Smiddyt

This is a dragon curtain holder I made for our old house. Need to make some more for the new house

I have read through the post and watched the video's. I have also paid more attention to my grip and swing and the pain is not as bad. Thanks fo all the advice.

Thanks for all the advice. I will give it another couple days to rest then try again.

Jerry, I will be there on the 15th but want to get some Christmas gifts made so I can mail them out. I worked at the forge for about 4 hours on sunday and had to put heat and ice on my wrist for the rest of the day. I will check to see if I am gripping to tight next time.

I work in a office and use a computer alot. So no I dont use those muscles much.

I will check again (my forge floor is hard packed sand) but when I first set it up it was knuckle high when holding my hammer.

I bought a forge from a neighbor about 2 months ago. I joined Balcones Forge a local group of blacksmiths that meet once a month. I have been playing around and have made some BBQ forks, and meat turners, lots of bottle openers, and some chisels used for the bottle openers. My problem is I get pain in my wrist and forearm if I hammer for more than a couple of hours. I am sure it is the way I am hammering so I ordered a hofi style hammer and the video to try and learn better technique. They have not arrived yet but any ideas while I wait? Thanks Smiddy

Ok Problem solved. I took the vice apart and there was a 1/4 inch round hole where a pin should be. I made one out of a piece of scrap I had and now it works fine. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the advice. So lets say I want to replace the fiberglass handle with a wooded one. How do I get the old handle out? Burn it out?

I did not think of that, yes the threaded part just slides out with nothing to hold it in place. I will look for a pin or something to keep it from moving when I get home. Thanks for the advice.

Hi all, I am in the process of buying some tools from my neighbor who use to build chuck wagons but is now retiring. I recently bought a work bench that has a post vice at one end and a bench mounted vice at the other end. The bench mounted vice came from his father who got it from a guy who used it to repair Model A's, so the vice is close to a hundred years old. The problem is the vice wont open without my pushing on the back as I turn the screw. Once out it tightens up fine but wont loosen without help. This could be a problem if I have some hot metal to twist and cant get it out without an extra set of hands. I have taken it apart and the threads all seem fine. The screw fits into a threaded holder that is also removable but doesn’t appear to have any damage to it. Any suggestions?

I like your screen name. I have read the wheel of time too.

Hello, I just bought an old coal forge from a neighbor who use to restore wagons. I bought the forge and will buy the anvil this payday. I am using it at his house until I get my blacksmith area set up so I have plenty of tools. I dont know how many of the tools I get with my forge so I am starting my own collection. Today at Home Depot they had a 2.5 "BlackSmith Hammer" that looks like a crosspeen to me, but it has a fiberglass handle. They also had a 24 ounce ball peen with a metal leather wrapped handle. Are these good hammers or should I try to find wooden handles.