David Einhorn

Looks like you did very well. The photos on the right are a wood marking guage: http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-plans/homemade-tools/simple-but-effective-marking-gauge/

The magazine "Fine Homebuilding" has had articles on building custom doors. It might be worth your while to see if some of those articles are available. I agree as always with Thomas Powers, use air dried lumber because kiln dried is only dried on the surface, if the wood is thicker than the depth of the drying process then the wood will shrink and warp after assembly. The general rule of thumb is one year of air drying for every inch of wood thickness. A wheelwright's style of shop will have wood loft(s) for drying and storing of wood. Once the wood is air dried over time it is then dimensioned and finished. The boards are arranged so that the direction of the grain alternates from one board to the next, with multiple layers and possibly a plywood interior layer to help reduce distortion. Gluing up each layer is a whole additional discussion with using splines or biscuits, wood glue, and clamping to hold each layer straight and tight while drying. When gluing up a panel I was taught to use a combination of lengths of angle iron, C clamps and bar or pipe clamps to clamp each panel flat and tight while drying. Below is a photograph of how I glue up panels from separate boards. Gluing up a wood panel requires thoroughly dried, accurately dimensioned lumber with tight joints that are glued in an environment within the temperature and dryness parameters of the glue used..... unless you want the panel/door to come apart. Gluing up layers of panels is another discussion. :) I also might point out that fastener companies such as fastenal.com carry uncoated square nuts and square headed bolts suitable for reforging. You might also do a search on articles or examples of decorated nuts and decorated bolt heads.

As with most questions, the answer to "how much space you need", is .....it depends. It depends on what you plan on making and what tools you plan on using. And again if you ask 12 smiths, you are likely to get at least 12 different answers, because they have differences in what they are making and what tools they feel they need. And again, you best bet might be to visit the shops of other folks and see what you feel would work best for you. All of Dr. Jim's books are great. You might wish to start with a beginner's book first, practive making a couple of hundred "S hooks" to practice the basic skills first. .... just my opinion.

Welcome Danny, it sounds like you have a good opportunity in having a friend in the hobby. Maybe he can spend some time getting you started by showing you the basics. Ask two people about how to get started and how much it costs to get started and you are likely to get two answers. Minimally a camp fire, a rock as a hammer and a larger rock as an anvil, and some scrap iron is all you need to get started, but the better your tools the less likely you are to get frustrated and give up. My suggestion is if possible to take a course or two in order to get a jump start on knowledge. Taking a course and/or using other folk's equipment also helps to get a feel of what minimal equipment best meets your needs. You might try talking to the administrators where you are studying to find out if they have an art or trades department that teaches blacksmithing or has blacksmithing equipment. You might also ask your blacksmith friend how he got started. You also might contact the British Artist Blacksmith Association http://www.baba.org.uk/Home There is a lot of free information on the Internet both on this site and elsewhere, but that said, I believe there is no substitute for hands-on assistance from someone with experience, especially with the opportunity to get the feel of some decent equipment. I have seen a lot of people come and go from blacksmithing. Getting a good start increases your chances of sticking with it.

Welcome!

In the winter I put the non-poisonous RV anti-freeze in the slack tub. I don't know how it compares to oil, but it definitely does not cool steel to be as hard as water. I would be interested in anyones research on using RV anti-freeze.

Very nice web site, congratulations. :D

I could be wrong, but I don't think that mill was intended to rolling hot iron. It was probably designed for rolling soft metals such as gold for jewelry.

I found this article on the knife and the craftsfolk Bill and Kathy Brewer, of Greenville: http://www.wgel.com/daily/2013/06-28-13.htm Apparently the knife has a different decoration on each side.

I have seen this type of vise sold for anywhere from $30 to $250, depending on its condition, location, and whether it is being sold by a local tool dealer, EBay, or at a blacksmith conference.

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If eco PMs me a snail mail address, I will mail the Oil Cap I found to him as a gift.

Found this today, an Oil Cap with a sprind loaded cap. On the right, test fit/screwed into a Champion 400 blower.

The firepot is fine where it is. The "oiler": I just take the top off and lubricate as needed. You might be able to find a replacement at a steam show or from a tool dealer (who sells to collectors of antique tools) ... if you have those in your area. I plan on stopping by at two antique tool dealers later today and will look around for an oiler and/or clamp that might fit your blower, but the odds are against finding any today. For the clamp that attaches a Champion 400 to a stand, sometimes/rarely you find them around, sometimes you can find a second blower with stand that is also broken but can then be combined with the one you have into one working blower with stand. Otherwise, you could weld a bracket.... if you weld, or forge a clamp-on bracket. The clamp-on bracket clamps around the round part on the bottom. If you Google Images for Champion 400 Blowers, you should be able to find examples. Here is what the mounting bracket/clamp looks like:

"A picture is worth a thousand words." Some dovetail slots and you have a Sheffield type knifemaker's anvil.

Here is my wife's William Foster anvil. It was found in the mud of the foundation of the family barn, and was likely purchased by her family new when the barn was built. It was possibly hidden in the mud during the American Civil War. I still have hopes of passing it on to the next generation. The bumpy area on the anvil is mud. As you can see from where the mud was removed, the anvil remained in decent shape. I don't expect that using your anvil will harm it any. I would suggest using it and dealing with whatever happens, if and when it happens. Just my opinion.

Definitely a piece of early history, and as such I believe as a relic, it is worth rescueing. Some options: 1) save as a relic historic item 2) do a bit of minimal restoration or 3) full restoration

Wrought iron comes in different grades, levels of refinement. High grade wrought iron forges beautifully like butter. Low grade wrought iron forges like a rotten piece of wood. Like Jim said, tires tend to be of a lower grade/quality wrought iron.

Every inch of land in the U.S. is mapped for water table, soil content, flood information, etc. There is absolutely no way that you could put a forge and/or "small shed" anywhere in a forest without it being noticed..... especially a forge/shed with a "heat signature" .

It's just a myth.

Marcus, I am glad that you were able to get hold of him and work things out. If you would share information about how affordable his services are I would be greatly appreciative. Does he charge for estimates? Thank you in advance. Dave

I would bet stone-hammer: http://archive.archaeology.org/9703/newsbriefs/tools.html

The most tools that I had to make for a project was to construct mid-1800s era wooden wheels, that were part of a period U.S. Army Traveling Forge, to in turn make stuff using the forge. There are a significant number of tools used to make and assemble, band and tire a large wooden wheel, and if I were to take up building wheels on a regular basis, there would be a significant amount of time and effort in constructing and upgrading tools and jigs as part of that sort of enterprise. The larger the wooden wheel that a single person makes in any volume, the more tools are likely to be helpful in making multiple identical parts accurately,quickly and safely.

The white pages show his phone number as: (410) 452-5255 I appologize but that address is far from where I live.

Once you have enough, you could start a sash weight museum. :D