Doug C

So what is the best fire for practicing a weld: a beehive, a deep open bed, or does it really matter. I am using a rivet forge if that makes a difference.

Could you explain a little more on that... By the way, I just got your book in the mail this weekend. Well done. I can see it is back to the basics for me. Practice, practice, practice..

John, I have never seen the ridges on the handle for adjusting a slider. Great idea. That will be on the next forge. Thanks.

Larry, looks good. Isn't it the variation in all our stuff that makes this so interesting?

Scratch, I'll try to explain it in words. Take a piece of square stock and using a cold chisel cut a line down the center of each face. Make the line 3 inches log for this exercise. Put the stock in your vice with one of the four corners facing up. Use a hacksaw to make a cut every 1/4 inch connecting the two visible lines you chiseled. Now turn the stock 180 degrees and repeat the process. Take a good heat in the area of the stock you just worked on and twist away. 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn makes a nice graceful stack of cubes. More or less twisting to suit your taste.

Really nice job. I agree with ironrosefarms, it is nice to see this variation. Also like the way the stem was formed to make this a stand alone piece.

Great weld. seven inches is one long weld. I typically have only done 2-4 inch welds. Congrats.

Mike, Thanks for doing this. This should make all of us think about what we can do to foster interest and dedication to the craft by younger folk.

A smith I know has a tool the was formed by clamping two pieces of 1/2 inch stock together and drilling 3-4 different size holes next to each other along the seam (3/8, 5/16,1/4, 3/16). Then he made a mount for the hardy hole with the bottom piece fixed at a 90 degree to the hardy insert and the second piece mounted above the first so that it pivoted above the first piece at the hardy end (think about opening and closing your fingers like a pair of scissors). Take a heat abd use a hardy or chisel to get the shoulder started, hammer the stock out to about 3/8 diameter, anther heat then stick it in the first set of holes and hit the the top bar turning 90 degrees with each strike. When it fits that hole nicely, take another heat and repeat the process in the next smallest hole etc. Once you are down to the size tenon you want cut to length and dress with the monkey tool. Hope that makes sense.

Frosty,Thanks for the input. These guys were so excited to have a working smith on site that I may be in a better negotiating position than I thought. I will need to get some cards made up. Don't have any yet because I never thought of this as having business potential, especially since I am relatively new to it smithing.

Now that we have all seen / heard of so many shapes of benders any tips on usage? When I use the piece of 1/2 inch round bent in a U shape then placed in the vice I set it low so only a 1/2 inch or so sticks out of the vice jaws. This helps me keep from tilting the work piece up or down and makes for less dressing of the piece afterwords.

Just did a demo Saturday and made simple gate handles. A leaf on each end with a twisted bar between. Lots of interest from folks on that one.

Well I did my first demo on Saturday at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH. I was nervous as can be but soon got over that and spent seven hours forging for groups of between 2-30 people. I was so excited my wife had to make me take a lunch break at about 2:00. It was especially fun talking with the kids. They were pretty excited to see something new and to walk away with a trinket. As it is a museum they did not want me to sell while workings as an 'interpreter' but I worked out a deal with them that in the spring they will sell my stuff in their gift shop. I Guess I will be busy building inventory this winter.

Nice looking axe. Did you pre drill the ends of the slit before slitting and drifting or was it free hand?

Aeneas, I like the second forks handle. I would not have thought of wrapping a rat tail around a twist like that. Very nice.

BORE ~ That new drill bit bore quite a hole in that steel, didn't it?

Of the kids on this site hammerkid and m_brothers both stand out. Can the gift be split? Is one more deserving than the other? I don't know but I can say they both seem to have the right spirit, are curious, helpful, humble. Yours to judge, your profile shows you have the skills to do so. Like so much in life this is not black and white.

Nice job. I'ld look for more rusty pipe

I too can relate to the low sugar problem, been type I for 20 years. I keep a supply of granola bars near by when I am at the forge. Many times I am having so much fun I forget to eat and check the BG. Next thing I know I am low.

Tom, Looks nice and I bet the Forge Hound keeps it and your tools pretty safe.

I have always heard that the upper hole lets the hot gasses and small scale escape gracefully. You can always feel when you have bottomed out. Another thought on the usage of a monkey tool. I was taught to give it a 90 degree twist after each strike to prevent it from getting stuck on the tenon. The one time I didn't the tool got stuck.

My wife is always finding new experiences for me to try. She gives me classes for Christmas. One year was two days with a cooper at Stawberry Banke in Portsmouth, NH, drawing lessons, painting lesson then last December it was 5 lessons with Carl West at Prospect Hill Forge in Waltham, Ma. We made S-Hooks and I was hooked. A guy I worked with sold me his grandfather's rivet forge and a small swaybacked anvil and I have scoured Flea Markets and Craigslist pulling together a 150# anvil, a swage block, vise and some hand tools. Lucky for me my wife, Deb, encourages me to spend time doing this thing I love.

I stumbled on this flea market browsing random web sites. It is probably 2 acres a hundred stalls, maybe more. Same day I also got two timber framing adz, for the barn project, for $15. Also saw at the flea two Peter Wrights Anvils but they were asking collector prices for those. A number of other smithing tools like flatters, swage tops and a bickern where also on display.

Some old coal furnace rakes and various drill bits from a local quarry. The tall piece is 5.5 feet tall and 1.55 inches in diameter and cost $3. I am hoping it will make a few hammers. flea market find - Blacksmith Photo Gallery