civilwarblacksmith

By the way, these are really neat. How heavy are they for the tree?

Kind of like Pawnee1's caged marbles but you can heat these back up to put a finish on it.

Got another question before I try these. What type of finish did you put on it since the marble is already inside? Thanks

Beautiful knife Rich

What size marble are you using. A regular playing marble or the shooter.

fort............

A member of my guild by the name of Dick Smith demo'ed a bell using schedule 80 pipe. He fullered one end down to almost closed (leaving about an 1"- 1 1/2" at the top) but not all the way closed in order to put clanger in later. Using a hardy tool made from a small pick, he then would then get the pipe up to a high yellow and pein it on the pick. The reason for the pick is that they are stocky but you can fit the pipe on to them easily. He would cotinue this until he got the shape he wanted. When the bell shape was finished, he would fashion the clanger and what ever he was going to hang or hold the bell with. leave the rod being used for the hanger long and put a hook on the end to hold the clanger. Attach clanger and close hook on the hanger. Heat top of the bell and run the hanger rod through and close the top of the bell around the hanger. Heat the end of the hanger into a loop. Clean and add a finish.

It doesn't hurt to very lightly sand and add a light coat of linseed oil either.

With using Muratic acid, you should be able to neutralize with Windex or anything with ammonia.

They kind of look like bits from an air powered masonary drill.

I make strikers from coil spring and when finished quench in oil. Make sure the front striking area is smooth. I also make strikers from old files. These I quench in water. I don't have a problem with them breaking as there really is no stress on them. I also use 2 different type of stone. 1 is flint and the other is quartzite, which to me throws a better spark.

A full length tang that is in the shape of the handle desired. 2 slabs of wood roughly 2 - 2 1/4" wide and about 3/8" thick. Length will be just a little longer than handle. One trick also is to cut the excess material down near to the handle. It will be less you have to sand. Drill 2, 1/8" holes in handle. I would use a torch to temper the tang to a bluebird blue in order to get it soft for drilling. Make sure the pins, whether brass or steel fit the holes. You might need to sand them down a little or widen the holes. After holes are drilled in tang, put handle material on one side and clamp. Drill the hole through the handle material using the holes in the tang as placement guides. Do the same to the opposite side. Add adhesive to the tang. Then place the handle material on one side, run the pins through the tang and place handle material on the other side running the pins through it also. Clamp and let set up. After it has set up, you will be able to shape the handle.

Is the tang, a hidden tang or a full tang? That way we know which type of handle you are looking to put on.

I use 3 different fuels as of now. Coal; Coke; and propane. Might be using charcoal also.

Should have been able to pick more than one. My main shop uses coal, my home shop uses propane and coke.

That is neat. Never thought of needing anything like that, but might be just fun to play around with.

hello JW, great to have you here. When you get a chance go to the usercp at the top of the page and put in a location. Sometimes it helps in answering question if we know the area your in. Where about in Arkansas are ya. I lived in Blytheville (northeast corner under MO. boot heal) for 3 1/2 years. I was in the Air Force there.

Most harbor freight tools are cheap chinese junk. I'e had some things that broke quickly and have had some things that have done OK. At the time of buying this equipment it was all I could afford and at the same cheap enough that if I get a few years out of it, it will have paid for it self. Also if it breaks, it is cheap enough to replace.

I carry stuff in boxes, crates, tool box all stuffed into a 6 x 12 ft cargo trailer. Really need to downsize.

I weld it on the anvil face and just continually turn it as I hammer.

First you need to measure what size belt you will need. Take a string and wrap it around the flywheel to your blower and then back. If you have an adjustable flywheel to set the tension, make sure you put the flywheel where you want it. As for belts, they can be leather or the material used for machinery drive belts that ran off of tractors. You might get lucky and it could be a standard waist belt size. Punch some holes into the ends and sew together or get a belt lacer. With a belt lacer it will put a metal lacing on both ends and is then put together and locked into place with a metal pin or wire.

If the forge is at least 1/4'' or more and you are not using it dayin and dayout 8hrs + each day, don't worry about lining it. just don't throw alot of water into it if you water down your coal. Put holes in the side of the can for sprinkling the water on to the coals. I have 3 different portable forges. 2 are cast and the other one has a steel bottom that I put in. The one that now has the steel plate was lined because it had a 14 gauge (1/16'') metal bottom in it. I will run it for 3 days at a re-enactment for about 10 hrs each day with no problem.

Here are some knives I finished this weekend and today. Pic#1: This is the knife made from the ditchwitch tooth. It has a sambar stag handle with hand made brass guard and butt cap. The blade is 5 1/2" and the handle is 4 1/4" Pic#2: This knife was made from a lawn mower blade (5160). Handle is buffalo horn. The blade is 5" and the handle is 4 1/2" long. Pic#3: This is a knife made from 1095 with oak handle. It has a hand made guard and screwed on butt cap. Blade is 6" and handle is about 5". Pic#4: This one was a better attempt at a rail road knife. The handle was flattened out to be able to put on wooden scales. The handle is purple heart and about 4" long. the blade is 7 3/8". Question is, What do I put on the buffalo horn and the purple heart to put a finish on it? Also does the stag handle need any kind of protectant on it?

Ok, finally finished the ditchwitch knife. It turned out fairly nice for being the second knife fully completed. The blade is 5 1/2" and the handle is 4 1/4" with sambar stag handle. Handmade brass guard and buttplate that was piened on. Is there anything I should put on the handle?

That's a really nice knife. I have one made from a motorcycle chain.