dablacksmith

its for the nasty Wabit in Monty pythons holy grail ! actually not bad lookin for a fantasy blade I've seen a lot worse....

well i recently picked up this(the rv ) and will be using it this summer to travel to my shows. it will tow my 18 ft inclosed trailer...motorcycle goes into the trailer.

i have 3 swage blocks and i do use them but not all the time . I use them mostly for dishing (ladles spoons ect...) and occasionally the curved sections (for curved chisels) they are handy but not required . If you find a deal on one buy it if not then I would wait and make hearty tools that do the same job instead .

nice lookin tumbler ! how fast is it?

nice group of knives ! what kind of price range do you sell those at?

looks like it should work ! i didnt like how it wobbeled as you pulled on the pole ... would probably change the legs ( been thru this on my third handmade portable bellows forge). how do you like the side blast forge ? i tried one and went back to a bottom draft but have talked to others who seem to like side drafts for theyre permanent forge...looks real portable !

well there is a reason most people that are serious about blacksmithing have a power hammer... it speeds up the work without replacing skill...now having said that (and yes i have a power hammer) most of my products are made without one . you can make a lot of items without even bigger items if you are willing to spend the time. selling those items and getting paid for your time is a different story...as far as products how about flowers? pot racks?hooks and hangars of many styles and shapes...candle holders ect.. lots of items to make and sell ...

not sure if this is the same stuff but these guys have belting http://www.hitnmiss.com/25a.html ...

actual chrome bolts are not a good idea to try to forge..cad plate can be removed by vinegar or acid (outdoors lots of venelation) that is what i would reccomend...

these guys are a little cheaper...http://www.crazycrow.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=842-900-000

what i have found is hand cranked drill presses dont go for much ... 150.00 is about max for what they sell for at least where i have been ... ive seen them for sale for more but..... there is one on the local craigs list that has been for sale on and off for 4 years at 300.00 ...still for sale... the hand crank drill presses were at one time fairly popular but nowadays electric drill presses are readily available fairly cheap so not a lot of call for the old hand crank version...

a lot of different acids will work even some fairly mild ones tho getting the depth and color you want is a trial and error prosess... as far as a damascus shotgun goes i would go lightly on the etch ... you dont want it to weaken the barrel ...good luck!

oak isnt the best for handles ... ash or hickory would work better also check your hammer eyes and make sure they have a nice flair and are not sharp where handle inters head... other than that i make my own handles all the time..some fruit woods also make good handles also..

larry sounds like you need to find a cylinder .... and with the plate i would go ahead and make the c frame ... if you need a more stable platform of the h frame then you can use the bigger press...you can pickup a cylender for around 600.00 from surplus center or ck the local area for sumthing used... good luck!!!

ya i agree looks like its for round stock or pipe .....ide make a pin and use um...

i do not believe there are any requirements to run a forge in oregon... it is NOT the same as a fireplace .. having said that a lot of smiths use propane for commercial forging.. where in oregon are you looking at ? you might contact some of the guys in the nwba...

i like the patterns ! how do you get the top pattern? nice lookin blades!

experience is king on this kind of decisions but most of the time 1/4 stock is a bit small .. it really depends on dezign tho ... shapes make a big difference and things that help are trianlulation and box shapes ... if your looking at traditional dezigns you can get a start from places like kings architectural metals.. but nothing beats experience ...

also with steel there are cold rolled and hot rolled generally hot rolled is cheaper . and with sheet you have a shiny finish option which costs more...i also travel to other states and prices are all over the place...

ya the biggest trade secret is........ get it hot and hit it! it all comes down to that.....

when you end up with 1/8 it gets tough ... i hope your charging extra... i end up with a small tongs/long pliers but even its hard to hold...ide try to do as much as you can cold ... with 1/8 its fairly easy to bend .good luck!

i stay away from welded product mostly because of the fact there are a lot more welders out there than blacksmiths...so if a product i make is mostly welded then someone out there can produce it cheaper / easyer than i can...having said that a welder is a tool that really helps ! there are some items i sell that have a few welds but mostly i use it for tools! dont know about using one at a demo tho ... kinda like doing a demo on sheet metal bending /fabing .. or on cnc plasma cutting...its useful but not really a part of blacksmithing...tho a lot of modern blacksmiths are working with cnc cutout blanks...welding for blacksmiths might be a good course for a community college ....

were all DOOOMMMMEEEEEDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i would go with some type of casting method ... less possability of damage to the threads and it is a proven way to do things if it is not on a vice i would use a lead or tin and cast it on the threads (with a suitable releaseing agent) if it requires more strength i would go lost wax pattern and cast in bronze but allow for shrinkage .. good luck! forging a piece to use as a nut would be hard unless you have a extra threaded rod then you could use a piece as a top die and use a swage block c shape as bottom die hammer it down into your piece .. make two half pieces and weld um together ... it will mess up the piece used as a die tho..

nice looking gate good job!