Private Entrance

Ah yes a variation on the "Klingon Butterknife"

I did laugh aloud at this.

It is going to be an interesting knife when it is done.  I am curious as to why he wants the extra knob in the middle of the grip?

Nice.  I just finished my fourth set of tongs and they don't look that good.  Well done.

Nohone, 

I think you're better off with just the bare concrete.  The things you mention are all flammable and are going to cause more trouble than they are worth.  I put hot pieces (black hot, not red+) on my concrete slab to cool and have had no problem with it damaging the concrete.  Biggest issue I have is loose chunks of coal/coke, clinker, or slag getting under getting ground up under foot.  Every now and again I give the area I use (I don't have the luxury of a dedicated shop) a good sweeping and a hosing down.  Other than the pen marks I have on the ground so I know where to park my anvil, you'd never know I had been there.

Hope this helps.

I like that. I just might have to steal that idea. ;)

I built my table from the side of an old washing machine and an old bed frame.  Been using it for a year and it's held up nicely.

I second that.  I haven't ground any diagonals out of HF hammers, but have had good luck with grinding straight peins. 

Start with an engineer's hammer - they come in sizes from 2-4#, from what I've seen, and run between $5-10 or so, depending on if there is a sale on or not.

I've fiddled around with green bottle glass a little.  Glass from wine bottles does hold its color pretty well after it melts.  I haven't tried beer bottle glass, but I can't imagine it would be too different.

Nice looking cross and necklace, btw.  I think I'm in the 'no-wire' camp.  You might try it with something 20 ga steel or aluminum wire, though.  To me it's the color that jumps out more than the form of having the wire on it, but that's just me.  :)

That is an extraordinarily valid point, and I had entirely forgotten the Russian serfs, not to mention those poor buggers in Arkansas.  :)

Well played, sir.  Very well played.

I found out this is the same company that made Parker shotguns, which are very expensive when you can find them. Later on they were bought out by Remington.

 

Casey

The 'less affluent' guys that collect Parker shotguns also tend to collect the other stuff Parker made, like vises, coffee grinders, etc. My ex brother in law was one of those 'less affluent' guys.

I definitely wouldn't repaint it, and would be gentle with shining it up.

You might try the Parker Gun Collecting Association website and its forum to get more info and an idea of the value of that vise.

www.parkerguns.org/

I'll definitely grab them next chance I get. Guess some depends on what you define as medieval. Post-Roman? Frankish? Charles Martel period? I would have thought of it as running later than the Norse invasions. Say, maybe til third crusade plus about 100 yrs?

Rough definition is between the final decline of the Western Roman Empire and the start of the Renaissance and Age of Exploration, so 600-ish to 1400-ish as a very broad range. 

I've recently begun to think of it as the period generally between the first two Pandemics (outbreaks of the Black Plague). The first started in 541, and the second ended in about 1350, give or take, depending on the part of Europe you are talking about.

My $.02.  Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

That is a fantastic idea re: the pipe cleaners.  And the clay will help with the leaves...  Thanks!!

Ditto.  Brilliant.

I don't know if it makes me want to go out and light up the forge, or just give up and sell everything.  ;)

Lovely, simple design. I like it.

I've got a couple of hunks of 'good' steel I've been saving until I figured out what to do with them.  This has given me Food for Thought.

Two towel racks I finished over the last couple of months.  Both are from 3/8" x 3/4" stock.  The top one is small, probably big enough for a wash cloth.  The bottom one is a bit bigger - the span across the leaves is close to 18" or so.  Both were fun to make, but in both cases I underestimated the amount of material I needed to draw out - the curves ate up significantly more length than I expected.  The simple solution would be to plan things out with pen, paper, and some basic math.  But that's just crazy talk. ;)

These are also my first attempt at leaves - #1-4 are in the pics.  I like making them, but need much more practice before they look closer to leaf-like.  The Knife-making 101 tutorials were helpful with them - gave me some good insight into moving metal in a very small, localized area.

The finish on them is 1/3-1/3-1/3 beeswax, turpentine, and linseed oil.  Very easy to work with, and I like the result, especially on the top one.  The bottom one I wasn't as thorough getting the scale off before coating, and it doesn't look as nice, IMHO.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for sharing info and ideas on the site.  Any tips anyone can throw my way would be appreciated.

Thanks,

PE

My 110#-ish HB is the only one I have, but I like it well enough. 

I'd love to get something about 200# with cleaner edges though.

I thought of something like that when I made my anvil stand.  I decided it was easier to just use a hand truck to move it around with.  Lots less engineering involved, and I have a hand truck I can use for other stuff when I need it.

from Michael:

To the general public, I certainly qualify as a blacksmith, my family sure thinks I am one.  But standing next to Shawn Lovell, Tim Cisneros or Toby Hickman?  I'm barely qualified to hurt myself. 

 

Kind of depends who's asking

This is the probably the wisest thing I've read in this thread.

Brilliant.  I would kill to have access to that kind of space where I could leave my stuff set up all the time.

Looks good - very substantial.  Mine looks similar to yours, without the... heft.

Like Pugman, I'd suggest you cut some slots/notches in the walls of the table, at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock, about even with the center of the firepot.  I put one in mine at 12 o'clock and never use it.  Slots don't have to be super huge to start out - maybe 2-3" wide and a few inches deep.  Start out with them on the small side - you can always make them bigger if you think you need to.

My $.02.

Those are nice.  Very nice.

That's the ad I last saw up that way (my mistake).  He had some post vises I was going to call him about since I am heading up that way in a few weeks, even though I am almost scared to, based on what he had on his anvils.  ;)

Definitely check CL regularly.  I check it at least 2-3 times a day, and I see anvils in LA/Santa Barbara pretty regularly (I check just about everywhere within a 'reasonable' driving distance from me).  I got one from a guy in Apple Valley that I found on CL last year - an hour away.  His initial price was on the high side (for me, $3+/lb).  I watched it for a week and then called him with an offer at just over $2/lb if I could come get it right then.  I was there in 90 minutes, cash in hand, and took it home.

A bit of diligence and a bit of luck, along with some patience, and you'll find one, even in what seems to be a pretty anvil poor (to me, anyway) area.

Outstanding.  I'll start saving my pennies.  :)

Thank you very much!

Chinobi,  I saw the ad for that class and wanted to take it, but couldn't afford the time off.  How was it?

I used to use one of these working during the summer at the ski area.  I would think this would be a good compromise betwixt having a durable container and plenty of places to put stuff.

But the idea of a case/box/bag with wheels on it surely has merit as well.