JimsShip

I just found out you can make some nice bottle openers made from them as well!

What are the hook ones used for? And how did you get that pattern on the handle, twisting and untwisting? The 2 gallery pics by John of all the projects lined up on the sheets also gave me a rush of anticipation to get busy! I love it.

The inside is rusty, which i've heard is a good sign it's not galvanized. (In fact most, if not all of the old cans around here are rusing out! It's rare you find one without a hole in it.) How would I check that if everythings either painted or rusted? (or at least worn!) For now my projects willl be small, maybe working a few hours at a time, so reserve coal isn't really an issue, and as far as placing my tools down the workbech/vise area should cover it. I wanted something small and easily moved from garage to driveway, and this looked like the best way to accomplish that while reusing something I already had. Thanks for the help.

Hey All! I'm building a brake drum forge, and instead of using a steel gal drum (as I've seen done on the web) I'm using a small cast milk can to set the drum on. The drum is wider than the top of the can, so my plan was to cut a 2"hole in the lid of the can, and then bolt the drum, can lid, and pipe flange all together. Now the question: Someone asked me what stops the milk can lid from heating up as well as the drum? I had never thought about it, since the steel drum plan the instructional simply said to cut out a hole to let the drum set inside (Being held only by the outer lip of the drum)and I figured my cast milk can would be stronger than the steel one, but it occured to me that more of the can metal will be it contact with the bottom of the drum. Do you think it will be a problem? -Jim

Why not quench it?

I would say Loggers. My Father in Law sells firewood from his farm, and not only do you have the heavy ax work, but after the tree is fallen, you have to cut it into logs, then lift those logs (full hand contact on rough bark) onto the wagons, and then finally split it all into manageable sized pieces for the woodstoves. Whith Blacksmithing, the stock isn't really that heavy (in most cases) and although there's alot of hammering and dirt and grime, I think Logging would be harder on the hands themselves.

PERFECT! I knew someone would have the answer I was hoping for! Thank you Jimbob and Frosty! (I may also add a longer Dragon head handle sometime in the future, That would also be cool for my kid!)

An anvil obviously would be a bit much, but I didn't think an ash trap that would probably weigh 10lbs. at the most would be so far fetched. Apologies to our international members, the next time i'll be sure to add "somewhere in the U.S." to the thread title to avoid the confusion.

Good Point. I'm in Upstate NY, and never considered that this was an international forum. I just figured with all the experience in building these things here on the forum, someone somewhere would have had this question before and discovered a place that may have sold them. (I've bought internationally before from ebay so location didn't even occur to me as a problem.) All that being said, i'd love to see a pic of the dragon head! Thanks all, I'll let you know what I whip up, and i'll be sure to get to work on my profile. -J

Where can you buy the t-shirts and stuff? The store link has nothing available in any of the catagories!

Hey All, I'm building a brake drum forge using 2" black iron pipe, and was wondering if they sell (or if anyone makes) a weighted ash dump that would either screw onto the end of the pipe, or could be welded on. This isn't terribly important (I could just unscrew an end cap) but it would be a nice feature. All the ones I've seen online come in a set with a fire pot and klinker breaker which I don't need. Thanks for any help or suggestions you may have. -Jim