johnnie

Thanks guys, I guessed a recognised gunsmith was the best way. It really is a piece of art and the workmanship is stunning and not something I want to ruin. I think it deserves to be fired again with the right cartridges and after being certified safe for use. It would seem a same just to be hung on a beam and left. Not an everyday gun but working all the same. Its conditon is very good. No rust just old and sad looking. The inlay or engraving is stunning as is the damascus pattern. I am glad I asked rather than get to work and make a mess of it. Thanks again for your comments and advise!

Brian Brazeal has made some huge horse heads out of large diameter bar like yours. They look stunning. Just an idea!

Hi guys, I have very kindly been given a double barrelled 12 bore damasus shotgun. The age is aprox 150 years old and I want to restore it. What is the best way of cleaning the damascus without etching to too much? There is very delicate engraving around the trigger guard etc and would hate to damage it. Don't think the photos are very good but hope you can get an idea of what I've got. Thanks for any advice in advance, Johnnie.

Some sort of locking pin I think. You can see where it has been captivated and the small section thats been weathered. If I am right its gotta be of a quality grade steel. I could be wrong, sometimes its easy to be wrong just ask my wife!

Great idea, thanks for sharing. Will be making one the same very soon.

Thats a good looking hammer Harris, I recently had a 2.5lb rounding hammer forged for me out of 1085 Its the best hammer I've forged with. Like you I love hitting with the rounding side.

Tubbe I am loving this thread. As others have said your tooling is superb! Its proved an interesting read and its pushed me (and hopefully others) into forging their own BIGGER tools. A big thank you to you Tubbe, Brian and everyone else who have posted their knowledge on here. John.

You might find that the very tip of the drill is tungsten, I mean literally the first millimetre. The rest of it will be of a high carbon steel which with the correct heat treatment should be good enough for tooling. Punches etc.

Also practice using "play doh". It will move the same as the steel only a lot easier. Taper an end of a 12 mm round and taper 50mm along the bar of doh and flatten it out on the anvil. The steel your forging will do the same just with a lot more elbow grease. This way will save you time and your scrap bin will be a lot lighter!! Most of all enjoy your time, search this site and good luck.

Very nice, well done. What steel is it?

A great idea, easy to punch through and looks fab!

Sorry, brush on at black hot to get the best protection! The light smoke will tell you if the piece is hot enough.

I prefer using an equal mix of beeswax, linseed oil and white spirit. It will harden when it cools so keep in in a metal container near the forge so its molten and ready to use. Brush on and buff off when the piece can be handled but not cold as it takes a lot more elbow grease to buffoff!!

Yes I agree, you twists are fab, clean and interesting to look at!! Thanks Colleen

Yep I agree and thanks for the step by step process. Its good to see the technique. Fantastic!

Nice work, I like that the cross points are symmetrical!!

Just had one like that made for me by Alec Steele in the UK. Its the best, I love the way the steel moves under my new hammer.

Hi again guys, OK the anvil/ sow block is definatly the original as it slides into the main body of the hammer. No way of turning it around. The ram is bang on level and the dies are not running parallel to each other although they are both individually spot on......it has to be the anvil. I've removed the anvil bolts and with a 5mm x 50mm flat bar packed underneath and behind the anvil where it meets the hammer casting. Unfortunately I cannot remove the anvil now as I have resined 20mm rag bolts into the concrete. Not good as I wanted to see exactly what the problem was. I am now 2mm off level, I am using her tomorrow and really hope to see an improvement. Thank you all for your time to advise on whats best. I shall keep you posted.

A problem has arisen on my Beaudry's Peerless and kinda answered my previous problem I have been making a new set of dies and with the originals removed I've noticed the ram isn't level with the top of the anvil. There is a 7mm difference between left to right. This is obviously why work pieces are getting twisted whilst forging and getting pushed away from the dies The top of the anvil is off level. It is sat on a level base of concrete on 18mm exterior grade ply. My guess is the base is not a good cast. I could level the anvil but it weighs 500kg and think the front which is the lowest side would cut into the ply. I've no access to a milling machine to mill the dies. Here are the photos with the problem. Anyone with any solutions will recive a big kiss in the post!!! The only thing I can come up with is to shim the bottom die to level but is this a good idea??

Ha never thought of or seen duck before. They look fab! How did you get such a vivid colour on them???

My wifey got me Mark Aspery's vol 3 Joinery book and the Toby Hickmans Power Hammer techniques dvd. And a banging christmas dinner too. Happy New Year to anyone reading this!

Go with fork lift tines. Its works for my 50kg Beaudrys. No heat treatment if you use a grinder.

Frosty is this sort of thing your profession???? You sure as s#it know everything to know about foundations.. Words used that I've never heard of, very interesting reading though, thanks

Thanks for all the help and ideas. I have bought the Alligator lacing strip. The down side is I had to buy a full box as the supplier wouldn't sell individual strips. So if anyone in the world wants Alligator connectors no27 just ask!!! I have lots!!!