Oak Hill Forge

Just remember..... only 98% of people resist CHANGE !
Good work to a great forum, keep up the great job Glenn and the support gang !

Guess some places things are a bit slow to change, or I'm getting old. I can remember my father in law and his dad skidding logs from the mountains with a huge mule and a sled like that one. They used some model of old Chevrolet front bumpers for the runners. They had just the right bevel and were symmetrical. Their sleds were held together with wooden pegs. This was in the early 70's time period. The grandpa never had a drivers license and never left the state of Virginia except on time he went to N.C. to get some mower blades sharpened when he worked at the golf course.

And now we think water boarding is torture.

I'd have to agree with pkrankow. It would be like taking your car in for a state inspection with square tires. I too doubt most building inspectors have ever seen a chimney located anyplace except directly above the smoke/heat source. Maybe they would give you a variance to demonstrate it to them ?

Don't be confused with BBQ charcoal (briquettes) which won't work at all, Sometimes the terms confuse people.

I enjoy the anvil's ring ! What size stock are you using? looks like it could be a large as 3/8 round ?

How are you doing the saw cuts ? On 3/8" stuff it's pretty critical to get it all centered isn't it ?

The site www.puratoryironworks.com has some basic blacksmithing instruction as well.

Rick C - why didn't you make your stand heavy duty ?:D

I'd say yes, Mine runs $8.50 a 40 lb bag which I doubt is 1/4 of a drum full. It's $340 a ton bulk in Elkton Va.

I posted some detailed pictures on the Bear Trap post last night that may help. All double spring traps are made about the same, just scale up or dorn the stock size and dimentions. A small trap is cheaply purchased at a yard sale or flea market and would be good for a pattern for making whatever size trap you wish to make.

David E. Glad to see the rest of the world has the need for such an item, thought we had a monoply.

Here's more details.

Here's some details from Blacksmith made traps.

Here's some commercial traps, with standard and off set jaws.

I just picked one up at a yard sale for $75, was wondering about certification, thanks for the info, mine is good !

You might want to look at Duke traps as they are designed as wall hangers and don't demand the price of old vintage collectible traps do. They are made in Korea actually, but look like the old originals. I saw a 1911 Newhouse sell at an auction this year for $1980.00! I have a fairly good collection of bear trap pictures if you need some, both factory made and blacksmith made. I want to make one when I have the ability.

My local source is $340 per ton (2000lbs) currently

Hmmm let's see ... maybe you will get REALLY lucky and find anvils and post vises ... sometimes you do ! Don't forget car coil and leaf springs for chisel stock,and leaf spring makes a good hot cut hardy. Wood splitting wedges make decent hardy's, specially the older ones with decent metal in them. I think my current favorite hammer is a 2 pound rounding hammer I picked up at a flea market for $2

makes a great jar opener !

The other problem happens whenyou do this a favor for your friend and then he sells it after the new wears off to some lame brain, who hurts someone with it. I am an aircraft mechanic and have a friend that did just that with some service work he had always done on a friends airplane (Annual inspection), then the guy sold the airplane, the new guy didn't know how to switch the fuels tanks in filight, so he ran out of gas and crash with one full tank in the right wing tank, so he sued the mechanic for improper maintenance which had nothing at all to do with the accident. He eventually won the case, but he lost plenty of money defending himself from somebody else stupidity.

Here's a link for "pyrimid" screws that work well with forges projects that get mounted to walls / doors.

Pyramid-Head Screws - Lee Valley Tools

First off.... welcome to the forum, you are at the right place to learn and get your questions answered. If you could post a picture of the anvil horn it would be helpful. I'm wondering if it might be a farriers anvil, which has a much different shaped horn. If you have a bick and it is comfortable for you to work on, go for it. That's why you bought it .... to use ! Most beginning blacksmith projects camn usually be accomplished on the anvil and a normal horn, and that has value to learn the basics, even if there might be some other easier way.

I'd have to go with Dan Boone of Louisa Virginia. He hosts an event at his impeccable shop and home yearly. He is a 17th generation blacksmith dating back to Viking times, not to mention kin to the famous Daniel Boone himself ! Dan shares his talent graciously. His shop is so clean and organized it scares me. I've never seen anybody demonstrate and make blacksmithing look any easier than Dan. His son is a full time blacksmith out in Colorado and is a talented and respected and successful smith on his own. Hooks - Hand-forged Designer Bathroom Hardware
I am also inspired by the blacksmiths gone past. I live in the beautiful and historic Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and there is no limit to seeing their work on barn doors, fences, gates etc. We go to a lot of old farm estate sales back in the mountains and seeing the tools (and often the smithy's) in the off the beaten path hollows show you why the smith was so valuable to the community. I wish all my hammers, vises and anvils could talk because I'm sure they would have some tales.

Another trick is to work through a welding or fabrication shop, but deal only in full lengths of stock. It's little hassle for them to "add a couple of sticks of this or that" to an order from their supplier vs getting stock in and custom cutting it etc. To reduce their hassle, bring your hacksaw so they don't even have to cut the 20' lengths in half for you to haul. If you deal like that they won't usually add a lot over cost for ordering for you. Also tell them you are learning Blacksmithing... sometimes they give a "fellow craftsman" a break....... Sam