highlander

I made one for a fella once. Just took a piece of 6 inch pipe, cut a slice in it and bent the sides straight with a piece of plate welded for the bottom and back. Took the intact door off his old smashed mailbox and put it on the new one. A couple weeks later he called me to tell me that he found a piece of smashed baseball bat next to the new box, and the paint was scuffed on it. That'll be the last time those kids make that mistake.

I came across this gem on craigslist and figured that I would pass it along. Phone number is on that page.
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/tls/2417910102.html

Highlander, I tried to pm you but was told you could receive no new messages. That is a generous offer, but I would feel better paying you something for your trouble. I'll see if I can get the gear out and try to pm you tomorrow. Thanks again for the offer. Alan

Remove the gear and pm me. I will straighten it for no charge if you can't get it yourself.

I was given a 4 ton punch press today. I was expecting to be getting a different one, but upon further inspection the cast iron frame was cracked and I politely declined it so the gent gave me this one instead! He has many die sets for it that he has to dig out but will be giving me them when he finds em. Needs a new cord, switch, pulley for the motor, belt, and a thorough clean and lube. I don't yet know what I will be using it for, but worse case scenario is that I sell it and use that $ to buy more blacksmithing tools! All the grease on it has hardened up like rock.

Saltfork Craftsmen swage block came in the mail today. Looks great and is 100% worth the money.

Just FYI, if you decide to buy a saltfork swage block, make sure that you email MIKE on the page and not Bill. That email address is not current and you will not get an email back. I don't want to share Bill's new email address on a public forum, but if you email Mike he can point you in the right direction.

Upon further research, it looks to be a socket for turning spanner nuts, were used all over the place on 60's-80's gm vehicles as well as in modern appliances and a host of other pieces of equipment. Thank you everyone for your knowledge and expertise in helping me track down the purpose of this socket.

I must say you are doing excellent. I started out on a real anvil and my first piece didn't look that good. Cheers.

Whilst organizing the mechanical/small engine side of the shop, i came upon a bin of my least used sockets... 3/4 in drive sockets between 1 1/2-3" mostly... I came upon a socket I forgot that I had, it is 3/8 drive with 2 nubs on the outer rim across from each other. I remember seeing this type socket somewhere but I cannot remember what it is used for... Any help? It has no capacity for any kind of hex fastener inside, just smooth and round. Made by MAC tools, it has SC21 stamped into it. A search of MAC tools website gave me nothing.

http://img59.imageshack.us/i/mysterysocket2.jpg/
http://img63.imageshack.us/i/mysterysocket.jpg/

they are cheap cast iron and you cannot forge them.

Made this today for my mother for christmas. She mentioned in passing several months ago that she would love a magnetic hook or two to put on the fridge to hang dish towels off of. This is what I came up with. Magnets still need to be epoxied on and the whole thing hit with a clear coat. Overall length is 11 inches, but it is rather heavy so I may chop some material off the ends. back piece is 2 inch X 1/4 inch flat bar.

probably made of good tough steel. flatten a few out, weld them together, and forge a knife?

The load is minimal. Maybe 60lbs max. Thank you very much doug.

I have been asked to forge a grappling hook for a local marine fire fighter for the purpose of throwing at a small boat that is on fire to pull it in to range to hit with a fire hose. It is a vague description but not important none the less. I have forged the grappling hook itself by splitting sucker rod (courtesy of richard thibeu) into 4 hooks and forging an eye on of the other end.

My main question is this... What is a good color to temper the hooks to for maximum strength? I have yet to harden or temper the whole piece. I have minimal experience with forging with sucker rod. Thank you in advance.

John

im a big fan of the riveted fire poker. gives it a nice look.

upload them to the gallery, then post the links in your thread.

I got to this thread late, but just wanted to say hello to a fellow Delaware smith!

Karl, Diamond State Recycling is where I go when I need specific scrap. I know the guys there and they are a good bunch, but you have to play by their rules. Explain why you are there and what you do. Wear long pants, gloves, and steel-toe boots. Bringing a hard-hat may be a good idea as well(if you don't own one, I can give you one as I have a dozen or so)... DON'T just walk into the yard, go inside first. A good time to go is during lunch break, as the cranes aren't running and it is safer to walk around and they are more likely to let you in. Where is your shop at? I am in the Wilmington area as well..

For new stock, Steel and Metal Liquidators in Newport is a good place.

looks like a mid to late 1800's mousehole to me.

Work has brought me to washington, dc and away from the forge and computer, so i have not been smithing or posting as I used to. Things should be changing in the next month or so and I should be back at the anvil in no time flat. Cheers!

This hold down tool was presented during Tuesday night blueprints. Designer is Jeff Phillips. To see more ideas like this, join us every Tuesday night at 10pm EST in the chat room.

the cups are dishing tools and the "scissors" are scrolling tongs.

Thanks guys!

total fab time was 3 or 4 hours. the copper stem is silver soldered into the brass flower.