Dan C

What are you using for a forge right now?

At least to me it would seem easier to forge weld in the bit for the cutting edge. Have you tried forge welding with your current setup? I haven't tried it as borax works pretty well for me, but iron mountain flux is supposed to work as lower temps. Then again before I learned to forge weld I made many axes and knives w/o welding in a bit of tool steel. Those do okay, though it's worth the time to do it right once you can.

I got this kit for Christmas. Seemed reasonably priced. http://www.ptreeusa.com/norton_waterstone.htm

It's been awhile with multiple ongoing projects but I recently figured out the tracking on my 2x72 build, and am ready to mount the motor taken from a treadmill. The tension arm came from a co-worker hatchback after he replaced the gas struts.

If you predrill small guide holes before punching and drifting you have a better chance of getting the eye right. This would be a good post to review,

Before I knew better, I welded this together with 6011 with a Lincoln 220 stick without any preheating. Guess I got lucky as it's held up well under intense hammering, including a 10 lb sledge.

It might have some value if you could find someone with a real anvil being used as yard art and work out a trade.

I've also made money by going thru the house & attic looking for things that I never use and then listing them on craigslist. I don't sell things via garage sales as the margin's too low.

Thinking more about this, outside of blacksmithing I use my vise more than any other smith tools for cutting wood, welding, grinding etc. Next would be my forge which doubles as a welding table. None of the modern vises are going to hold up to the abuse that one of these post vises will. If I was really, really desperate and I had to begin selling tools (think family member dying, lost job and dog died) the vise would be the last thing to go. I'd get a bigger bang for the buck by selling my anvil, which would be very sad, but it'd be easier to come up with a large chunk of steel as a replacement which I could still work with. Sorry to keep harping on this as you've made the decision to keep it but there it is.

In the meantime I would forge a bracket and spring for your vise. If you get a better one and decide to sell it you'll get a better price. Missing parts or a bent leg are the two main things I'd use to negotiate a lower price.

For extra cash I also do occasional automotive and welding work, just offer whatever skills you have. I'm also not above going to garage sales or finding things my neighbors put out on the curb for the garbage and reselling things on craigslist. Last month I made $300 just from things other people were throwing away. I couldn't make a living doing it, but it helps.

Personally I won't sell any useful tool unless I come up with a replacement. Definitely not my vise. You don't need a retort to make charcoal, just a 55 gallon drum with a lid as demonstrated here. I don't have a fan for mine, I used my welder to blow triangular holes at the very bottom all the way around. When I want to smother the fire I use a garden hoe to block the bottom holes w/ dirt and put the lid on it

The History channels website says Thursday night at 9 cst but I don't see it on the guide then either. http://gyazo.com/b4cf16a9b121fa38a43ec6efb927305f I always have wanted to see someone hammer molten steel into a sword...

Agree completely! I've been strength training since I was 14. Now 47 my goals have certainly changed but I'm in much better shape than most my age and I can still keep up with my 3 kids. It's been mentioned here how you should train for what you're doing and maybe someone really strong in the bench press can't keep up as well in other activities. That's not the fault of doing bench presses, that a fault of not properly training your body overall. When I noticed my lower back was sore from loading 80 lb bags of mulch all day I began doing power cleans and stiff legged deadlifts. Next time I had to load bags I wasn't sore at all and I was going all day long when other dads and teenage boys were dragging.

Could be a new line item for you to sell...pictures, we need pictures!!!

With eye protection I watch the fluxed area to get a sticky appearance, waiting for sparks is too late.

When smithing isn't your tong's holding hand working as well? Mine is. True you could try to hammer with the opposite hand but if you're not ambidexterous it could be hazardous to your anvil face. Another option, why not lift weights as well as smithing? Most of the joint problems that I've had (47 yrs old) have been because of an imbalance, say front of your shoulders are more developed than the back of your shoulders which can result in an impingement of the tendon. The resolution was more pulling exercises vs. bench or shoulder presses.

The only time I had a problem was after using a carbon arc torch, those things are ridiculously bright! Apparently no matter how fast the auto-darkening works you still get flashed for a miniscule amount. If you're welding thin material maybe you were starting and stopping more often? I have a flip type helmet for whenever I use that torch now. I thought the auto darkening helmets needed to charge in sunlight though? Did you notice anything different yesterday when you were welding?

Nice looking forge, I'd add a dump gate under the tuyere though. You can also make your own charcoal.

Dressing appropriately works other places besides fleamarkets too. My wife gives me grief when I go somewhere without cleaning up or changing clothes. She didn't complain too much when I got the tires on her car heavily discounted because I went immediately after smithing, and didn't stop complaining about how much it was going to cost and could barely afford it.

Revenge of the 6th is available...oops or was

I'm a master blacksmith 4th level in the game I play but now want to forge my own light saber. Can you please tell me what I need to get started? I don't have any money but will work as your apprentice, at least until I've forged it out of rebar.

Wire brush and boiled linseed oil will make her all purty, though just putting her back to work cleans up the face in no time. Good decision on not grinding the face. I used to want to repair mine until I used her for a year and realized there's no point, works just fine as is. I wouldn't worry about the face being soft if you have good rebound.

Looks fine by me, though you didn't say how much it weighs and what you paid for it. Regardless looks like there's still plenty of life in her. The face on my anvil isn't perfect either but rarely do I notice the small imperfections and like yours my heel is a little dead as someone at some point used it as a cutting table for a torch. Time to put that one back to work! Actually come to think of it, I don't think that one is useable at all. Please ship it down here to Texas so I could put it out to pasture in my garage. She'll be chained, beaten and fed hot steel as an anvil should be.

Bottle openers, I live in a college town which means lots of beer drinkers! After that the dreaded RR spike knife was what I got started with.