Warrigal

What hasn't been mentioned ( I think) is that sometimes, just sometimes a knife with a good steel gets a shoddy heat treat and then becomes the KLO ( I do like that and will use it) Not much you can do other than send it back or strip the handle and bits off and have a crack ( go) at heat treating yourself (This is a blacksmith forum after all) Carl

I now have a couple Galvanised buckets, I have quenching oil in 4lt olive oil tins with the top cut off. Top off for most jobs, side off for long blades. But when I started I had a plastic 10lt bucket but I pt an inch of sand in the bottom so I could drop small items in without melting the bucket. Carl

What I actually said to the missus was "The house budget owes the forge $15 for the new riser I didn't have to buy. LOL Carl

I'm very new to this whole blacksmith concept so I don't always think that way when confronted with a problem. I was mowing the lawn this morning when I broke ( for about the 5th time over the last three years) one of the short handle risers that go from the mower to the hinge that allows the handle to fold down for storage. Sick and tired of getting it welded up. Hmmmmmm I know....yep. So I fired the forge up grabbed a suitably sized old file from my "stock pile" and ten minutes later it is buried in the ash bed slowly cooling ( somewhere in my head the steel in files is air quenched) drilled the appropriate holes. Break now you xxxxxxx. Then of course rang the mower supplier to find out how much I just saved my self. So I can tell the missus. Carl

Had a win this weekend. The Missus wanted an hour of quiet time when I got home from work yesterday so I grabbed the Destructacon ( the three year old) and we went for a drive. Half an hour or so to a rubbish dump two towns over that allows scrounging ( most don't here) I got a 6ft weights barbell ( 8-10kgs) a 16inch rasp and an old wall mounted gun rack for $5 Might turn that into a rack for lighter bar stock or electric leads. This arvo I went to might mate Petes he has just changed cars so I got a set of Nissan Nivara Leaf springs and torsion bars for nix ( no money) on the proviso that if he gets motivated and I have some left he can get some back. Not a bad effort for the weekend.

I was just thinking, what if you took the valve out, flushed the cylinder with soapy water "37" times and then filled it with dry ice pellets. As they boil off they fill the container with CO2, drop the temperature inside dramatically. Just thinking. OR What if you filled it with water and froze it. Grandad had a light engineering shop he had a big reciprocating hack saw (2ft blades) maybe you could find something like that. ( it would need to be bigger though) I spoke to dad about it we both agree our personal preference would be to get someone else to do it at their place, while we were at work. Carl

Ahhhhh that would be why. I have always known them a case hammers for the fruit case description given but here in Oz Shacks were roofed with bark or corro iron ( corrigated tin sheets) Shingles were used but not as a major source of roofing. We don't do the tar and pebble thing you guys do on flat roofs either. Might hit some one up for some advice shortly ( on shingle roofing). The destructacon ( my three year old, son and heir) is pushing for a tree house but I'm heading towards a log cabin because I can get the logs cheap, and we don't have any suitable trees. Thanks for the input. Carl

Stewart, do you not think you have had enough "bad" influence on me? But you have a point a 12mm ring spanner on one end and golok on the other. or maybe a mini Excaliber "Back you dastardly snail/aphid" I must be tired. Carl

Mate I never had a metal work teacher. But I will chase up my wooden mallet, your dead right I hadn't thought that through. Ta Carl

My case hammer looks remarkably similar to this. with a Buck 110 for size. Carl

Young Mr Townsend, how the bl**dy H*ll is yer? How was the show today? When I was a kid in the Grandparents "sunroom" they had a heap of potplants ( small ferns and such in pots on stands not a room full of narcotics) In this room was a small wooden stand with a small shovel, rake and hoe about six inches long overall. To tend said plants. well O.K. more for decoration. A mate of mine Mitch has started growing herbs on his deck ( again basil chillies coriander mint etc not narcotics) I asked him to keep an eye out for files, springs coil and leaf or spanners broken or generaly unloved. He has given me some files and small broken ring spanners of his. I am hoping to turn them a set of these tools for his deck garden. I saw a open ended spanner forged into a letter opener which was cool but I thought why not go a bit further and try to make the mini garden tools. So yeah I want to trim and flatten the broken end of the spanner and then "bowl" ( is that the right term?) it into a shallow shovel/trowel and maybe a little hoe. I'll get some good local "ironbark" drill some shallow holes join them scrape burn I think when I get it close to size I'll up-end my big ball-pein and compress the last bit into the hole tapping the ball-pein into the depression with another hammer. Don't when I'll get that done though. Carl

WARNING FOR THOSE OF YOU ABOUT TO TAKE THE LINK BELOW. US AUSTRALIANS HAVE A UNIQUE ATTITUDE TO SWEARING. Geez Matt your a funny bugger!!! For those of you outside the loop. I know I had better things to do - Laventrix knife forum Carl

Thanks Gerry I was thinking something like that would hold up for a single use. Carl

I am always poking around second hand stores antique shops junkyards etc. And have been doing it for years. I have NEVER seen a swage block sale. A mate of mine gave me some smaller spanners Half inch and such. I was going to turn them into some mini garden tools for the herb garden he has on his patio at his high rise apartment. I was thinking of using the hardie hole to gently bowl out the shovel. I have used a leather sand bag to bowl Brass and copper ( that was a long time ago) Any body got any suggestions? Because it is a small job I was gunna carve a bowl out of wood lock in my vice and use that instead. as I said it is a one off. Carl

Well done mate some real inspiration there. I'm currently trying to belt/forge half a full six pick head into a hot cutting hardie. I have never welded and don't have access to one ( a welder) at this point. I particularly liked your twisting wrench. Carl