Flint Steele

You can never be too safe!

So how do I dress the face? I just have a six inch disk grinder. should i get in touch with someone with a belt grinder? and how should I dress the chipped off part? (which is on the face)

Frosty: Whenever I forge I wear eye protection, thick jeans, and steel toed boots. so unless I do something VERY stupid ,(knock on wood) i think i will be all right!

Hey guys so I took you advice and forged iron! i did come by this interesting cross peen though. i dressed the face but it has got a nasty chip in the side, i was wondering if that's all right, or if it is more of a showoff piece. there are pictures down below. Thanks in advance!

Ben

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yeah i looked at that site i don't think they have any springs though :l

Will do! That's a good idea. Everyone online only offers the whole restored thing or you have to send it to them and they'll repair it for you, which is ridiculously expensive. So i think i might just do that! thanks,

Ben

So I'm restoring this old Victrola record player, it's a VV-IV. I took it all apart and i found out the mainspring is broken. Does anyone know where I can get a new one? or how to repair it? the break is flat and around an inch to an inch and a half from the middle of the spring. Thanks in advance!

Ben

hey Guys thanks for all of the useful tips and tricks! I wouldn't have learned half of that stuff in 3 years haha you guys have really helped me out. and inspired me! time to heat and beat!

it was sitting in my granddad's toolbox for ages. it looks like this

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Heller-Bros-Vtg-Farriers-Horseshoe-Turning-Rounding-Hammer-Blacksmith-Anvil-Tool-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/VW8AAMXQ56ZSCDh5/$(KGrHqR,!n4FIE6j4lFmBSCDh5QVFg~~60_35.JPG

perhaps a little smaller.

I'm 15 and around 150 lbs, so i know some smiths who are lighter than me now. 

Just updated my account. I've been searching for a while, i was just hoping for people to shorten my search. :) and on the making the hammer part, it's very unlikely i will and succeed, it's really a last resort as opposed to a real option. (again only been doing this for around a year and i still have a lot to learn as I'm not old enough to take a class, this makes a lot of intermediate projects seem inconceivable to me.)

Is a rounding hammer a sufficient beginners hammer? 

Ben

Hello!

I recently got my forge up and running. Right now I have a hammer and one pair of functioning tongs. My hammer is decent, but I'm wondering if there's a better hammer. I have an old Heller Bros. farrier's rounding hammer. I've asked around and a lot of people recommend the Japanese Cutlers Hammer, with all the weight on one side. I've also heard cross-peens are really good too. I know it's all on personal opinion and on the internet people say the best way is to try them out one by one. there's only one catch, I have no idea who has any! And I don't want to buy one to find out i don't like it.

So essentially, three questions:

what's the all around best hammer?

Where would i get said hammer?

And if necessary, how do i make it?