Tom Allyn

Good or bad, what's it worth these days? Approximately. I found one ad asking for $2.50 a pound. I saw some on ebay listed at ~$3.00/pound. But sellers on ebay can ask for whatever they like.

What's old rusty wrought worth per pound?

As a blacksmith you don't need 'the best' planer knives. You're able to sharpen and maintain knives better than the average plane user. So unless you're planning on very heavy use I wouldn't sweat having 'the best' knives. What are you planning to plane?

Anyone else here use a Drill Doctor? I think they're great. I keep several drill organizers full of sharp bits. If the first one is dull then grab the backup and put the first one in the 'to be sharpened' pile.

Once at a jobsite a black Mercedes pulled up and parked right under our garbage chute. A quick thinking carpenter swept up some dust and debris and slammed the dustpan on the chute, sending a cloud toward the Mercedes. The driver, just exiting the car, climbed back in and moved his car. It was a public parking space, just not a good idea to park there...........

There is a local blacksmith and master bladesmith who's work I admire. Even though I know I'll never equal his smithing work, I see errors in his sharpening technique. I know that I could do better or show him how to do better. But because of my meager smithing skills I'll never be able to show him how to improve his sharpening skills. He wouldn't listen. That's a shame.

That's great. But there is artistry in producing work that appears machine made, too. You say tom-ay-toe, I say tom-ah-toe.

Great chart. Thanks, TMW. And BTW, sorry to hear that you live in Yuma.

I'll sign up for the class.

Another view.

This is surely far from the 'best' belt sander for a bladesmith but it might be the cheapest solution for a hobbyist. I bought this Craftsmen 3"x21" belt sander from the junkyard for $6. I put it on my drill press table and cranked the table up to clamp it in place. Belts are available everywhere and they're cheap. Portable belt sanders like this are a dime a dozen on Craigslist (ok, you might have to spend $10 or $15). Don't have a drill press? Improvise. Or find a drill press cheap on Craigslist (you need one anyway). It's a buyers market right now. Watch out for home store junk. Try it. If you really get into bladesmithing then buy yourself a better one.

OK. Those pieces are short enough that you'll need to grasp them with tongs. A 16"x3/8" V-bit will hold 1/8" or 1/4" nicely. If you want to grab 1-1/4" stock on edge then get a pair of 18"x1-1/4" V-bits. Also, you might get by with a pair of 18"x1" and be able to use them for 1" stock, too.

I'd go with a couple pairs of V-bit tongs from OCP. Hard to find a more universally useful tong than a V-bit. https://www.blacksmi...ad232dc5835ac0a

Very clever design, Thomas. This sink had the drain at one end, too. I just plugged that hole and made a new one in the center. If you drill a cast iron sink from the under side with a hole saw then the porcelain just chips away without damaging the hole saw. Very easy to drill cast iron.

Thanks. I wish I could take credit for it but Grant suggested it to me. I'm currently using a tuyere shaped like two tear drops connected at their points. It seems to make a slightly elongated fire. Use anti-seize on the pipe cap threads and you can just twist them off by hand and change them at will. I had the pipe leading into the forge threaded for several inches. Then I made a pair of nuts for that pipe out of a standard pipe coupling -just cut a piece off of each end. In this way you can adjust the height of the tuyere within the firepot. I experimented with a clay-earth firepot until I found the size and shape that I wanted and then lined it 5/8" of castable refractory. Quick, cheap and easy. Here's an image of the prototype forge with the firepot formed out of local clay-earth.

Looks like that piece is up to full size at about 11" and starts to curve at 12". I'd probably cut it off at 12" and then rework it as necessary.

OK. I'll give you that.

I just use the drill press as a vertical lathe to turn file handles. Then I fit them with a piece of EMT conduit as ferrule. Of course you can buy file handles at the hardware store for next to nothing, but you can make them for nothing and have the satisfaction of having done it yourself. As always your mileage may vary.

Good looking piece of work, Dodge.

I posted this in another thread but that post and image disappeared. Maybe it was deemed off-topic in that thread. Anyway, here's an image of a knife tang I filed back in June. By carefully checking my work both by eye and with a micrometer I was able to achieve a tolerance of +/- 1/100". Will anyone else share images of their filing work?

Nice job, Bliss!

Does vinegar work as well as battery acid? That's what Weygers suggests using. Do you use vinegar full strength?

I've been gathering files at estates sales lately. I've found some real nice ones.

Taping is what you do to drywall. Tapping is what you do to metal. Just sayin'........ :)

Coal is cheaper but charcoal doesn't make clinker!