KYBOY

Either acra-glas or west systems G flex..Longest hold life of any epoxys out there..30-50 years and some of the very strongest too..

speedymetals.com They are not overly cheap but they have odd sizes and they ship fast..

One person about has to square up the billet first..Ive made a rounding hammer like these(two actually) with a large guillotine tool..It was miserable..Our 50lg dosnt have the headspace to use large top and bottom tools for hammer making. Let me tell you..If you want to know what kind of man you are try splitting/drifitng and forging a piece of 2 1/2" round 5" long chunk of 4150 by yourself by hand..Its a humbling exp..

I remember back in the mid late 90's that real good deals could be had from ebay all day long..Man, I got some steals from the bay back then..Only problem was that it was very easy to get ripped off on ebay back then too..No buyer protection at all at that time..

That is exactly what I was talking about..Ive seen it several times...The same exact stuff that you can still buy brand new but selling for double or more than new price..I just dont understand it..I really,really dont..

We have a ductile iron mandrel (One of Mr Newmans Id say) and it has had many,many rings and curls forged around it..Still looks almost new...Honestly, before Id pay what that enay auction will go for Id buy one of the ductile iron cones..Half the price and you'll get the same use of it. If i were a betting man, Id put even money that they are the same cone..Same markings, same length post? you know what I mean? You have to be very watchful of new manufactured smithing tools on ebay. I have personally seen several items such as these cones, green&mengal swage blocks and diamond brand rounding hammers sell for more than they can bought brand new just a few clicks away..

I like making them too much to make a dozen of the same thing..Besides, Im just a hobby hammerer.

We make all of ours from either recycles (good) files, 1095 or W1 just because we have a lot of it..Leave them dead hard after quecnhing in parks 50. Then grind the face smooth to remove decard.. Just funt o make..Id like to have a bunch of dump rake teeth..Ive seen a spec analysis on some that came back just like file steel..About 1.27% carbon..Good stuff.

He was a great smith and a master at making strikers..

Cant believe no one has posted this yet.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxTdbC5MLRQ

Ive loved making these things..The late great Mike Ameling's work and research prompted me into this..Now my wife makes and sells them as well..They have actually become a decent portion of her business.. I think they are a fine medium for artistic work..A blend of form and function as it were..Just thought id post a few pics..Cant find some of the nice ones like a seahorse, etc.. Anyone else like making these?

We have made a lot of hawks from farriers rasps but be forewarned when bladesmithing a farriers rasp..Not all of the new rasps are created equal..Some new rasps are nothing more than low/medium carbon steel. In the 1040 range..Ive seen the MSD on one that is made from 1038 carbon steel.. rasp Asp's are always a big hit at the craft fairs..

Well you cans spend 30-45 minutes making a nice set of tongs that cost $35 or you can spend that time making something that you sell for $100..$100 minus the $35 for the tongs is still $65 profit.. Pretty much all of us can make tongs but there will come a time when you have to look at the bottom line(If its a business that is)

Got some heavy square tubing, angle irona and traded for this 55" saw blade today. Its .182 thick on the edge and close to .225 in the center..Did a little testing on it..i think its something like 1080+nickle..

We make a lot of handles. I prefer hickory and ash but others will work..I like making my own hammer handles when i can because I have big hands(wear size XXXL gloves)..Most of the factory handles feel ike Im holding a broom handle..I somwhat prefer a flattish or a somewhat ocatagon shaped handle like this one.. Personally I dont like using metal wedges..They often split handles down inside the eye and to be honest if the handle is made right you just dont need a metal wedge..A good wood wedge will hold it on forever..

Sometimes I like making them..When Im making a different, cool pair. Or drop welding the reigns on..Something different..Other times Id rather take a beatin'..Its honestly a lot cheaper for us to buy tongs than it is to make them but we still make most of my own.(cant buy "tomahawk" tongs).Or buy used ones and alter them to suit my needs.

Thats great, thanks

I couldent agree more..I still see makers all the time saying that a knife is L6 when they are actually using saw blades..Ive got several spec tests from saw blades saved and not one of them are L6..Just 1075 plus 2% nickle or a uddenholm 15n20 and Ive seen a few that were 8670M(fairly close)..People wonder "whats the difference?" Besides the obvious chemical differences its just not fair to the customer..Of course any of them will make a good knife but people expect to get what they pay for... The buying public, espically the cutting tool and knife buying public are a lot more intelligent than they once were..Most of them now know the difference in steels and what to expect..Most have already had half a dozen blades made from "x" steel and know exactly what kind of edge retention to expect from it. The internet has changed the consumer greatly..They are far more educated, the sharing of knowledge and information and wisened them to the voodoo of steel..Not so long ago the maker could tell them what ever and they would take it as the gospel..Not anymore.. Lisa now lists the heat treat info with most of her knives because customers were asking how it was heat treated before they would buy..That should say a lot.

yea, medium and high carbon steels dont need as much heat to weld as mild steel does..The chromium in 5160 can also make it hard to weld to itself, though in this case id guess to much heat.

A lot of guys here are full time blacksmiths and tool makers that rely on commercial sales for thier livelyhood. I apologize if I implied something else..

I also want to add that Im not a steel snob..When we need a hand tool for the shop we'll often just grab any old hardenable steel and make it..I just think that when someone wants a tool made from a certain grade of steel then thats what it should be..Also that it should be treated as such. I had the misfortune of telling a guy why his chisels wouldent hold an edge like the A2 chisels he had used..Even though the guy said he made them from "tool steel"..Well needless to say that leaf spring is not "tool steel".Big difference in the edge retention of 5160'ish and A2...

thanks

Thats why Im so picky about the difference in heat treating simple steels and tool steels..Failures..If someone pays us for a tool made from W2, O1 or L6 and its heat treated simply its either gonna fail or its not going to live up to its potential.Thats not what people pay for. You see the biggest part of our business is heat treated tools..We have to be "picky" about what we do..Our business relies heavily on properly heat treated steels..We cant use O1 and heat treat it like 1075. If we send out a turning tool or a carving tool with a substandard steel or heat treat these people will figure it out real fast..Then your reputation takes the hit..So we are super picky about heat treating..Temp controlled heat treat and specially forumlated quench oils like Parks 50 and so on.

Im relly refering to the requirments of the steel itself not the finished item(or really a forged item at all, just in general)..Why is W1 not 1095 or vise versa? Why isnt 1045 classified as a tool steel yet we all use it for tools? if there is practically no difference then why is their much stricter requiments in smelting tool steels vs plain carbon steels..Now of course Im not talking about the difference in M42 and 1060 or D6 and 1075..Then of course their is a lot of difference if we bring heat treating into the mix..Most tool steels dont do well with the old "get it hot and dunk into something wet" practice..Even with the simplest of tool steels(like the W series) its best to soak at austenitizing temp for 5-10 minutes( or 20 minutes for O series) before hardening.

here is a mjolnir cutout we did in a hawk for a customer...Hot cutting or drilling, then files to shape.. Here is a deer track done the same way..