Francis Trez Cole

at .50 a lb you can afford to make a lot of mistakes. Knowing what type of steel you have is a big help. I like 4140, s-7,H-13 and 4340 the best thing you can do is ti just do it

This came from the Laundry they did a hole think on NPR about it

light the forge and do the basic. taper, spread, twist ,bend and half face hammer blows. before you know it you find more projects to make than you have time

as you look at what other hammer makers use you style drift will have to fit the handle you are using. Weight is critical for the size of the eye. some standard handle you you can get at the hardware store will work. handles have weight rating like a blacksmith handle the will work on a 2-4 Pound hammer. I cut out a piece of steel or aluminium. that my handle will slide on. and use that as a temple for making the drift

What size hammer head are you making and what size handle are you going to put in the finished tool

This discussion is not new to any manual trade. When I worked as a chef there were discussions about knives. A $300 knife is not going to make you a better chef the only thing that will make you better is practice, practice, and practice.

forge welding is not rocket science. First do not over think it. cleaning is important with a gas forge it dose not get as hot as a coal forge. these are the steps I follow 1. heat metal. 2 flux, 3 bring up to welding temperature. 4 go to anvil and hit once. re-flux back in the fire. 5 once hot enough hit once. 6 re-flux heat and repeat. You can break your weld until you get it to blend together. the most important thing is a saturating heat.

you can see the development of doing it over and over again

Frosty the pan he was using was aluminum Not the thing to put acid in to etch a blade. Never heard if the customer was happy. I would not be happy the way they were testing the knife. We will have to just see where it goes. Maybe some day we can all be TV stars.

Srenolds it was not my intention to upset any one Rock star stated the he could not find a hammer in a pattern was trying to help him

Rock star check out hammer source 4# french pattren hammer $50.00 Rounding hammers $20.00. I have had good luck with there products. Of course just learn to make your own hammer. A 3# hammer is great for metal under 3/4". And if you are working on stock over 3/4" 4# will work just fine. It helps to have a big hammer when punching a hole in 2 1/2" stock.

I have many cheep Harbor freight hammers that my students use. It is not the hammer it is the person using it. The expensive hammers you are paying for the person's name not necessarily a better hammer. A lot of the the backyard hammer makers are using 1045 which is just and average steel Not the best in quality. I do not buy designer Jeans of shirts. I buy what works. Then there are the clams about the importance of this ones or that ones hammer its hog wash. any hammer face can be dressed to be a rounding hammer. And if you want to loose velocity cut you handle down.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPpGcVGhUzg Here is a great video on the subject

I get 2 a day that is 260 a year that's a lot of hangers. I know a guy that makes a machine that bends coat hangers I will find out what type of wire he specks out for the process interesting

Keep at it Frosty

then there is the person that sees the potential for making money from making knives. Lets face it there is big money in very well made knives. That is if you can sell them. Maybe the question will no longer be do you shoe horses. It will be can you make a knife. Tv will always influence people. But will they get up off the sofa and put in the time it takes to be good at something? from my experience very few will We are a rare few I am sure there will be % put out there about growth in chapters and the National organization. Time will tell

first Put where you are (location). then in the vas pool of blacksmiths some in your area can help you. Second start with tools like fire rake, shovel and stuff to make the operation of your forge run smooth. third learn to walk before you run hammer control and good body position so you protect you self so you can keep blacksmithing for years

no 65#

My 1902 Champion power hammer a great Local find

nice looking forge. yes for sure a rake and shovel is a good first project. I would offer you two suggestion about your forge the first is that front part weld in a piece of sheet metal so you are raking coal into the fire pot. That is the most common design flaw that I have seen over the years. the second is do you have a hole on the back side in case you have to heat the middle of the bar the back of the tank would limit the length and the size of material you can use.

Tong making is rewarding. I use it as a warm up exercise each time I light my forge. I have used the edge of the anvil it works well. I find that a piece of round bar with a piece of stock that fits in you hardie hole welded to make a T works a little faster. I have several form 3/8" to 1 1/8" as I need more I will make more. It just depends how aggressive you want to be. I always say" Divide and conquer ". Make dents and smooth them out. Toby Hickman was big on calculating out your steel. If you have a 3/4" piece of steel and you use 3" for the jaws, boss and start of the reins and you want an over all length of 16" you will need to start with a piece of stock 7 7/8" for each side of the tongs. 15 5/8 will give you one pair of tongs. Start out with mild steel and as you get better invest is 1045 steel that is what the tong making companies are using. A power hammer is great to have but when you get to the point that you are doing production work you will know when it is time to invest. There are other less expensive alternatives like an Oliver set up or a treadle hammer. Which you can learn to make your self

Some kids know what they want to do at a young age. I prefer to encouraging them rather then setting up obstetrical's

My twins are 7 and they have been forging for a few months. They know to put on there safety glasses and witch end of the metal to pick up.

for the punch I use h-13 for the drift anything will work torsion bars is a good choice and when you go to a you pull-it place they are usually laying under the car just have to pick them up. But if you have to remove them Caution they are under tension

there is a smith named Gordon Williams he teaches at Pieh Tools He makes arrow heads