Eddie Mullins

The NE Chapter will also be setup at Maynard AR for the Pioneer Days at the Park in Maynard on September 16.

I have been wanting to build a press also, that is an interesting design. I like the compact size and the top mounted cylinder. What made you decide not to go with a two stage pump?

I always wear eye and hearing protection, gloves and apron as needed. One thing I didn't notice anyone mention was any sort of respiratory protection. Coal and grinder dust are not known to be good for the lungs. I have a respirator but don't honestly use it very often.

I have only made a few headers, but what I do to thin the underside is simply use a ball peen. Using a tapered square punch I start punching the hole from below, flip over a punch/drift to desired size from the top. I use spring for the header with a welded on mild steel handle. If I had a power hammer I would probably draw it out of the same stock.

I have been pondering hammers as well. One drawback to me for the Tire Hammers is the lack of clearance between the dies if you wanted to use tooling. Perhaps the design could be modified, but to my knowledge there is no way adjust them as with the Rusty style hammers.

I built a side draft for my coal forge, my chimney is recycled corrugated tin roofing rolled into a tube, works great.

Got any pictures?

I think you did, hopefully my post was not taken to imply differently. The integrations and flow of the wood into the guard is certainly impressive.

It reminds me of Joe Keeslar's Brute de Forge knives, but has a look all its own.

I have always been told those were candle snuffers, but don't really know.

Here are a couple of responses from trewax to others in regards to food sage use - its not recommended. My guess is the problem is the solvents used to keep it soft. I believe this is probably the reason why the butchers block products use food safe mineral oil instead to maintain the desired consistency. ************************** The Trewax Paste Wax is made up of Brazilian Carnauba Wax, it is the Worlds hardest natural wax, and will provide a hard long wearing finish that will help protect the table from stains, I would recommended using at least 3 thin coats for the best protection. Keep in mind- this is not considered food safe so do not put food directly on the table. Please contact Customer Service at customerservice@beaumontproducts if you have any further questions. -Trewax Customer Service ************************ Trewax Paste Wax can be used on soapstone. However, Trewax Paste Wax is not considered a food grade item, therefore it is generally not recommended for countertops.

I have pieces shipped all over the country, can't really run over and touch them up myself. My camping cookware I apply a hot vegetable oil finish and advise customers basically to care for the pieces as the would cast iron cook ware. I was just wondering if others had care instructions they provided for different applications and finishes .

Not sure what you mean by this. I would think it would perform as well or better than the beeswax and BLO mixtures. I expect it might be less tacky depending on the bees wax proportion of the mix. Yes, it was the Clear Paste. It states that it is made with carnauba, or similar verbiage, but does not explicitly say its 100% or have an ingredient statement I could find.

There have been a couple of posts recently mentioning passing on care and maintenance instructions to the customer. I think this is a great idea but it got me started thinking about what those instructions should be. We obviously can't ask them to apply hot like we do. What instructions do you or should be passed onto customers for care of pieces with wax or finished pieces? and what products do you recommend for customers to use?

I picked up some Trewax recently, but not certain it is 100% carnauba and food safe, if some one has info that is please share. So I started looking for food grade carnauba wax and stumbled onto butchers block conditioners which are a mix of carnauba, bees wax and mineral oil. I have seen pastes and even in a squirts bottle. Seems to be an easy application with good potential for a metal finish. Also likely easier for customers to use later rather than a solid paste. Almost seems to good to be true. Has any one used this?

You wouldn't actually be doing anything to the holes, the twist would occur below the holes in the body of the hook. When making the bend, the area with the holes should not be hot, but the area below where the bend is occurring should. Make your bends and then quickly slip something into one of the holes for leverage and a guide to align and twist the body of the hook so the holes are 90 degrees to the bend. Hopefully that makes more sense. It shouldn't take much force at all with no distortion to the holes.

Maybe I am missing something, but since the hook is round, and it couldn't be seen, why not just twist the holes back to 90 if they get out of alignment? You should be able to do it in the same heat you bend it. Slip a drift or something into the holes and align to your hook. I also agree though that clamping it securely when bending should be prevent the issue.

If they are hot cuts they must be for specific small work such as for nails, they seem too tiny otherwise. I dont' believe they are hardy tools, but I hope you find out what they are.

Frosty I use weight also for stock determination. I really like the weight calculator on this site http://www.onlinemetals.com/calculator.cfm . I have a little Excel file I created now so I can estimate the amount needed of a given dimension for a given weight. Joey Van der Steeg also has good videos out there.

Nice score. I picked up a 6" a while back, its my biggest so far and is right at 100 lbs, that one is a beast. I want one : ) .

Welcome, I'm in the NE corner of AR. The BOA guys in your area should be able to help you out.

Good point about the lead, I was thinking about getting some from a local flea market, might have to reconsider..

Very nice lines and finish. It almost looks like an integral. I have been wanting to try my hand at pewter casting for guards or pommels, but had given no thought to casting directly on to the knife.

Very nice lines and finish. It almost looks like an integral. I have been wanting to try my hand at pewter casting for guards or pommels, but had given no thought to casting directly on to the knife.

I think the book skipped the step of forming the boss and intructing to use the near then the far side of the anvil. Flatten Jaw on near side of anvil, rotate 1/4 turn (I turn to the left) with jaw off the far side of anvil at a 45 and flatten boss, rotate 1/4 turn again (same direction) with boss off far edge of anvil and create off set for reigns. If thats not clear as mud watch Brian Brazeals video on making a tong blank : ) .