SmoothBore

This theme does seem to repeat endlessly.

And it seems to me, that the majority of newcomers become interested in the craft, based on what they can "get" from it.

This is pretty basic human nature stuff, ... "Wouldn't it be cool to have a big honking knife that I made myself".

And it would, ... No argument there,

The end result is a desirable object.

And for a lot of folks, that's as far as it goes.

But obviously, for those who get past the initial appeal, it's actually a learning process.

Ultimately, what you "get", is the knowledge and skill to make anything you choose. And that is a particularly satisfying state of affairs.

Certainly, for me, that satisfaction and the accompanying confidence, are the true reward.

If it was really about knives, ..... We'd all go buy a Ginsu, and save a lot of hassle and sweat.

On 3/27/2016 at 1:35 PM, Frosty said:

I only go so far to warn people anymore, there's always someone who doesn't know didly but are more than willing to share what they don't know. You see it here all the time.

Frosty The Lucky.

A M E N .

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Being of a thoroughly pragmatic nature, I would not hesitate to modify a big pair of tin snips, into "tong-like objects".

While I'm sure that all the "true blue", "bona-fide" Blacksmiths out there are horrified at the thought of making a useful device by any means other than traditional forging practice.

My inclination would be to cut away the worn-out "snip" jaws, and arc weld new, useful jaws, onto the remaining portion of the snips.

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Decades before I ever considered acquiring an anvil, and forge, I was making specialized "tongs" for transferring preheated stators, for electric motors, from conveyor ovens into automated powder coating fixtures.

I would fabricate the oddly shaped and very specialized "jaws", and weld them on to various types of pliers.

Since the powder coating process was very new at that time, there were no commercial  sources for tools of that sort.

On 3/16/2016 at 10:12 AM, Nobody Special said:

On 3/16/2016 at 10:12 AM, Nobody Special said:

 

My grandmother didn't bother catching them. Back in the days that she kept chickens, she'd step out on the back stoop and blow their heads off with a pearl handled .38

When I was growing up, it was a "rite of passage" when GrandMa called on you to help collect the chickens for Sunday dinner.

She always had a lot more roosters that she needed, and was constantly "culling" them.

When you had become sufficiently proficient with your .22 rifle, she'd take you out to the chicken yard fence, and point out the roosters that she wanted.

It was up to you to shoot them in the head, without creating a big disturbance.

Since both my cousins and I routinely burned thru a box of .22 bullets every day, the chickens never paid any attention to the sound of gunfire.

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On 3/22/2016 at 9:02 PM, ThomasPowers said:

try running a fan all the time. 

Ditto.

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A lot of material has been published on the subject of "work triangles".

Read up on that subject, and you'll be in a much better position to put together a well thought out work area.

Basically, since you don't work "behind" the forge, it probably needs to go in a corner.

Whereas your anvil needs to be accessible from all sides.

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Okay, you guys are making me feel like a dinosaur, but here's what I remember.

James Arness played Matt Dillon.

Amanda Blake played Miss Kitty.

Dennis Weaver played Chester, the gimp.

The character "Festus", replaced the "Chester" character.

Both George Kennedy and Burt Reynolds played the blacksmith in various episodes.

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2 hours ago, punkinracer said:

I have found it harder to buy anything used that is "blacksmith" related, the exposure has driven the price and availability up for sure.

Pat

I think that's true, and it mystifies me.

It's always been my belief, that the essence of blacksmithing lies in the ability to make your own tools and equipment.

But you see a lot of the "consumer" mentality, right on this board.

Where many of the newcomers are wondering where and how they can "buy" their way into blacksmithing.

And often, they're not particularly receptive to the notion that the craft is something you have to learn, ... rather than something you can buy.

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5 hours ago, Frosty said:

IHas anyone EVER seen a program on TV or in a movie showing blacksmithing in any realistic way? ANYONE?

Frosty The Lucky.

Well,... Wasn't the blacksmith on "Gunsmoke" the town drunk ? 

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The only way to take commercial advantage of a fad, is to jump on it while interest is expanding, and bail out when it turns the corner, and begins to deteriorate into commercialized, mass produced crap.

Sadly, we might already be at that point.

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Hammer #2 might benefit from a curved handle.

Generally speaking, I think this is true in most cases.

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In my shop, one of the tools I use every day, is a 6" x 48" belt sander.

They are relatively inexpensive, and extremely versatile.

While I do have an old belt drive surface grinder, I really don't use it much.

Obviously, a lot would depend on the tolerances required by the job.

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I was not aware that it was "illegal" to grow hemp in the United States, until quite recently.

Here in southern Pennsylvania, place names like Hempfield and Hempstead are very common.

Leading me to believe that these were common crops in Colonial times.

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But getting back to the original thread, ... I never put anything on wooden hammer handles, that will cause them to swell.

The old trick, of sticking an axe in a bucket of water overnight, to tighten up a loose head, is a patently bad idea.

( Note to self: just because grandpa did it that way, doesn't always make it right. )

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I notice certain "enthusiasts" on this board, and others, that take a good deal of pleasure in "obsessing" about their hammers.

To me, it's just a hammer.

Don't get me wrong, I like a high quality tool, and recognize that "good" hammers make your work go better.

I can get more carpentry type work done, faster and better, with my "Estwing" framing hammer, than with any other,

And I have several "favorites" that I use for Blacksmithing.

But still, they are means to an end, rather than the focus of my work.

I haven't made a study of the subject, ... but would guess that blacksmiths who routinely use power hammers, ... are less likely to be preoccupied with their hammer handles.

I don't think this makes them any more, or less, "discerning" than anyone else.

But I do think it demonstrates more of an interest in the "work", than in the "process".

Some might say they are "results oriented".

To me, it's all good.

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4 minutes ago, coldironkilz said:

We haven't had "TV" for over 30 years, so this won't affect me.

 

That's okay, ... You haven't missed much.

When flipping through the channels just this morning, "The Andy Griffith Show" and "I Love Lucy" were two of the better choices available.

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18 minutes ago, VaughnT said:

Smoothbore, prepare to be disappointed.  Watching the trailer for that new show, I'm seeing all the classic signs of suckage! 

No surprise there.

But some of my favorite people are true "hillbilly types".
They tend to be interesting folks.

What some people might call "hillbillies", I would be more likely to characterize as "useless white trash".

That's more about who, or what you are, ... rather than where you live.

And yes, I'm sure the publicity is "good for business", … but have my doubts about its effect on the overall quality of the work that's being produced.

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It looks like you're trying to duplicate a process, that was most likely done in a closed die.
Obviously, a "U" shaped piece, made from an appropriate size of flat bar would be easy to form.

The trick then, is to mount it firmly to the end of the handle.

I would think a couple of inches of tubing on the end of the handle, to act as a reinforcing sleeve, and several inches of flat "tang" added to the bottom of the "U" shaped piece, and inserted into the end of the handle, might work.

I'd probably stick a rivet through the reinforcing sleeve, that also passed through the tang, ... thereby locking everything together.

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I was surprised that other "blacksmith" show, has lasted as long as it has.

Since I absolutely loathe pretentiousness, ... and detest "artificial emergencies", ... I've found little about it that entertains me at all. 

( What is it about TV producers, that makes them want to turn everything they touch into some kind of phony competition ? )

But, since there's nothing else of interest "on" in that time slot on Tuesday nights, I do find myself watching them from time to time.

Last night was a good example, ... the "competitors" were a couple of clueless kids, and one guy who could actually make a knife.

I mean really, what's the point ?

But apparently they're getting ratings, so they've survived, ... and are now "spinning off" this new show.

Since the premise of the original show is so narrow, and ill-conceived, I suspect the new one can only be better.

Let's hope.

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When I was a young man ( back in the Stone Age ) I worked as a Compositor in a print shop, that did both letterpress and offset printing.

All those pots of molten lead sitting around, was too much of a temptation for a foolish youngster like me. So before long, I found myself pouring lead into a hole drilled in the end of a billy club.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.  

But several seconds into the pour, residual moisture in the wood, caused a little steam explosion down inside the hole, that sprayed molten lead back out the end of the billy club.

Not much fun at all.

However, if you work around line-casting machines for long, you get used to being "squirted" with molten lead.

Still, ... That happen sometime around 1970, and I still remember it well.

So I guess it made a lasting impression. 

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No one has mentioned the powder coating, ... And that's a good thing.

While powder coating ( or rubber "bedliners" ) provide short-term protection, in the long run, they trap moisture between the coating and the steel.

Without a LOT more information, it's really not possible to make an intelligent recommendation.

But generally speaking, it seems ill-advised to use mild steel in any application that will be continuously exposed to the elements.

The problem with hot bending pipe, is its tendency to collapse. The trick for overcoming this problem, is to fill the pipe with fine gravel before you heat it.

I say fine gravel rather than sand, because sand might turn to glass inside the pipe.

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It's not always a trouble-free path, ... but you do learn a lot, working with scrap.

In a word, ... Yes.

They're commonly known as "inclusions", and are often present in "recycled" steel.

On 3/15/2016 at 9:42 PM, Michael Cochran said:

 Last I heard we don't have any mythical creatures here in Alabama but I wouldn't be surprised to find out I was wrong.

You don't get out much do you ?

The last time I was in Alabama, ( Decatur ) there were strange critters everywhere you looked.

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A few years ago, when a buddy who is a life-long Allis Chalmers fancier, brought home a "big green thing", I was forced to mount a set of fork-horns on a bright yellow "nothing runs like a Deere" hat, ... and send it to him. His GrandKids insist that he wear it regularly. 

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8 hours ago, blackwolf365 said:

Here in the city I live in there is an annual gathering of people whom are not of the christian religion.

Am I missing some obvious point here ?

Does "Christianity" disqualify you from participation ?

Are you going to dance naked around a sacrificial pyre, and worship "Wayland the Smith" ?

Needless to say, I'm intrigued.

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11 hours ago, gote said:

 It is amazing what people did believe.

Many years ago, when Roy Underhill was the "Housewright" at Colonial Williamsburg, I spent a fair amount of time, observing and participating ( if you showed up 2 days in a row, Roy would put you to work ) in some of their projects.

I particularly remember a discussion we had, while charring the ends of the "Poles" that were to be set in the ground, as supports for a small "Pole Building".

Historically, this was done to fence posts and other wood that came into contact with the ground, to "prevent rot".

When asked the obvious question, "does that really work" ?

Roy, whose tongue was always lodged firmly "in cheek", would reply, "well, not anymore, but it must have back then, because everybody did it".

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The sparks seem to indicate a high concentration of carbon, ... and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some "surface hardness" applied to the piece.

Perhaps some kind of Nitriding.

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