Arbalist

Thanks, it's nice to get feedback. I sometimes wonder if a post will be useful to others so it's nice when folks say it is! Vic.

I don't get this, it says there are over 500 Blueprints but I can only access 0-100, 100-200, and 1000. I've asked before and been told this is correct but folks keep posting links to blueprints I can't access - for example, a recent one was Welcome to the Frontpage (this should read forgeiron.com/blueprints-300-400/bp0352-chisels-reconditioned-2.html) If I click on it all I get is a page titled "welcome to the frontpage" with lots of links that if clicked come up with an error page! - 404 resource not found. I'm sure it must be me, but can anyone explain this please! Vic.

Was it me? http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/anvil-stand-7401/ Vic.

Do you have to have a fan, or can it be used with a venturi instead :confused: Vic.

Now that looks interesting, not seen a burner like that! Vic.

I know what you mean, they do seem hard to find here in the UK until you know where to look. They also have different names which doesn't help. Over here they often call them machinists hammers although I did see a 0.8kg one in a well known DIY store marked as a "Flooring Hammer"! In Germany they tend to be called Locksmiths Hammers (Schlosserhammer). The heavier shorter head pattern are called Smiths Hammers (Schmied Hammer). Shipping could be a problem, but there are often many of these on eBay.de. Schlosserhammer Peddiman Hickory, 1000 Gramm bei eBay.de: Handwerkzeuge (endet 16.09.08 20:20:51 MESZ) Vic.

I like the old English Ball Pein pattern hammers, but the three in the middle (upside down) are 1.5, 1.0 and 0.8 kg German cross pein hammers - which I'm starting to like ..... Vic.

I needed the handle as I'll be working mainly outside in summer and a little in the garage in winter, so easy movement seemed a must. Yes, I did think of putting an upsetting plate on it but was not sure how well it would work, perhaps the wood would absorb too much of the impact? If I try it how thick should the plate be do you think 3/4" or maybe an inch? Thanks for the input! Surrey, UK by the way. Vic.

As so many have shared their ideas (thanks!) for an Anvil Stand I thought maybe I should show my effort. In order not to upset the neighbours too much I had decided on something made from wood rather than risk a steel stand that might be a little noisy? I had hoped to just use a lump of tree trunk but haven't been able to find anything, next up was to use some large lumps of scrap timber but again nothing to be had locally. You can bet various items will crop up now I have a stand I ended up buying the timber at a garden centre ("garden sleeper") at more than I wanted to spend - free is nice if you can get it! Pictures show construction, simply bolted together with threaded rod. I cut the centre piece longer and laid it on edge to improve stability. The "handle" at the top looks like wood but is in fact some composite alloy/resin tube I had to hand. The whole thing seems to work well. Vic.

Nice Story, thanks for that! :)

Thanks for that Matt. I've seen the GS Tongs, they look nice it's just a matter of whether you get stung for import duty and vat? The other place I looked at was: ANGELE Schmiedetechnik - ANGELE-SHOP no import duty of course. It's just a shame our own manufacturers are a bit pricey. Thanks again, Vic.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, much appreciated. Getting raw materials can be a pain at times so thanks also for the tip about coil springs, I'll take a trip to the car breakers when I can. I'm prepared to modify stuff and recently bought a 3lb maul cheap which I'm hoping to turn into a straight pein hammer at some point. The other thing that bothers me are tongs, I've got a pictorial "how to make your own tongs" but think this may be a bit challenging to start with. Given the price of tongs over here (double US/German prices!) I don't see much choice Vic.

I read somewhere that the main difference between them was that Hot Chisels have a shallower angle and are longer to keep your hand away from the heat. Is that really it? I ask because as a newbie I'm collecting tools to make a start and Hot Chisels don't seem to be very common! I've bought a couple of long series (10" long) Cold Chisels cheap and they already have a pretty shallow angle to start with. Thanks, Vic.

One recipe had vermiculite or perlite in it but sawdust is good Ah Found it - the perlite came from a link earlier in this thread: Insulative Ceramics for Improved Cooking Stoves Vic.

Apparently they no longer keep Fireclay as there is no demand for it (according to one thread) but I did email them just in case I was thinking of the China Clay - Grolleg (High Alumina content) plus the White (Silica) sand, with Perlite added. I could also add some additional Alumina if required :confused: I'm sure I'll get there in the end. I wish I'd known this earlier as I must have driven right past them several times a couple of weeks ago! :p

No luck with the fireclay so far but one thread I read somewhere said Kaolin is better than Fireclay - more resistant to fluxes? :confused: Readily available "China Clay" is 70 - 90 Kaolinite. This is getting complicated (for me!) now, but using the "recipe" for Mizzou castable: Silica (SiO2) 32.4% Alumina (Al2O3) 60.3% Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) 1.4% Titania (TiO2) 2.3% Lime (CaO) 2.6% Magnesia (MgO) 0.4% Alkalies (Na2O & K2O) 0.6% I think I should be able to make a suitable substitute using supplies from here: Clayman: Ceramic Products & Equipment (They give full chemical analysis of their products which is handy) When I have more time I'll see if I can get the real deal (Mizzou) in small quantities without paying through the nose for shipping (I doubt it!) In the meantime I'm not that far from Clayman so this is probably going to be the most viable option - except it's going to do my head in working out the proportions of what I need :confused: Vic. PS this is not the first time that I've found that you can get what you want in this country - you just need to buy a truckload of it! :rolleyes:

Thanks very much for that Frosty, I can certainly get to 3 or 4 Travis Perkins stores so one of them should have it. Much appreciated. Vic.

Thanks a lot for that Frosty. I've done several searches for Fireclay but haven't found anywhere here in England that sells it Lots of historical references to how it's been mined here for over a thousand years, but no suppliers! :confused: I'll keep looking. About the only readily available product is ready mixed Fire Cement which obviously isn't the same stuff. I don't envy many people but when it comes to getting tools/materials you guys in the US have it made. Thanks again, Vic.

I wonder what I can do with these bits? Apart from a few more bits I need some spare time to put something together The cat litter is Fullers Earth and by sheer luck the hot air gun is a snug fit in the end of the pipe! Vic.

I've just seen this and wondered if all/most forges of this type run like this as it seems to be wasting a lot of energy? :confused: YouTube - super little knife forge Vic.

This was my first thought, had I had some suitable steel stock. Many years ago I did make the decision to work exclusively with Metric threads only though. Vic.

First off I'd like to thank the guy that posted the idea of using these clamps - not sure where it is on the website now! I had been thinking of getting one of these clamps for my drill press anyway but when I saw someone's tip of mounting one of these in the Hardy hole on an Anvil I thought it was time I bought one. When it arrived with some other stuff I ordered from Axminster tools I set about rummaging through my limited stock of off cuts for something to fit the Hardy hole. Nothing likely presented itself but I noticed the threaded shaft on the clamp looked suspiciously similar in size to the Pritchel hole. it's a near perfect fit, easily removed when not required but tight enough to hold firm in use - talk about luck! Hope this is of help to others. As a point of interest, the clamp from Axminster has a thread diameter of 12.3mm - don't know what thread it is. My anvil is a Brooks 1 cwt. Vic.

Look forward to seeing them! :)

Perhaps you could also use Glass Fibres for reinforcement? You can buy tubs of chopped strands at Glass fibre suppliers: http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/store/chopped-strands-p-87.html Vic.

Thanks for the input guys, very helpful Vic.