Private Entrance

Thanks - I will include that as part of the test drive. ;)

I've got an HF 3# engineer's hammer that I'm in the process of converting to a straight peen. I've ground well past what I would think any case hardening (if that's what it had) would go, and I haven't noticed any difference in how the grinding is going, whether harder or easier. I could be in the middle of a chunk of mild steel and not know it. Or I could be lucky and have a good piece of steel that's been decently heat treated. I probably won't know what I've got until I give it a test drive this weekend.

Worst case is that I've only spent about $8.50 (it was on sale) to get some practice on shaping a hammer head. To me, it's worth the gamble.

I don't have near the experience that the preceding answerers have, but I can tell you that inspiration can come from anywhere. I had heated something up and quenched it, and at some point knocked it off the work bench onto the floor. It made a really sweet bell-like tone when it bounced, so I thought that it would make a cool wind chime. I made that into my next project, which turned out ok.

Just keep your eyes, ears, and mind open, and things will come to you. It helps to play games like 'that cloud looks like a...' It helps you see things in other things.

Ditto on the rusting issues. Took me a week to figure out why everything in the garage was turning brown with rust. Got a bucket with a lid and the problem was solved.

Tired, hungry or dark for me as well. With the heat lately, I start in the afternoon to try and work in the shade. Usually I get about 4-5 hours of work in and I'm done. Hopefully with the cooler weather coming I'll be able to work more often and start earlier and get some endurance built up again.

There ain't nothing at all wrong with that snake. I've been trying to figure out the head on one I'm working on and have been putting it off. I might try something along the lines of what you did. It's got an appeal to it, it does.

A whole heck of a lot of fun, and pays for itself, at least a little bit, which helps mightily with the wife.

Thanks! I had a problem with not being able to grab a spike that I had started drifting a handle hole into for a warhammer - couldn't get the jaws close enough to the head to hold it in the limited space. Should solve that quite nicely.

I reheated and hardened the chimes and clapper, and did as was suggested to find the harmonic point, then re-hung everything, again as suggested. Much, much better sound than before.

It looks like I will have to do something different for the clapper. It is going to take a pretty fierce wind to get any sound out of it the way things are now.

Thanks again to everyone for the guidance and suggestions. It was all a huge help.

Thanks, Whirly. I thought that is what was meant by shortening the jaws, but couldn't quite figure out how to do it. That makes perfect sense and should be pretty easy to do.

Nice stand.

My term for 'Safety Sally' is 'The Sphincter Police.' So worried about what they perceive to be unsafe conditions that they never actually get anything done.

Absolutely NOT knocking safety. Just against taking it to such an extreme that you can't do anything without approval from a Senate Subcommitee.

Thanks, Frosty. I've noticed improvement in mine since my first pair. Still not near pretty or perfect, but they are getting better, which is what counts.

Ken, I paid $250 for an HB 20 lbs heavier at Christmas from a farrier here in CA and thought I had gotten a pretty decent deal, and mine isn't near as pretty as yours.

Excellent score. I both congratulate and envy you. :)

The last time I was at my local Harbor Freight they had 3 sizes - 55#, about 30#, and the little 15# ones that are kind of nice to have on a corner of your workbench. In my opinion. No good for real hammering, of course, but it's nice to have a fairly firm, fairly flat surface of a fair size close at hand for tweaking small stuff.

I see the benefit to having it, but I very much understand why someone wouldn't want to own one.

Highly recommend the Maritime Museum.

Had no idea they had a smithy there. Might be something to ask about next time I'm down that way.

All very good advice - thanks!

I thought about the knot being next to the chime being an issue, but hadn't considered where I put the hole on the chime. I will take them down and fiddle around finding a harmonic node.

I might have (or be able to make) a metal disc that I can use for the clapper - if it isn't too loud, I am trying for a more bell-like tone. If it scares the neighbors, I'll go with wood.

Thanks again for the help - I have a direction to go in to make it more gooder. :)

That is a good point - it seems like it's harder than it should be to hold onto stuff with these.

Not sure if this is the right place for this, so feel free to move it if necessary.

I was dinking around with some 1" x 3/16" bar and liked the sound it made when I dropped it, so I thought I'd try turning it into windchimes. The chimes were heated to orange-yellow and twisted (with varying degrees of success) then quenched in water.

The clapper-bar in the middle will probably need to be changed out to something like a flat disc - the thin bar doesn't hit the chimes very well unless they are given a good push by the wind.

I think the chimes might have cooled to much before I quenched them - their sound isn't as bell-like as I expected. I didn't reheat and quench after twisting, just went straight to quenching.

Any suggestions or ideas would be nice to hear - the whole thing is pretty easy to take apart and reassemble, so corrections/adjustments won't be a problem.

Thanks in advance.



PS - sorry for the odd angle - only way to get it all to fit without extra clutter in the pic w/ my phone.

First attempt at bolt tongs, 3rd set overall. Made from 3/4" x 3/8" cold rolled. I made them to hold railroad spikes and other mid-sized square stock. Work pretty well so far. The jaws need a touch more tweaking, and the reins need adjusting - they don't seem to close quite enough for a comfortable grip in the hand.

Yea, I feel that. My wife has to keep her indoor parking space too.

We have plans for an outbuilding that will be my shop/forge/storage area, but everything NEW is on hold for now. Still have a lot of work to finish on the house from foundation repairs. Maybe next year...

Phil

I'm with both of you on this one. I'd be fine with a patio type roof to keep the sun and weather off me, and I'd be encouraged to build a fence and gate on that side of the house, then maybe a locker or cabinet to keep my smithy tools in. Would make life a lot easier, and not having to drag everything out doors every time might encourage me to work more on those marginal (a bit too hot or bit too cold) days.

Not hovering makes a big difference. Once I figured out I don't need to stand right over the forge every second, my phlegm and snot was about 50% lighter in color after a session, and I didn't cough as much during and after.

Standing on the right side of the forge when the wind is blowing helps, too.

Yves, I'm curious about that type of anvil stand. Are there any issues with the plywood and anvil 'settling' into the sand? Do you occasionally have to pull the anvil and the plywood out and kind of reset it?

Looks good - I'm noob enough myself that I can't offer any real advice, except about hearing protection.

I worked around machinery, listened to loud music, and worked at rifle range, all without proper hearing protection, exactly because it didn't seem like it was very loud.

In my mid-40's now, and I have a hard time distinguishing overlapping sounds, like two people talking at the same time, higher ranges sounds are harder to hear, and talking on the phone, which I currently make my living on, is harder than it should be, (the listening part, of course.)

There are earplugs (which I prefer to muffs) that are effective and comfortable to wear. I also prefer plugs with a cord between them. I can tie them around my neck while I'm setting up shop and they are close at hand when I need them. They make it easier to keep track of them when I'm not using them. I'm sure you could find a good set or two for naught more than a few pounds apiece.

PS - I envy you your small shop. I have to set mine up outdoors anytime I want to work. I'm sure I'd get a lot more done and find more opportunities to play around if I didn't have to set up and tear down every time.

Depends on how hard the hammer is. File may or may not work.

Good point. Forgot to take that into consideration. That's why they pay you the Big Bucks. ;)

Sounds fantastic.

Like Elemental, I'm struggling with the heat right now, but hopefully things will cool off a bit about the time the classes start.