keykeeper

I picked this up the other day, and have no idea what it is. It looks like something for use with a piece of machinery, but my knowledge on machines is limited. The top section is shaped like a 'C' and will swing either way by adjusting the stops on the side, and swinging the little handle on the front. The clamp part has a brass end on screw part. It is heavy, about 18" long and weighs several pounds. The only marking I could find is "KG22" imprinted under the swing handle. It also can be adjusted for position as there is set screws and a dovetail between the top part and the clamp part. Anyone have any clue? Thanks.

I picked up a Buffalo Forge Co. "Bufco" Hand Crank blower the other day. It is one of the small ones with about an 1 1/2 inch air outlet from the fan side. It has a problem that I need input on fixing. When I disassembled it, I found that the gear on the shaft that the hand crank attaches to is loose. Therefore, the gear just comes off the shaft when it is cranked. Otherwise, the blower seems to be in good shape. How can I fix this? I tried to set the shaft into the gear, but it just pops back off after a few turns of the crank handle. There is enough clearance between the gear and anything else that welding it to the shaft may be an option. It appears that originally, the shaft was pressed into the gear, making a tight fit, but I may be wrong about this. Has anyone else ran into this problem with Buffalo "Bufco" blowers, and if so, how did you approach this repair?

Currently, I'm using an 8 x 10 or so enclosed shed attached to a larger storage building. All forging outside in modified 55 forge, my little anvil situated on a stump. The shop area stores everything when not in use. Two swing open doors about 3 x 6 each with tool hangers for hammers, tongs, etc. Just swing open the doors, fire up the forge, and go. Wide open doors alow easy access for anything needed while forging. It's not the size of the shop, it's how you use it!!

Very nice job! The table is a great looking design. For some reason, I like the 3 leg designs for tables and stands. Four legs seem to limit placement in tight shops. Not to mention one less leg to work around. I especially like the shelf location, will be handy for those items that "walk away" while smithing! The forge looks like a good design. How efficient is it, and is there a lot of "dragons breath" from it? I would like to build one in the future, so I can smith year round!

Currently I'm using a salvaged electric blower. The blast was far to much, so I have devised a simple airgate using sheet metal that slides up and down between the blower and a flat plate that then plumbs to the air tube. Works great, I just slide it up or down to control the amount of air I need. There is a blueprint on a home built air gate on here, BP0428 in the blueprint listings. There are many people who use gates, and like them. As far as using something electrical in line to speed up or slow down the motor, it is my understanding that if the motor is a single speed, the varying speeds will burn the motor up. Maybe some of the more experienced smiths here can help, as I am a newbie and just learning what works, and what doesn't. Your mileage may vary on what I've used.

Wow!! I see all kinds of possibilities, Habu. Let's see....several different hardy tools like mushroom stakes, bicks out of the rail section cuts, etc. Nice Find!!!!!

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.

IForgeIron Blueprints Copyright 2002 - 2011 IFORGEIRON, All rights reserved BP0390 First Fire at the Forge by Keykeeper So, I've got the forge built now. Some may recognize the design - the famous 55 Forge of BP0133 fame (see this blueprint for all the particulars). With my budget restraints, this is my best option at this time. Join me as the first fire is lit in it. Close up of the firepot and grate. Just an old single disk brake rotor. The lug bolt holes were filled in with weld, but just dropping a bolt into the holes will work. An old bolt was welded in to serve as a grate. Here's a shot of the forge's support structure. You can also see the air tube and ash drop--scavenged 2 inch pipe welded into a tee. That's right all you eagle-eyed viewers--the legs are a potty chair frame which is easily adjustable for height. I'll bet my Grandma's smiling down at me right now. She never did like that thing. Watch the edges where the pan was cut out using a jig saw. They are VERY sharp, and need to be made safe using whatever method works best for you. I'll take care of that later, for now, lets get back to this fire. Let's start the fire up. Here we balled up some old newsprint and lit it. You can use sticks from the yard or torn cardboard or what ever works for you. Lets add some air from my air source. Scavenged squirrel cage blower from an old wood heater and scavenged piece of flexible stainless 2 inch hose. Total cost for these pieces?..... NADA, ZIP, ZILCH...My brother is a junk-man!! Add a little fuel (in this case, coal fines) on top of the burning paper. This whole forging session was done using just coal fines. Let's give it some more air, just to get it going good. A little more fuel and more air and you get a little more smoke, but only at start up! A couple minutes later. Note the decrease in smoke and the bed of coals in the firepot. I think that's what we are aiming for. After a couple minutes more, were almost ready to forge with it. I cut the air blast down a bit. Other than lighting the paper and adjusting the air, there was nothing done to the fire to this point. No poking, no fixing, nothing, I just stood there and watched. The fire is now ready to be used for forging. We went from dead cold to forge welding heat in just a few minutes time. Another view of the forge, ready to go. Note how little smoke there is at this point. Also, note how the whole setup can be broken down for storage or transport. There has been some talk of late about anvil stands. Here's mine, with my 70 pound anvil in place. Work's fine for me! This was made using the previous viewed fire and anvil. Not bad for a beginner! Besides making something for the wife can never hurt. Here's a shot of my whole setup. Everything can be moved inside to the shed at left when I'm finished with a forging session. It's low tech and portable, gets the job done, and didn't cost much at all. In fact, a few dollars (for coal) will put YOU in the driver's seat. All it takes is a little investment of your time and some creative scrounging. I used regular coal (lumps the size of a ping pong ball) the next day, and it lit right up using the same process as above. It is easy to say "JUST DO IT!" but it would be better to say "JUST GET STARTED!" View full article

IForgeIron Blueprints Copyright 2002 - 2011 IFORGEIRON, All rights reserved BP0389 Tool Holder by Keykeeper Too many tools that you can never find when you need them? This happens to be the adjustment on the front of a plow. Attach to the wall and insert screw drivers. View full article