Marc1

DaveGas, do you bend the thinner scrolls cold or hot?

Perhaps a fairer and less contentious description of one's workshop would be low tech as opposed to high tech. I mostly chose to use low tech ways to do things whenever practical but go for high tech solutions if they save me time and produce the same result. There are situations where high tech produces low quality work, for example using a hebo machine. And the opposite, for example if you use a CNC table for silhouette cutting instead of a bunch of chisels files and a hammer and anvil. I think ... and that is my personal perception, that some people get stuck into this concept of traditional, as if it encompasses some form of virtue, and that other 'non traditional' ways are some form of betrayal to be avoided. I remember my old boss when I was 15 who thought he was sinning when using an electric welder instead of drilling and secret riveting the scrolls in a grill or a bedhead. Bottom line, if you just get started, you start any way you can, and the most important is to learn how to do things properly without adding another layer of handicap. Properly meaning how to achieve the target result and not so much about the elegance or otherwise of the method used. I wish you all the best in your new endeavors and don't forget to post photos of your journey.

And don't forget to mention how useful a sharp edge and a needle sharp horn is on an anvil

Ha ha, yes, we all have our peculiarities. My wife calls old timers "veterans" to the horror of our daughters who tell her to no avail that a veteran is related to service in the armed forces.

hei bigfoot ... you are forgiven ... for now

When I respect anyone's choices to do their work anyway they please, I am usually curious about the motivations behind the idea of "traditional" workshop. for example ... in response to people asking questions about anvils in this forum, sometimes others post videos of smiths working in appalling condition crouching in the dirt using a rock and an old pipe as anvil and hammer. When well intentioned this examples miss the mark. Those smith would take up good quality tools in a heartbeat if they had half a chance. therefore their ingenuity is driven by desperation and not by choice. A blacksmith 300 year ago was a professional at the peak of the metallurgical knowledge in his time and had the best he could possibly afford his "traditional" methods were not a choice but only limited by what was available in his time. So once more a top notch blacksmith in the 1700 did not work that way to be part of some cultural traditional way but because that is the best way to do it back then. Short of the Amish who have their own peculiar interpretation of the bible and chose to limit the technology to pre-electricity yet still have air driven power tools, no one today has explained to me the reason behind choosing to do something the hard way because of this ethereal notion of tradition. Take that little and very interesting discussion we had not long ago about the 3 way join in that window grill. After much umming and ahhing it was decided that it must have had a pin in the diagonals. (I wasn't convinced but it does not matter) So lets say they used to do it with a pin. And yet the way the Op did it was to drill a hole, with an electrical drill, make a pin with a lathe, drill a hole in the diagonal with the lathe and mill the diagonal in a mill to make it fit the corners. Is the result a traditional joint? Filing the diagonal edges, MIG it in place and file the weld flat would have been just as good. But that is only my (traditional) opinion

It all depends from what the goal is. if your goal is to make things by forging them, blacksmithing is your thing. However, unless you are going to have reenactment shows and be a curator of a museum, old fashioned methods are fun to watch but not fun to do. Mind you blacksmithing is old fascion per se, but you use all the help you can from modern tools. Blacksmiths of old contrary to popular belief, would not back away from new tools or new ways of doing things. And "traditional" and "modern" are meaningless expressions most of the time. I have scratched my head a few times at people who buy pedal driven pedestal drills and restore them and use them in their shop. Cute sure, not practical. Having said that, it can be fun as a hobby any way you choose to do it. Blacksmithing groups are the way to go.

Don't worry about the edges, mine have some damage on the edges too. Just use it as it is. When you saved up some more money, you can buy yourself a german one

Nice anvil SHVTZHOT, I have two PW. They are good workhorses.

Joaquin ... that is the expression of determination

Try a canvas on your anvil. I use no spray of any description and have no rust on the anvil ever. I would have plenty if I left it uncovered. As far as spray to prevent rust, I spray my boat trailer with Lanolin spray. Sticks like the proverbial and smells real nice.

Generalisations are inevitable and just like other people picture our cities with mobs of kangaroos running amok, and Australians wrestling crocodiles, "Americans" are viewed as loud and not very polite. Of course what is an American? Who is the stereotype? Probably 30 different versions in people's minds. If you ask Australians that have been overseas on tours, they will tell you as a matter of fact that he worst that can happen to you is to get an American on the tour. Justified or not, that is the story. And I am sure you guys have similar stereotype for Germans, French, English etc. I have a lot of fun when I am in a touristic place and there is a bus load of overseas visitors that all speak that secret language no one can understand, very loud and have a head honcho that knows everything, ignores local rules and queues, and gives them his version of the history of the place in that secret language. i happen to understand 5 secret languages so have a lot of fun with the different google versions of the local history that are dished out

I thought that it was the ringing in the anvil that wipes the scale off the anvil Oh I see. scale off the workpiece ... mm ... yes that makes sense.

Oh come on, everyone knows that the fuller in a blade is to let air into the body and make an air embolism that kills the victim instantly. Seriously now. Why is the Japanese smith wetting the hammer and flooding the anvil all over?

Oh my ... hands under a running hammer. You can have that.

Megafauna needs megaflora. Megaflora needs mega CO2 to grow mega. CO2 depends from Sun activity (yes, too bad for A.G.) Sun cools down, everything follows. Smaller animals adapt better to changes in food source. As much as some current alternative religions like to pin all on man, there wasn't enough of us in those days to make a dent in any population.

Kero works OK

Cover your anvil with some heavy canvass and strap a rope around the waist.

That second one in the dirt looks suspiciously free of rust.

For damascus, if no money for a power hammer or press, look into making a MacDonald Rolling Mill. Where is the key to start a Boeing 767?

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/easter/preparing-for-easter-adventure-quests/how-to-make-a-cardboard-sword/

The request from the mother is ridiculous, but perhaps you can suggest that in that short period of time, you can teach him to make a miniature sword, a decorative piece as letter opener in mild steel, say 8 or 10" long with some sort of guard, purely decorative? it will still be a sword of sort, will not win any contest, but seems adequate for a school project for a novice that has never even used a hacksaw ... you can always add that the Katana will come next year

No such thing as tipping in OZ. And no such thing as customer service either, ha ha. I went to have a feed at a pub not long ago down the south coast. I ordered what I wanted at the counter and asked about drinks and if they bring it to the table. The answer was. Here is a number for your food, we call your number and you pick it up, the drinks you go to the bar and get it yourself. All said as a matter of fact and perfectly acceptable. Would you tip? I felt like asking for a discount ... my answer was ... I don't work here! But it made no difference.

No one says Schwarzschmied in german. Just Schmied or Kunstschmied. Sure, but we would need to say Kiloing and it doesn't sound right

Bad idea. Glitter is a terrible polluter