Elemental Metal Creations

To spend more time at the forge!

Nice!

I believe this went for $3050, could have been more, I missed the end. WOW!

It's raining right now so the floor of my "shop" is a clay mud pit! I am getting ready to build a shed roof over it with walls o come later. I had to dig down about a foot to get it somewhat level, will be adding creak gravel for a floor when I can get it.

Welcome Steve from North of England! Don't be shy about asking questions weather you or others thingk they are soft in the head questions. I feel the only stupid question is the one not asked. No way anyone can know everything...

Perfect timing Brian, after I showed my wife the Valentine heart she said she would like to have one made out of a horseshoe. We found some on sale on the 24th and got the last4 for 50c each. I will be trying this the next time I fire the forge.
Thanks

Did not Wiley Coyote attempt to drop ACME anvils on the Road Runner?

I signed up for a beginners course yesterday. The class is at the Tom Kennon blacksmith shop in Doniphan, MO. but is not until the last 2 Saturdays in March. This will give me plenty of time to learn more bad habits on my own.;-) I have already made the projects that we will be doing on my own but it will give me a chance to learn from and talk to some experienced smiths. This is the first class that I have found in driving distance (2 hours away).

Brian, Thanks for bringing this thread back to life. You remind me of a math teacher I had in high school. Out of the many that I had he was the one teacher that could explain any math problem in a way that I could understand it. I read the posts and instruction here any sometimes don't quite grasp the concepts but when you explain them it is like someone turned on the lights.
Thank you.Jerry

Didn't have a scythe:-(
I also had to crawl under the house and dig trenches so the plumber could get inti the crawl space to run the pipes when we finally got and indoor bathroom. I was the only one small enough to fit!

My dad sold me a story of when he was working as a carpenter long ago. he was working on a new scoll gym and one of the guys found a stick of dynamite they were cutting thin slices off and hitting them with there hammers. someone said watch this, hit a 1/8 stick piece with a 12lb sledge. He didn't tell me how they explained the hole in the new roof to the boss:-0

You may no longer be a youngster if:
You know why there are two blades on a double bit ax, what they are used for, and used them,
Know the difference between a spade and a shovel.
Have ever dug a 1/8 acre garden with a spading fork.
Helped can vegetables from the garden because if you didn't there would be none during the winter.
Wound the starter spring on the lawnmower with a hand crank.
Had to cut a 1/4 acre with a weed whip because you didn't get it mowed before it got to tall.

I have also done most of the other things mentioned previously.

I first saw these puzzles at Silver Dollar City (a pioneer town based amusement park here in Missouri) many years ago. They had about 20 of them and I stood there and solved all of them in a couple of hours. i love these puzzles and will have to make some. Thank you for posting this.

What exactly is that thing? It looks like it could be used as a die or something to shape metal but is that what it is in actuality or would it just be good for that? Sorry if I sound ignorant, but my smithing knowledge is definitely in its infancy stage.

I am pretty new at this and usually am thumbs down, I will try to remember to try thumbs up next time I get to do some forging. I am right handed and am more comfortable with the horn on the right, might have something to do with the fact that the only flat part on my 50# anvil is about 1 1/2 inch next to the horn and/or my bad vision. For hammer control practice after driving the nails through the board turn it over and drive them back out without bending them, this is much harder than driving them in straight.

My wife has this problem when she gets around to much smoke, a good OTC allergy medicine might help.

I make my own charcoal.
I have a fire pit about a foot and a half deep that I build a good fire in and when it has been burning good for about an hour I fill the pit with chunks of wood and cover it with tin. Seal around the edges with dirt or mud until there is almost no smoke excaping. Open up in about 2 days and you should have a bunch of charcoal.
Don't get in a hurry to open it up, one time I uncovered the pit the next day and was going to bag up the charcoal later, when I came back about 20 lb's of fuel for my forge had burned up.The top was cool but there was enough heat in the middle to burn when the air got to it.:-(
I have also seen a good video on charcoal making on youtube, he used a 55gal. barrel with a removable lid . I haven't tried it yet, I need to find the right barrel.

I just finished a utensil rack I made for my wife. I put it in the oven @ 400 deg. F, after it got hot I wiped it with cheap olive oil. I did 3 coats letting it bake in between coats and it came out a beautiful deep glossy black.

Thanks for the comments and thoughts.
John, don't worry, I would rather give something away for free than give it away.
Mark, the math looks correct to me, had to use the calculator! Don't really know how long it took as I was working on a couple of things at the same time.
Told the wife $6 and after she posted that got 2 more orders. humm, facebook may have a use after all!

Don't bend over to close, the rebound could realy hurt with this hammer. :-0

This is my first leaf. My wife posted a pic on facebook about 1 hr ago and already had 2 people ask if they were for sale. I said yes but don't know what to charge.

I started with 3/8 round.

show them some pics of swedge blocks and see what they say.

It came right out with a little wd40 and some tapping with a hammer on a 2x4. now to soak it and get the internal threads clean.

Thanks, I tried to tap it out this eve. with a block of wood and a hammer. I will soak it all day tomorrow with PB and try again.

I am getting ready to clean up my Indian Chief vice and don't see how the screw box is fastened in. Can anyone tell me how to remove it for cleaning without damaging it?