double_edge2

i have used charcoal exclusively for now for about 7-8 years, although as the other aussie says, it doesnt help you with tree names. the lighter timbers if you have an enormous supply are hot and burn extremely quick. the harder timbers are the more consistant, i have made my own from iron bark and assorted gum trees after storms etc (hardwoods) and bought malley root and gidgy. the harder and heavier it is, the more consistant, control and longer burning you will have. you will have sap residues that survive the distillation process, which starts off as a sticky ball then progresses to dry hard clinker looking to smooth lump....that will need to be checked for and removed if any, just before you weld. i like charcoal and good in the bbq too. just one of my useless tips...i use a 2litre plastic bottle with a nail hole in it full of water to control the outer edges of fire to reduce waste burn or to focus heat, and if you want to save more, carefully quench the charcoal when you are finnished. damp or wet charcoal when burnt releases the moisture agressively (pops and spits at ya) so always have your safety glasses on. hope this helps a tiny bit.

no probs just email a number to sort out times

nice press.....

clapper type dies and mounted is a fuller and flatter on mine, just mild steel.

looks better than mine...lol it'll work well. i, off ebay got a 20 ton air/hyd for $175.00 i just use mild steel dies and gave the jack full screwed extension plus die thickness to allow for more room. 12 ton use inch or less dia fuller and i used 2 X 3" by 1" thick flatter set. if you work too far off centre your travel bar might want to tilt and you may, i did, have jamming issues. and you will lose heat quick being hand pump(swapping between pump and release, so if you get someone to help either pump and or release it will go alot smoother. just for tidying up though i found the flatting function awesome. good job bloke!

i have one the same...a wedge turned into a cutoff tool...i left it long and slender, comes up off the anvil about 4-5 inches for sheet, small and wierd shaped jobs i need the height with. i would not pound heavy steel on it though. go the 50mm and a big shoulder.

theyre ready to leave home now......i bagz the swedge block......

awsome.... guess ive got a couple of blank die sets out of 5160 for you to pick up then.....

yeah tried him....hes getting out of it...bit crook

Qld brisbane area, anyone wanting an introduction/taste to blacksmithing and general fabrication. (this includes the female type blokettes as well as blokes) looking at starting a little regular type BBQ face to face thing, for sharing of knowledge, techniques, ideas and general snag eating/coffee drinking, and playing with the forge. and still looking for another blacksmith as per original add email a phone number or pm etc.

i remember when this popped on the net, then vannished then re-appeared The Blacksmiths Craft a printer copy of this was my first book, along with anything else i found i glued/chewied/sleeved and added both pics and texts into the back.

id do it again but hotter, ive found some metals doing the same thing to me have an extremely narrow, hot, window for hammering.

i had a tig do that once, apparently..........it had a long lost cousin... plasma cutter....bit of etha....

awesome.....ya gonna do one for yourself too ????:D

hey im not quite a beginner and just about 45 degrees down to the left a few inches on the map ...apparently...... i have my own company canoe.....

Thankyou for the reinforcement. i just had to keep making them,( whatever the item ) till they were constantly consistant, or they wouldnt sell. and when was taught another skill, that repetition turns a repetative action into a fluent and powerfull reaction. i just wanted to know if i was passing on good advice and tasks that would improve ones ...."eventually becoming comfortable, consistant and quicker with the small repetative awkward jobs". and with charcoal, they will learn along the way the fire control or end up with a puddle. and i suppose if they want to learn they will. a couple of pics would be great thanks, at your leisure. unkle spike. and thankyou all for your sound advice.

i thought, practice, repetition, tongs and tools. and lots of it?

awsome, money is on the bookshelf. short i know but hope you had a good muck around :-)

i think.... nowdays, would be able to populate, from scratch/scrap and raw materials, a capable steel workshop, producing anything from the needed up to and including structural, to the decoratively wanted, with the perfection and soundness quite quite often seen in wonderfull work. just my thought, short version.

no,, hadnt thought of doing so, and dont know him. i thought here if you didnt have a million dollar shed with flashy tools, and brick forge, mechanical hammer, and that much insurance you could retire on, and heaps of freebies to give away, you werent worth knowing... haha just looked at his web page, nice.....jeez im im too lazy for that! although i just bodgied up a 20ton air/hyd forge press,,,,seems to work well enough on 1 inch, the 50 ton 3phase press is going to HAVE to have some plastic surgery done to it. ive stuck a couple of pics on flickr for the old man in perth to look at, at the url below. Flickr: 9ohfun's Photostream

howdy, hi mate names mike and i live at caboolture .......i would love some introduction to blacksmithing and fabrication ....ph ill ring shortly __________________________________________ I'l be on the next plane! Hey, I can even speak Australian! awesome... i even have an american/aussie translater . and ill set up the barby and a swag for ya... :-) _____________________________ Can I commute from Hurley, N.Y. U.S.A.? Mark no probs i have a company canoe and a fuel card? __________________________________________ in all seriousness,, any one coming from wherever in the blacksmith community to aus. i can put you up for a short stay, im about 10 mins from the airport at brisbane. or stop in for coffee and or bbq. im probly a bit backyardish for some and have been for about ten years or so, so excuse the forge entrails around the yard.

hope this post is in the right bit near eagle farm, brisbane, I need a blacksmith occasionally to part time with a view to more work, general forge work making blacksmith tools and general setup of workshop. suit semi retired or competent hobbyist. lacky provided in most cases. msg or email me your number if interested also happy to show people in my area, if they want an introduction to a bit of forging and fab. thankyou.

i can sell you the yellow hooved gazontapedes to suit this enclosure...

i did a basic stick weld course and then asked someone about heat for bending some rod to make a candle holder......he said make a forge....then the internet, practice, and just "having a go" did the rest.

banjo....leather work (a little)....guitar....radios.....dog training.... im really bad at wood work....i have this machine thing, i put the timber in at the top and what i best make out of wood comes out the bottom. ....oh..sorry...after i light it that is.