Anachronist58

Oh Frosty, alright already! These have darkened up quite a bit, since I put this coat rack up 15 years ago. These locust pegs were turned on the '34 Southbend, aforementioned (duh wuns wit duh wabbits). I was making the pegs from dowel rod, but ran out, three pegs short. So, I went to the wood stove, grabbed a 1-1/2" dia piece of locust, and turned the last three pegs. The back plate is re-milled pallet oak. I am now growing locusts for shade and lumber (hammer handles), they grow like weeds here. Robert Taylor

That's OK Frosty - my locusts have chatoyancy.

That's funny, because my grandfather WAS a blacksmith, and his wife WAS part Cherokee (southern Oklahoma, northern Texas) Robert Taylor

My 1934 Southbend lathe runs on babbits.

I would like to put those back to work as scrapers. Whatever you do, please don't turn them into "knives", because they are already the Ultimate Knives, in a fitted case, no less. Robert Taylor

Many excellent and "acutely" salient points expressed in this thread - what a crew. Robert Taylor

I work second shift on a large campus in a two acre building with six two story machines, plus dozens of "smaller" machines. We build jet engine housings and "hot side" components. My grind room is a junk museum. "Smoke"? I still work there, so read between the lines. Mr. Reynolds, this is still actually relevant to your original topic - I took a 1/8" rod of 6011, upset it, and forged a long-handled flux spoon. Mastering those heat-sensitive, tiny details reminds me of why the forge is so cathartic and utterly dissimilar to what I do for a living.

ANVIL PRETTY.

Hang in there Andres! Been There, Robert Taylor

For Amina Chatwin, I will ring the big iron bell. Rest in peace.

Just go with preformed nickel-silver fret stock - otherwise you will be unable to finish the job. Robert Taylor

To Mike and all of your competitors - enough already! Prayers for you, your family, and of all who are currently recoverng, Robert and Sheila Taylor

Yes and I can buy cheap mass produced "blacksmith" iron work - what's the difference? Buying one-off "designer" creations from individual craftsmen is certainly "hogwash", I don't even know why blacksmiths pretend their stuff is so special? Certainly, I can take a cheap tool and modify it for my own personal use, and have very satisfactory results. And I am perfectly happy with my photocopy of the Mona Lisa. But there is a (silly) reason why we appreciate the humanity that is poured into craftsmanship, and why we don't build jet engines with hf tools. Robert Taylor Edit: yes, I do use *a few* hf tools at the plant.

When I was a hand finisher, I would make high-speed steel and tungsten carbide "knives" very specific to the job at "hand". Due to the production nature of the work, the edge, handle, hand, and body, had to be integrated as nearly as possible into a "single" piece of machinery. On many jobs I could not afford to think about how these pieces fit together - they had to perform together on a nearly unconscious level. I expect nothing less from my hammers - the handle, weight, balance, and striking profile must do what I tell it to as second nature. Those of us who have been delighted by fine craftsmanship and "intuitive" design, may be on to something. Robert Taylor

Looks to me like the saw teeth are the same metal as the disc, only heat-treated. Great pictures, thanks for sharing your little piece of "junk" paradise. Robert Taylor

I can be pretty stupid at times, and >I< wouldn't do that (nowadays) (throw a charged & sealed assembly into a fire). Robert Taylor

Dannemora! A dollar a pound! I am embarrassed by the anvil envy I am feeling right now. I love my beat up little 88# Soderfors, but WOW. Robert Taylor

Ouch Thomas! Robert Taylor

That moves me. I will ring my anvil. Robert Taylor

AMS is Aerospace Materials Specification (See SAE & ASTM). As for the "1250", what the other guys said - it's not in MY book

Move her truck BEFORE you start setting this up, lest your enthusiasm carries you away as you complete the set-up. Happened to me in 1985 when I was hogging with a six inch grinder next to my bud's BELOVED Subaru wagon. Those sparks are actually burning steel blobs. They "worked a treat" as a reverse enameling on his two side windows. QUITE Permanent. Frosty, our relationship was never the same after that, just sayin...... MOVE THE TRUCK FIRST.

Very nice tip Frosty, my brain instantly designed a jig using a 2-1/2 ton floor jack hanging off the edge of my big bench. If that were not enough, I could easily swap in a twenty ton bottle jack. Make jig for H-Frame press. Cut a beefy plywood disk to fit snugly inside a 55 gal drum, use a ratcheting tie-down to strap a jack to one side of the drum, and use the opposite side of the drum as your bending mandrel. Run the cable through and start jacking. I speculate that this could be done either hot or cold. I did not catch what diameter pipe you are using. All feel free to pick apart my impetuous blurt, Robert Taylor

Still have two? Now THAT is VERY GOOD to hear! :+D

Yep. You got the eye, excellent. Robert Taylor

What a thread! 01tundra, I can only gasp. Dodge: "Thought I'd toss a bone. Jig bends 5/8" cold. Uses a cheater bar that hooks the outer holes. Big disc turns on a bearing." Great Bone! The simple attachment point for the cheater bar just saved me a good bit of rumination over a trailer axle assembly I have selected as a base for my bending jig - Thanks! Robert Taylor