dablacksmith

clinker breaker is a type of grate that can be manipulated by the smith to break up clinkers and cause them to fall down the grate and out of the fire .. it is usually a ball shape with 3 sides sliced off it and a shaft thru the middle that can be moved to break up clinkers they are not a end all as far as clinkers ... they will let you sometimes finish a weld before tearing apart the fire to get the clinkers out tho.. they are a feature in most comercial firepots ... I tried side draft in my portable forge and went back to bottom draft ... sode draft seemed to take a lot more fiddleing with the fire to keep it working properly.. it worked just a lot more work .. good luck!

Ime too buisy getting my rv fixed up ... have to be on the road in 2 weeks and it still needs lots of tlc ..but the top is completely rebuilt and sealed and the carpet is gone and laminate wood floors installed so its getting there ...cant wait to be on the road and selling!! for me everyday is blacksmiths day!!

I get the "my dad was a blacksmith" all the time I decided that it is a way for people to talk to me so I ask where did he smith? what type of stuff did he make/repair? do you still have his tools?does anyone in the family have any interest in smithing? it is a way for people to interact with you ... And it may or may not generate sales but it has a better chance... as far as croud control i use a rope at about 30 inches high ya the kids can go under but they will anyway... and they(and theyre parents) know it is there for a reason .other than that keep your eyes open the fire draws people like moths to the flame! and remember that the job of a demo is to talk to people ! any forgeing you get done is iceing on the cake! i try to keep anything I make simple (long projects people wont stick around to see)nails and hooks and a occisonal anamal head (for the OOH factor) willkeep um interested.. the crowds are more interested in seeing hot steel than what it will become (tho they always ask) ..Ime about 2 weeks from hitting the road (getting the rv setup) and cant wait!

good start now get hammering!!

check with the canadian blacksmith association I know they had a gettogether in bc ...I know a few of the north west blacksmith association members are canadian. They are around it is always a matter of how much you are willing to pay...Good luck!

I almost always go the small wood fire route ... and sometimes i go a big campfire route! when I am at a rondezvous a use the most ancient method..... get coals from someones campfire!!! it is the easyest ! I use coke a lot and that takes a good fire to get it going ...once lit i has good heat tho and almost no smoke ! good luck!

anvil all the way ... blowers are available and a lot cheaper than anvils... ive got a champion 400 that ime restoreing (bearings dead) that was given to me ... ask around your local area and friends /relatives you will be suprised sometimes...

ya the problem with hi carbon forge welding is overheating... it tends to crumble if you get it too hot that is why it us usually sanwiched between mild steel (it was also done when hi carbon steel was REALLY expencive) the mild welds at a higher temp but is a lot more forgiveing of overheating... good luck!

for flux get some borax .. it is in the grocery store with the clothes washing soap dont get boraxo soap get the borax laundry additive ...and be real careful on the heat if you get it too hot it burns too cold no stick .. but heat it too fast and theoutside burns and it still dosnt stick....If you were closer ide show ya how I do it but its tough to show with pictures ... Good luck!

that looks like a tougher forge weld than the ones made of mild steel with insert..its possable to forge weld them tho and they should be good when done!

i wouldnt use a torch to heat ... hard to get even all along blade ... what type of forge are you useing?if you are useing a propane forge try putting a piece of pipe that the blade will fit in in the forge ( a knife maker friend taught me this trick) the pipe heats up and heats the blade but without the direct blast from the forge hitting the blade ... gives a more even heat with less scaleing ... as far as the edge quench that us a good idea... and that will give you your hardened edge and soft back ... you might also try oil instead of water . all the edge cracks i have ever had on knives have been because of water hardening.. I now use vegtable oil or crisco (the crisco hardenes back up for transport)...good luck!

Bueatiful!! I really like your knifes the attention to detail is fantastic!! good job !

Its gona be the first year for the oregon state fair but m 5th or 6 year for the washington state fair at puyallup... its gona be over a month of fairs 11 days for the oregon and 17 days for the washington... I really injoy the washington state fair as it is a co op . we have from 5-8 blacksmiths every year working together! so i get to hang out with other blacksmiths see them demo and learn from them for over 2 weeks! and the weekend after there is the nwba fall conference ... then home! I find i sell more if i am demoing rather than just selling (ringing anvil sells!) and some places will pay you to demo! I used to have a show that paid me to demo but required a percentage of sales ... it usually ended up a wash but it kept everybody happy! injoy your show!

yo have the problem everyone who does shows has ... will they pay? Ive done shows that were hiped and real expencive (1000+ for 10x10 ) and shows that were 20 bucks ane they are always a crap shoot! all ya can do is give it your best and injoy!! try not to worry about the money and be nice ! Good luck! and let us know how ya did! ime gettin ready for my season on the road so i do uncerstand the worry (gas is gona eat a hole in my budget) I am doing to major rondesvous and 2 state fairs (oregon then washington) and probably a few other shows in there also... again good luck!

you might try the old way of doing a tommahawk and go mild steel with a hi carbon insert...it is a easyer weld and less chance of completely decarburizeing the steel. wrap for eye put a piece of steel in between the two halves of mild (in middle of the U) it protects the steel from overheating and the steel welds at lower temp than mild ... good luck!

here us the hammer standing upright fixed up and with line shaft built ready to go... will order a flat belt next week and be able to use it soon I hope!

I prefer not to line my forges... i used to line them and found it made a mess and wasnt nessary.. clinkers stick to the fireclay and make it hard to work with ...injoy!

ya i saw his video and it looks good... i built a air hammer but it cycled to slow for me ... also didnt like running the compressor all the time .i will eventually fix it with those controls or sell it...My shop has a power hammer now so not as interested in it...tho the air hammer has bonuses to its dezign ..

ive always been frugal... i use scrap when posable . its amazeing what you can do with the old (non electric) tools ... my shop at the museum dosnt have much as far as power (one 4 plug outlet 20 amps max)so everything ive got there is hand crank... it is going to be interesting to see if i can run the 1/2 hp motor for trip hammer (and if that will be enuf!) .its going to kill me to buy gas this summer when i hit the road (i do shows all summer to get out of the heat of arizona) cant think of any other cost saveings i can do...

WOW!! what a inpressive collection!

coke is coal that has the volatiles burned off (like charcoaling wood) you can usually buy it, sometimes at the same place you buy coal ... if you want to coke up some coal you can do a little in a forge ( its the coal after it quits somkeing but before its burned up) it usually is harder to start and requires more air but burns cleaner..you are much closer to coal country so it should be easyier to get ... good luck!

nope none of my shops are big enuf ive got a 15x15 building at the museum (too small not enuf display space). ive got a shop at home with a 12x12 building and a 10 ft awning attached and stuff all over in the open...and my portable shop is in my 18 ft inclosed trailer (home made) .the only one that is big enuf is the portable ...mostly cause anything bigger is to much to setup(18 ft sq marquee tent ) ... but i am a firm believer in you expand to fit any shop space you setup...