Hayden H

I'm looking into building a forge, is it possible to build a forge using a tuyere, and fire brick as the firepot? Or do I need the cast parts?

The bottom looks like maybe a Kohlswa, what does the bottom look like? Kohlswas (most of them) have an oval "dish" under the base

Double nut: Greatest way to fix something in place if you wanna be able to move/adjust it when your thru

Smallest hammer eh? How big we talking? I have an absolutely genius idea...

Is there a group closer to Texas? I'm a stones throw from the Red. The closest group I've found meets South of Dallas every 2 weeks. Thats to far to travel for me

I may just have to go to this conference... Maybe I can find a ride with another smith...

G.P.R. go to one of the local colleges, and offer them a challenge. Ground Penetrating Radar can find a metatarsal in a hay field, it can find a big ole'd bunch of anvils in a river bed

Also where abouts are you in Oklahoma? If your in northern Okieville, theres a few smiths up there, and a coal supplier in........... http://www.saltforkcraftsmen.org/Tailgate.shtm#coal

If you "found" the railroad track, its is a felony to retrieve it from anywhere near the rail road track. Now finding a crew working on it, and asking them what they do with the ends, and tails. May land you a few sizable peices.

If you have the money to spare, go buy a detector that only will work for a specific range of iron, or steel.

I didn't think of the extreme hardness factor

Even if I forge welded a peice into it, I shouldn't necessarily have to temper it. Due to the fact that I'd want the inside hard as possible, and the outside (spike) would be relatively soft. Right?

Well crap, I think I might cut a slot, and forge weld in an old Nicholson file peice

Well the top line about sums it up, I forged out 2 hawks, out of 2 rail road spikes. I quenched both of them, but it seems to me that neither of them got very hard. I read somewhere that spikes where 1095 carbon or along those lines. I used one old spike and a fairly new one. I quenched in water, not oil. I did a fair bit of grinding to knock of the scale to temper it, it didn't get over 175 degrees in grinding. I put an edge on one just to see the hardness, and it wasn't very hard at all. What'd I do wrong?

I'll try tonight

I forged out the rough shape of 2 rail road spike tomahawks today, tomorrow I'll slit one with the hot chisel, and maybe order a drift. Is it better to slit then shape to preferred handle diameter? Or just buy the drift set?

I'm using my "Redneck" forge, my soon to be finished main forge has a 12 by 14 by 8 3/4 firepot, this one has about 1/4 that. I'll take a look for the coal in Texas

I got ahold of some pretty rough coal, it finally rained and I started the forge with a sheet of newspapaer as usual, about 15 minutes after the yellow and green smoke dissapeared, and the fire burned down enough, I put a rail road spike in the fire to heat. When I went to take the spike out, the bloomin' thing stuck to my tongs! To my absolute surprise, the spike and my tongs were stuck together with a clinker. I am now looking into ordering a 1/2 ton of coal. Best places to get coal, shoot...

I dissasembled a motor scooter earlier, and the wheels are perfect (in my opinion) to make a mini-tire hammer! Double bearing'd, both have an internal brake. And I have all the springs and stuff I think I'll need from scrounging the scooters parts

Is it possible to build a miniature hammer? One of my mentors (I have access to his shop, lathe mill, drill press etc.) He was an excellent scrounger when he was younger, he has all kinds of pillow blocks, and bearing races by the tub full. I want to make one small first to get my dimensions and ideas down, I found a 2 1/8 pillow block that I want to use to make a mega-hammers toggle attatchment, and a fist full of 1/4 to 7/8 pillow blocks, I want to build something to do intricate work like leaves, and maybe a little power repousse

"If it was close to me you would be out of luck, cause it would be in my shop!! We don't get them in that shape or size around here much." I just saw a 450 Hay Budden listed in Aubrey for a mere $1,650. That anvils cheap compared to my area

Weren't the anvils made by Hay-Budden and Fisher Norris for Sears and Roebuck?

You learn something new everyday around here

I cleaned up my Kohlswa 75 today, and I was wondering what the "1" stamped on the bottom meant? The first casting of a mold, the serial number (I'm 99.999% sure it isn't), or just a number? Then I got sick of my Fulton 75 being to tall and broke the wleds holding it to its stand, it has either a "12", or possibly a "17" on one side. Wondering what it meant.

THe Champion logo on the front of the blower housing goes back to the company owner, (whose name escapes me) died in 1920, so the blowers without the enscription on the front are older, thus forth, amybe harder to find, I've found 3 with the Champion faceplate, and bought the one without it