Tom Allyn

Restaurant supply stores also carry these.

Plain old canola oil works well for seasoning cast iron. It should do fine for BBQ utensils and such. Any oil with a high smoking point will do. For seasoning cast iron, it's best to use an oil with a smoking point of 400° F or higher. The higher the smoking point the better. A renowned local blacksmith uses grapeseed oil (smoking point 485° F). http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/collectedinfo/oilsmokepoints.htm

18" adjustable 'monkey' wrench. Stamped "Intermediate" on one side, "C.M.&ST. P. RY" on the other side. It has a steel handle fit over the tang. Is it too big to use as a twisting wrench? Might be nice for larger stuff like 1" square bar. Any idea of the value? I gave $10 for it.

I imagine that was done to lessen the vibrations transmitted to the hand. You used to see hammers, especially ball peens, that had very narrow handles below the heads. Easier on the hand and wrist. But I've never seen a slotted handle before. Should do the same thing.

Another vote for starting with buying those two books. They've been invaluable to me. I've only been doing this for 4-5 months. But I've read both of those books several times over. I built my own coal forge for less than $100. It easily reaches welding temperature. There's a scrapyard nearby that provides me with raw material. If you wanna do it, start doing it. Then get out to demonstrations or classes when you can. Watching a pro work is a real eye opener.

I was gonna guess that you left her. ;)

That's my guess, too.

I started on a piece of RR rail but I mounted it vertically so that the mass of the rail was directly under the hammer. It makes a smaller work surface but it's more solid under the hammer. If I had to go back to rail I'd probably get 2 pieces, one vertical and one horizontal.

IrfanView is another good free-ware image app. http://www.irfanview.com/ And then there's GIMP - next best thing to Photoshop and also free. It's my favorite. http://www.gimp.org/

OK. Micarta (I had to look it up) looks correct. I wonder what the heck it was used for. ????

I saw that piece's twin brother at my local junkyard not long ago. What is it?

This curious item was at the bottom of a box of tools I picked up at an estate sale. It consists of a steel base with a fabric laminate top. It measures 5"x1-7/8"x1-3/8". The steel base is 3/4" thick and the fabric laminate is 5/8" thick. It appears to have the remnants of some adhesive on the bottom. Is it some sort of strop?

First off, don't wait for Winter. Get it done while the fire is still in you. Stuff happens and things don't get done. Better to move on it now rather than later. And in regards to the "variable speed", I think it's a good idea. I'm a noobie to blacksmithing but I like having variable speed. I have a rheostat controlling my blower. I can give it a low blast for a slow even heat on small stuff or crank it up for heating larger stock. It's a good idea to have as much air as you could want at your disposal.

It's a jello mold.