freeman

That is a fine looking pair of tongs. Well done.

I agree with VaughnT, the clean simplicity of the lines used is definitely reminiscent of some of Wright's work, and that's no small praise.

Nice looking boat. I wonder if I haven't bumped into you on the Ocoee at some point.

I think one of the site admins moved my post. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Can you see it now? Merged the 2 posts you created about this same subject into this thread. There is no need to have duplicate posts cluttering up the forum.

That is a fine looking set of fire tools you've created! Thanks for sharing.

I have a friend who collects small puzzles and I thought a tavern puzzle might make for a decent gift. I spent an hour or so this morning scouring the internet for blueprints before I cam across this thread. And here is the finished product:

Thanks for the link, Gerald this is exactly what I was looking for this morning.

Great looking work.

So how do you get the popcorn to line up where you want it? Do you mask the material with sheet metal and then weld something close by?

As someone with a poorly configured coal forge I anxiously await further information on this topic. By all means, share!

That sounds pretty nice, Thomas. You happen to have any pictures you could post?

Thanks for sharing, this is great!

$1 a pound is a horrible price for coal. Here in central NC Fred Pugh is selling fantastic smithing coal for $15 per 50lb bag.

Thanks! I noticed from one of your posts you make a similar style. These designs are a natural progression from a simpler design I was making this time last year. I say natural progression because naturally every time I go a couple months without making bottle openers I forget how I did it the last time and end up accidentally coming up with something entirely different.

Nice work. The antlers are especially impressive. How do you texture them?

I finished making the first set of dies for the swage I made over thanksgiving. I'm hoping these will speed up a few other projects I'm working on.

Probably, or they'd be priced too high to sell. Getting that figure eight knot took longer than I'd care to admit. :wacko:

One of my wife's coworkers cornered me at a Christmas party and asked if I would make them some bottle openers. So I made bottle openers.

My complements to the leatherworker, that's some nice tooling. Let us know how those cuffs turn out for you in practice. If they consistently help cut down on burns without snagging on random stuff in the environment or trapping hot slag then I might consider making a pair myself. Worst burn I've received to date was *because* I was wearing gloves. I was helping another smith teach a class when a chunk of slag popped off of one of the students' work piece and landed down the cuff of my glove, lodging at the base of my thumb. By time I got the glove off I'd racked up a nice 3rd degree burn.

I swear, you throw a rock in the air around Pittsboro and odds are good it'll land on a blacksmith! :) I would definitely enjoy an opportunity to test drive a Refflinghaus anvil before I make a purchase. Thanks for the offer!

I'm hoping someone can offer a frank comparison between these manufacturers. I'm enticed by Fontanini's features, price point and the fact that it's made in the USA. On the other hand I've heard Refflinghaus anvils described as the best on the market today. If I go for the more expensive option I'd like to know ahead of time what the extra money is buying me. Thanks for looking!

I'm going to go with Helmut Hillenkamp. Just listening to the man speak is a true pleasure. I also greatly enjoy his esthetic sense and have been a huge admirer of his work since I first stumbled across his "Iron to live with" videos on youtube. He's also the man who taught me how to make tongs and weld chain, despite the fact we've never met.

I'd be interested in buying the lot of 15N20 if we can agree on a price and arrange for shipping. Feel free to PM.

Yes, go on...

Hopefully your class went well. Next time you're in the area feel free to stop by.