KYBOY

Just curious what you think..I have seen the term tool steel used a lot just because someone makes a tool with it..Its my understanding from the AISI readings(and ASM international) that tools teels have clearly definded peramiters that have to be meet to be classified as a tool steel..Several people that I have talked to in the steel industry have told me the same thing...Whats your take?

I really like my classic Arm & Hammer Forged anvil..Looking under the horn and heel you can see the forge marks..Though i love the looks of a fontanini and the big double horn german anvils..

Thats a collectors piece, its a unicorn anvil..You have about as much chance of find another never used pristine #500 PW as you do finding a unicorn..If I were king and had plenty of money Id buy it and display it in my shop..The right seller on ebay could easily get 4K plus out of it..

You'll pretty much have to try it..On a side note here in eastern, ky where we have like third and fourth generation coal miners Ive seen old men who could grade coal  like a geologist..There are seams of what we locals call "Canal coal"..It has a certain look and texture that you can recognize..It burns very hot and with very little smoke.Very hard,glassy black and isnt laminated like a lot of coal.People would mix it with regular coal to burn because it would burn hot enought to ruin pot belly stoves...Then theirs the lower grades of coal that we call "dunce"..Part of my job growing up was busting/hauling  coal for the family..I was taught to seperate the "dunce" from the good coal..

As soon as i saw the thread title Peter Ross name came to mind instantly..His hand tools are some of the finest Ive ever seen, bar none beautiful..

We do a few small shows, mostly because my family has done it for years and years..Though the rest of my family are woodworkers..i grew up working with wood not metal..I didnt start working metal until I was about 15..By then i had already been working as a woodbutcher for about 6-7 years...
So my family has been selling wood at craft fairs and such for decades..when I started teaching my wife metal she said "hey Im going to start setting up with your family"...Well it worked out better than I expected..
Still craft fairs only account for a small % of her sales..Though she wants to up this coming year..LOL, shes working on quarterly tax's right now..

Well highsider that started out as a 1" square bar of 1045..It was upset for more blade mass then a cutting bit of 5160 was welded in..The eye was slit and drifted..I think we may have a pic or two..let me look..

We finished this Adze head today..Mild steel body with a welded on 1075 bit..Cuts nicely..

Ive made a lot of garden tools but only for friends and family..Never really to sell..Used RR spikes for some of them, shoot ive made just about everything from a RR spike at one time or another..

i have two other sets of flat dies and a set of drawing dies in it(I normally keep flat dies in it)..thats the only reason im thinking of letting them go..

I got this set of dies when we bought our 50#...Got several sets and hav never used these..I was thinking of selling them but id like to know if they are older LG dies since I know that the top die was often smaller..The bottom die makes me wonder as the dovetail isnt quite as wide as my other dies..Its about 2", same as bottom of the top die which makes it too small for a 50# bottom die.. maybe a smaller hammer? My other bottom dies are a bit wider than that(about 2 1/2")..The top die is 3 1/2" long and the other die is 5 3/4" long..Any guesses?

He and several other of the "big item" sellers on ebay have had a lot of tools not meet the reserve lately..I think the market is catching up somewhat..

Thanks Stewart, its just the way I learned and the way Ive been teaching Lisa..Seems I always had an easier time keeping it straight too..

Just for kicks, take a look at this block matcless is selling..Ive drooled all over my keyboard..Know I couldent move it but i dont care..I love it..Its just beautiful.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130765703206?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Seriously, I may or may not fix it..not bad at all, not compared to many Ive seen..Id count myself very lucky to have that anvil..

Ya dont need that piece of trash Stu, just drive it on down to the mountains here and ill take it off your hands..Ill even give you a near mint 200 pound fisher for the gas money in bringing it to me.. ;)

All the time..We have three, a salt fork craftsman block that sees a lot of use during craft season, a centaur forge yater copy and a traditional industrial block..Since we make so many axes the industrial block gets used pretty much every day..

Cool video, thanks for posting..I really like the forge design with the bricks like that..
Ive always said that welding billets is the easiest welding to do, espically in a gas forge..I mean its just stacking clean high carbon steel, fluxing and watching for it to get "wet"..Take out tap a few times a viola' a welded billet..I taught Lisa to do and she commented first day how easy it was in a gasser..

yea, its an hourglass shaped hole with the top wedged..

Im feeling ill :wacko:

Someone is still going to complain that its not "traditional" because he using that hammer..I read that crap all the time on youtube vids comments..Ive read foolish crap like "A smith who uses a power hammer has lost love for the craft and is only seeing money" ..It just makes me shake my head..

About every week i save a bunch of the "nicer" blacksmith items on ebay under "watched items"..I like seeing what they go for..Ive been doing this for a long time..In the last couple of months I have seen a large ammount of the big ticket blacksmith tools not meeting the reserves sellers have been putting on them..
Matchless which Im sure most are familiar with has slowed down selling lately and Ive noticed that most of the big items he has had up for sale have never met the reserve..Ive seen them try to sell the same hammer about three times, same big brooks anvils a couple of times, the same cones a couple of times,etc..Honestly I kinda hate this for them as I like to see the small american business prosper..A set of wally yater blocks up this week topped out at $1200(didnt meet reserve) which is about $400-$600 lower than they normally go..
Honestly I think "most" folks paying these big prices are collectors casue we all know how stingy smiths are,LOL..Do you think its the economy overall or the price of a now flooded market of big money collectors pieces?

Ok, yes you leave the drift in while forging down the ears..Its the flat drift. One used for opening up the initial hole.
yes, my hot cuts are square(with rounded corners)..Ive tried the other style and they work fine but this style seems to work better for us..Before I busted my back I could hot slit a 1" square bar of high carbon steel in two heats..One of those "aint broke, aint gonna try and fix it" things..Takes Lisa more heats of course..I cant really say their is an advantage to mine at all, we'er just practised with it..
I think that flat drift happens to be 4140..The final drift is just mild steel.

That just takes practice friend..The creek in front of my shop is full of my failures,LOL

I agree with you for the most part..Curly wood is weaker across the grain by its very nature and not as strong as straight grain..Customers have been wanting curly maple for the most part lately and you know the old saying "Customer is always right"..When your making for the wall hanger crowd and reenactor crowd if you dont work with curly woods you dont sell much..