anvil

Nice! I especially like the one above the zebra stripes.

very nice!

Since this is Sharing our "other side", Traditional smithing is my focus, but years ago i widened my horizons, you might say. I got into the idea of multi-medium. That is combining different mediums in one project. So Im a pretty fair hand at log work. Particularly Swedish cope. Stone is another. I decided long ago that to be a good stone mason, you just have to be smarter than a rock. Well, Im almost there, smarter than a rock,that is. third is working with timbers. I have a well used alaskan mill setup and use it quite often. So moving logs and making toothpicks from logs just sortacame naturally.A lot of my knowledge came from working with these specialties as a Smith. Then i came up with my own ideas on design and incorporating all in a the same project. However, I never seemed to get the boys and girls in these other crafts to use my ideas, not that I blame them. So mostly, Ive done this on my own projects, as well as working with them more to learn than anything. Hey, if you are going to make your living in a nitch market, might as well add a few more just because.

Lol, and blacksmithing is your passion. go figure.

2-1/2 years at University of Colorado for aerospace engineering. Farrier until 1980. Traditional Smith then til the day I can no longer swing a hammer or pass my knowledge on in any manner possible. What you may not know. After 30 some years as a Traditional Smith, and about 12 years ago I hit a major obstacle and lost most everything. This was not blacksmith related. More a major learning concerning the dark side of the world. I was presented a life's choice. Dump all my blacksmithing equipment and get a job at wally world as a "greeter" or see just where my world of Traditional Smithing would take me come what may. I never hesitated. I spent the next 5 years or so as a farm/ranch smith. My goal was to not go to the hardware store for any reason. I succeeded and expanded my skills in ways I would never have imagined. The next phase was as "Roady Blacksmith". ~10 thousand pounds of smithing equipment, a broke down Willys PU, and no trailer. I made 6-7 moves over a few thousand miles and always found both a place to go and someone to help me move. I learned the truth about my shop motto-"God smiles on fools and Blacksmiths", and i certainly am both! On this phase of my journey i made most of my living by hammer in hand. A very small ss rounded out the rest. During this time I Never worked a conventional job. I did work with an occasional smith. Last fall my life took another dramatic change for the better. Im now building my "dream shop"-- again-- by hammer in hand with a little dirt work done by others. I hope to be done by snowfall. Not done, but dried in, totally functional and off grid. It will be an ongoing project. All in all, what could have been one of lifes great tragedies became the next adventure pursuing Traditional Smithing to its fullest. I can hardly handle the suspense of just where this pathway will lead me next.

Are you going to have a concrete floor?

Congrats!

Excellent!

My thought was to use the head of the rr spikes as a carriage bolt to hold the wood slats to the frame. The other end of the spike would be a forged and threaded tenon. If they dont want wood, then perhaps this could be used as a rr spike headed rivit for other joinery. I have some ideas for the frame, but am sitting in a coffee shop so i cant draw it. I dont know if my words will work, but heres the general idea. Make the arms and upper back of 2 long pieces say 6" apart. Join them with "short pickets" made from rr spikes. The head goes outboard and the other end is a shouldered tenon. Peen this end like a rivit head. This keeps sharp ends outboard and accents the rr head. I did a piece like this once. The front legs, arms, back riser, and top of the back rest were one piece. Its always fun to take someones idea and play with it. Have fun

Nice Project! and a challenge to overcome.

I dont think so. Im agreeing with the gent you commented on who does his tapers square_octagon_round., and suggested you try drawing out a piece of one inch his way, then your way, and see which is faster. Its a good learning experience.

this will answer your question. Start with a length of 1" round. mark off 9" then draw it to 14" round. or square to square if you want. Try it square,octagon, round. then do one any other way and see how much more time it takes. we humans have the "armpower" to not follow the above for anything about 1/2" or less and not break a sweat. anything larger than that and you will begin to notice the difference. Around 1" round, if you don't do sq, octagon, round, it will drive you into the dirt.

Sorry I cant help. Ive never seen a bellows like that. Hope you find a solution and reply here. You got me curious. Ill take a look and see what I find., Im back. Pretty cool outfit. I may have a lead for you. I found a youtube vid on this bellows. It didnt show mutch, but it was from Matchless antiques. He sells top end blacksmith equipment. He may have the info you are looking for. You will find him via google.

Good to see!

nice idea!

pretty cool. But what caught my eye was the camelback drill and how it was set up with the motor. i have one like it that wil be running tomorrow.

Linseed turps and bees wax is a good hot finish.Apply it at a black heat. Too hot, it will smoke off and your iron will still be grey. Applied too cold and it takes quite a while to dry. It will look opaque and wet. I mix 50/50 linseed oil and turps. Then if i mix a quart of both, I use about a walnut size beeswax. This is a liquid. Add more beeswax and it becomes a paste. I think this is personal preference. Make sure you clean with alcohol when cool to to remove all the black residue. Then I apply a coat of carnuba based furniture polish and buff it a bit. Linseed turps and japan dryer is a cold finish. The japan dryer is a drying agent. Again, 50/50 linseed oil and turps. In a quart mason jar, add a "healthy pour" of japan dryer. Keep the lid on even during application as the japan dryer evaporates quick. When I apply this to say a 10' rail, by the time i get to the end, its ready for a second coat. The two finishes will look different. Both are good inside finishes.

looks like a firepot to me. However i've never seen one like that.

Great article!

The wedge you made is a double taper. Thickness and width. Make two. They go in on top of each other and will hold your vice secure.

Thanks. Ive never been called for doing this, but seen it happen to others. In this case, would it have been wrong to post a direct link to the centaur forge page where this book is? My guess is thats wrong. Ive done this a lot with clinker breakers and firepots. Just tuning up my act.

Beveled. And I use the edges of the bevel to get into tight places. I can do a pic if needed I often wirebrush twice. First out of the forge then second at a red heat. For me, This temp is best for developing finish

Just a note. I use the front edge of the rasp as a scraper. I also use the edges to get into those curves and follow up with a cheap brush. Not to deny that when the ole eye sees a nice place for a bit of file work, its right in my hand. Works for me.

Heres alternatives. Butcher blocks are great, but depending on usage become an expensive consumable. I use a cheap ole wire brush from the welding supply and use them down to the bone. I pair this up with a farriers rasp. I round the end and profile a sharp edge. This never wears out. This lives on my post vice stand within easy reach of my anvil. The secret is to get into the habit of wirebrushing every heat, and blowing the scale off your anvil face.

They do have a book on rebuilding little giant hammers that give this info. Its still avalable. It may be against forum policy to list where you can get it. Its ~ 50 bucks