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I Forge Iron

Mr Smith

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Everything posted by Mr Smith

  1. I keep the face of my forging hammer rounded, to prevent hammer marks, and my tooling hammer much flatter. For this reason, I don't strike chisels, etc with my forging hammer, otherwise it'd likely slip off and bust up a finger or something.
  2. Fantastic! An axe is definitely on my "to-do" list. Even more so, now. Thanks for sharing!
  3. Bongo, Have you been to see the Blacksmiths' Association in Claremont?? That'd be your best bet.
  4. Hey! I'm from WA too! In answer to your question, I'd say no. It'd be a job that is harder than it needs to be, for a result that is not as good as it could be. Hope that helps!! :-)
  5. Enjoying the high-level discourse here, guys. :-)
  6. That looks neat! That's added to my things to do list! :-D
  7. Before this goes *too* far off topic - I agree with you on the points that sometimes you'll get an "expert" who sees what they want to see, *but* my main argument is that *theory* means something totally in a scientific context. The definition you've used above is accurate, but for something we figure is correct, but have not tested, we use the word "hypothesis". Totally agree with questioning what you've been told and testing it for yourself - that's what science is. :-) Likewise, totally agree that people will "find" what is fashionable or convenient (look at the depiction of dinosaurs over the years) - after all, science is a human endeavour, and, well, like in all things, money talks! :-) As for these out-of-place objects.... well.. The Greeks were well advanced, but some of the other stuff... I don't know. Apologies for dragging this out yet further. :-)
  8. I'm not arguing. I think the guy posting in bold and all caps might be, though... :-) I'll admit it's off topic, but it's connected to the thread of this discussion. Sometimes discussions go that way.
  9. Caleb, I think a lot of your confusion comes from the fact that "theory" has a different meaning in a scientific context, compared to what it has in a regular, everyday context. For the record when we're discussing science, "Theory" means "everything we know about a particular phenomenon". For example, the theory of gravity, atomic theory, heck, even piano theory. Secondly, I'm not sure where you get this idea that rock strata have never proven to be indicators of age. Sedimentary rocks build up over centuries. The recent stuff is going to be the stuff that is dumped on top, and will obviously be older than the stuff down lower - we call that "relative dating". We have very reliable test that can tell us how long certain isotopes of rock take to decompose into other isotopes. By working out the relative amounts of each isotope, we can tell the age of the rock - we call that "absolute dating". Sure, we have all these tales of out of place objects, or "OOPs", but show me one that has been discovered in the last twenty years or so - Most of them are based on eyewitness accounts from the 19th century. Lastly, with mineral deposition, where the minerals are deposited makes all the difference. The point of a stalagmite or stalagtite is a very small area, compared to the width of a path. Deposition would be much faster on a wider object. The bottom line is that science is an ongoing process, and until something is backed up by hard evidence, it just ain't science. Nothing would make an expert's day quite like making some kind of new discovery - the real recognition is in finding new stuff.
  10. Randy - would you say the same applies to charcoal?
  11. My understanding is they are both a heat sink and a source of impurities.
  12. These have been really popular as gifts. I can't keep up with demand! Firstly, here's the "How-to" http://i1178.photobu...ttleopeners.jpg Here's photos of the process... The original spike: http://i1178.photobu.../openers002.jpg Putting in the "step" http://i1178.photobu.../openers003.jpg Punching the slot http://i1178.photobu.../openers005.jpg Round off the slot http://i1178.photobu.../openers001.jpg Put the "tab" in http://i1178.photobu.../openers008.jpg Lastly, I recommend making them in batches of six... for.. er... "testing" purposes. Once I know they work, I clean them up and give them a coat of something. Enjoy! http://i1178.photobu.../openers009.jpg
  13. Here you go, guys. This is an old one, but worth a look, I'm sure. Disclaimer: I did not make these, a 'smith by the name of Malcolm Paine did. Anyhoo, enjoy.
  14. Why not post me a bunch of coins, and I'll do the same for you. I'm on the other side of the world, heck, currently we're a *day* ahead of you guys. I'd like to see the US treasury prosecute crimes from the future!!! :-D
  15. Thomas, I realise he has another vice. I am, after all reading the same posts you are. I'm using the phrase "a vice" to refer to the vice that was broken. Let's keep it civil in future.
  16. My two cents' worth says go for it. At the moment, you don't have a vice. If you either can't fix it, or you fix it and it breaks, you'll only be where you are now,. Do your best welds and make a mental note to ease up on it, until you know what kind of strain it can take. Stay safe, at any rate. This thread reminds me of an article I read about a blacksmith working in Kazakhstan. The guy had made a leg vice by stick welding 3" rebar together. There was a hole for the screw part, but otherwise all home made. Keep us posted!
  17. First up, I'm loving this thread. Thanks to all contributing. Question, though.... is the "I wanna make a sword" phenomenon a case of newbies fixating on the sword itself, or more of a "walk before you can run" thing. I remember day 1 of 'smithing telling myself I was going to knock out a bunch of fire pokers and couple pairs of tongs, so I figure I fall into the later category.
  18. I struggled to decide exactly what to call them, to be honest. Lug wrench has a nice ring to it! :-)
  19. I had a bunch of wheel spanners lying around. Not anymore.
  20. I post things on here also. It's not a question of using your site to drive traffic, it's a case of using as many on-line resources as possible to promote blacksmithing and our association.
  21. Hey! For all those interested, BAWA has a Facebook page. I update it every now and again with pictures and what not.
  22. On top of what's been said..... Put vinegar in the freezer. The water in the vinegar freezes before the acetic acid, thus if you pour off the remaining liquid, it is much stronger. Vinegar is real good at killing weeds, but breaks down quicker than commercial weed killer.
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