Crazy Ivan

Did you pre heat the vermiculite before putting the blade in? A thin profile blade will not cool slowly enough often times. Try heating up some thick bar stock and putting it in the vermiculite with the blade to help the cooling process take longer. That or your drill speed could be no good which damages bits faster, but I would put my money on the annealing not being successful due to the cooling rate.

I do something similar in my shop. Art therapy is an incredible way of dealing with whatever troubles you. I open my shop to street kids regularly. These kids are run-aways, homeless, drug addicts, mentally ill etc. By giving them a hammer and hot steel along with some instruction and also someone who came from those same situations to listen to them, its amazing how fast these kids start changing themselves for the better. Blacksmith work as therapy is the most amazing thing I have seen to help the hopeless and struggling deal with things. Through my shop alone I have helped 3 kids get off heroin by giving them something to look forward to and occupy themselves with (the hardest part of staying clean is keeping interest in something other then drugs). 4 kids decided to sort things out with their parents and return home with the hopes of setting up their own shop one day. 1 person got his GED and is trying to get into a welding program. All I have to do is give instruction on how to make what they want to make after learning some fundamentals and let them at it. I feel like the mix of "violence" and control that is blacksmithing really helps people who have problems. You can get your aggression out and learn to control it at the same time as making something useful/beautiful out of an otherwise static and boring piece of steel. So that said, I highly encourage folks to do the same if it interests you. The reward outweighs the cost of fuel/material/time tenfold.

Always check the condition of the screw and screw box.

I prefer to go for a nice long swim in the ocean :D . It helps me relax after a long day and that salt water and sand really scrubs you up good. Season/region permitting of course.

I don't want to hijack Technicus's post, just posting what I do with my scrap. I must say though that the skill in forge welding different sized scrap together shown in the OP is awesome! I've watched most of Joe's videos he has posted and he is definitely talented in many aspects.

Quick update: The tiny tongs sold for $20 just now and I made $1 per minute I spent working on them and it started off as drop material. Only real expense was gas in my forge so call it an even US $19 profit from scrap metal. Thats why I love using scrap until theres only mangled nubs left over in the bin! Theres gold in your scrap pile folks. You just gotta think outside the box.

He's what I do. I wasn't really in the zone today and when that happens I make whimsical things out of my drop bin. Started as a 4" piece of 3/8" SQ and scrapping little stuff doesn't pay much so instead of $.01 (probably even less) for this little drop, I put 20 minutes into making it a $15 Paper weight or whatever other use someone comes up with. They are also fully functional :D . Making cute little things keeps me laughing to myself but it also makes me money! http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38668-tiny-tongs/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38667-tiny-tongs/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38666-tiny-tongs/

Similar to that, in high school when I was still learning to weld and before I learned to feed filler wire through my fingers, I used to bump the wire against my chest or stomach to get my hand where I wanted it before I started a new bead....until I bumped the wrong end off my stomach and burned a nice hole in me. I only made that mistake once <_< .

I know there is a lot of banter over welded reins vs drawing them out. That aside, I'm curious for those of you who weld on your reins, what type of weld do you prefer? Faggot weld, stepped and scarfed, arc weld etc. As I typically work alone I have started doing a birds mouth weld because I find them easier to do alone as opposed to drop tong welds of any sort (especially in my gas forge vs. coal). Typically I will forge the bit and leave enough material behind the boss to split down the middle, scarf, and upset and tapper the reins to fit the birds mouth. Then jam the assembly together and stick it in the forge and weld (similar to how a HC bit is welded into an axe head). I find this to be an easier weld and it is also likely a bit stronger since there is 2 sides of the bit closed over the reins when I weld making de-lamination under stress a lot less likely to occur. So how do you prefer to weld your reins, why, and does it cater to working alone or not so much?

I'm very glad to be back in my own shop and have been busier then ever with work since I got back. Knives, forges, hammers, necklaces, a lantern is on the list and likely some extra pairs of tongs. Heres a few pics of the hammer I directed while a member on here struck. The hammer is for him made from a pin (from an excavator bucket?) which I have a feeling is somewhere along the lines of 1045 or so. I forged and HTed as such and it went fine. The idea was to make it similar to a HOFI style hammer but with more lines and flash. I don't have an appropriate scale but it feels around 2-2 1/2 LBS. It was slightly rushed but came out nicely as far as the feel of it for sure. Plus I am not fully tooled up for hammer making so some of the aesthetics were lacking IMO. Nonetheless.... http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38665-hammer-for-a-friend/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38664-hammer-for-a-friend/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38663-hammer-for-a-friend/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38662-hammer-for-a-friend/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38661-hammer-for-a-friend/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38660-hammer-for-a-friend/

No where with 4 walls and a roof :) I was planing on camping out/hiking in Los Padres National Forest for a week or two. Never really much of a plan but I will be in the area and will definitely let you know when I'm around.

Even better at $1 a LB!

I agree with Thomas. It is a Badger anvil. The bulge under the hardy hole plus the cut aways in the back foot under the heel were typical of a badger.

Actually Chinobi, Santa Barbara is exactly where I will be in mid-late February! I'll be sure to PM you when I have a better time frame in mind. As to the girlfriends surgery, she is doing well and the pain is getting less and less each day. Still another few weeks before she goes to PT and months before she can walk normally, but all went well. We both thank you for the well wishes.

Well I'm back in Boston for about another 2 weeks before I venture off again. The girlfriend is in surgery right now and should be out within a half hour or so. My dog Applesauce (Staffordshire Bull Terrier) leaped from across the room into my arms and wouldn't leave me alone for hours upon my initial arrival. Got my shop set back up and set up some work while I'm back in between taking care of my girlfriend during her recovery. Things are going pretty darn well but my feet are already itchin! On my first full day when I get back to south Florida I agreed to help a smith make 3 hammers in one day, then later on that week I will be setting out for California making my way across the southern coast. Busy busy busy! I haven't had so much to look forward to in my life since I can remember and its doing wonders for my mental stability and fairly damaging to my financial stability...funny how that seems to happen... :D

A2 for punches, dies, and shear blades from the majority of what I've seen. Is there something wrong with sending them out for sharpening? That's common practice as opposed to buying/making new blades all together. Also much much cheaper.