keykeeper

Ron: I bought the swedish one also. Haven't tore into it yet. The level of finish on the czech hammer is better, IMHO.

Everyone else: Thanks so far for the tips. Will let you know what works for this.

By the way, I am in no way complaining or putting these products down. For the price, I have no problem spending the time to rehandle them. They are marked OCP, I think that is OFF CENTER PRODUCTS mark, have heard a lot about their tongs, so these hammers should work good once handled up.

Thibeau: The hole is square. It tapers down to the size of the handle. It seems like the string/wax was a filler, as you said. There was no wedge at all, just the plastic stuff at the top.

The head is very well made. All that is needed is to do a little polishing of the face and pein to smooth the edges up a bit, so they don't leave marks. I think they are a great hammer for the money. I may try to do a re-set using epoxy as a filler and a wedge.

Maybe some users of these Czech style hammers could chime in with their views???

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE DON'T THINK I AM A TOTAL DUMBA** FOR THIS, AS I'VE REHANDLED SEVERAL HAMMERS LATELY!!!!!

Here's my problem....

I purchased an 800g Czech style hammer kit from Blacksmith's Depot for $10.00 Very well made head, looks great. The description said "Unfinished. Rework to make your own Hammer. Kit requires handle removal and re-installation. Handles are NOT secure in heads."

SO, I removed the handle after fighting with the super strength plastic like glue on the top part.

Then, I found inside the lower part of the hole some kind of wax-like substance and what looked like string. ????????

My question is two-fold: What's with the wax/string combination and How do I re-set this handle?

Any help is much appreciated!!!

Actually Sam, they are twisted. They did have big "cones", as the neighbor calls them, on each end. They crank them around with a big wrench, to provide torque to help lift the big rollup doors.

Use aside, they will be recycled into another life.....he he he.

I have a neighbor in the garage door trade. He installs large industrial roll up doors. The tension springs break every once and a while. So, yesterday he tells me "Got some steel for ya, figured you could use these after I seen some of the stuff you were making over there." So I go over, hang out a while, and pick up my bounty.......TWO very large springs, approx. 4 foot long each, made of 5/16" round stock, and a smaller spring made from 3/16" stock. I figure theres at least 250-300 feet of usable stock in these, once straightened out. The big coils were cut into smaller pieces for easier handling, and measure about 21" around. The smaller coils are about 8" around.

My neighbor tells me these usually go out for the scrap guy to pick up. These were take off's from a recent job.

Ya Gotta love a good neighbor.

Very nice work on the tanto. Be sure and post finished pictures. Can't wait to see the finished product.

That is an awesome tool score. Just goes to show some people are luckier than others!

Enjoy!

Olfiar,

There are many features of this site that will help you get started. Unfortunately, they (the site admin) are in the process of updating and adding new features to the site. Once working correctly again, there are loads of what we in IFI land call Blueprints available to help you. Many of the the BP's (Blueprints) are geared toward people new to the craft. I myself have benefitted greatly from the info. available here.

-Hang tight, wait on the updates, and then start reading the BP's.

-Search the ABANA website for an affiliate chapter in your area. There may be active members of this site near you that I'm sure would be glad to help you get started, or even "try it, before you buy it" so you don't spend your money for nothing.

-Once you find what you need to start, don't be shy and get started, even if on a small scale.

Good luck, welcome to the site, and feel free to ask questions.

Nice anvil, Bear.

Now go out and beat some metal on it!!!

There is no greater feeling than becoming one with the hammer, the anvil and the fire!!!

Personally, I think it's a factory made casting. The mark reminds me of a glass manufacturers mark I've seen before, maybe Federal. Possibly they made fixtures also?

Sad thing is, people are going ga-ga over vintage light fixtures like that. If the seller took the time to list and describe correctly, it might sell better!

I wasn't serious Andy. I put those little smilies in there so people would see my sarcasm.

I think ApprenticeMan got the drift of my post. I would never bid on any auction where the seller: 1) Does not post a picture, 2) Has absolutely no feedback score, and 3) Has such a vague description.

I merely posted this to show how some sellers will stop at nothing to rip someone off. If someone bids or buys this auction, the way it's worded, the seller could send one lowly railroad spike to the buyer for that bid. ITS A SCAM, FOLKS!!

CAVEAT EMPTOR.........or something like that.

We all use railroad spikes to make various things. Most of us have a source for them, that is somewhat cheap. (READ: We walk the tracks and pick them up).

Well, I was perusing my favorite online auction site, and ran across this auction eBay: Railroad Spike (item 300063180979 end time Jan-01-07 22:20:53 PST)

Anyone interested in making something out of this one had better jump on it, as I think I may have to bid on it. ;)

I hereby second Jeremy K on his post. He is RIGHT on the money. Before Alan Duboff deleted his posts, I felt he was getting VERY CONFRONTATIONAL with his posts.

EVERYONE SHOULD AGREE THAT WITHOUT THE ADMIN'S SUPERVISION, THIS SITE WOULD GO DOWN THE TUBES VERY QUICKLY.

Glenn-Keep doing what you are doing, I see nothing wrong with the way you run the site.

Just my opinion!!!

Check ebay, there'
s a fellow that sells one made like that for around $15.00 plus shipping. Just search tuyere, I think that will pullit up. Or search "coal forge", that may bring it up.

Not endorsing the product, just throwing out the info. I do not know what they are made of, or how lond they last.

I just saw them on there, and thought I would throw in my $.02 worth.

Yep, it's a saw set alright. Always several of them on eBay. I use eBay as a reference a lot!

Welcome to the site. There is plenty to read and see here. When you are finished with the current threads, scroll down and check out the archive link at the bottom right of the forum page. You will be there a while. Don't forget to join in on Tuesday night for the live Blueprints, room opens at 9PM eastern, show starts at 10PM. See you there!!!

Hah! I need some of those..........I haven't a laugh that good in a while. I wonder who told him Bethlehem Steel built the Golden Gate Bridge. Seems I read somewhere it was a co-op of smaller companies called Six Companies, Inc.

Maybe he should buy that $75,000 Lincoln anvil(was on eBay a while back) to go with those swages.

Snowsmith: Listen to what Thomas is saying. There are myriad resources on the internet, and your local library will have some good books on the subject. Also, if you look hard enough, you will find some good, honest folks will to help you. Just remember, you can't learn it, without doing it! So get out there and make it happen!

Personally, I read all the books in my local library, and even had some brought in on inter-library loan. But the true learning began at a conference, and was furthered after my forge was built.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask questions as you go along the path of learning this fine hobby!

Give us your location, someone on here is probably close to you, and would be willing to help.

Yesteryearforge and Ladysmith:

That sound you may be hearing is the cheering from the rest of us for your offers to help out Elfshadow.

You are to be commended, as without the passing of knowledge, and loan of equipment, some beginners would never get the chance to try it themselves.

Bravo! Bravo!

ApprenticeMan: That is an awesome score. I see some blades in the making there. That vise looks sweeeeeet! Enjoy!

Backyardsmith,

Use whatever you can afford or is available. I bought a Delta with the 1 x 30" belt and 5" disk on it several years ago when I was assembling handles to pre-made knife blanks. Worked like a charm for shaping handles. Also these tools are great for regrinding hammer faces and cleaning up mushrooming on chisels, or even sharpening chisels, for that matter. Just watch the heat buildup.

The one you are interested in should work for a while. Be aware of availability of the belts, as the 30 inchers were hard for me to find local. You should not have that problem with the 42 inch length. I recommend Jantz supply for belts, they are reasonable, have quite a selection (including felt for polishing) and ship quickly. Check them out at Jantz Supply - Your source for knifemaking!
Beware of eBay powersellers for belts, as they may not sell as high quality belts as what is out there.

Also, hook it up to an old shop vac to pull the dust away, they create a lot of fine particle dust, especially with wood or composite materials.

Most of all, don't fret about what you don't have available, use what IS available.

Very fine job Alan. Keep up the good work!:D

Mr. Smith, Thomas Powers, and Everyone else involved--

I posted the information about what I knew of the spoon with the hope it would give ideas to other fledgling smiths. Thats why I requested some more pictures of the tooling,for my own personal reference. So what if the legend that goes with the item has some fancy to it. If they sell at demos, so be it. Very few people are interested in the true origin of the little spoons, they are buying them for the whimsy or mystique involved! No ones gonna take it home and use it for spices. They probably end up on a keyring, with a new story about how this blacksmith made them in short order while the buyer watched! Imagine that, a century from now there could be an argument on a forum about these details!

Let's say you increase the size of the tool to leave an impression about 1" or so, could make a nice spoon for soup I would think. It's all about thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX.

Before this turns us all away from one another, let it go, it's not worth the fuss!!

We had a couple of those for auction at the Appalachian Blacksmith Association Fall Conference in October. They were made by a member that said they were great little demo items, especially with children watching.

They attached a card that stated a legend about being used in Medievel times by women to measure their spices while cooking. Sounds viable to me!

Could we get a better pic of the tooling used to make 'em?

Welcome to the community!

I have a Shearing machine manufactured by Chicago Flexible Shaft Co. I believe it is the Stewart No. 9 Ball Bearing Shearing Machine. Pretty cool. I think the Stewart comes from one of the men that was a founder and inventor with the firm.

Check the link Irnsrgn posted, it has some base info about the company. Otherwise, my searches haven't found much more on this outfit.

Enjoy your time here, and don't forget to share your knowledge with us.