gote

Red raven has agood sound and is easy to remember. However it needs some clarification so Red Raven Blacksmith(-ing?) would fit. I do not think that it gets too long. People will refer to it as "the red raven" as soon as the coin has dropped. Rolls Royce called their cars Silver ghost, Silver wraith Silver dawn, Silver cloud Silver shadow and were contemplating Silver mist until someone told them that mist is German for what comes out from the rear end of cattle and horses. I have always thought that flaming means sending angry postings and that there is a difference between a forgery and a forging but what do I know?

Seventy years ago this type of splitter was the standard powered one in Sweden but the wheel was very sugstantial and it was all covered up except an opening where you pushed in your piece of log.

Lanoline is the fat in sheep's wool so it is not particularly harmful to them. I assume that it is the gas in the can that is flammable.

Mine are indoors in a shed. Condensation only occurs in certain types of weather i.e. when it has been cold and there is a change to warmer moist. If I expect such weather (or expect to be away for some time) I give a quick spray with this all purpose anti-rust penetrating oil. The condensation forms on top of the oil and does not penetrate to the steel. At the end of the day I am tired (read lazy) and the spray can is the easiest. If I had a really small kid (my youngest grandchild is 13) I might use a rag of cooking oil kept in a metal can of some kind. However such a small kid would not be able to open the door and there are several much more dangerous things in my shop than the anvil.

The gardeners version is: "The best way too keep a plant is to give it away" (as a scion so you can get one back when your has died)

OOps I meant closer to the head.

This is very individual and the only criterion if it works for the individual or not. My point is that if you normally hold a hammer - say for nailing - with five inches between hand and hammer head and you suddenly find that you are holding your smithing hammer two inches from the head, this is because the hammer is to heavy for you. A close grip gives more control and gives less effort in the wrist but it also diminishes the speed of the head. I think that this has been tested by someone who could measure the impact but I do not know where the thread is. A light hammer with high speed can have the same energy as a heavy hammer with a lower speed but the result is different. The deformation in the stock tends to be more on the surface with the lighter hammer. Thus for thicker stock we need a heavier hammer. The heavier hammer strains the wrist more by the bending moment so it is less effort to lift it closer to the handle. The strain on the wrist is directly proportional to the distance wrist-hammer head.

I think that as has been pointed out, the hammer weight depends upon the work but perhaps more on the smith. There is no rule of thumb. Thick stock means heavier hammer. Control is important. A tired smith looses control. Thus if you start missing, take some rest. A lighter hammer is less tiring so start your career with a lighter. If you find that you need to hold close to the head, the hammer is too heavy. My favourite hammer is 1,25 kg but sometimes a 2kg hammer works better but I cannot use it for more than a short time without starting to miss. For light work I sometimes use a 0.9 kg hammer. However, this is me not you. You have to find out for yourself.

Thr ring can occasionally be a useful indication. A cast steel anvil will have a clear ring if it has not been subject to a fire. A silent cast steel anvil should be looked upn with suspicion. A double horn anvil is more silent than a London pattern - until you hit one of the horns. I agree that it is subjective but we do not always have suitable bearing balls in the pocket.

They are German. DRGM means Deutsches Reichsgebrauchmuster i.e. The design is protected (was in pre-war Germany). It was used extensively in Germany from 1891 to 1945.

Would it be too weak if you cut and weld or is it a customer's requirement to bend?

There is a place to discuss this- not in "building designing a shop" but in "Chimneys hoods and stacks". I suggest you take a look at the thread Flashing around the chimney This is cheap, simple and works. I see Frosty has forgotten to tell you to show your location. Please do. and Welcome.

I have checked a little on google by calling it "Schraubstock alt" and found a number of them so it is probably German. Search in Swedish yielded zero results. One poster said probably 100 years old. One of them has the lettering RB on the side which points to the manufacturer Röhm. However this designation is for a present model which is very different.

I do not quite get it with the tapered hotcut shank. I prefer to have a thigt fitting shank but to have the hotcut rest on a shoulder. If it is well made, the edge will not move more that a 1/100" but you can still lift it out using thumb and forefinger. (but you can only use it in that particular anvil) If you insist on a tapered shank you can make it more "blunt" but then its seat is less well defined in the hole.

Dear Mr Slag, I am aware of this. I do not think that I have recomennded the use of acid (especially not hydrofluoric acid) nor has Thomas. We advocate the use of heat. Nitric acid will also attack the steel and is not a very safe material to handle and it will not attack all organic materils. Best regards Göte (Former head of a lab for inorganic chemistry)

I do not know how to post the right thread but if you look after "my machinery vise" August 2015 you will find a picture. Yes it has a very smooth and effortless action.

I have her sister and she is a very good one. Do you know that she is German? I thougt Swedish. Mine is at least 80 years old so you will have to make your spares. It cannot be very difficult. Any mechanical workshop can make new if you do not have the equipment. Make sure you have the right thread. There are metric threads that are very near inch threads. If you force the wrong one into the holes you are in for trouble. The original screws have recessed conical heads with slot for screwdriver.

I would do exactly what Thomas recommends. In the worst of scenarios I would drill out the bolt and make a new but that is unlikely. In a case such as this when the rust is the problem i would be reluctant to use any organic stuff that could solidify when heated. but maybe I am overcautious.

Good Idea Thomas Thank you.

An old Egyptian could easily have built a hangglider or a hot air ballon with the materials and tools available to him five thousand years ago but he did not know how. Our videomaker is using modern knowledge on ancient crafts. It is interesting to see what he can do as a modern Robinson. Let us hope that we will not be forced to emulate him.

Copper or tin dissolve in steel and can make it crumbly when hot. Phosphorus can make it brittle when cold. Sulphur can also cause problems. The info that is available today is not very useful for blacksmiths because steel used by the industry is not subjected to the repeated heating and deforming that goes on in a blacksmith's shop. Small amounts of the unwanted stuff moves into the grain borders and decreases cohesion; more or less as oxygen does when the piece is burnt. Really old Iron was not made with the precision that we have today. Swedish steel got its good name because it was originally made from ores with very little phospohorus and with charcoal with very little sulphur. Many early steelmakers did not have such clean raw materials and thus quality was less predictable.

I think the effect is marginal but most paper is usually filled with minerals that add to the ashes. My dressmaking aunt would never use her tailor's scissors on paper. One advantage with my forced draft "chimney" is that there is good suction also when I start the fire and the smoke from the kindling does not get out to where my nose is. Since I do some wood working I always use shavings as starter. If I had sparks or pits and pieces flying around I would wear safety glasses but I never have. However, I always try to keep my fire covered to conserve heat and I never hit material that is not hot enough to be softened. I use long stock instead of tongs as much as I can. When drawing out I hit over the edge of the anvil or I use the pein but before the stock becomes too cold I flatten/straighten on the face so the stock is flat and straight when it goes back into the fire. This means that the stock is squeezed in the right direction twice. Is this not common practice?

OK I am going to stick out my chin. Most of whatever we do and not do depends upon the circumstances. I work on mild steel, alone on a double horn anvil. I wear eye (and ear) protection when grinding but not when forging. I cannot remember seeing anyone I have been forging with, including my masters. who has been doing that. I have never seen any kind of steel splinters or sparks coming up from forging. (but I do dress all chisels and such tools so they are nice and smoth.) The only "spray" I have seen, comes when fire welding and that comes horizontally in anvil height where my leather apron catches it. I would not mill or grind an anvil with only a steel plate at the top. However, I own a solid steel anvil and when I got her I had her milled about 3/16" to remove sway and dents. The result (including rebound) is excellent. I do not use a flatter (and I have never seen one used in real life) I use the anvil face. I straighten whatever I want to straighten on it and it becomes straight. If the face were dished I could not do that. I do not draw out on my horn because the radius is too large at the base and where the radius is small there is no mass below. The pein is considerably better but less heat is lost when using the anvil edge. What I do is that I "strike when the steel is hot." The stock goes back in the fire before it becomes blackish. I believe that is a rather universal "DO". A Do Not is: Do not work when tired. A missed hit is a sign of tiredness - take a break. More than two missed hits - call it a day.

David, I would add to what Frosty said about the video and working cold. I would keep the metal hotter also when starting. There is a temptation to try to save time by not heating enough and to go on hammering after it is too cold. The result is earlier fatigue and sometimes bad results (structure). Fatigue decreases conrol of the hammer, gives lousy results and is sometimes dangerous. In my part of the world there is a saying that cold-smiths end up in a very hot place. Many simple things can be made from long stock that can be hand held. If you do not have a hot cut you can cut off the piece when finished by using a sharp corner on the anvil. I always try to figure out a way to avoid tongs. There are much better tong videos. Especially the "twist tong" video mentioned in a different thread. If you do not have a fuller, use the edge of the anvil and put a round piece of something on top of the anvil to smoothen out the nick if the anvil edge is not rounded to fit the work.