anvil

Do you think that fire clay might contaminate the weld? Fire control, a slow rising fire, and a way to apply a bit of water to just the barrel. Think an old fashioned hand oiler. Also, there is no reason you can't get the barrel hot, even up to a forge welding heat. Just don't burn it. Thus proper fire control

The little butterfly hinge is forge welded. Coat you work with a good layer of experience, and no problem. The best way to get it is to do it. Have fun

I yam what I yam, said Popeye the Sailor Man,,, The first existentialist,,, sorta

absolutely, I always dome the struck end. I dont use any special hammers for these tools. I would rather just normalize or pull a purple temper on the end. This slows mushrooming and is softer than my hammers.

6' metal folding ruler, scribe, center punch, small cold chisel. These are used on every job. Not every job gets laid out on my table, so Im not listing those tools. Nor am I listing those tools used on a per job basis. I lay out all my steel with scribe, not chalk. With my 6' folder and my scribe I can lay out to a 64th. My center punch marks transitions from one shape change to another and my small cold chisel and center punch, mark all lines and points that go in the fire. Both are made from coil spring.

Lest we forget, you can also reforge the end in your forge and reharden and temper, or at least normalize the struck end to slow down its mushrooming.

And nobody cooked their turkey on their forge,,,

Happy Thanksgiving! I have much to be thankful for this year. Das, Your turkey sounds great. Its been a long while since I've had fresh anything!

Give it 3 to 5 and you should have a good grasp of the basics,,, years that is,,, then the real fun begins. I saw your interest in the Renaissance period. The two periods that have influenced me the most are Baroque and Art Nouveau. Enjoy.

Lol, if I had pics it wouldn't be a memory, it would be a nightmare! And I never want to shoe one of them again. And then there was that time shoeing in a borrowed Valient, coming back from Crested Butte, toping the continental divide on Cottonwood pass and a blown wheel cilendar, a clinch block and my nailing hammer,,,,,

I like your last line there, George. Seems that means if you keep people "out", those already "in" make more money.

Dave Einhorn nails it.

Memories, I spent about 6 months shoeing out of a '69 Volkswagen hatchback. Really glad when I got my truck back.

Nice leaf key chains with a brushed brass patina. You are on a roll. And definitely keep your firsts.

Boy. the one that got away. I closed my shop in order to build my log house and twards the end an architect I'd done a lot of work for came up with a couple Ladies who were involved in the rather large restore and remodel of the Arch Diocese ( lol, names may be wrong). No way I could stop and no why they could wait. Timing is all. I can't even begin to describe my feelings as I watched them walk away. Then there's the one that im glad got away. A pink Caddy Mary Kay lady commissioned a chandelier. When I bid something, I do a Detailed drawing and a sample. If they accept my bid, the design time is included in the bid and I keep the sample. If not, I keep all drawings, the sample and they pay me 10% of my bid. When the drawing is done, I get my first approval and continue with the sample. She kept my drawings to show hubby et all, which is standard. About a week later, I got a call from a Santa Fe smith who I knew. He had my drawings and the pinko caddy um, er, person wanted a bid from him. He said he couldn't do my design then, asked if he could use it as the basis for a bid. I told him sure and use any part of it you want, then thanked him for the heads up. A bit later I went down and got my drawings and no bid. I was pretty bummed by the whole deal, but hey,,, When I got home I had a call on my answering machine from California( I'm in Colorado). A cheerful Rocky the Flying Squirrel "Hi! Im from Beverly Hills and I want some, well maybe a lot of your iron!" Thus began my 4 fireplace screens job that I've shown pics of here once or twice. From our very first meeting, I knew I should pass on the job..

Nice work

A bit late. Thanks for that Thomas, so true. thats the second USS Mesa Verde hat Ive seen. I'm near Mesa Verde, and it was around here. Not sure if he served on her or not.

Congrats! To repeat George: Power to the Powers

sheesh,,, ask and ye shall receive,, a big fat bivet,,,

Thomas, I got that book you recommended on solid state welding. I read the intro and am into ch 1, the history. He gives a definition for solid state welding that sounds like politicians defining new taxes. First he says its welding by force and there is no liquid phase. He then says, well, sometimes there is a little liquid but if it starts solid and then ends solid, its a solid state weld. sheesh.

I've only worked with what we smiths would consider easily obtained wrought, Wagon tires and other assorted types. I have a large bar 1-1/2" sq i think that a local smith gave me. Its from RR water tank banding from our local old narrow gage rr. Due to his experience i have no doubt its what he says. I have a project for it,,, someday. Points are confusing. Its 1% of 1%. Doesnt 1%=1.0%? Then 1% of 1% is .1% and 18 points carbon would be .18%? And yes 1018 has 18 points carbon or .18%. I almost mentioned your technicality that carbon is an added alloy, but didnt to not further confuse the issue. The thing I find about this discussion is that the post modern definition of steel is still 3 points carbon or more and low, medium and high carbon steels are basically the same as post modern. However, it appears there is a new addition called mild steel that spans that 3 points deal. The google search I did said .05% to .29% carbon which I think means a half point to 29 points carbon. Even tho these sources say no alloys in mild steel, this just ain't so and the added alloys are what separates mild from wrought. Lol,I did once shoot an anvil with no fuse in front of a crowd once. I got a few black specks in my hand to the day to testify to that bit if foolishness. And I put on a good face so no one in the crowd suspected... Doesn't take long to learn from ones mistakes.

Lol, sounds good to me. So, I'll stick to pre-modern steels and wrought have no consciously added alloys within. All modern steels of any kind have added alloys. Which is my answer to the question that Thomas put forth.

Yup, I agree. Thus, it is by definition a low carbon steel. I'll check and see if there is a definition for "mild" steel. I checked. What a can of worms. First they say its not an alloy steel, then list the possible included alloys that affect its properties. For me this is an ants vs elephants or Gnats vs camels situation. At least there is no argument that it is a low carbon steel.

I'm not differentiating steels. Im differentiating wrought iron from steel. less than 3 points carbon is wrought iron. 3 points or more is steel until the advent of the age of "designer" steels that we are in today. I'm pretty sure that the way steels were differentiated before adding alloys became common was by a spark test. Common knowledge, and im puzzled by your responses because I know you are well aware of this. A spark test today is a pretty good way to determine unknown steels as long as you have a known piece to compare it with. I am only aware of one steel that has less than 3 points carbon and is considered a steel. I'm sure there are more. This is what we call mild steel or A36. The addition of alloys is what makes it a "steel". That would apply to any others as well. How would I differentiate steels from the past with modern steels? Steels from the past generally were not alloy steels. I believe that some ancient steels had alloys within. Seems that this is true of "damascus" steel. However, these alloys were contained in the iron ore, not consciously added.

Nice trivet. How did you join them?