Private Entrance

I've done it with white vinegar. The files need to sit overnight (I put them in a shallow pan, on edge, and not touching each other, and cover with vinegar) and then rinse in water the next day. Thomas is right on the money - this doesn't turn a dull file into what I'd consider a 'good' file, but does extend the life a bit. Haven't tried acid myself, but I will consider it next time I have a batch of files to do.

I used the flange same as pugman, but I cut a piece of sheetmetal that fit flush with a lip that ran around the inside of the drum. I drilled holes in the sheet metal to match the lug bolt holes and bolted it all together, which helps keeps the flange in place. I also punched a series of small holes in the sheet to act as a grate. Generally I'm pretty happy with the set up, but the sheetmetal is a bit light and distorts a fair amount once the forge gets hot. When it comes time to replace it, I'm going to try and find something heavier, like 1/4" plate.

Nice video. Thank you very much. For a noobasaurus like myself, it was very helpful to see your approach to this for two reasons: Your explanations helped put some of the pieces of the puzzle together and brought concepts I had read about into more fuller understanding (the welding part, especially). The other was that, at least in my case, I saw you doing a few things that I do, like drawing out and rounding the reins, in a way very similar to how I do it, that lends great encouragement that I am at least heading in the right direction. It is reassuring to see that someday, with quite a bit more practice, I might actually develop something that vaguely resembles competence. :) Thanks again. Please keep making these. I find them to be most pleasing and enjoyable.

First time I've heard those called 'dreadnought' files. Used them for years and years tuning ski and snowboard bases. Nothing better for taking a lot of material down very quickly. Also nothing better for really jacking up a ski/snowboard if you don't know what you're doing. We called them panzar files. The only other name I had heard for them was body files. Regardless of what you call them, they are awesome.

I've done the washing machine tub, and they work great. A guy down the street from me put a chimney on his from a smudge pot like they use in orchards. Looks something like this, but with the washing machine tub in place of the oil reservoir, and without the flames coming out of the top. That would be bad. Very bad. Edit: Fun fact: Apparently they were developed here in Redlands after the 1913 frost. Supposedly it go so cold that the trunks of the orange trees froze and split open. Killed a significant portion of the orchards from what I've read. From Wikipedia: A smudge pot (also known as a choofa or orchard heater) is an oil-burning device used to prevent frost on fruit trees. Condensation of water vapor on particulate soot prevents condensation on plants and raises air temperature very slightly. Usually a smudge pot has a large round base with a chimney coming out of the middle of the base. The smudge pot is placed between trees in an orchard, allowing the heat and smoke from the burning oil to prevent the accumulation of frost on the fruit of the grove. Smudge pots were developed after a disastrous freeze in Southern California in January 1913 wiped out a whole crop.[1] Smudge pots were commonly used for seven decades in areas such as California's numerous citrus groves.[citation needed] Smudge pot use in Redlands, California groves continued into the 1970s, but fell out of favor as oil prices rose and environmental concerns increased. Pots came in two major styles: a single stack above a fuel oil-filled base, and a slightly taller version that featured a cambered neck and a re-breather feed pipe out of the side of the chimney that siphoned stack gas back into the burn chamber and produced more complete combustion. Filler caps have a three- or four-hole flue control. The stem into the pot usually has a piece of oil-soaked wood secured inside the neck to aid in lighting the pot. Pots are ignited when the air temperature reaches 29 degrees Fahrenheit (-2 Celsius), and for each additional degree of drop, another hole is opened on the control cap. Below 25 degrees, there is nothing more that can be done to enhance the heating effects.

It is looking good. I wish I had that much clear space in my garage. As it is, I'm fighting bicycles, and toys, and miscellaneous stuff the wife doesn't want in the house, and... and... and... ;)

3 1/2 pairs of tongs (one is still in progress), some punches, drifts, and slitters, a spring fuller and a couple of other hardy tools. I like making tools, and using them. That's one of the most rewarding things about the hobby. That doesn't count the couple of tools (hammers) that I've bought and then modified to suit whatever I need.

Thomas's mention of tanks reminded me of something. I used to work for a company that hydrotested SCUBA tanks. The ones that failed we'd sometimes cut up and use for display/demo pieces for inspection training classes. Others we'd destroy the threads on and sell them for scrap. Check with your local dive shop and see if they have any. The only thing to watch out for is that some tanks were/are made out of aluminum and probably won't hold up to any kind of bashing. Cutting the cylinders shouldn't be a problem with a metal cutting band saw.

I've a got section of tree stump that I'm thinking of putting a depression in for dishing. Got the stump from one of the neighbors when they dropped a tree in their backyard. My guess is that it will work pretty well for sheetmetal-ee type stuff. Not sure how it will do for heavier material. If it doesn't work, I'll use it for anvil stand or cut it up for firewood, or for tool handles. I'll make good use of it either way. :)

I pay $21.55 (including sales tax) for 50# of coal from a guy that buys by the shipping container load. In a decent afternoon (4 hours), I go through maybe 10# of coal and maybe that much again in coke, which is essentially free, since I get it from the last session's fire when i put it out. 50# of coal lasts me a pretty good while, including the coke - maybe running the forge 30-40 hours, if you count burning the coke into the equation. Ask the horse owners around you (I'm sure there are a few) who shoes their horses, then ask those guys (the farriers) where they get their supplies. Chances are good they know someone that sells coal in the area. That's how I got hooked up with my guy - he's a farrier supplier that happens to stock coal for guys like me. Compared to propane around here, coal is practically free. My guess is I'd go through a propane cylinder every couple of weeks, and they cost about $25 to fill (5 gal).

I haven't used duct tape for pulling splinters/slivers, but I can recommend it for an improvised bandage. A wad of paper towel and a wrap or two of duct tape and you're good to go, at least for minor stuff that doesn't require a doctor. Thing I liked most about it was that it was water-proof. I could keep working on the wet belt sanders and not worry about losing my 'band aid'.

I've noticed that I've transitioned into resting my hammer on the anvil when I'm not hitting. I used to whack something a couple of times, lower my hammer, peer at the work to see what happened, then lift the hammer and whack a few more times, then take another look, etc. Now, I'm seeing what I'm doing better and/or more clearly, and it's save energy to set the hammer down on the anvil for a second to take a quick look, have a quick thought, and go at it again. If I find myself needing a serious think, the piece goes back in the fire while the gears grind away. It isn't a conscious 'hey, this sounds cool/I sound like a real blacksmith' kind of thing, the anvil is convenient place to put the hammer for a moment. I do seem to do it more with things that need eyeballing - like straightening the reins on a pair of tongs, or a knife blade, or something like that. Doesn't happen much when I'm shaping a RR spike head or using a chisel/slitter or whatnot. And the light tap/heavy tap on the drills/punches, etc. I don't understand - I used to do that, until I realized that the light tap does nothing but move the tool from where I had put it to someplace I didn't want it. My slitting especially got much prettier when I stopped the light pre-tap before the one I was counting for score. PS - not that I know anything. I'm still a noob. :)

Brilliant work - quality I only hope to aspire to right now. And I like your sheath quite a bit. I've only made one so far, and that turned out ok and is quite serviceable, but you've given me some ideas for #2, especially with the belt loop. Thanks for sharing. :)

Sweet. I didn't even think to ask the farriers for old rasps/files when I was up at the shop buying coal a couple of weeks ago.

I burned out the stitching on my left hand glove (leather), too - right at the base of the thumb/forefinger. I re-stitched it with waxed cotton thread, and it seems to be holding up pretty well, but I'm not using a glove so much as I was before. Pretty much just for punching/slitting, etc.

You'll find them again in about 18 years. Most of them, anyway. Congrats!

Great read. Thanks!

MagGeorge, the chimes seems to be pretty free moving. The clapper's been the problem - it'd need a gale force wind to get that sucker to move. With the new clapper in the 2nd picture, and replacing the lower weight with a sail, hopefully that will fix things. I've got a sail that I hammered out of a gusset from a bed frame that I'm going to finish cleaning up and attach this week. I'll post an updated picture when that's done. Should be in a day or two.

I just used a section of this stuff to play around with an idea for a tong rack. Too flimsy for anything needing any real strength, but I'm thinking it would be perfect for the application being discussed. And thanks for the idea of pillaging the election signs after the show's over. I hadn't thought of that. :ph34r:

Thanks! That is a pretty clear and concise explanation, and looks easy enough that I might be able to pull it off. :)

Looks a heck of a lot better than my first tomahawk attempt. I was so depressed by my poor showing that I haven't dared to make another try. ;)

I'll give it a shot - I've got some sheet metal from an old washing machine I can cut a 'sail' out of. Thanks for the ideas.

That's brilliant. Love that style handle. What's it called, and is there something on the site here that explains how to do it?

That's a good idea, knots. I'll try that with the next one. I've run out of pieces that would make a good suspension ring, so I think I'm going to make one. What I'm thinking of is something along the lines of the new clapper I've put in the first one - a bar split nearly end to end and then rounded into a ring. Top pic is the new clapper installed w/ the old clapper as a weight below it. Bottom pic is a close(er) up of the clapper itself.

That is purty. Very nice find!