son_of_bluegrass

I would imagine somewhere there is a range for accuracy. It may be expressed as a percentage. If it says accurate to 1% and you are measuring 1500 degrees it could be 15 degrees off. If the accuracy is to 5% then it could be 75 degrees off at 1500. Or it may give an accuracy of +/- X degrees. There may be other limitations such as others have mentioned. Such as the need to calibrate occasionally. If you don't have a way to calibrate it, then you really don't know how far off it is. ron

There are a number of uses for wood ash. As has been mentioned, it is a good annealing medium. It can be used to line a forge or mixed with what you use to line a forge. I read of ash being used as a flux, some say it has to be rice straw ash specifically, others say any straw ash (straw ash will have some silica in it), others say any ash will work. I've never used ash of any kind for flux. Since you mentioned furniture, I'd sift it. That way any leftover metal bits from the furniture will be removed and the charcoal you can save back for forge fuel. ron

In my experience, Tapcon screws are more prone to cracking stone and mortar than other fastening systems. They have their use but I would rather use a masonry drill and some form of expanding bolt. If you have concerns about the stone work cracking, drill slow and don't use a hammer drill. ron

You may want to look into damascene jewelry. http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_5/advanced/t5_1_1.html ron

Can you post pictures of your set-up? There are a couple of folks around here that use hair dryers for forge blowers. It should be plenty of air it there aren't other problems. ron

I like it. If I ever find time to start a fire, I may have to steel the idea. ron

Sand, clay, wood ash, anything you can pack in that will resist the fire without breaking down will work. If you use something that has some insulation value you may be able to use less fuel. ron

I have a few knives made from 1095 (store bought) that I tempered to 325 F in an oven. That leave is pretty near full hard and they work just fine for cutting (I've never left one untempered). So long as they aren't used for prying that level of hardness works just fine. As to the original question, you can use a torch on the spine and watch the colors quenching the blade when the color approaches the edge. It takes a lot of care and practice to do that well. ron

That looks like a pretty good set-up. Just a little different from my bar-b-q forge. One suggestion I would make is to build a stand you can lock your anvil down. That will make the blows of your hammer more efficient and you'll get more work done for the effort. ron

For a beginner hammer, a lot depends on it you are used to swinging a hammer or not. If you sit in a cube all day and have for years the 1 lb. hammer may be just right to start. If you swing a hammer for a living already, a 3 lb. hammer may work. I do most of my work with something in the 1.5 to 2 lb. hammer. I started with a claw hammer as it was available. Today I have enough hammers I don't need to use a claw hammer. But it will work. You may eventually want a mallet for non-marring. Go with wood or leather. ron

That may be necessary. If the mask fits right there will be no or very little water that works it's way in and you can clear a mask easy enough. I've dove with a full beard and mustache before. If you find the mustache lets in more water than you want to deal with, some people have smeared Vaseline or similar on the mustache with some success. ron

When I was young, my folks taught me to respect my elders. As I got older, and spent some time in the army with some senior NCO's who should've still be privates from what they could do, I decided everyone gets courtesy until they earn discourtesy. Some few will earn respect. ron

There is a guy I occasionally get in a sword fight with (fencing) who sports a full beard. He mentioned once when the subject of beards came up that some number of years ago the company he was working for told him he'd have to shave so a respirator would fit properly. At that time somebodies regs (may have changed the rules since then) have a requirement that if a respirator was needed and the employee had a beard, the company was required to supply a full face respirator that would fit properly. ron

I shave every 2 or 3 days. That way the respirator fits when I'm creating saw dust. (tend to do more wood work than anything else.) edge9001, As someone who shaves with a straight razor, I can attest that you risk nasty cuts from dull razors. A sharp straight razor is the best shave you can get and is less likely to cut than a slightly dull one. I got a lot more nicks from "safety" razors when I was using them than sharp straight razors. On the other hand a dull razor is the worst shave you'll ever get. I think a big part of the reason beards were more common in prior ages was the necessity of having soap and water on hand to create the lather. ron

I've got a non-cooled side blast. It used to be a Weber charcoal grill. I drilled a hole in the side for the pipe and lined the insides with wood ash. The pipe burned back to the ash insulation and has held there for a few years now. I started burning charcoal and since I now have some coal I burn that. The coal produces more clinker which can congeal on the pipe. ron

From what I've read in this thread, we have yet to move beyond the tragedy of the commons. This saddens me. ron

While the cost of energy to produce a give product is included in the price, very seldom is the full cost of production included. By that I mean thing like how pollution from energy generation affects the health of the population at large. In some countries waste products still get dumped into the environment directly at no cost to the producer. These costs are hidden and get born by the tax payer and, in the case of health issues, by those who pay into a health insurance plan. Only in the last decade or two has anyone even tried to calculate what these costs may be. There are a lot of hidden cost that the end user doesn't pay for directly or totally. Some of these costs are borne by tax payers who don't even know the product exists. I don't know what the solution to this problem is but I think buying, at a higher price, better quality and buying once is better than buying cheap and replacing often. ron

There has been a lot of good advice given above. For my two cents, air dried wood makes better hammer handles than kiln dried (or any similar method that gets above around 140 degrees F). Excess heat changes the structure of some of the components of the wood and thus changes the characteristics of the final handle. It is best to at least split the log in half (through the pith [the center]) first. That will relieve a lot of the stress as the log dries and prevent or reduce major cracking. Splitting (or sawing if the grain is straight enough and you follow the grain) into oversized slabs will help more and decrease the drying time. Expect to loose 1/4 to 1/2 inch total from the sides due to shrinking and shaping. So leave the blanks 1/2 to 3/4 inch larger in cross section than the final dimensions you want for the handles (I like 1 5/8 to 1 3/4 inch square cross section or that by 1 to 1 3/8 inch before drying). You will loose some from the ends due to checking so leave each 2 to 4 inches longer than you want to end up with if you seal the ends or 4 to 6 inches long if you don't. They make commercially available end grain sealers or you can use thinned PVA (yellow, carpenter's) wood glue (thin with water to a paint like consistency) or wax. Oil based paint is better than latex but paint is worse than wax or glue. If you slab into handle sizes pieces expect to wait 2 years before working if you air dry. If you don't slab and are drying half logs it depends on the size of the log. If the log was 6 inches diameter (3 inches across for a half log) give it at least 3 years. Anything bigger wait 4 years. I'd save anything 6 inches diameter and larger for handles and split down to under a 3 year wait. Drying times vary depending on temperature and humidity. Warmer temps and lower humidity speed the drying process. Faster drying promotes checking. I generally get 6 handles from a 6 inch diameter log. I split in half then each half into thirds. For larger logs I split to about that size. When I go to shape the handle I remove the sap wood plus a little. If you air dry, you want to have air circulation around each piece. That is true if you kiln dry, but if you put on piece at a time in an oven it isn't an issue. You can either debark or not. Most insects that will attack the wood prefer bark and sap wood. Debarked logs will dry a bit faster. Those are pluses for debarking. Debarked logs are more prone to checking (small cracks at the end) and splitting. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. ron

I think (and I could be wrong), this a question of semantics. One way to define flexibility is simply the ability to be bent. From one stand-point, heat treating has nothing to do with flexibility so narrowly defined, the flexibility merely comes from the alloy and shape. The amount of force required to put some level of bend in the blade is the same regardless of heat treat. A looser definition of flexibility includes the ability to return to the prior shape. This is resilience. Using this definition, heat treat does have an effect as the heat treat helps determine when the metal takes a permanent bend or breaks. ron

I saw that same mentality in construction (residential trim carpentry). That is why I'm currently trying to make it doing my own thing. I'm the sort of guy who has trouble sleeping at night if I feel I didn't do the best job I could. That's not to say it was always top notch, there are a lot of areas I'm still learning on. The last guy I worked for fired me for not working fast enough. At least that's what he told me. He paid me hourly, prior to that I was being paid piece-meal (at one of the lowest piece-meal rates in town). When he first told me I needed to work faster, I told him if he payed me piece-meal at the rate I was getting earlier (I had prior to that mentioned some on the pay and he comments on how low it was) he'd be paying me more money. I knew I was making him money and I was doing quality work. It didn't matter, he wanted faster work and so long as no one complained about the quality, it was good enough. The funny thing is, this was on $100,000 tract houses, when we were working on $500,000 or higher "mansions" he didn't care about speed as long as it was done right. ron who stopped shopping at Wal-mart about a decade ago.

I have to disagree with how your swinging a hammer. The elbow should not do much work at all. If you swing your arm from your shoulder the same way you do when walking, I think you stress yourself less than if you work from your elbow. ron

I have read that the coal used for heating isn't the best quality coal for forging. It sounds like it is rather dirty. You may want to try some different coal for your forge. ron

Firebug, I have to respectfully disagree with many of the things you have said. I've spend most of my working life (I'm not that old so were talking 20 years) swinging a hammer. Mostly as a carpenter. The only time I've ever been sore from that is when I had to use a hammer with too small a handle or had to use a hammer with a fiberglass or rubber-covered handle. In both instances that was from blisters. First, there is no problem with a long handled hammer. My most used hammer has a handle that is as long as my forearm. I hold it about 2 to 3 inches from the end and it weighs about 1.5 pounds. I also frequently use a 4 pound hammer with a similar sized handle, which I've used all day for several days in a row with no pain or stiffness in any joint. And when working construction when nail guns weren't available, I've used my hammers all day 5 or 6 days a week (working in the army) without a problem. My carpenter hammers have only slightly shorter handle (but held about the same distance from the head) and weigh from 1 to 2 pounds (trim vs framing) The greater length corresponds to greater acceleration than is possible with a short handled hammer which means you hit with more force swinging a long handled hammer than a short handled hammer of the same weight. Greater force means more metal moved with each hit and fewer hits. As to the other measure of a handle, most people use a hammer that has to small of a circumference for their hand. Ot to put it another weight, what most people think of as an oversized handle it correct for them. Most people wind up over gripping a small handle to gain control and that leads to transferring vibrations into the hand and arm. And there are many suitable ways to hold a hammer. There is nothing wrong with setting your thumb on top of the handle. IF you don't try to press down with your thumb. I hold my hammer between my palm and middle two fingers. The index, pinkie and thumb don't have to be on the handle at all for me to swing my hammer. Others hold their hammer between their thumb and first 2 fingers. That works as well. In my experience most people swinging a hammer don't start by moving their shoulder. I watched a long time ago, a show on ergonomics that had footage of people swinging hammers slowed down. Most of them lifted with the elbow first. Then cocked the wrist. Then moved the shoulder. This results in a swing that is out of line with the target and is harder to control. The way I was taught to swing a hammer is based on natural movements. You should start swinging from the shoulder and that swing should be straight the same as when you walk. The elbow doesn't have to move but can some, again it should be in a straight line. There is no need to move the wrist at all. This is one reason wrist injuries occur, people try to control the hammer with their wrist. (The other main reason for injuries is gripping the handle too hare.) And so long as you are moving your arm in line with your joints you don't strain your arm or joints. I'm not trying to saw this is the only way to swing a hammer, but I am saying the Hofi method isn't the only way to work either. As for Hofi designing his hammer, he didn't do it in a vacuum. Every element of his hammer can be found in central European history. Which is probably where the idea of a Czech hammer came from, it is in central Europe. I really have doubts that he created the hammer from scratch. He probably modified a hammer to suit what he wanted. I've done that myself. From his website, he started forging and founded his school after he met Haberman. Hofi has done a lot. And is an impressive smith. But he is better at PR. ron

I've got a pair of face shield from a welding shop. One is shade 3 the other is shade 5. You can wear additional safety glasses under those. Shade 3 is suppose to provide suitable protection from the IR produced at the temps typically for forging. ron

I don't use 1080 and I haven't looked at a TTT diagram for it. But I don't know if 780 Celcius (1440F) is hot enough. I think 1500-1550 F (815 - 840 C) would be better before quenching. Aside from that I think what you plan should work. ron