chichi

Can you describe the mechanism. I thought there would be a divot in the blade where the lock/release pin holds the blade. Is this a rocker type of release button?

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Frosty, Good suggestion. I couldnt find anything on the web other than fixture suppliers or examples of fixtures for one specific operation.I will drop in on the welding supply house.

Lately, I have been doing a lot (for me) of torch brazing on small items of various size. I find that fiddling with clamps, vise grips etc. to hold piece in place is most time consuming and frustrating. Are there some examples of simple home made fixtures people have made for the task. Generally, the items are under six inch length and rarely weigh a pound so that is an example of the size I work with.There is no standard size so I need a "universal" fixture. Thanks for you help.

Nice work. I think holding the stock is underemphasized. When I get lazy and use tongs that are ill fitting, the work really suffers.

For some reason, I cant get to the FABA site. The computer says it cannot be located? Anyone else have this problem.

Nice work. I remember seeing a video where some smiths were knocking out box joint pliers on a production basis. They were incredibly proficient. Does anyone have a link? Peter Ross has a process for making box joints. It is in a video I have but the production value is bad and I could not follow his description.Can someone explain? It seemed more complicated but I guess I never followed the discussion. Thanks.

Keth, What an opportunity!Learn what you can from Clay.I know him by reputation and would be honored to meet him some day.I wish he would offer a class on building a Ky. rifle from scratch as Wallace does in the video.I contacted Clay after he left Williamsburg and I believe he was going to work from his suburban home and couldnt do any blacksmithing from there. Is he is building guns using commercial components. I know that is probably the only practical way to make a living because a gun from scratch would be very,veryexpensive. I hope he does well.

Very nice hammer work. What is the hammer you are using?

Nice simple lines. Looks real good. Makes me hungry for some soup!

rdennett, I have done some boring but not any reaming so my reamer description may be off a little (I made one a year ago and used it on a test piece but dont recall all of the details.) The boring bit is homemade. It is a piece of high carbon steel forged to a square taper about 3-4 in. long forge welded to a mild steel rod. The combined length has to be the length of the barrel plus stickout for the "chuck' of the boring tool.The bits are of increasingly larger diameter from about 4/16 to say 1/2 in. in 1/16 increments. The reamer is sq. high carbon steel with sharp corners held to a piece of wood which is a dowel cut in half lengthwise. The steel is held to the wood by two leather rings . A piece of paper is slipped between the steel and wood periodically to increase their combined diameter. Go to the "Toad Hall Rifle Shop" site. It has pictures and explanations which I used as a reference. The author is an expert who helps all who ask.A great gut-Steve Bookout.He also has books and vbideos which are very inexpensive and invaluable.PM me if you are interested.

Based on the video above and the article to which Bentiron referred to above, I have made a few locks(not as nice as Wallace's by a long shot but they spark) and have forged a barrel that needs a little more work.( I made another barrel but the bore was too small and my bits kept breaking). I took a break from this work but the video kind of gets me going again. If anyone else is interested in this work, PM me. I would be happy to share what I know as an advanced novice.

Good first start. You probably want to make the curled end curl to the outside rather than inside so it doesnt interfere as much with placement and removal of the item being hung.Just heat and twist . A little decorative touch. Do some more. They are very useful. Make the kind that have a hole for a screw rather than the spike because you will have more uses for that drilled kind. Yours are drive hooks and were used to drive into heavy timbers such as in an old barn.

I have forge welded high carbon steel to wrought to make a japanese style blade. I tapered it by hand in the forge and cleaned up with a grinder. As noted above, you then make the plane to fit the blade. I am sure a Japanese 7th generation plane blade smith could find fault but I have gotten some very thin shavings using the blades. It is pretty straight forward. This wouldnt work in a stanley plane but make a few and go to the" Daiku Dojo" web site and look up the "Kanna making " demonstrations to learn how to mark out the plane. It is a doable project for the avg. smith who has done a little woodworking. Good luck and PM me if you want more info. I will help but dont claim to be an expert.

Nice demo. What type of hammer? Looks sweet.

I have made many socketed chisels and a few slicks. I use mild steel and weld a high carbon bit. Ihave always formed the socket separately and welded it on to the blade section. I do it this way because you need a fair amount of metal to make a socket and the chisel body may only be 1" wide. The socket could be done as you describe using the parent metal and welding the seam of the socket. In order to weld the seam, you need a cone shaped mandrel to insert as you weld the seam to give some backing to the socket.Forge a stub on the end of the blade so you have something on which to weld the socket. Not terribly hard to do but the socket seam is pretty thin so weld quickly because you lose heat quickly. Good luck and PM me if I can help.

Stephen, Your dividers are beautiful. You know your way around a file. What size stock did you use on this pair.? I have made the 5 leaf style with the wing and thumb screw but it was not as fancy as yours above.Tom Latane is equally inspiring as Peter Ross.

The coal I get is pretty dirty and makes a lot of clinkers. It also tends to burn easily around the perimeter of the fire pot where it is just wasting heat. It does not coke up real well and so I use water to keep the outer flame at a minimum.I can weld with it and am used to this quality. I always wonder if using water is really helping (economically) because the fire restarts within a minute or so after being wetted. Any thoughts on using water on the fire(around the perimeter and on green coal)?

Wolf, Do the dividers you made just have the flat of one leg of the divider held by a rivet against the flat of the other divider ? As an FYI, the dividers Peter makes have two flats on one leg and a single flat on the opposite leg that fits between the two flats or leaves. Very cool design and a challenging forging project. There is a lot on the internet re Peter's dividers which are beautiful.

Dancho, Two more beautiful axes. What have you done to the surface to clean up the scale. It looks like it was cleaned up with a wire wheel. You dont use electricity so is this filework/sand paper or ? Thanks for showing your work.

Again, a beautiful axe. I looked up grams to lbs. and 400 grams is a little under 1 pound so relatively small. I made a small axe head that I put on a long shaft like a "ciupaga" or "foco" or "shepherds axe". I was walking in my woods and wanted an 8 foot section of a downed birch tree. It was about 5 in. diameter and I was surprised how well the small axe worked. If I get some time tomorrow, I may make another just for fun. Thanks for sending the pictures. I really like your work! Did you start with a bar about 1in square? What is the diameter of the eye-about 1.25in.?

What is an Oyster shucker? I have not seen any in Wi. or Ill. It may be the market doesnt know they need one?

I say go for it if that is what you want. I assume you are not trying to make a living. If you are a beginner, the result probably wont be great but so what. You will gain experience. I would get a 10 in piece of flat stock and weld a handle to hold and to be forged as the handle . Set down the front 6 in. or so by extending the piece over the far end of the anvil and strike with half hammer blows so the front is lower than the rear. Forge the front like any blade and when you form the bevel on the edge side, the steel will naturally bend in a banana shape. Forge the rear section like any knife. Make a counter bend (banana shape opposite the way the blade will normally bend) before forging in the bevel. Creating the bevel will,in theory, straighten the counter bend so you should end up with a straight back section. Caution! I have never made or even heard of a Khopesh before so this is just how I would start out. If it doesnt work, try something else. That is the learning process. A beginner will be more limited by his eye than his hand. The coordination part is easy to gain. I agree with the others that you should develope basic skills. As your eye improves, you will see your results can be improved. That should motivate you to work on the basics. More than one way to skin a cat. Good luck.

Nice work!

Dancho, My grandfather was from the Kiev area so that just makes your work more interesting. He was not a blacksmith. His parents sent him to the US because he gambled and drank too much when he was young. Your picture shows you in your shop. What kind of a structure are you in? Is that a building ? It almost looks like a tent.