Laertius

Here is a pic of the tongs I have made to date. I started smithing a little over a year ago, and besides the few other pairs I received when I bought my anvil here are the ones I have made. From point of the anvil to hardy: first pair not used often made from half in round, second pair is an attempt at brazeal style pick up / hammer tongs made from 9/16 coil spring, the next 2 are my lasted made from mild 3/4 and 1 in flat bar respectively. I am starting to get the hang of it. Still hard to punch good straight holes, and remember all the steps, but I almost have it down!

Update, all the pieces are cut for the stand: 31in d x 1in thick base, 6in d x 1/4in tube, and a 12 x 15ish x 1/2 plate for the mount on top of the tube. All I need is a friend with a bigger welder to help me weld it all together. Cannot wait to put this to use!

Resurecting an old thread. I have been smithing now here and there in the evenings and weekends, and wanted to upsate my first posts. See the attached pics for my completed rail anvil, and he atwood on the modified (since i bought it) stand it came with. I like them both, and will prob have them forevever even after I acquire a big double horn and or a striking anvil. Thanks again for all great knowledge on this site,

Thank you to you an your wife for the step by step pics. Those are my favourite sort of tutorial......easy to scetch or print, and all visual!

I actually prefer the cold for forging (10c to -10c is best) -- -as was stated in the anvil preheat thread I heat my anvil with a propane blower 'MR Heater' for a bout an hour before I set up the charcoal forge. But keeping in mind what Ted T said, I only do this if I am in the mood and my body feels up to it. Like him, I used to work in -40c on heavy equipment, THAT was for a paycheck. I only forge in the cold if I feel the urge to squish some metal. I now sit at a desk and find my forge time to be both a physical activity and mentally theraputic as it is so different from my day job I am able to relax and shift gears. If this was my bread and butter, I'd be setting up a proper shop with insulation and indoor forge / chimney / ventilation etc! Here are some pros and cons.....and tips Pros: Layers make it possible to forge away in the cold, without sweating -- and if you do sweat, it freezes or evaporates quickly! The metal cools down quicker AFTER you are done forging, and want to do some finnish work. In my area, it gets dark by 5pm in the winter, and with the coal forge outside, I prefer the dark to see the fire ( MY forging triangle is at the man door to my shop -- forge is right at the door outside, anvil just in the door, and vise a couple steps away). CONS: YOu have to refill the slack tub / empty it all the time, otherwise it will freeze. A 5 gallon pail will freeze solid overnight in minus 10 or worse weather. so get a animal feed water heater or empty /refill after each session. Another item to consider is the anvil preheat -- as discussed at length in another thread. YOu may also consider preheating your stock / tongs and hammers if you, like me prefer to smith bare hander -- a few minutes on the warm anvil or on the forge table will do. Lastly -- the main point to remember here, as stated in the anvil pre-heat thread is that for the steel the difference of 40c is not that big a deal, it is the human ( and other water based things) in the equation that really care about the 40c difference! Jon and btw -- it is -21c without the windchill today~!

My dad works at a shipyard here in Thunder Bay and we were talking a similar idea-- Average plate that is used there is around 5/8 -3/4 -- anything bigger is a bit hard to come by -- unless the boat in the dock decided needs repair in areas where they use the big plate. He said I should be able to pick up a 24'' d plate for scrap price or better as they cut these for man holes / access holes on a regular basis. If I don't get around to re-organizing the shop, and I feel the vise still moves too much for my liking, I suppose that I can still anchor it to the concrete.....I

Thanks for the advice! I think I will leave it as is, from what I have seen / read, I can fix it if and when i NEED to. My next hurdle, is to mount the thing so I can use it. I was hoping / planning on fabbing up a portable mount: base plate with a heavy wall tube mount with maybe a little table/ rack on it. But I really do not think I would be able to use it to its potential without finding a permanent mount -- Thoughts -- anyone have a vice this big mounted to a portable stand? Right now my shop is 20/30feet, nice concrete floor and cinder block walls. As it stands It is set up as a mechanic's shop, not a smithy.......I will take a couple pics and post a new thread in the shop design forum asking for suggestions on how I can best use my space in a way that I can have a fab/smithy without losing the necessary space I need to service vehicles. Thanks again jon

Thanks! By number 2, I mean is there not usually a cap of some sort on the back? And by back I mean the opposite end from the handle, where I can look inside to see the back end of the screw shaft(pic 4). It does close and hold work fine, as far as I can tell, I will know better when I mount it more solidly. And I hear you on only opening it about 2 in most times, I was wondering if this(the slop) is normal, or should be fixed.....?

This is my first leg vise and an awesome addition to my shop. As the subject line says it is a 6x42 Columbia of Ohio vise, it weighs around a 100 lbs....but that is a guess as I have not weighed it. It seems to have been went over: paint, new u bolt to hold mount, and freshish grease on screw - I say ish because it is probably old, but not as old as the the vise. The best part is I received it as a early Xmas present from my parents. My dad made some calls and found a guy who had one in his garage....anyway not sure what he paid but it works well and looks great and its huge! A couple of questions: 1. How old is it roughly? 2. Is it missing a piece on the back side? And if so is it a crucial part? 3. There seems to be too much slop or play in the guide tube between the jaws that holds the nut....how can this be fixed? If iopen it far enough to expose the screw, the tube falls and prevents reclosing the v7se without 2 hands. See pics for details 4. The jaws are in good shape, but not perfectly parallel. ?. when one side is tight the other is off by about 1/8th. Again...how to fix? Thanks in advance for any information. Jon

Agered......I am the only person Iknow who does not own a cell phone.......I bought an android tablet so that I could have all the apps and portability.....without the phone or phone plan! So, sorry steve cant help you with the install!

I yad to try several times to dload to my android tablet......but it did work and it is great......Thanks! Steve, what trouble are you having t8 get it to work?

Outstanding!

A rotor from the rear of a an all wheel disk car has about a 2-3" depression that that acts as a brake drum for the emergency brake setup -- This is what I use as a firepot and it works great, and it sits nicely 'in' my forge table without any mechanical fastening or welding -- just the lip of the rotor. Even a 'normal' front rotor will have a 1/2 -2'' depression that goes over the wheel hub assembly. Don't want to create an argument, but the OP posted a legitimate question..... And my answer is -- at least my preference, go with a rear rotor from a light truck/ sedan, if you plan on setting it in a table like a firepot. BUT -- - If you plan on building one of the brake drum forges without a table (just a drum on a tripod of sorts) then go with the bigger drum firepot. Whatever you choose, be sure to make the pot more bowl shaped with some woodstove cement or equivalent.....It made fire managment and heating steel much easier for this novice blacksmith. See my brake ROTOR forge attached. Jon

Very nice work!

Excellent work love the shape and style of the head!

Very nice......these are on my list once I acquire some used bits! Always fun to include the family

Very nice....what combination of metals were used?

Thanks again for the encouraging words, and advice. I ended up not putting any visible markings on the outside, rather, I marked their names, wedding date, and my maker mark on the bottom (underneath) with a paint stick before spraying the whole works with krylon artists fixative: a cheap not too glossy clear coat used mostly for pastel/charcoal preservation. I really liked the way that the fixative stuck, and did not 'steal the show'....too much gloss on somethting like this would be too much I think. Both the bride and groom were very happy with the gift, and that made it all worth it. I think I had a bout 18 hours in total in the project, but as a prototype, I think I could reproduce it in about 1/2 to 2/3 that time.......which will happen sooner than later I think as the gf wants something similar.

Thanks, I think I will see if I can get it engraved...on the base rim I hope? I had made a small flower card all all polished out of copper to get engraved, but it takes the eyes from the vase too much. Thanks again, if it were not for the pics and advice on this site , I could not have done it.

This started life as 28 inches of copper pipe and a lot of lurking on here. Will be a wedding present for my brother. Any ideas on how to personalize it? I need to add something wedding like......any ideas welcome.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. I was attempting to draw file, and did a decent job on the flat, but the bevel and belly grind/file lines around the belly were where I had trouble. I will make another with a more simple blade edge geometry and see if I can do abetter job maintaining angles. Jon

Hey Guys, Here is my first attempt at a blacksmith knife.....forge, 4''hand grinder, files and small hf power sharpening stone. Made from jeep coil spring, oil quench and tempered to a straw brown. I could def use some tips on maintaining grind angles given limited tools and curved blade...was fun and after some testing by my 13 y/o in the backyard, can still slice paper! After my first attempt at a knife, I have a new found respect for the attention to detail req, d to complete Jon

pallet banding crimper is my best guess......

Hey Guys -- Thought you might like this, found it while I was researching my ant problem.....pretty cool!

Well Done! I have converted a couple of ball peins to traditional punches, but hope to make a brazeal style one with my next scrap hammer head.