LastRonin

I know everyone points at the sticky thread for groups... I've checked it. I have tried the Alabama Forge Council website, left messages for the president and the person listed as the Bay Chapter head. Even checking on the groups in Mississippi. The Bay chapter's person did not respond to my email and the phone number listed on the website doesn't work. The Mississippi groups are really not close enough for it to be feasible for me to get to spend much time there due to my work and family life. So if there is anyone who can help me find a local group or just even individual smiths willing to let a newb stop in and chat once in a while... please let me know by either posting here or PM me. Thanks everyone. Ken

Personally i like the answers laid out like you are doing them.

At barely over 50cents a pound... awesome deal. I'm surprised that no one has yet made the simple suggestion... Heat some metal and put that baby to work.

My understanding is that the stonemasons were paid, but that much of the brute muscle work, like hauling materials and such was done by slaves. Of course, I wasn't around back then... so I'll have to bow to your experience Frosty. :P

Love it! Ain't it fun to cobble something together from your own imagination and see if it works? Hope it works well for you.

Why worry about the gap under the window plate? If you run a weld bead around the entire perimeter, leave no opening for moisture to intrude and eat away at it... shouldn't it be fine? You're not going to be beating steel on the arches and so rebound won't matter.

Egyptian way... where did you get your 10,000 "indentured servants"?

I believe the first number is x 112, the second x28 and the last x1. So that would be (2x112)+(0x28)+(27X1)=224+0+27=251

As someone in the Fire Protection industry, I like the way you included the sprinkler head into the third one. And you even have it oriented properly. :D

That is inspiring me to go ahead and try to make a similar tool I have had bouncing around in my head for a while now. Thanks for posting the pics and all.

1.1.5 would be 145#. My Mousehole is 1.1.10 and is 150. It does look like a good anvil to me. What's he asking?

I think I may have found a buddy for the forge. http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab148/LastRonin4269/ForgeBuddy_zpse2bd0155.jpg That is a 27# chunk of steel he's chosen as his pillow. First time I saw him on it, I thought it was just a fluke. But he's gone back to it time and again. He's six weeks old.

They look sad in the first pic... I think you hurt their feelings calling 'em ugly. But in the second pic they realized it didn't matter and smiled.

Have you seen her office? Maybe that would help you have an idea what would work with it.

Alabama clay? You in Bama Carlson? and if so, what part? Like many have suggested to other people on here, Post your location on your profile, and you may be surprised at how many on here are close by.

Foot switch would probably be a good idea. I would suggest going ahead and stepping up to a 12 VDC power supply and putting in a varistat to control the amount of voltage going to the fan and therefor it's speed. That way you can adjust the airspeed with what I think would be more accuracy than the gate gives. Like Gleen has said, the amount of heat your fire creates is controlled by the amount of air not the amount of fuel, so if you step up the voltage and thereby the speed of the fan, it will increase your aitflow. Added to the footswitch idea, you could increase your heat AND reduce fuel consumption, because a higher heat means less time heating the metal. Less time heating = less fuel burned. I use coal in the brake drum forge I built. It burns so much more efficiently than charcoal imho, that it overbalances the cost difference. And I got my 2" black iron pipe and fittings from a fire sprinkler company, from their nfs scrap (Not fit to sell). They were too rusted and slightly pitted to be installed, but cleaned up just fine for my forge. I work for the company so they were free for me, but I'm sure they would either have given them free or charged a pittance even to someone else. ***TIP TO DIY FORGE BUILDERS*** Check with your local fire sprinkler service and installation companies for black iron pipe and fittings, they very likely may have some scrap pieces from repairs or such they can't use in a life safety installation, but that would work just fine for forge construction.

http://www.brooksequipment.com/Service_Equipment/Stamp_Holder_and_Stamps/Tool_Holder/HSH http://www.durable-tech.com/marking/stamp-holders/ Here are a couple sites for the stamp holders. Hope this helps.

They make punch holders. We use them in the shop when we hydro-test high pressure cylinders. They are usually plastic so you don't want them to touch the hot metal. I'll see if I can find a link.

You make me ill... Just kidding. In all honesty, your work inspires me. I really like this. It looks great.

@VaughnT: Thanks for explaining that. I'll remember that the next time I make a swage. Feel free to use the idea and probably even improve on it. Please post pics, maybe I'll see something I wanna steal, lol. @Phil: I did a test using a piece of scrap 1/2" round mild steel. As long as I stopped hammering before the sides mushroomed over the sides, it left a nice slightly rounded top. And any rough edge on the sides were easily planished out. As soon as my work schedule and the weather cooperate I plan to make my first set of tongs. I'll post pics.

That makes sense. But the only thing in this situation is that it is also a drawing die. So then, shouldn't it be narrower like a bottom fuller? (which is what the 4" rounded section is all by itself)

Ok... I've searched multiple search engines and can't find a way to contact Jim Keifer. I've found many mentions of him, but no contact methods... can someone help please?

I am going to have to see if I can get in touch with him and find out what he would charge to fix my Mousehole... if it's even possible.

My 150# Mousehole has a similar affliction. The faceplate is missing in that same area. I'm just making offset hardies for it, so that the downward force from using them is directed into the face over the body.

I got my tong hardy finished today. I don't have a power hammer, so I made a tool I know I can use. Here are some pictures of it. This shows the whole tool. It is forged from a piece of X80 steel that started at 3/4" x 1 1/8". It was a piece cut from gas-line pipe.(Don't worry, I didn't go cut into a gas line, it came from the scrap bin of a company that makes large diameter gas pipe. They gave me about 120# of scrap pieces that wide and long, most were 3/4" thick but I have a few 1/2" thick.) I started by straightening it (remember, it was a test piece cut from the side of a pipe, and so it had a slight curve to it). Then I forged about 2 1/2" of it down to just over 7/8" square to fit my hardy hole. I heated it to yellow and drove it into my hardy hole to make a good snug fit. Then I creased it about 2/3 of the way through just above the forged down part. I then reheated it, quenched the hardy insert part and hammered it over to lay flat on my anvil face. This left about a 6" long section to work with. I reheated that part to yellow and reinserted it into the hardy hole. Then I used an old wrench that's middle was the width I wanted my Tong handles to be and laid it flat atop the piece and hammered it down into the metal, tilting it to each side to create something of a fuller effect. Then I took a larger wrench, turned it on edge and centered it in the first depression then hammered it in as well, doing the fuller thing on it as well. I then quenched it and inserted it into my hardy hole. I took a piece of scrap 1/2" mild steel round and heated it to yellow (actually went to welding heat or a touch above, it was sparklering). Forged part of it down to about 3/8" round and reheated. Put it onto the shaping form and drew it out. It wasn't real pretty due to the tool not being finish ground or anything, but it worked as a proof of concept. Sorry I didn't take pictures of that. The batteries in my camera were dead. Now that I know the tool will work, I have finish ground the working surfaces, refined the shape a bit and ground a bottom fuller into the middle 4" of the tool. Figured make it multipurpose. The reason I used the 'L' shape for my hardy tool, is the missing faceplate on the back corner of my anvil's heel, I don't want to over-stress the heel, so I put the work-surface over the anvils sweet spot. P.S. Sorry for the fuzziness of the pictures, but I believe they show the shape of the tooling and all clear enough. Any comments, suggestions or critiques would be welcome.