Jim Coke

Greetings Jcornell, Just make up some aluminum vice jaws to fit your vice. You will find that it will hold your stock much tighter on the smooth surface on your worn post vice. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Csinesi, Great anvil made for Centaur forge by Kohlswa in Sweden., I have one that is like new and would not sell it for anything under 1k.. They are hard to find now days, What is the asking price? Forge on and make beautiful things Jim BTW. It should weigh 135

Greetings John, Just put a rubber mat under it .. I use thick rubber that is for horse stalls. It will work just fine and won't skid on the concrete. Enjoy your new vise. Forge in and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings 1776, Like Thomas said I am for a thin repair plate with epoxy or JB. It will last forever.. Most cast like that is very porous and I sure would not heat it to brazing temperatures. Just this ol boys 2c Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Cedarghost, Big springs make great anvil tools for cupping and dishing.. That much less to unwind. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Mark, Super nice work and a great display. Its no wonder you did well with your sales your work is over the top . And a bladesmith too.. Keep this up and you will qualify for the youngest curmudgeon. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Camerican, Looks like you have built yourself a great little forge that will serve you well for many years. Now comes the curmudgeon . I would work on hammer control and try to keep your thumb off the top of your hammer handle. You will find that after continuous forging you will do damage to your hand..Just an old boys 2c. Keep up the great work. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Seldom, I have been using the old wheel style hanger for years. I decided to convert it to a hammer rack and come up with a rack for my most used tongs. I found a large diameter steel tube , welded a few 1/2 in round bars across the center . Both work very well. I have another rack behind those two for less used tongs and hammers. Ahh the good old wheel has many possibilities.. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Das/Papy. Just thought I would give you a suggestion on how I made the internal hex . I call it the Blacksmith broach. 1st. Drill a 7/32 hole in the repurposed welding hammer or the 5/8 bolt about 1/2 deep.. 2nd heat the end and drive a scrap bit into the whole with some anti-seeze lube 3rd Remove the bit ... reheat to yellow and reinstall the bit.. Quickly reform the tool around the bit... You now have an internal hex blacksmith broach.. I also weld a rounded top on the welding hammer and crown the top.. Just a little grinding to the bolt top works well.. I have tried several ways to hold the bit into the tool and found that a rubber band works best. Handy little set up. Have fun Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Das, Congratulations on a wise investment. It will serve you well. If we do not see a lot of post for the next few weeks we will know what you are doing. Buying good equipment does not cost... It pays.. Forge/ weld on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Vaugn/Frosty No trump card intended... I have been at it a tad longer than most and just try to pass on ideas . For small detail chisels and drifts I made up these tools that use old or new screw driver bits . Most are already hard and only require a small amount of grinding. Saves a lot of storage space and is convient at the treadle hammer., Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Vaughn, You can never have to many places to store chisels and drifts. I hate it when I can't find the just right one.. I have several other places drawers slots ect.. I try to set them up for frequency of use.. Your idea is great next will be 4 more just like it. Keep up the great work.. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Avadon, I would suggest clamping your tube stock in the T form to a flat plate first. Pre-heat the area to be welded evenly. If you have a MIG welder tack weld the sides first alternating for even heat . I would than tack the center of the T than remove the clamps and do the same on the bottom .. Check for square than pre-heat the area again and finish TIG welding the joints starting at the center of the joint evenly . Maybe John M will chime in with some suggestions I'm sure he has been there before . I wish you well in your project. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Joel, Just a thought, Repairing older iron and adding new iron into the mix is going to be a problem expecially when you are going to build a match right next to it from newer iron. I would suggest using the gate as a pattern and just build a matching pair. I have done a lot of conservative work and always brought to the table with the customer what will the project look like 50 years from now.. Just this ol boys 2c. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Todd is best.., LOL Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Frosty, Another picture.. They even made a smaller version for camping. I have one and the main difference is there is no ash dump. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Stockmaker, There is more than one way to skin a cat... Bend open the spring fuller , dress the radius , install round blanks in the fuller , close in the vise, For alignment just heat the spring cherry red and it should align the dies after it cools . This method has worked well for me in the past . I'm spoiled now and make all my tennions on the fly press with a butcher and flat dies. Good luck on your project. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Bernieb, Bending thin wall tubing 90 or 45 degrees cold or hot will for sure add to your scrap pile.. I would suggest notching grind bevel and weld the three sides with a MIG welder... The welds will clean up and the outside corners will have a smooth radius. Just this ol boys 2c who has been there before. Good luck with your project. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Sargos, It could be a HB .. Take a picture of the bottom and check for serial numbers at the base. The Frog man will chime in if you have that info., Nice find.. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings All, Making your tools unique and putting your touch mark on them is s great idea but it would take a year just to chase all mine down... Speeking of unique, I don't have a picture but Dan Boon made a slick adjustable twisting wrench with a dragon nose end .. Super cool. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Derek, Treadle hammers are great tools and you have found a jewel. I have 3 and tons of tooling. Just a little advice. Take the time and make hand held tooling first rather than dies. A larger table with an off set hardy hole works well for holding spring swage tools. It will be your go to to tool Have fun. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Greetings Mike, i only have a few on my cell phone. The shop....My friend Jim at the forge and the famous Black Frog and AJ thumping iron... Forge on and make beautiful things Jim m

Greetings Asma, Research floats that are used in the food processing industry and boilers. I have a few that are stainless but not all shined up. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim

Yep you did real well.. a class act

Greetings Judson, Beautiful work.. I might suggest rather than a wrap around hook design the same hook a little longer fixed to a position with a rivet with some embellishment to the face . This IMHO would complement your center element.. Again well done. Forge on and make beautiful things Jim