r smith

If it has good rebound why do you care? Vulcans and Fisher both have cast iron bodies Fisher being the higher quality of the two. I would be really surprised if anyone making cheap copies would put a hardened top on it to give you any rebound, which you say it has. Think harbor freight ASO. Is it the same rebound or better than the one you traded? smiths opinion

I think he meant better CONDITION , soderfors are high quality

I will second that

Your baseplate will warp. Tack it in one spot and re-adjust for square, when you like it tack it on the opposite side from first tack. Then do the sides, Always little tacks and always checking after each one.

I sometimes use a chisel line across the part, kind of depends on how it will be forged. Square center punch is also nice. Thanks for the handle idea Rich I have a short one one that I only use on cold metal, I will have to add a handle to it.

Can you show us what your previous mokume looks like?

Free??? If you had to buy it how much would it cost? How much time to go pick it up and what else does the guy have that he may give you while you are there?? That would make a great bench. Or cut in in half and have 2 4'x2' on wheels..... Free??? What are you waiting for my guess is that is at least a $1000 pice of metal probably more due to the alloy. Free???

I just looked and there is a welding/fabrication category.

That is a nice rail and you should not be ashamed to post that kind of thing, I think there is a section for that type of work. smith

Are you asking our opinion? I see that as a fabrication/welding project with no blacksmithing. Even if you made those pickets (look store bought to me) heating and bending is not what I would consider forging, which I think of as changing size,shape or surface texture of the material not just bending it. I think it looks good for a fab project and I am currently doing more fab work than forge work :angry: . Looks good smith

Why would you post something like this here I just spent the last hour drooling on some of the nicest bench vises you could imagine. Now I feel the need to go and count my vises and give them some love and dig a few out of the scrap pile

I find one of the best ways to realize what you do or dont know about smithing, or anything else for that matter is to try to teach someone else what you think you know. Teaching is a great form of learning. Up to a point.

I once made a small box about 1 1/4 cube out of aluminum tig welds. It had a swinging lid made of weld and also the pivot. All pure welding with no drilling or other operations. If I can find it I will show pics. Been about 20 years now.

Eric, 15 ft cord seems short to me, and can you read the insulation type printed on the cord so Steve can tell a safe max length.

You want aluminum or copper for heat distribution. Aluminum is far more common than copper $$$. I have used the old style Farberware SS pans with aluminum clad bottom for over 20 yrs and loved them. Then I bought an induction cook top and since they were non magnetic would not work so I broke out the cast iron full time. The worst heat distribution I could imagine. Then I found Kitchen Craft / Americraft pans. Multiple layers of SS and aluminum all clad together completely up the sides to the top so not only is the heat on the bottom of the pan it is transfered up the sides to cook from the sides as well. Much less heat is used to cook the same food. Copper plated pans like revere ware are just for looks not useful for heat distribution due to the copper not thick enough to much. smith out

Take your 3/16" x 7/8" flat bar and forge the 3/8" round section on it. I would do it that way just because the length is shorter than forging the flat section, and you will have heat to bend it as well.

First advice is to re size the photo so it can load in a reasonable amount of time. You did not say how wide the flatbar is the bolts go through. I would make the L shaped flatbar a little shorter on the top leg and use the gusset piece as the hook as well. Instead of stopping the gusset under the hook bend a 270 degree loop for the chain to hook to. I am guessing he wants to build another separate swing and not repair one where the part would need to match exact?

Nice and consistent, looks good.

Great picture. P.S. Those are not skylights, look close and you will see they are windows that are wall mounted and open by pivoting half way up the sides. They are open in the photo.

Is the back hand wheel or the main shaft bent as seen in pic #7? It looks funny in the photo. May be evidence of being knocked over, especially with the bent idle arm. Good leverage for a cheaper price?? Good luck smith

I like to see processes like these that are usually hidden that show how it was made or what from.

The anvil was cast body with a wrought top plate on the working surface all the way to wrap around the tip of the horn. Steel forgings should be ok for longer as Thomas said.

Do not leave longer than 1-2 days max. I have a small 40 lb vulcan anvil that was given to me by a friend. It was in pristine condition except for a light layer of rust all over it, he thought it would be easy to remove the rust by dropping in vinegar overnight.... when he remembered to get it out more than a week later it was ruined. The nice smooth casting was BADLY pitted and all the slag eaten out of the wrought top plate. I keep it because the construction is easy to see and it is interesting. smith

:lol: :lol: :ph34r:

Ken that was a great story and it sounds like you are doing a good job making some quality tools. I went back and reviewed the other thread- http://www.iforgeiro...__fromsearch__1 - the original post mentions an ergo hammer that had an offset eye he got from Peih tool. His next post (post #3) was that he hoped the exchange one is perfectly balanced. That leads me to believe his problem was solved at that point. Then other people started riding him for dissing Hofi and it all snowballed from there. He did not even bring up Hofi or Stumptown though he did have an opinion stated after a lot of badgering by others. I am not surprised he is not here on this thread. r smith