Dan C

It's currently on sale, as w/ any HF item save the receipt, you have 90 days in which to bring it back. I'm going to pickup a set at lunchtime today and make a touchmark with them. Would it be worth the effort to case harden the stamps using the method outlined here? http://www.ehow.com/how_4558811_case-harden-steel.html

There's a lot of great reading material on this site. Not all of it coincides, more than one way to skin a cat(fish) and dependent on the type of steel you're using. Have you read the Richard Hanson Knife Making post? I'd been struggling with getting holes drilled in an old file which was annealed by heating to non-magnetic and smothering in ashes. Fortunately I saw somewhere on this site the suggestion to rub chalk on the area before drilling which worked.

Have you reviewed this thread yet regarding forges? If not I'd recommend it. As already said, heavier legs/frame and I'd add wheels. '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> I have pictures of mine in this thread. '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>

I tried cat litter, but as Ken G said it crumbled, so I went with the refractory cement w/ broken bits of firebrick mixed in.

Originally I considered making a door of sorts out of sheet metal to block the in flow of air, or an air gate to block the output. There are examples of both on this forum and online. Then I thought of this which seemed simple and effective. Thanks for the suggestion, but I like how this works.

Yes, dang it! And by the time I realized the error it was too late to go back and edit the post...ricasso, ricasso, ricasso!

That's a pretty cool hawk! Any idea what type of steel it is, have you spark tested it? As it started life as a hammer I would think it'd have enough carbon in it to hold an edge.

In the picture above you can see the wires coming out of the blower. At first I just put a plug on the end of the wires and then plugged it into the extension cord w/ the big red foot switch. Later I decided it was too messy like that and opened up the blower, but the female end off of the extension cord and reconnected existing blower wires with that of the extension cord. To attach the fan or blower to the threaded pipe I got a 2" flange and some small hinges. Drilled holes and bolted the two together, then cut notches in the top part of the forge tables frame in order to change the angle of the fan. Something about the fan itself causes it to blow harder when there's more resistance so when it's flush against the flange it goes full strength which is useful when starting the forge. That's about the only time I use it like that as it's too easy to burn up a piece of steel.

Eddie, until I started using the propane torch with the air cranked up to light the charcoal I did exactly as you're doing with the paper. Actually at first I was using one of those chimney starters you use when lighting charcoal with a grill with a couple of sheets of newspaper in the bottom, once the charcoal was glowing I'd turn up the air. Then I wondered what would happen if I just piled the charcoal on the firepot, turned on the air and used the propane torch. As everyone's already deduced sounds like there's an air flow issue. Probably good to know my tuyere is like a grill vs. holes punched in a plate. I once put a bunch of oil & gas soaked rags in a burn barrel and lit them on fire. It was contained, but I'm not doing that again. Scary stuff!

Yes, the more mass & stabile the better, as long as obviously you aren't hammering on the wood. When you do get a larger, heavier anvil with better rebound you will appreciate the difference which will be night & day.

When you setup your RR track anvil mount it vertically as I did in this pic and then anchor it to the floor if you can. The vertical mount gets more mass under your hammer. I forged a lot with this anvil and still use it for it's edges and dies, even though now I have a 190lb PW.

Thanks eseeman, great suggestion! That'll also make my wife happier that I'm not using her oven, stinking up the house and I can get more consistent results. Could still do a differential temper on the point and back of the blade with the torch or stove. I've made alcohol stoves for camping out of a beer can, it'd be nice to do something like a bunsen burner which would use denatured alcohol. FYI, found an ehow on making a denatured alcohol lamp, doesn't get any simpler than that assuming it gets hot enough.

I've forged a lot with the HC RR spikes, but haven't done much with heat treating high carbon steel. This is my first knife from an old Nicholson file (I've made many letter openers from spikes) Both the knife and sharpened scrap piece were heated to critical temp, quenched in motor oil and then tempered over stove burner. Not pretty, but you can shave w/ each. Anyway, I wanted to test the tempering of the scrap piece by hammering it into wood and twisting the blade out. The area of the blade that's purple or blue near the risoto did okay, but the point which was tempered to straw snapped immediately so I decided to temper the point on the knife to a purple using a plumbers propane torch. I'm going to temper the piece of scrap more and then retest it. Then here is another file I'm working on. It's at the rough grind stage and hasn't been HT'd. Sorry to highjack the thread. This didn't seem worthy of it's own and seemed relevant to the topic onhand. The role of the first knife is a kick around hobby knife and the 2nd one will be a camping/cooking prep knife.

I added one of these in my garage after having a spark from the welder ignite some leaves in the corner unknown to me. First-Alert-SA710CN-Photoelectric-Sensor Fortunately my case ended as yours, a smoke filled garage or workshop and a reinforced fear & respect for fire. Thank you for posting this, it's a good reminder to check your area for fire hazards and safety concerns.

See if you can find a Christmas tree switch for an off/on switch in combination with the rheostat. That way the air volume doesn't change each time but you can turn it on or off. This was the cheapest, viable solution that I could find w/o already having one. And in my case instead of a rheostat I just change the angle that the fan is blowing using notches and a wire w/ knots tied in it.

Good segway which is kinda back on the original topic. The 190lb PW that I have now came from Pennsylvania. A friend offered to put one on a moving truck when he moved his stuff down if I found one along the way of his trip down here. That part of the country being steel country, the prices you see on craig's list there are better than what you'd find in Texas. I got lucky and found this one which the owner agreed to hold onto it while we coordinated it's move. Took a few months but it worked out. Point being don't rule anything out and keep all options open.

That's a very nice father's day present and will display nicely next to the logging saw! I forged my dad a small paring knife from an old file, partial tang and a piece of antler for the handle. It's a bit on the ugly side, but shaving sharp and useful as can be. I need more practice making handles and was thinking about that while watching that part in your video. Thanks for the ideas there!

Hi Tim, Nice video as usual. You did a fine job turning that spike into your desired object. I do a lot with RR spikes as well, knives or as many say "letter openers" as the amount of carbon in even the HC ones is less than what you want in a knife (maybe 30-35 point carbon). Part of what makes them of interest to people as a knife or small axe is that you can tell what it was in a former life, if you can forge weld a piece of better steel for the cutting edge even better. My question though is it seems like a lot of work to forge something such as a spike into a drawknife that is not recognizable and will not perform as well say if you started with a known steel such as 1095, or even an unknown steel from an old file that spark tests as tool steel. You definitely proved that you have the ability to forge it into whatever shape you desire and for that I commend you, but why not start with more appropriate material to start with that results in a better performing product that's going to hold an edge that doesn't gain even the novelty of what it was in a former life? Dan

Keeping your eyes & ears open and saving your money for a good useable anvil is want I'd recommend. Joining a local ABANA chapter, learning & meeting the people there, In the meantime find a suitable piece of steel that you can hammer stuff out on & sell. Have a plan and move forward. And watch out for pink A10 Warthogs, they can ruin your day.

Yes, that was kinda what I was thinking of with the horn, though hadn't thought of securing it with a hold fast and your idea would be superior as I could utilize a spring loaded hold down for the face. Thanks! I'll upload some pics once I get it fab'd.

Can you weld? My forge was done on the cheap with angle iron that was headed for the landfill. Finding a HVAC furnance blower would be worthwhile as a blower and the airflow can be easily adjustable.

Now you're talking. The 2nd one I made had a bottle opener, but I didn't twist the middle and was surprised that without the twist it wasn't comfortable to wear. I thought about a bender or mandrel of sorts, but then thought about how to use the horn. Of course someone has already solved this one before and searching the forum might be in order at this point. Quick search didn't find anything but a reference to a bought bender. Could take a large piece of pipe, cut a long V out of it so it tapers and can make different sizes, then weld back together, flatten a little and weld a hardy shank to it. Then weld a bar running the length of it to use as a stop pin that you slide one end of the bracelet under. That all wouldn't be too hard.

That'd work for me. Like you said, who's going to laugh at an A10?

Pink, for when pigs fly...

I was thinking of something of the sorts. I need to devote time to making tools and quit dragging my feet. Time is limited, but the time saved in the long run would justify it. I also have a piece of pipe that is slightly flattened and has a length of square stock welded to it. I could try next time holding the bracelet on the pipe and hammer it around it, one jaw ontop of the bracelet another thru the pipe... You gotta love the problem solving mindset smithing forces you into!