craig

What steel would you guys normally use to make corkscrews ? Medium to high carbon ? Hardened or normalized ? I imagine it would be best to temper way back if hardened to lessen the chance of breakage ?

I use charcoal made from wood scraps (old lumber, dead trees, construction waste, whatever I can get basically) pretty much any kind of wood will work to start. You'll find that some is nicer to work with than others, but I'm not too picky. It doesn't smoke like coal does, but it doesn't burn as long either.

They would work, as will almost anything that has a decent amount of mass. If you have access to a fork already, the biggest challenge is to get it sitting how you want it so it is nice and sturdy and stays in it's place.

I intentionally overheated a peice of mild steel once just to see what to look for. It was nearly white and was like those sparklers you put on a birthday cake for about 2 seconds, I'm guessing higher carbon would not have to be white hot to burn. The sparks didn't look like forge sparks.

I've never made a flint striker myself, but after reading how they work I'm going to have to try a couple...and see if I can get my hands on some type of flint-like stone. Great photos and links guys !!

I make charcoal in the stove a couple of ways...Both involve a small stock pot or something of the like (I used to use a coffee can but the pot is nice cause it has handles) First method is to burn a bunch of wood until it's only charcoal left, then scoop it out into the pot and put the lid on until it cools. Second is to cut the wood into small bits and fill the pot, then once your fire is going good, put the pot (with loose-fitting lid) in the stove and keep wood burning around the pot until no more flame is coming out from the lid. When it's really cooking it looks and sounds like a blowtorch !! Then take it out and leave it sit until it's cooled. The first method is less work, but you have to deal with more ash. Second method is more work cutting it all up, but the charcoal is nice and clean. In the summer I use a 1/3 of a barrel on the fire pit (one of the two pics in my gallery)

All look great !! The first one looks like a handy little guy. And the black palm looks very cool !!

How did you fuller that ? Stuff like that happens to me if I rush...fuller too deep in spots and get too much of a corner, and then not smoothing things out properly. Maybe got cold shuts from sharp edges folding over and then hammered in ?

Very nice !! I had a similar project in mind...small carving tools out of haybine tines...I only made one so far just to test it out. It works ok, but sure isn't as pretty as those knives :)

The shack must be loaded with all kinds of goodies by now...we need to see !! :)

Well, one thing is for sure... Your first chain welding attempt looks A LOT better than mine did Your's is at least, for the most part, one piece. I would still clean it up some more and try etching it to see how it looks.

When you say wire brushing do you mean by hand ? I would try a wire wheel on either a bench grinder or angle grinder if you have not done so already...?? I haven't done much with stainless but found wire wheel makes a huge difference when hand held brush has basically no effect. Just a suggestion. Certain stainless (I don't know what grade, but have seen sheet stainless turn orange with rust after being exposed to muriatic acid vapours) steel will corrode to a surprising degree with certain acids if not neutralized. Do you have any pictures ? Sounds interesting to take a look.

I know what you mean :)

If you can post a picture of that, it would sure go a long way in explaining how A36 can be dramatically different than a plain carbon steel such as 1018... and also would be just plain neat to see ;)

Awesome blade !! Yes, what part of the sheep ?? Ram's horn ? Or chunk of bone ?

That looks like a beautiful little handy tool to carry with you all the time !! I think knives like these can be more practical than a 1-1/2 foot long bowie most times. There's always a use for them. Nice work !!

That's what I thought it was at first glance too. That's a nice knife Ron !!

Those are neat little knives, I like them !!

I like the look of those siding boards !! Now all you need is a little ironwork on the outside and it would be sweet It is bigger than my "shop" (which is actually a crusty old granary) But should still be cozy enough in the winter. Windows on either end would be good for flow-through removal of bad air if you can do it, depending on how you have the inside set up. Thanks for showing !!

That's a nice looking blade !! Personally I would keep it rough-ish too More character. What diameter thickness of spring did you start with ?

I spark tested that bucket tooth that I mentioned...and it sparked like mild steel...??? I'm thinking it must be some type of alloy for toughness or whatever, but doesn't appear to have much carbon. Will be tricky to heat treat without knowing what it is.

That looks awesome !! I think I have years of welding practice left before I could do anything like that. Handle looks great too, what is it ? Also, what steels are used in the blade ?