ausfire

I think Frank was saying that the screw-in type would be slow. As it is, this one (luckily) drops straight through the hardy hole and one quick twist of the lever and it's firm. Probably not quite as quick as the hammer-down one but not slow all the same. Iuse it mainly for punching, forming the lifting tab on bottle openers and touchmark stamping etc. Bigfoot, could you post a picture of the chain holdfast that you use? I would like to make one. Choice is a good thing. I imagine that you have two fairly heavy weights, one on each end. Or is one end attached to your anvil block with a large weight on the other??

My first thought was it's something used in the logging industry. Perhaps to grab logs or roll logs into place. Whatever it is, it's well made and would certainly take a powerful bite. Edit: Nah, it closes up too tightly for logging. Hard to judge the scale - how big is it?

I found these chisel-like objects. I made a rectangular slot punch out of one (works well). I'm told on another thread that these are cape chisels for cutting cold sheet steel, although I'm not so sure how that would work. Anyway, I gathered up a bunch of them. Any other ideas of what could be made from them? They seem to be good hexagon tool steel.

Do you ever find a good use for a tool that was not intended for blacksmithing? I found this carpenter's bench grip and it just happened to fit the hardy hole of the anvil perfectly. One turn of the screw and it provides a secure anchor for many applications, better than any hold down I have made. I found it amongst some old springs and buggy parts, so it must be old. I would like to acquire a couple more but haven't seen anything like it in the modern tool catalogues. It has become a valued and much used part of the tool inventory.

And I'll have to try the skull! What a great idea using the shape of the railway spike top. Good thinking, Nomad.

That's good to know, Jim. I found an old blower nearby which was stamped 'Buffalo Forge Co.. Buffalo NY. Perhaps they were connected at some stage in the past. I might have to renew the acquaintance.

That's good to know, Jim. I found an old blower nearby which was stamped 'Buffalo Forge Co.. Buffalo NY. Perhaps they were connected at some stage in the past. I might have to renew the acquaintance.

Thanks Adam. How's life in The Gong? I've never heard of a cape chisel, but I can see how they would be useful in the way you describe. I found a whole bunch of them in various forms so they should be good steel for punches.

Ah, I see. A clinker breaker. So the air flow is controlled by the speed of the blower.

Toothy, that plough is a fine thing to have on your lawn. I would be going back for some more! I too have been dragging things home. I found this cast iron firepot while I was looking for some steel to make punches out of. It is very heavy and has a pipe underneath to attach a blower. We have a few old blowers so I was thinking of trying to set this up. I would have to make some sort of flap to contain the ash. What I don't understand is the function of the lever. It turns a cylindrical valve in the base of the pot, but in any position I think it would allow the same amount of air to pass. Maybe it's worn. I imagine this would have been fitted into a wider tray on legs. I would like to build it into a stone forge but the ash removal might prove a problem. Here's a pic of the thing:

This is a strange looking mallet I picked up at a swap meet. For $5 it seemed like a good buy and I have tested it on the bending of a ram's head and it works just fine. I use a lead hammer for the same job, but it's getting very battered and I was glad to come across this one. No-one on the stall knew what it was and I'm not sure it is intended for blacksmith use. However, it works well. The hide is very tightly wound and is held firm by the large nut. Do you figure it is a homemade piece or what? It is marked with GREG STEEL, or that's what it looks like. Anyone seen anything similar?

But I have had some success with other openers made from more forgiving material than wrought. Here are a few of the latest attempts:

I'm still struggling to make a go of those wrought iron railway spikes. After several more tries I ALMOST got it. Picture is attached. All good until the last bit of shaping the loop. Grrrrrr.

The punch I made from the tyre iron shown earlier in this thread was a bit of a disappointment. I think it may have had too much of a surface area and not enough mass to punch the bottle opener starting slot efficiently. So I have created another which may work better. This one has much more mass and is better to grip. I also made the slot a bit smaller. I found quite a few of these tools shaped like this. I don't know what they are. I just trimmed up the end to the shape I wanted - very little alteration required. The flat part seems to have one edge slightly thicker than the other.

You guys are all spoilt for choice! I would like the opportunity to have any experienced smith show me anything.

Wow. Lots of discussion to digest here. I think I'll go with the punch as is, keeping it cool, and see what happens. I'll make another out of some of that hexagon drill steel with more mass and compare what gives. As I think Vaughn said on another thread - the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Thanks for all the information. Edit: Come to think of it - the mass of that tyre iron may be a bit light on. In retrospect perhaps I should have turned it into a bottle opener - with Michelin stamped on it, it would be a good gift for a tyre shop worker. I'll go look for another one.

Black Frog I need one of those slot punches, so I had a look around the scrap pile (sorry, 'resource store') and found a tyre iron that was close to the right dimensions. (It even had Michelin stamped on it with arrows to show which end to mount or dismount the tyre.) It was screaming out to made into a punch so I cut it off at the good length so that the slot is about 5/8 inch. I'm guessing that's close to what you use. The steel would be reasonably hard, but would I need to do any sort of heat treatment before using it? I gave it a bit of a polish in case tempering is necessary. Here's a pic of the iron and the punch.

I have no idea what a fire striker is so I consulted Wikipedia: A fire striker (or fire steel) is a piece of high carbon or alloyed steel from which sparks are struck by the sharp edge of chert or similar rock. I've seen fires started by the bow and stick method but never by using sparks from steel. Are these just decorative or do they actually work? I would think you would need extreme hardness on the striking edge. Interesting post. Ya learn something every day.

Thanks for suggestions. I'm using a round punch. Going to have to make one of those slot punches. And yes, I do get the iron hot - not quite to sparking heat though. I find there's a fine line between sparking and melted. I'll keep trying.

I have tried to punch three more of those wrought iron spikes but still the splitting occurs. I'm wondering if I punch the hole lower on the spike so that there is more material between the hole and the tip it would help keep things together. Then grind off the excess and clean up. Might give that a try next time. I'm determined to get a bottle opener out of one of those spikes. So far wrought is nought.

Good to revisit this thread. I learn some more each time. Incidentally, I really like your touchmark. It seems fairly large - I imagine something of that area would take a pretty fair smack to indent the metal. Done hot obviously.

I feel your pain mate. There are some low lifes around. Slim chance, but I hope you get 'em back.

Vaughn, I decided to do another one of these whip holders and I have adopted your suggestion. Got the shoe the right way up too. Here's a pic.

I started by punching a hole about 3/8 inch diameter and kept drifting it to about 3/4 and then tidying it up on a cone mandril. Takes lots of heats and I guess I would take longer to achieve the finished hole size.

Frog, I see in your tutorial that you start using a slot punch. There must be a good reason why you do not use an ordinary round punch. What is the advantage of the rectangular punch? I don't have one but I'm willing to make one.