Toothygrin

That looks like a fun day of scrounging. met a guy out in hardwick last year that had a place like that and let me look around. I left with 20 feet of rebar, some good sized steel plates and about 60 gallons of waste motor oil for the furnace.

Most people have their wood in by now. and my uncle who has a spider made out of dump rake tines is not likely to give it up or let me stack his wood he's got a lot of pride and likes doing it himself. I have plenty access to car parts 3 generations of mechanics in the family will do that. My dad is also a woodworker and tends to help me out when my projects require the more common material. so woodworking tools would not be a bad idea. Have plenty of spring steel for carving knives. I like the rebar snake idea I think I will go do that as right now I have about a 20 mins of daylight left. and perhaps I can manage that before it gets dark.

Well that pretty much hits the iron,would say nail on the head but this is a smithing site. I am having one of those days where I am outright stumped. I am out of money for stock for this month so I can't make hooks like I normally do and I'll be honest I am kinda bored with them. All I have left is a dozen feet of rebar and a ton of high carbon steel from old farm equipment and I don't want to waste that. I have plenty of things I could do, but I just don't feel inspired. I don't want to make a knife. lately I have been making pendants and whatnot out of nails crosses and the like whathaveyou. I don't know I just think I am having a blacksmith's version of writers block.I feel like anything I go out and start making is going to not be very nice simply because I am at a loss for ideas. Go ask friends they tell me to make a sword, as if I have never heard that one before. Anyone else have this problem, and if so how do you get the creative cogs turning?

 Ok I know most smiths don't wear work gloves and I don't like to wear them. but here is why I do. When my shop is 20 degrees and all my punches are cold and even my hammer handles are cold and I am without a stove, I like to have something on my hands to keep the slightly less, well cold. I can't stand however wearing fire gloves, it's like wearing a bag on my hands and they feel like they get in the way more then they help anything. So my question is this are there any high dex work gloves you can buy that are fire resistant and don't have a tag on them that states do not wear next to fires?  

It's -20 my car won't start, frost on my anvil, my water buckets are frozen solid,and holding a chisel hurts. Not that the cold and snow stops me most of the time but just got over a cold and being out in it doesn't help a cough, am going to read discworld till it gets above 0.

Well My mom has been spinning wool since I was very little but I needed a little refresher. This is what I managed I am not sure if they are small enough but for scale the leaf is about 2 mm smaller then a dime at the widest point. I needed something to do today,far too many people in the house for my liking. there is a spot on the bottom one I would like to fix.

I found with some pieces you can get away with simply coating them in used oil, and then putting them in coal dust, setting them on fire and you get a simular result as stove black. This doesn't work that well on large surfaces( I tried it with a coal shovel I made) but after you have set it on fire and wiped it off it keeps a nice black color.I also found this doesn't make a mess when you touch it.

My mom was bugging me to make her something like this, now I think I have some kind of idea of what to do. Her reason for wanting it was spinning wool though, not sure how that will help.

Mine sits on a stump in my shop and it isn't very loud at all. I am pretty sure it isn't a fisher but it sounds  like one. Never been keen on ear muffs I listen to music or audiobooks when I'm working. and the neighbors have never complaned because they are a mile down the road.

friends buy the smith a keg of whatever they want and then they all come over for a party and everyone drinks until people start puking in the quench bucket for lack of a outhouse. Sounds like a grand time to me. 

Fiberglass isn't really my thing all of my equipment is antique with the exception of my grinder,this hammer and anything I have made myself. I really hate this hammer and can't wait for this years antique engine show  :D. The flea market always has nice goodies. as for what I have now as long as I can swing the thing I will be okay. I am pretty sure what I have is a fiberglass handle or a plastic of some kind and if I can't find a wood handle to fit I really don't wanta break a functioning hammer just because I don't like how it feels. thanks for all the suggestions... I guess I could make a handle... eh another project for another day.  

About sometime week before last Sunday I think. My dad went and I for a walk. Around my house is a lot of old abandoned farmland that has grown up to forest in the past 200 years or so. (I will also note that we took this with permission.) There is a old farm dump across the road and in the woods the stuff has been there so long that trees have grown around them. A rake a hay tedder and a plow I have been looking for tools with not such luck there... anyway we are looking at this plow and I'm thinking I bet we can get this out. So dad and I get on this thing and start pulling on it trying to get it out of the ground was somewhat buried and the wheels turn. so I pull and dad guides it out and we work at this for about a hour or so until we get it out of the woods and on the lawn. My stepmother comes out of the house looks at us kinda like > :blink: and says what the heck is that. And now it's new home is our lawn.    

I live on a back road in the middle of nowhere. I still feel the need to hide my anvil.kinda sucks lugging 170 pound anvil around when I need to work but it's a small price to pay. Hope all works out that is a expensive piece of equipment to have stolen.

I am new to this but I thought there are some cast iron anvils that have steel plates forge welded on them, But only one way to find out if you hit it with a hammer hard and it comes back and hits you in the face it's a winner.

That is a thing of beauty for it's age! My anvil is well not sure how old, and covered in chisel marks and dents, It has seen alot of work, But free is a good price and it's wrought iron so I'm not complaining. 

Well hello everyone. I am very new here as this is my first post. I started working my forge about 5 days ago and I don't have much to work with. I have a 3lb cross peen that has  a plastic handle with a grip and the grip is rather uncomfortable. I would very much like to replace the handle with a wooden one until I can get a better hammer but for now this is all I have. However being that it is a plastic handle it is glued on and has some kind of clear seal on the top of the head. can this be cut and removed like any wooden handle or if I cut it am I pretty much done and without a hammer?