Francis Trez Cole

​The set I use the most is a flat die with the corners radius at 3/16". Great for starting a tenon. I also use them for many other things. The one thing I did to mine was remove the cross bar and added a removable one So I can have a bottom die with a piece of angle added and the top die with a matching solid on the diamond. To set V for tongs.

I do not like going bigger than what you have described. For me that is a good working size. I like the fact that I can heat it all up at one time and get a good weld in the first few heats. I am sure I could do bigger but have never needed to have that much finished billet to work with.

looks like a suppository mold.

I have gotten a lot of service out of a 3# sledge with a piece of 2 1/2"x 21/2"x 1/2" mild steel welded to it I have made them as well but the sledge works fine

here is my favorite hammer it is a 5# rounding hammer. I no longer buy hammers I make all of mine. The most important thing with the hammer is the way you choose to dress the hammer face. more than the style or the weight.

Mad max forge welding is not rocket science. the Key to a good forge weld is a good saturating heat. I do it the same way every time heat the metal flux back in the fire, get it up to temperature at an even rate so that the metal is all the same temp if the piece is thick you may have to turn it over a few times to get that saturating heat. Timing is important move from the forge to the anvil and hit it once. re flux and bring back up to heat and hit once. Flux and re heat and hit again you will feel it. Things to watch out for. To great and air blast, with wood charcoal it takes a lot of fuel so keeping the volume fuel under the work is important. other wise you are in a oxidizing fire. that will blow the hot surface metal away and cool the weld area. Keep from hitting it more than once. Again Keep from hitting it more than once you can knock the weld loose. the color you are looking for is bright yellow I keep and eye above the fire when I see the first sparks its ready. Do not waste time wire brushing when you hit it with the hammer all the gunk will squirt out.Do not hit with full force. Just enough force to make the gunk squirt out. do not give up Fire management and timing and a little patients will make it happen

it may not be skills, what it may be habits. poor habits can lead to poor work and good habits will help when things go in the wrong direction

there is a great Bill Epps set of scrolling tongs made from rail road spikes

I stay away from gloves it is to hot here in Florida. But I would use the welding gloves of thin leather work gloves. An other choice is weld handles to all your punches. Get a good propane heater for the shop.

it is good to take pictures that way you can see the improvements over the years. The good thing about posting pictures is the critique of others. Pointing out small things from people with more experience can help. Some time small adjustments make the difference of heading in the right direction. When I started back in the 80's All I had was books to go by.

I have many hammers I have made many hammers as well. I have my favorite cross peen that I have used from the beginning. I have a few rounding and fullering hammers it all depends on the task at hand. You can dress any face to be a peen to a round ball. it all comes down to one thing you can only hit with a hammer 5 ways. the flat of the face, the heal of the face, the toe of the face and the right and left side of the face. Style of hammer makes no difference.

my main hammer is a 5# and a 3# hammer. I like Uri very much but the term Ergonomics He has used it as a Buzz work. There has never been any Ergonomic studies done on hammer and blacksmithing. The most important part of the hammer is the handle to short and you have to use the arm to much and not long enough you are working harder than you have to . A longer handle will give you more velocity which gives you higher impact. More force moves more metal.

for eye punches I use H-13 with a welded on handle.

I have seen that happen many times with new students. I see you went Round that is the cause of your problem. First when you make the taper for the end do it square the knock the corners off to make it round. Yes even when working with round stock. Second put the rod up to the edge of the anvil and hammer it to a point first that will keep you from getting a fish mouth.it can cause it to happen also

you anvil has to be facing the right direction for a new rising moon on the first saturday of the month.. Just joking the key to a good weld is a even saturating heat. Flux Heat one hit . do this three times, each time the hit can get a little harder

with the creation of Ebay and American Pickers every one wants top $$$$$. They think they are sitting on a gold mine. A few years ago I ran across and article that said to look up the original price and multiply it by 19 that would give you fare market value. Then deduct for flaws (character). when I bought my power hammer i used this method and the old blacksmith with Parkinson's I got a good deal and he got a fair price and I sleep well at night.

being made from s-7 you wll not have to make and other set they will last for a long while.

first Flat jaw tongs is a very good starting point it will help you with the proportions of the tongs. Start with mild steel its cheep I have even made a good pair of scrolling tongs out of a 2 railroad spikes. Second as you get better making tongs invest in some 1045 it is what the tong making companies work with. Third 3/4" stock is a great size to work with. There is a thread on this site the has the chart of tong sizes and the amount of material you should have for the proportion of the tongs

Tongs and Reins are a personal thing. It was said to me years ago look at what the professional tong makers (off center, dirt cheap) are doing and emulate them. I have welded on reins with the drop tong method I like to use mild steel for the body of the tongs and (4140) medium carbon steel for the reins. I teach classes so I make many Bodies of tongs and weld on the reins like Bill Epps recommended tack weld the rein on to the body with a electric welder and then forge weld them on. When I travel I make tong blanks Like Jim Poor dose take 9"of 3/4" 1045 parent stock draw out the reins out under the power hammer leaving 4" untouched. That way if I need a set of tongs on the fly all I have to do is forge out the body of the tongs.

it is not the size or style of the anvil. A block of steel will work just fine I have made my own. The key is your anvil needs to be attached to the earth. A few year ago I was at a museum in Alaska they had a blacksmith display a few tools and a bunch of pictures. The blacksmith anvil weight was 35# He had to transport all his equipment from town to town with a Mule.

nice article Joe. The more tongs a person makes the better they will get.

Years ago not knowing any better I bought a bunch of anthracite the coal was huge chunks so I gave the kids a few bucks to sit with a hammer and brake it up. I worked just fine. Not many clinkers. It took a lot less coal over charcoal. As for smoke it is only when you light a bunch of green coal dose it smoke. Once it turns to coke not smoke Some times you just have to go with arability and price

the thing to remember is 4140 is a medium carbon steel. For a good edge you want a high carbon steel. 3/4" stock would make some very nice tongs.

first no picture. Second cold roll 1018 is twice as expensive as hot roll

you could make a leaf hammer, 4140 is good steel for a lot of tools.