my back aches just looking at the rock hammer.

Saving another good old tool from the scrap heap! Huzzah

It's just like the hofi hood or hammer or most any other common tool. It's all been done before and the idea that such a simple thing is new or linked to one person or place is very rarely true.

I think you found the reason that most of the older English leg vises had only the female box brazed together and the male screw was cut from solid bar. Having the coil inside the box holds everything together pretty well. Good luck