anvil

Actually, bending forks, a scrolling wrench, and a post vice will handle much heavier stock than that, even for a single smith, usually faster, more precise, and less hammer marks on your iron. If you have never tried them, put them on your to do someday list. One of the "secrets" is to have them the proper size for the stock you are using. The opening should be just a little bigger than your stock.

Correct, there are a few like that, and a few that require 2 normalizing steps. RTB( read the book) is usually the best course to get this data.

The easiest way I have found to straighten coil spring is with a post vice,scrolling wrench and bending forks of the right size. Coil springs make great chisels, hot and cold, punches, drifts, center punches.

I suggest you download "the heat treaters guide companion". It is an android apk and its free. It lists the manufacture's specs for many steels. Then follow the specs for the steel you are using. The steps for nearly all steels is: 1:normalize 2:anneal: 3:cold work 4:harden 5:temper. Many people dont anneal, yet it is listed as a step for nearly all steels. I suggest you follow the manufactures specs until your successes outnumber your failures, then experiment with other processes. Cashen is a good hands on source and his process is as above. The vid above is good and tends to debunk the internet myth concerning multiple normalizing steps. There are a few steels that the specs do suggest more than one normalizing cycle.

Holy omelet, Batman!!! Eggxaxtly what I meant!!!

Sorry, I missed this. The key words here are "or so". Altho I've never checked, I don't think the proportions, including the amount of beeswax changes the look of the finish, but it might. So check it out if you are going to make radical changes from your normal mix. The amount of beeswax does change the consistency. More wax makes for a paste, less makes for a liquid. I prefer a liquid. I almost put "from walnut size to the size of an egg". Thats kinda my mental gage for amount. Another beeswax tip. When making hinges, When you finish applying this finish and its still warm enough to melt beeswax, melt some into the barrel. It will make your hinge action very smooth and will last a very long time as a lube for this. It fills in the imperfections in the barrel and on the pin and just doesn't go away.

Nice tool! I too like a radius cutting end but prefer a little flatter of a curve. Still, this shape would certainly have a place with my tools. I nearly always heat treat my hot work tools even if the temper is changed. They hold up better and its good practice.

Lol, I suspect your Dad is correct. My knowledge of a traveler is pretty locked into what I've seen in blacksmithing books. The one I made is about 8" in diameter and one revolution is about 24". The wood handle went by the wayside long ago and I never replaced it. It was one of my first attempts at a forge welded round ring. Came out pretty round.

awesome

Actually, for me, making the frame would be far more fun than making the blade to go in it.

On the quote, I meant "a long time to dry" not cool. When you apply this hot oil finish hot, the drying is pretty instantaneous. To use it for a cold finish, add "a healthy pour of japan dryer. By the time you get to the end of a rail section, its dry and ready for another coat. I keep the two finishes separate and make sure you keep the cold finish sealed as the japan dryer will quickly evaporate. When you use this hot oil finish as opposed to applying either just linseed oil or thinned with turps cold, to me it doesn't appear to make a coating, it appears to penetrate the surface of the iron and bond with the iron. Weather this is the case or not, the difference between hot and cold is like night and day. Cold looks and is a coating. Hot appears to look like satin, soft, warm, and inviting to touch.

Identifying it at the scrap yard could be a problem as well as heat treating a frame saw when done. If you can deal with these problems, enjoy and give it a try.

Good point, Glen. My heat source is my coal forge. I use boiled linseed oil and turps and beeswax. My mix is 50/50 linseed oil, turps and an egg or so sized piece of beeswax. I use a quart of both. I don't think the mix ratio makes a difference to the final look, just the consistency of what ya got. Add more beeswax to make a paste. I like it a liquid. I put it all in a 1 gal paint can that has a lid and a bale. This goes onto the top of my coal fire. Use a gentle blast and keep the temp low. If it flashes, and it will, don't worry, just put the lid on and use your poker to move it off the fire. Then put it back on the fire and stir til the beeswax is melted. I then put it back into the two quart cans. The small openings keep evaporation of the turps from happening when not being used and its easy to add the needed mix to a rag. Two quarts done this way last a long time with very little waste. Heres what I think happens with this mix. Linseed oil of any type is thick and takes a long time to cool, even when applied hot. The turps thins it out and enhances drying, especially when applied hot. The beeswax serves another main purpose. It has the ability to quickly pick up body heat and creates the effect that the iron you touch is warm, not cold. Its a mental thing and we expect the iron to be cold. Sub consciously, and often consciously, we are surprised that the iron is warm. I use beeswax to create this effect specifically. Not to mention you can buff it to get a little iron brightwork on the surface and a nice polished look. When I'm done with this phase of my finish, I clean it with denatured alcohol and rub in a light coat of a carnuba based furniture/ car polish and buff it as well. I use alcohol, not mineral spirits. The latter seems to leave a film on the work. So when done, your iron is a nice matte black with a few bright surface highlights, if you choose that is warm to the touch and smells really good. Usually my rags don't last long enough to be a safety issue,,, just be aware of their potential for spontaneous combustion. Rags are cheap.

So I think I understand your point here and I agree with all you have said. That is when you are starting out cold, so to speak, you are suggesting the use of a thermometer to find that nebulous correct temp to apply your oil. That is a way to do it. And it will work. However it just might not be the best way. Thats my opinion. Especially when solving the problem of a consistent finish on a long piece of iron, which is the original question. By long, I mean any piece of iron that takes multiple heats to apply your finish. And it is a problem to get a consistent color finish on a long piece of iron. This problem is solved by understanding temp and,, most important,, by the technique you use to apply your finish and heat your iron. Heres my technique for getting a constant finish on a long piece of iron, lets say a 10' cap rail 1/2"x2" with champfered edges. It works just as good for a 36" picket out of half square with tenons on the end. My basic setup is my forge is in a corner with a pass thru for long iron to go thru. There is a roller stand beyond. In the front I have the required, by the job, number of roller stands depending on the job.. Now I can easily move my long iron fore and aft to get my proper heat. I use a firepot that is ~ 14" long and can get a pretty constant heat over about 12". To get a longer heat I need to move my iron back and forth. I don't use a thermometer in my shop, it's redundant. I use the color of the iron to tell me whats going on. I don't even need the numbers. So how do you do this when you are in the black heat range and applying a hot oil finish? Its still visual and smoke has nothing to do with it. As I said above: 1: when it smokes AND your iron is grey, its too hot 2: when your iron smokes AND your iron is that nice matte black, its right on 3:when your iron smokes AND your iron looks wet, you are too cold. So the looks of your iron still, in the black heat range, tells the story. Thus, any other tool is not needed. This is step one to a constant matte black hot oil finish. Now lets look at a constant heat a little differently. Being able to get a constant heat over a given length is a very important step in fire control. But its not the end all. Once you can do this, you need to learn how to get a controlled varied heat over a given length. This is the critical part for a good finish. The given length depends on your skill level. An 18" heat is simple and 2'-3' or longer is possible. The cooling of your work really is what determines how long of a heat you can take. When anyone new comes into my shop I tell them to use the back of your hand to check temp before you pick it up. It will keep you from getting burnt. If you do this with your long iron then when you pull it twards you, with experience, you will get a pretty good idea of its temp for a good finish. This takes experience so start doing it and make it a habit. On the first 18" heat, i want a constant heat along this length. I shoot for right on to too hot. I don't use a corner of my rag to check temp in one spot,,, or how smoky it is, ,,, I use my rag and oil the whole 18+ inches. If its too hot, wipe her again until you get the finish color you want. If I used a thermometer, by the time I dealt with it, the iron will be cooler and I prolly won't get a full 18" finished section. Thus wasted time. The rest of the heats are done a little different. I don't want a constant 18" heat, I want a tapered heat, for lack of better words, and I want it the hottest near me, not the finished section. The hotter you are twards the finished section, the more finish you lose and have no control over. This transition is the area where your finish becomes mottled, not consistent. As the heat travels twards the finished section, watch it carefully and you will see it go to grey and the grey will get longer as more heat travels down twards the finished section. You will also notice an area that is transitioning from black to grey. Its pretty subtle, but its there. Now pull your iron out of the fire and apply your finish so that it overlaps where your old finish ended and keep wiping it on until the end near you no longer is hot enough and it looks wet. Repeat 18" at a time til done. Now clean the piece with alcohol and give it a light buff with a carnuba based car/furniture polish and you will have a nice consistent matte black finish.

Nothing wrong with making bumpers. Made a few myself,,, Shhh don't tell on me!!!

The real deal is having an idea, creating the tooling, fine tune process, satisfaction with product. And the journey is an individual thing. Being able to share others journey in any manner is a joy. My business practice was a bit different. As a farrier I started out never saying no to a horse. Then I began to be too busy for the hard ones. I never refused the job, but just couldn't get to them for a week or so,,, And then I became more selective for my customers in general. Same with my blacksmithing. My standard one liner has always been: " Theres always more bumpers to build than hot iron to beat. If ya want to beat hot iron, then always say no to bumpers,,,"

Glen, not sure if I understand your details. A small correction. A black heat is a wide range of temps from, accepting your numbers, to basically dead cold. how do you know when a black heat is at the correct temp? That question is answered in my first sentence, when your experience level is high enough.

For me, the thing to consider, especially as a one off commission type blacksmith, is How often will I be using this pattern, or,,, more to the point,,, is how long til I get tired of repeating the pattern. A corollary,,, When figuring in time, material, how much of the pattern do I have to make to justify the cost. Just a variation on the ole debate of commission vs production. For me, any tool that speeds up tenon making is a welcome addition whilst a texturing tool would have limited repeated use.

Happy New Year!!

Cool tool! Thanks, Frosty. I guess I'd call it a mini traveler. Lol, if it rolls like a traveler and "someone" counts the revolutions and you know the circumference, its a traveler.

Thanks for the reminder about a traveller. I made one long ago and use it as well. Modeled after what the old wheelwrights used. I find that it works pretty well, but have found that the tighter the scroll gets, I lose accuracy. It tends to spin on a point instead of following the curve. I don't know what a drafting traveler is. Will, glad I can help!! Thanks!

Read this whole thread, there is good info here, not to mention " voices" of friends from long ago giving good advice.

My thoughts,, I think finding the balance point is too time consuming and if you don't have a very thin edge to balance it on, opposed to a finger,,, its not precise. My way to find the center quickly and with precision, length or width, is to measure twice, once from both ends, mark with a scribe, and split the difference. I do all my layout from a centerline, not an edge. Because tapers, scrolls, and curves are so common in our work, the centerline will always give you a true length or measurement. on a curve, the outside edge gets drawn out, or grows in length, the inside edge is upset or shortens up, but the centerline always maintains the original length. Considering this, I get a lot of practice finding centers. Generally I use chalk to layout my work on my table but I use a scribe to lay out all my iron. Anything else is not precise enough,,, the lines are too thick. I carry one in my pocket along with my 6' metal folding ruler. Considering chalk is the #1 consumable in my shop,,, it saves me money. Precision: My thoughts here are that its just as easy to be precise as to be " close enough", might as well work to and challenge yourself to being as precise as you can. its a great skill to have and a real time saver in the long run. Helps to keep your scrap pile to a decent size as well. With my metal folding ruler and a scribe, working to a 64th" is very doable. More times than not, Frosty,,, like minds and all that stuff. I use plastic coated electrical wire rather than a string to measure my curves.

A few decades ago a friend over by Vail was cleaning up a chain with the wire wheel. It grabbed the chain and he found out just how many blows it took at 7200 rpm before he even realized what was happening. He got hurt pretty bad. We called him Bear but he earned a new nickname of ChainBear... Be careful with a wirewheel at all times.

I agree with replacing, not griding, even on a fixed income. Check out your local flea markets, second hand stores, and antique stores as well.