Doug C

The old catalogs would show a straight peen for use by coopers, maybe for driving the hoops on?? I've never used a straight peen or diagonal peen for anything. Presently, my most used hammer is a 2

Very fine sand was used on wrought iron. I am not sure if it would work on modern steel. Anyone ever try this?

In 1901 there probably were no setbacks specified as zoning laws as we know them did not exist. I did a quick search on google books ( a great source for old books on the trades) and there was nothing obvious printed about installation practices except flue requirements.

For the course at the New England school of Metalworking you need to factor in the cost of travel, lodging and food. So your $400 may become $700-800 pretty quick. Also remember that the cost of running school close to Boston is going to be higher and the school you went to only has 4 people at a time where the one in Maine has more than that so the one on one time with the instructor may be less. I have been to the same school you have and found that the information learned is worth the price it costs. That school offers a series of classes that take you from ground zero to a very broad technical understanding.

It all boils down to what you think it is worth. In the spring come and join the New England Blacksmiths. We have a facility in Brentwood, NH that is open the last Saturday of the month (March through November) where there are a lot of guys willing to help you out and share knowledge. $20 / Year and $10 per Saturday. Price includes materials.

Have an old rivet forge and am in the process of making a larger forge with angle iron and 1/8 inch plate. Learning to MIG weld as part of the project. Got to than Cory at New England Blacksmiths for helping me out so much.

I have the same issue. Next time I am moving the anvil closer to the fire in hopes I'll lose less heat.

Nope. A grub hoe is a flat bladed tool. The blade looks to be about 6 inches long.

I'm blown away. Great job. Now I have to get the book and see what else I can't do yet.

Frank,
Nice explanation. This is exactly as I was taught. I have a few old drop rings from some yokes and a couple from an old barn and they are all left a little thicker at the weld.

As Rich pointed out if it won't stick in the fire it won't stick outside of it. Are you sure you are getting the fire / steel hot enough?

Nice work. I would love to see pics once the copper has a patina.

The New England School of Metalwork is selling wrought iron on their site. Dimensions are 1.5 inch round (6lb per foot) and 1.75 inch round(8lb per foot). They are selling for $3.65/lb. Extra charge for forging to some other dimension. They claim to have sold several ton already. So you may be able to do better for your friend by holding it selling it as wrought than you would get at the junk yard.

Nice looking work. Won't the copper / steel pieces corrode faster because of mixed metals. I like the way it accents the hinge

Doug,
I always err on the side of caution but in this case the real question is: will the galvi-pipe get heated to the point where the heavy metals will gas off. I would bet that if the flame is periodically hitting it you will not have enough sustained heat to cause a problem. Also it is a flue so in the odd event some did gas off they would likely go up the flue and only take out any bird or squirrel that happened to be in the nearby trees.
Doug

I use them to hang on tree branches to help shape the tree.

Man, I wish scout camp was like that when I was a kid. I could have started smithin 35 years sooner!!! They are one lucky bunch of kids.

Ramachandran,
do you know the actual type of steel? If you do there are plenty of resources on the web to tell you how to quench / heat treat a particular grade / alloy of steel. I agree with Dave that you may be getting the steel too hot. Also you may want to heat the back of the blade and let the colors run to the edge rather than heating the whole blade.
Good luck

As Mark Aspery has pointed out in the past and I have tried and successfully done, you do not need to build a bee hive. A good clean deep open fire will do the trick nicely. Also I have found that heating the pieces slowly so they are uniformly hot then bring to a welding heat seems to do nicely. I have started making a chain out of 3/8's round cut into 8 inch lengths and all but one link has been done in an open fire. The one time I could not get the weld to stick I had a big clinker in the belly of the fire. I removed it and all went well after that.

Also, Frosty hit it on the head: use a light touch when sticking the weld. I normally use a three pound hammer for forging. I use a 12 ounce ball peen for sticking the weld. Not that I have to but I am too much of an oaf to control the heavy hammer when welding. I just get too excited at the site of steel at a welding heat!

Truly a work of art. That would bring a smile to anyone's face. Your cousin is in my thoughts.

I keep a lot of coke from the prior fire so that when I get the new fire going it does not smoke as much. Add the green coal around the outside of the fire or at the bottom of the fire (I have seen a few smiths do this locally). Once I have a good fire going smoke never seems to be an issue.

Do a search on Google books for metal work, blacksmithing etc. Lot's of good resources there as well

Why do you need it to look 500 years old? When it was made it did not have rust and pitting etc. The smiths probably tried to give it a nice smooth surface to show their proficiency. Yours too will gain that look after many, many years. If you have to have that pitted look I mitch see if there is a way to etch some sort if pitted look.

Great article. Thanks for the info. This explains why some of the hooks I have made for the shed have split the 2X4's.

Tke a look here at the Handymans's essential book on google for a litle info on the topic.

In short it says put a point on them and make it wedge shaped in all directions for maximum holding power unless there is a real danger of splitting. Also barbs on a nail decrease strength by 30+%.

As for shape look here at the Tremont nail catalog for cut nails and you will see many shapes and almost all of them are tapered and almost all have a blunted tip.