fat pete

I am currenty trying to make these spuds used by wood guys who have to remove thick bark on a large tree..some of the trees are 4-6ft in diameter...the bark is 3-4 inches thik...anyway the guy showed me a spud that was made by hand a long time ago and askes can u do that...sure i repleid ...should keep my mouth shut....we start with 1.25 1060 (SUPPOSEDLY RUSSIAN rr STEEL)AND i go to my buddy who has a power hammer , self contained named a Sahliner I think...anyway we made a couple by upsetting the ends and forming from there...well I can put a better cutting end on by hand than u can with the hammer...but the cuff at the other end is supposed to hold a piece of wood for a handle, it has about a 3inch diameter...it needs to be flattened out to about .5 inch thick and wrapped around and forge welded where they meet...it gets flattened into a triangular shape then makes a nice round cuff...after a demo with a tool i notice that most of the force is in the cuff when you are working with it...one i made on the PH weakened at the cuff and tore...I said i would make another by hand because of the steps the pwr hammer put on the transition....well i just spent 3 hrs trying to bang that down....after upsetting that piece its at least 2.5 and 4 rectangular...i have come to the conclusion 1: you need a striker or a pwr hammer or take 30 yrs away from me...way too much work plus i aint gettin the right shape so i am taking a piece of this back up to the pwr hammer and doing it the easy way ....

http://www.myspace.com/brazealbrothers kinda looks like yours.... anyone know where he is right now

mr obb, very nice fritillary.... makes for a nice element for a plant array..

i am in Pennsylvania 60 miles North west of Philly ...20 degrees f... a tiny bit warmer than yesterday woke up it was 8... maybe it will get out of the twenties today havent made a candle holder yet .... just never made one..

never seen anyone bond the kao wool to the body...was told it just makes a mess

if you r using ie 8 (browser) you can just hit ctrl and the plus or minus sign to resize your view oh yea good ideas for the candle holders and yes the pics are a pita ....

just a rag but just touch the metal ...i used a propane torch

right on jimmy

i have just used boiled linseed and then a coating of butchers wax or min wax dark polish...here lateley I ha been using just the linseed oil and a tourch ....if you take the piece and heat it with a propane torch after swabbing it with linseed ...different temps give different hues...I got a cool red color the other day just with the torch and linseed ....heat it a little longer nad you bring it to a brass or bronze color...so its more than just getting the piece to some hot temp and burning the oil...different temps and time change the hue u get...I also use mothers carnuba wax that removes oxidation ...so you can vary the color on a piece to highlight...guilders paste is cool too ..a little expensive but used sparingly goes a long way...again its a time and temp thing

hope the best!! on the list

i just whipped these little guys up, they r not really hard to make....

Thanks...I didnt think to use formula...lol the power of key words! I aggree...that would be a good idea to have a section of typical simple math solutions to different shop math problems...fortunately i am aware and actually pretty good with math..i blame it on learning the times tables..somehow i guess they dont teach the kids the times tables any more...some new stuff...but for the guy who int nessasarily realy good at 'rithmatic...or when to apply it I thought a little thread would open some new views for beginners and the experienced as well...its usually mentioned in the classes I have had and in most of the books.

looks good i especially like the finsh on the one rod that scrolls on fluer di lis 4th pic...how did you get that mableing of colors??

I just searched "math and arithmetic" i didnt see a post that just discussed different math or arithmetic used in smithing...i realize the inventory, the pricing ect...but how many of yas actually sit down and actually figure out how much metal to use to draw a taper for instance ... what, or maybe i should ask when or even, do you sit down to figure before you light the fire?

i absolutely and fully enjoy the cold during forging....i get so much done when i work in ugly or freezing weather...the lihgting is good.. it was like 15 degrees this morning when i went out into the shop and fired up... made two little items by 0930..but i was sweatin till i was done...i wouldnt worry about that little ding...i bought a bunch of used hammers and reface them...i am on the hunt for ball piens this spring at all the little auctions that go on here , just so i can make little hammers for different do dads...just take a deep breath and jump right in...

as you progress you will know what you need ...its a feel for what you are doing ..... you will definately have many times you say i wish it would be like this...so you make it like that...you'll know if its too heavy or not heavy enuff..

when you quench the oil may flare and lotts of smoke so the lid is to prevent the big flames....it may sound confusing cause there are so many types of alloys, like thomas said... you have a lot of smiths in IL.. doesnt have to be a bladesmith .... find one...there is a spark test you can use to determine approx amt of carbon of the steel but you need to practise that a whole lot till you become profficient... if you dont mind waisting some play with it and see what works best...take you time, try the different hardenning you get with your quenches..check the hardening with a file, ( it will skate over the metal and not cut)

you should know what metal you are working with...some r oil quenching some are water...some dont matter....mild all that quenching and tempering dont do much to the metal...no carbon...the temp of the oil matters too .... i preheat mine with an old rr spike i heat up to bring the temp of the oil to about 150 then i plunge the non mag steel in it...i use transmission fluid....make sure you gotta lid handy to cover your tube...also make sure the bucket or what ever oil vessel you are using can take fire and heat...there is a story floating around about a guy that quenched in a drywall bucket and the bucket gave out....not good....i use a 4" steel tube welded to a piece of i beam so its pretty steady...untill you get used to it it is somewhat an unhandy duty...so be careful! you get some of that oil on ya it will burn....

i will tell ya i just rebuilt my forge and the flux eats the inside...i dont think anything will prevent it...the best is to use small amounts of borax and clean it after every welding session.... it ate thru a ceramic plate i had on te floor...there is that sts 100 (i think thats the number) that stiffens the kaowool and says it helps the reflection value and maintaines the heat better....I couldnt open your link....I go to chilli forge or larry zollar for that kind of info...

i use lime.... I gotta 5 ga bucket with a lid and filled it with lime...the same stuff you put on your lawn...its like talcum powder....so it is dense and holds temp a long time....works well for me....10 minutes at the forge saves an hr of bench time...if you dont believe that forge a taper point and grind a taper point....sometimes you have to do it a couple of times....check the hardness by seeing if a file skates on it or digs in

Hey Tom cool video....and good job!! we will meet on the cement some time

that will work... nice hammer!!!

i use krylon also for outside things or things that need to sparkle a little...that will rust outside around here after a while...i think its how clean the metal is from hand oils and other crap...but in a home i try and keep it to the wax and oil coating ...easily touched up with a little wax rubbing in...at least let it get a neat worn patina....when and if you like what it looks like then "freeze" the patina with a clear laquer works ofr me so far.....

thats how i got started...taking old knives and trying to put them back together....hopefully the blade has enuff metal on it you can do what ever you want...depends how deep the pits are ...but that can be some of the character of th piece

that will work...