toolish

Looks like a nice little chopper to get the fire going.

Was thinking about adding the spike on the other end of an axe, But i really couldn't think of a time that I would use it, A hammer head side i could see me using though.

Although I will give you that the spike does look cooler B)

The blade looks awesome and the handle is awesome As long as it actually cuts something I dont know if your going to get that much better at that style/design of knife.

One thing you could play around with could be the handle shape. From the looks of it you have picked a ambidextrous handle, some of the higher end commercial blades come in left and right handed knives using a D shaped handle. They are meant to be more comfortable for cooking applications, not a handle shape one would use for a normal knife handle. 

Think that would be the only suggestion to your work I could give, just a different design idea really (you may have already done this type of handle for all I know)

Keep them coming, love to have one of them in my kitchen

I don't know what type of steel they use in pickaxes but it holds a very fine edge,it is forged from one single piece of steel no bit welded.

These are the only pictures that I have,as I said i gave it away to a friend,in future projects I will take pictures of the forging process and closeups of the finished product.

sounds good to me, keep the pics coming, everyone likes pictures lol

So are you saying the stock you made the axe out of came from a pick axe?

Looks like a nice chopper, what steel did you use for it?

All just one bit of steel or did you add a different steel for the axe bit???

Looks like it should handle some medium chopping tasks, Needs some more close ups of the good the good stuff, the steel!

I love this, do you mind is I copy this design?

Thats why I put it up here, Its a give and take relationship on this site ;-)

thinking of adding a ash dump valve at the end of the pipe and bigger air holes to help the ash drop through into the pipe.

Very nice work mate, Those things would sell like hot cakes at any kind of wine convention, would would get a good price for them too.

Guess you could always make another type where it comes out of the ground like a vine would giving you a nice base for it.

Very nice work either way, keep them coming.

I'll try to set up some shadow and get a dark bucket :)

Wait and see how long it takes you to melt a hole in the bucket with a hot bit of metal, which will annoy you to tears lol

Interesting read, wonder what will happen with it, Be an awesome place for smiths to meet up and pound away on some steel together. Being in Sydney one could really make it the "blacksmithing hub of NSW" Great facility be a shame to have it locked away behind glass.

best of a knife blade there mate, Nice lines on it and fantastic handle, really like the wood used.

Been fiddling around with this variable length forge for some time,

Since the pictures I have increased the size of the holes and removed the galvanization from them. Been going well, but now found after a few hours forging the ash starts to build up in between the coke and seem to cool the fire slowly. Thinking I might make even bigger holes and an ash dump valve at the end of the regulating pipe to solve this issue.

Used some heat bricks to cut down on forge size and help with maintaining heat. Due to length of forge it makes heating long projects really easy, no crazy balancing games required.

No flue on it as I am outside and dont find my forge gives off much smoke anyways.

Enjoy, very open to criticism as I am trying something new out and would love to improve on my design.  

Think you have to work on some sort of sun shade for your fire. Just need to find a way of casting shadow on you forge, thousand different ways you could do it, depends on your set up. You may also need to get the sun out of your eyes as well to make it easier for you to watch the forge.

There is a reason why historically the blacksmith was always in a dark and gloomy looking shanty on the outskirts of town.

Nice Ill try and get the day off and make it up to your place, not too far from me which is nice.

See what projects everyone is up to. Guessing it will be similar people then the forging in july event, assuming blacksmithing is a reasonably tight circle of people, especially the employed ones.

I think I read somewhere that it was planned for the 10th of August, good to hear that no one has asked you about it though lol

You guys earned it, even after your demo (which looked like a work out) you and Moony kept on working away at other side projects, which seem to be holding a crowed as well (Held my attention for most of Sunday).

I think the side work that you guys were doing while the main project was going on really added depth to the event and allowed people to see the range of blacksmithing.

Thanks

Yep was a good event enjoyed watching phil and moony working away. Good on you phil for giving that young guy the hot cut you made. Sure he will be hooked now. Waiting for the next hammer in coming up now.

you can really see how your handle work is progressing from these knives, Looking really nice mate.

Really depends how busted up we are talking, any sharpish bits left at all?

Is the main face flat or at least large divot free?

If it was me I would sand back the edge just a little to take away the extremes in the damage then work with the damage, different radius comes in handy, If you need a sharp edge for something, make a hardy tool.

Cost and size or the anvil would be a factor as well, hard with you not being able to post pics of it anymore.

Mate at your age I would really be looking to find another smith who is near by to try and learn from as (speaking from experience) teaching your self with limited resources and tools is very demolishing and you will most likely just pack it in.

As for an anvil, Go down to your local scrap yard (bring a family member) and see if you can find a lump of random solid metal to use as an anvil, even a sledge hammer head will be ok for starting with.

The scrappy will be the best and at your age they most likely wont charge you  or at least not much, also give you a starting point to obtain materials for forging later on.

Good luck hunting

Been working on it for a while and was hunting down parts for it for a fair time. Managed to salvage the 2 wheels from a scraped belt  sander, made the shaft out of a bit of bar and added 2 bearings I found to it.

The welding is rather crude as it was my first welding project (they seem to hold) and first welder I have used.

Just needing to attach the platter thing to the tool and I have since added a stick off my lemon tree to provide tension for the motor and the main spindle.

Over all I am happy with it seem to have enough power to bite into material. Waiting for the ZIrconia belts to arrive to get into some metal grinding.

.

Open to criticism on all fronts of this project, I know it is not fantastic or good looking, but at this stage it is functional and cost me peanuts, If I only found a scrapped trampoline it would have cost me $0 to build. 

 

Here is a video as everyone loves videos:

Yeah most people dont go too well with phone inquiry as it is usually the female secretary who you are talking to that doesnt really leave the office and dont touch the steel.

Head on down with some sturdy clothes and ask if you can have a wander around, wait for a good time (usually the middle of the day) and strike up a conversation about what you are doing and what you are looking for.

It can be a bit hit or miss though I usually walk away with something (scored some 2lb bearings for nothing last run  i did) 

Well were they "bursty sparks" or just sparks?  Compare to grinding on a scrap file.

always like peoples attempt at trying to explain something that really is a visual thing with suck minor differences that it is very difficult to get across.

I would say the main people that would get the description are people who already know the spark test. Really a trial and error adventure with a smith a stack of steel (known steels help) and a grinder.

I usually hit up the scrappy, the mechanic or just the side of the road piles.
You get lucky now and then

That "anvil" looks like a  giant bell to me, Think your ears will kill you for using that.

For the price though I would keep looking, doesnt look like it has much mass either, only really be good for small jobs like arrow heads or something.

I'll give you the number of a guy to call, he's the leading hand on the 40cwt, Mr Starling. That way you can at least get a foot in the door without having to talk to the idiots in the office.  I'll PM it to you.

Thanks for that mate, be handy to touch base with the local smith for many reasons

Haha office folk lol I love randomly calls to people, Thinking it is best to call a head so I know when it is a good time to come down or knowing my luck Ill turn up on tools down day or packaging up products in boxes day lol

Blacksmiths in Gosford, look up CGC Kymon, they are blacksmiths, as far as I know they have the only 2 ton (yes 2 ton) massey hammer in Aust, and thats as big as massey clear space go.

Do any smiths working there come on here at all?
Might try and give them a call and see if they like visitors. From the outside of their building you would not know what they do. Be handy if they let me play only 2 min down the road

Thanks for the offer Toolish, sounds great! But why aren't you going to the dinner?

Mate I would be doing the dinner but the misses has me going to a party that night down in cronulla so ill have to skip it.

I am sure there will be enough time over the 2 days to network and spin a yarn with people.

Looks like a lot of Sydney locals are starting to come out of the wood work on this one, who knows I may even find another smith on the Central coast lol

Seems like there is a few in Newcastle which is only an hour from me which is nice, hoping to try and find some time to pop up to your shop Forgemaster and see how the professionals are doing it, just got to workout my family life a bit lol.

Looking forward to this event and meeting some people