Neil Blythin

Ah yes, but none of these guys grew up watching Wile E. Coyote dropping (or rather, trying to drop) London pattern anvils on the Roadrunner. The problem is that we've all been brainwashed by Warner Bros. What's interesting to me, is that in the west, blacksmithing is often described as being a (nearly) lost art. But in these parts of the world, there never would have been any discontinuity in the practice of smithing. I'd bet money that they have always had a smith in every village going as far back as anyone can remember. Amazing how snobbish we can get here.

Hello all, it's been a while since I provided an update on the girls... We're about to hit a big milestone, as we're about to have our whole family home for the first time! Evelyn was in hospital for a total of 70 days. And Rachel is about to come home, at long last, after 135 days in the NICU. http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2013/10/15/mcmasters-tiniest-baby-to-go-home-to-falls Thanks again for all of your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement. Cheers, Neil

Not anything as creepy as that! I found a momma mouse with some tiny little mouselings. Found some interesting bits of rock, and have also found a $2 coin (which may well have fallen out of my own pocket into the bag at some point). If I ever found a spider like that one in a bag of coal, I'd switch over to propane and never look back.

Sorry Vaughn, I didn't see your post until Avadon just brought this thread back into the 'view new content' list... I did post some more info on the timber frame build in another thread: '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> Cheers, Neil

Update: Okay, i like it. It gives simple written guidelines, without all of the confusing charts, graphs (which I'll admit, just confuse me more than anything else). For each type in its database, it gives you the following: DESCRIPTION (i.e. 1095 - Nonresulfurized Carbon Steel) Chemical Composition: Techno-jargon..... etc, etc, etc. Similar Steels: - lists a bunch of other U.S. and/or 'Foreign' standards / names Characteristics: Basic written description of the steel, and its common uses. i.e. for the example of 5160 it says something along the lines of 'considered a high-carbon alloy steel. As-quenched hardness of 58 to 63 HRC is considered normal. Used for a variety of spring applications, notably flat springs', etc. Forging: Heat to (temp in both C and F), do not forge below (temps). Recommended Heat Treating Practice: Gives simple instructions on how to Normalize, Anneal, etc. i.e. to anneal 5160 for a 'predominantly pearlitic structure', heat to 830 C (1525 F), cool rapidly to 705 C (1300 F), then cool to 650 C (1200 F) at a rate not to exceed 11 C (20 F) per hour. And so on for each type of process. Recommended Processing Sequence: i.e. (again for 5160) Forge Normalize Anneal (preferably spheroidize) Rough Machine Austentize and quench (or austemper) Temper (or austemper) Finish Machine All in all, I'd say a lot of the info we'd be looking for, for most of the types of common steels most of us would be using, without the price tag for the full manual. Definitely worth while downloading, if you have a smart phone (or an iPad).

Wow, that's awesome news. Thanks for sharing John! I'm going to throw it on my iPhone right now (well, once I clear some space) ... will let you know how it works.

Oh, by the way, I was just looking up the composition of Canadian pennies. For anyone interested, you should stick to those minted between 1978 to 1996. They are 98% copper, 1.76% tin, and 0.25% zinc. Earlier than 1978 were still 98% copper, but higher zinc levels. 1997-99 were mostly zinc, and from 2000 onwards were steel & nickel with copper plating.

Will take a look, thanks. For the ones made of pennies, I'm mostly wondering if the copper is worked cold, and just annealed whenever it begins to work harden? Otherwise I'd have no idea how to manipulate something that small...

I'm also not much into swords - but that is one stunningly beautiful bit of metalworking! Absolutely fantastic!!!

I have a brake rotor which I always meant to try making a forge out of. Several people told me it wasn't deep enough (and that I needed to use a brake drum instead), so I never bothered. The funny thing is, I've owned a couple of old 'rivet' type forges, which essentially are flat-bottomed. In retrospect, I'm sure the rotor would have worked just fine for me. I may have to build it just for fun...

Can someone please describe how the littlw cowboy hats are made? They look very cool.

I had a shop teacher (wood shop) a long, long time ago that had a sign: "Sharp tools cut wood. Dull tools cut people". But I can see the reluctance to have a sharp blade on display, as some idiot is bound to hurt themselves on it. If I were an avid blade maker, I'd be inclined to sharpen most things and keep them displayed under glass. I may have a purposely dulled sample for people to handle. If they ask why it's dull, allow them to see / feel one of the sharpened blades, under supervision.

Just to be fair, I should say that I am biased towards larger scale lumber. This is a shop I've been helping to build recently. Most of the timbers are 9x9 White Oak...

Gary Huston has a video on YouTube (titled 'decorative twist'), that produces a twist that looks a lot like those Viking bracelets shown on the cover of that Smithsonian issue. I seem to recall he'd twisted thin round stock together (he had used welding rod with the flux knocked off). A number of these twisted (pairs?) were bundled together and then twisted. The result looks something like a braid. I haven't tried it, but as soon as I saw those bracelets that video popped into my head as one of those 'I've seen that before' types of things. Would likely make nice jewellery.

May I suggest one slight alteration to Charles suggestion of building with 4x4's? The lumber industry tries to maximize the dimensional lumber they get from each tree. They're not interested in producing the best quality lumber, but rather the most pieces out of any given tree. The result is that most 2x and 4x SPF these days is garbage (with very questionable grain). For posts, you are far, far better off if you invest the little bit extra in 6x6. Because they are harvesting smaller, farmed trees, 6x6's are usually heartwood. Basically they square off a tree and you get concentric rings right down the centre. A 6x6 is far less likely to twist and warp over time. They're also nicer for mounting things to in your finished shop (shelves, equipment, whatever). Build with 6x6 posts, 4' O.C., clad I'm whatever 4x8 sheet material you like and you'll have a rock solid building that's simple to construct. Anyways, that's just my 2 cents worth. Cheers, Neil

Also, perhaps comsider knocking that plastic (fibreglass) handle out and give it a wooden handle - which you can reshape to fit your hand properly. I've had a few inexpensive hammers from Princess Auto (think Canadian version of Harbor Freight) that came with a fibreglass handle. Knock that handle off, properly 'dress' the hammer head on a belt grinder, and add a new handle and they're actually a halfway decent hammer. They feel worlds different to use than how they came from the store. ... Just a suggestion.

In the short-term: If you're wearin a glove, take it off. If you're bare-handed, try a glove. When you feel a 'hot spot' starting (before a blister forms), try putting a bandaid on that spot (the fabric ones with the 'strong' adhesive stay on a while longer than others). Long term: you may need to re-shape your hammer handles, or adjust how you're gripping them. If your hands sweat, you can try chalk (like climbers use).

Dave, are you asking about something thats been formed to fit a matching stone (i.e. something like a forged snake, that drapes over a specific boulder); or are you asking about things permanently attached to stones (i.e. a bird bath with a stone base, or a grille or something set into a solid masonry building)? I ask because the how depends a lot on the application and the type of stone involved. Also, as someone that has studied built heritage conservation, when it comes to mating different materials together (stone and metal, stone and wood, wood and metal, etc.), I know that there are far more ways to do it wrong, than to do it right.

Define 'very expensive'... I previously worked as a locksmith, and was always dismayed by how cheap people are. They'll spend thousands and thousands filing their homes with all the best creature comforts - big televisions, high-end appliances, etc. Then they balk at spending a couple of hundred on the hardware necessary to secure their homes (locks and other door hardware). A few hundred dollars for quality door hardware is not expensive when you consider the amount of use and abuse it sees in its service life, and consider what it's securing / protecting. Door hardware, in particular handles, are also the single biggest 'point of contact' between the person and the architecture of their home. It's the part of the building you touch most often, Don't ever allow someone to 'cheap out' on door hardware. Tell them what it'll cost for you to make this thing, and do it right. If they balk, let them walk away and go get that $40 piece of junk off the shelf at the big box store. The Baldwin hardware is quality stuff. I certainly wouldn't opt for anything less, IMHO. Cheers, Neil

Hello All, Just in case anyone is interested, I thought I'd post a brief update on the new 'Forge Studio' that we've been building at Willowbank... It's a substantial timber frame structure (mostly white oak, with some spruce in the roof structure); which will be enclosed within dry stone walls. It will eventually sport a slate roof. The dry stone walls are about half way finished. The stone thats been done so far was mostly built over the course of a long weekend during our recent 'Stone Festival'. The timber frame has been an ongoing school project, that's been worked on by students over the past 3 years (our timber framing course is about a week long each year). The timbers were all finished by my (2nd year) class and the 3rd year class over the past two weeks, an we raised it this past Thursday & Friday. It will likely sit largely as-is until this time next year, when the dry stone is finished during next years Stone Festival, and my class will finish off the timber frame (basically the sill plates, which will sit on top of the stone walls) plus roofing next September. Once that is all done, we can build the forge, and I'll hopefully get to spend the bulk of my 3rd year working in this shop. I'd like to make most of the hardware for this building before I graduate... Time will tell. Land cleared, a base of compacted stone, and large stones which will serve as the footings for the posts of the timber frame Dry stone walls, approx. half finished Posts and beams going in. 9" x 9" white oak is *very* heavy! Trusses and purlin plates going in Common rafters in place, as well as some of the sill plates (along the sides). The rest of the timbers are just being stored till next years framing session. One of the great things about this type of construction, you can walk away from a project and it'll sit there quite happily until you come back to it a year or two later. Try doing that with a modern stick-framed building! When its eventually finished and is a functioning shop, we'll have to think about hosting an OABA meeting here.

Hello All, I recently had a large (shop sized) cast iron forge stolen. It was on loan to my school (Willowbank) in Queenston, ON. The forge had been temporarily stored outside while the storage shed was being reorganized. It's a large rectangular forge with a trough at one end, and a large arm for mounting a blower. I never did find any markings on it, but several people told me it was a 'Champion', The blower and fire pot had already been removed and are safely locked away in my garage, thank goodness (especially as the firepot is one of John's, and was barely broken in yet). This is a heavy beast of a forge, which takes 4 people to comfortably move around. Two guys can move it short distances, with some effort .... I'm almost certain that this was likely the work of a couple of scrap metal guys who probably winged it into the back of a truck or trailer, and its probably been melted down as scrap by now. However, on the off chance that someone knew what it was, the market for potential buyers is a fairly small community. One difficulty, is that I don't know exactly when it went missing. I wasn't around the school very much over the summer, and only discovered it missing when I went into the storage building last week in order to get set up for an event this past weekend. One of the school staff tell me they remember seeing it there before going on vacation at the end of August, and don't remember seeing it after they got back in the 2nd week of September (they assumed it had been moved back into storage). In any case, if you've seen such a forge pop up for sale in southern Ontario in the last few weeks, please let me know. Attached are a couple of photos of it from when I bought it a couple of years ago. Again, the firepot and blower were not on it when it went missing. Cheers, Neil

Sure, if you're just looking for 'something' to do with copper, and don't care what type of work that is, a copper rose is a good beginner level project. You can use copper pipe for this. Split a length of pipe open and flatten it out. Cut out several 4, 5 or 6 petal flower templates. Texture the petals a bit. Anneal the copper (heat it and quench it) whenever it starts getting too stiff. Stack the petal templates on a stem and start folding it up into the flower shape. When making copper roses, most of the work is done cold. You can cut flattened pipe easily with tin snips, and a lot of the shaping of the petals is easily done with needle nose pliers. You really only need heat for annealing. Is that something along the lines of what you're asking for?

Thanks for your replies gentlemen - very interesting stuff.

Why not get yourself some kind of 'period' costume, go set up a portable forge at a public park and give free demonstrations... A much better idea than possibly starting a forest fire.

Okay farriers, here's one I've always wondered... We've all seen plenty of anvils in horrid shape, and been told it's from farriers working on shoes cold. Why is this done? And how common of a practice is this? It seems counter intuitive, to me, to damage such an expensive piece of your required tool kit (your anvil), when heating them up a bit seems so easy to do. Cheers, Neil