J W Bennett

If I remember right the curved pieces are 1 1/2" square stock that I had Laying around. The dies are made out of 2x3/4 flat mild steel. I have made 4 sets of dies so far. haven't heat treated them. I haven't heat treated the dies on the hammer and they seem to be fine. The taper tool swivels just like the one in the blueprint. It works well, you just have to make sure the anvil plate doesn't flip over when you move your stock. There's more info on the hammer in the power hammer junkies thread on this same forum. Heres some new and better pictures I finally got off my butt and slapped some paint on it(I'm bad about that). It's all made from scratch the only thing I have in it is time. It's not fancy but I have used it on several long days and not had the first problem with it. The Phase generator is not "code" but it works. Thanks for the interest, JWB

As of last spring the depot in Brazil still sold it either by the bag or the pickup load. Alot cheaper by the pickup load. they will ship the bags anywhere. That is the majority of their business. JWB

I think I "see" what your saying. Wouldn't have a picture would you? Always interested in another type or style of tong/tool. Thanks for the reply, I haven't had a chance to use these yet but I think they'll be plenty useful. JWB

By the time we got her lined out again we had a terrible thirst. Boy was the wife proud. she's still .......

Hello All, I used the tools I made this weekend to make my first set of bolt tongs. This is my 6th pair of tongs but my first bolt tongs. they are made from 2 pieces of 3/4 round cold rolled 8" long. The reins were drawn out with the power hammer and the bits were formed in the smithin Magician type tool the rest was anvil work. Maybe a little light but I think they'll be alright. Let me know what you think or any suggestions you might have to improve the next pair. Thank you Richard Hanson, Dick Sargent and Jr. Strasil for the blueprints I used to make the tongs and tooling. JWB

meco3hp, Heres the pics I'll start with the smithin Magician type tool Heres the Taper Tool, The Taper tool worked great today. But the frame is probably to big on the Smithin Magician type tool. It got in the way on the jaws for the tongs I made today to try these out. Other than that it worked real good. Let me know what you think. JWB

Nice work, hard to find a door deserving of such a piece. JWB

Just finished my 7.5 hp rotary 3 phase converter. Everything seems to work good and it shuts off automatically when I shut the shop lights off. I have several pieces of small 3 phase equipment that were bought right because they were 3 Phase. I also have several 3 phase motors to make equipment out of. So this should be time well spent. I also built a smithin magician type tool (BP053) this weekend, I used scrap material so it turned out bigger than the BP but it should work fine. Still need to make more dies so I can try it out tomorrow. Also made the Taper tool (BP081) this afternoon. I like toys...:shock:... tools I mean tools. JWB

I am currently using a Ron Reil type burner with the mig tip and a pile of fire bricks. It works good enough for now. I have a second burner that I add for larger stuff, thats whats nice about the brick pile you can adjust the size easily. I would take the time to make the burner. JWB

My name is John W. Bennett and I am also a Hoosier. I live in the small town of Fontanet Indiana. I have been a Welder/Mechanic/Electrician for 30 years. I traveled some when I first left school and then enlisted in the Marine Corp. A short time after being honorably discharged I returned home to Indiana. That was 22 years ago. I am married to a very patient lady and between us we have 3 kids, 6 Grand kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats not to mention all the squirrels, bunnies and coons( The two fine examples of mans best friend are to lazy to chase the other four footers off). Like Alan B. I have spent the better part of my life working with metal and Blacksmithing is a natural progression of that life.I have only been smithing for alittle over a year. I attended the Feast of the Hunters Moon in 2004 and watched the blacksmiths in the ring there for the better part of a day and I been staring into the fire ever since. I have a Full time job(my wife doesn't beleive me) an I work in my shop on my days off(4 days one week, Three days the next. Hence why my wife doesn't beleive the job bit ). If I'm not in the shop I'm out on a scooter ride somewhere in a 7 state area. Like I said she's patient! I am new here and I enjoy this Forum and the IFORGEIRON site and have learned alot from its contributers and am contributing when I can. Which proves any knowledge no matter how small is useful so please share when you can. Don't be shy, as you can tell by my rambling I'm not. Howdy, Welcome, come on in and stay awhile........ JWB

Levi, Apparently you have never had the pleasure of conversation with My better half :wink: JWB

Jim C. Thank you for the info. I will have not joined ABANA yet but have it high on my list of things I shouldn't put off any longer. I plan on attend my first local meeting this month to see what's up. JWB

one_rod Very nice, I believe you've started something here. I know I'll have to try one. :mrgreen: JWB

Levi, Go to the IFORGEIRON site map and in the tools section there is a presses section with some good pictures to get you started. I don't know of any actual plans out there(But then again I haven't looked). I've built 2 for my shop and 2 for other shops. All from shop scrap so there were no plans. If no one comes up with a link I could send you measurements and pictures of the one I still have in the shop. JWB

Rantalin, Good first effort, Did you make any tools to help it along? If so the next one will be easier. I don't have a belt sander yet but I've looked at the blueprints and pictures to make one, in the scrounging stage. :wink: Looking forward to seeing more, JWB

Rantalin, I like it! Does the candle sit well in the saddle? Always like to see something different. JWB

Castle7, Welcome, You are starting out just like alot of us . Blacksmithing does not take alot of money to do nice work. For what it's worth don't start out by making a sword. Read alot,ask alot of questions and listen to the answers. Smithing is fun and fulfilling but it is also very dangerous. Use your head and if your not sure about what you are trying to do stop and ask someone. Unasked questions can hurt real bad. Not trying to scare you just use your head. Hot metal, Fire and sharp heavy objects all demand/deserve respect. :!: Once again Welcome and Good Luck! JWB

Michael, I have a chain and weight on my anvil also. I did try it and I spent most of the heat chasing the thing. I have made a Block like BP0114 and I am going to try it tonight. Thanks for the input though, I appreciate it. JWB

My shop is a 32'x48' pole barn with 10' walls, I have insulated the walls with 2" styrofoam. The power hammer is a smaller one with a 24# on one side and a 65# on the other. I keep a 10' sliding door half open when working for ventilation. The house is only 20' from barn and I don't run the hammer at night or I wake the wife up. :shock: However the closest neighbor 600'+- has told me several times he can't hear me working. I think Hollis has a good idea with the trash can. JWB

:oops: Glenn, Thanks for pointing those out I have used quite a few of the blueprints for tongs,tools,candlecups,hooks,trivets....Not to mention the tech info prints. I had not done my research(lazy) although once you pointed them out I went back through and along with the ones you pointed out found several others that will also help. In the future I will look first. Thanks again, JWB

Mills, Thanks, I would be real interested in seeing a picture. I can visualize what you are describing, won't be back at the forge till Thursday but I will try it. Thanks for your input, JWB

MetalMonkey, Welcome and nice work! JWB

Still playing with railroad spikes. Tried some pineapple twists this weekend. 3 outta five twists turned out. Spent a good bit of shop time making tooling-tongs,creasers,twisters and punches to work with the spikes. Here's some pictures of the results. Let me know what you think. Also made a troll, posted it on the blacksmith forum. Wishing everyone good health and happiness in the coming year, JWB

Hi everyone, Been busy this weekend trying new things. Still working on that bucket of spikes. Made several more knives and tried a pineapple twist. I'll post pictures of those in the knive forum. But back to the subject of this post. My first Troll, this was a Bill Epps demo on anvilfire that I ran across awhile back. Thank you Bill for sharing your knowledge with so many of us. Heres the pics let me know what you think. I made numerous tools that Bill has posted on several sites to work the spikes with . A pair of tongs from a 2$ set of flea market Farrier nips to hold the head of the spike, 2 different eye punchs and a pair of tongs of my own design to hold the pointed end. I think if I make another troll( I'm sure I will) I will try to figure out a way to hold on to the thing while doing the chisel work. If anyone has any suggestions on holding the troll while chiseling or tips on how to hot cut the mustache please let me know. Both those techniques or lack of resulted in dogs leaving the shop to avoid flying objects and hi volume cussing. thanks, JWB

Okay,Okay The only thing slower than my computer is me :oops: (foot in mouth) Nice knife.