chainsaw

Ben, for consistent results,use distilled water to dilute the ferric chloride, also at 3 to 1 dilution try 2 x 15 minutes..

I guess I don't do everything Ed says in his video myself. went back and watched it again last night, he welds down the sides, and has a good reason ( warpage, or bowing), guess I'll give that a go..

you gotta have a campfire tripod ( and a couple of dutch ovens).. check out blue print 318 ( BP0318).. and of course something to hold a cold brew

GrandLordKhorne, the best tip I have for you is like the other folks said is buy Ed Caffrey's video and do everything he does, you will be successful..One other tip which I think helps me is when you put your stack together, take your time and clean off the scale on the individual pieces, then put the stack in a vice and squeeze the crap out of it, then while still in the vise weld on the handle and then weld a bead down the opposite side. Seems to weld better for me when the stack is nice and tight..

For my power hammer, treadle and fly press I have recently added some low wattage spot lights next to each one, wow what a difference that makes in accuracy. Otherwise my lighting is fairly dim.. No measurement as to brightness, but sure would like to know a cheap method to measure..

I pull mine apart and quench with water from my sprinkling can. I then hose down the dirt floor, wipe off the anvil and grab a cool beverage..After 20 minutes or so I do a quick check and call it a day. This works for me,but then again I'm pretty paranoid since I caught myself on fire in a steel mill about 30 years ago by having some hot slag ignite the bottom of my pants. When I hose down the shop I also quench anything hot at the bottom of my trousers etc ( kind of a two for one, wet shop floor and wet pant legs). Probably not the best solution if you live in snow country, but I don't..

Have a safe and very merry Christmas friends. Happy Holidays to all...... chainsaw

that sure was fun, some good laughs, and lots of great names, I think I'll make a list for future reference. The family tested several, "Sparky sit", "Striker don't chew that", "Down Hardy" "here Rivet", "Good boy Festus", but the winner turned out to be Clinker which seemed to work well in various situations: "Clinker drop that shoe", "Clinker NO" , "bad Clinker", "Clinker let's go for a ride", plus a few of the inevitable Clinker variations also work, such as: "look at the Clinker" , "Clinkster, Clinkster", even works as "Good Clinker" (which may actually be a first ).. So Clinker it is... thanks everyone for helping out.. Anybody know the origin of the word clinker?

Hi gang, I just got a new boxer dog puppy and am trying to come up with a good name linked to blacksmithing. So far I've tried clinker, hammer, anvil dummy, goofy, clumsy ( these last three refer to epithets used by instructors refering to my own skills ( the wife won't let me call the dog any of these three)).. you name it, nothing seems to be working. Anybody got a good idea, ideally something ending with a ie or a y like charlie or silly

I also have lost a lot of hearing due to shooting and am trying to protect what I have left. I ALWAYS wear ear plugs ( hearing loss is progressive) and after trying many many types the best I have found are sold in the drug store and are sold for use as protection from getting water in your ear when swimming. They are kind of wax like and really are comfortable and block the noise. I also wear ear "muffs" ( good ones) when on the power hammer and when using the chainsaw or grinder. Protect the hearing you have folks, no good reason not to, in my opinion. What? say again, I missed that!!

T-Gold, a friend of mine who has been a ferrier since 1972 started me using Forshners hoof packing for punching lube. Works great, just stick a wad somewhere at your anvil, never drys out, and at 15 bucks for 4 lbs, it will last several lifetimes..

A dirt bike fork boot works great for keeping crud from falling on the screw, costs about $8-$10 and they come in a variety of colors..

mandoro, if you are not overly attaced to the brake drum approach here is another forge requiring super simple connections.. check out Tim Lively's washtub forge at Tim Lively -- Handmade knives since 1974

Attached is a little belt matrix.. Belt Type.doc

Update ( in the unlikely event that anyone actually cares): did the scotchbrite Mystery Oil cleanup. Surface looks great!!!. Coated with ATF.. thanks for all the great input folks, this site is a great venue for good ideas..

some great ideas, thanks folks

hey folks, I'm getting some light rust ( no pitting....yet) on my anvil especially lately when it's been so darn humid and rainy. .I've sprayed with wd 40, doesn't work so great, coated with heavy oil, better, works ok..sprayed with turp/beeswax/linseed oil ( this works pretty good), but am looking for better solutions if you know of one..( I know build a bigger and dryer barn ( maybe someday)). Advice much appreciated. thanks.... chain

My bsmith tat is a big anvil sitting on a stump with a hammer on the anvil. Took about 4 hours..

Smithy , I also use the method Irnsrgn uses, try adding a couple of pine cones in the bottom of the pot in addition the the Irnsrgn method if things still aren't going well. This usually works well in troublesome situations.

I made one from a JORGENSEN PONY Pipe Clamp, I just welded a piece on the screw side of the clamp that fit my pritchel hole, slotted the bottom of it for a wedge to hold in place on the bottom side of the anvil and use it as a screw down, hold down, works nicely on flat stock especially. JORGENSEN Pony

Ron, cut the blower and count to 2 before pulling from fire. Burns up last of the oxygen.

Hey Ron, I had another thought I forgot to add: go on a clinker hunt on a regular basis, it's amazing how fast clinkers can build up and really make fire management a challenge..I like a straight poker with a pretty good taper but some folks recommend a hooked poker for finding clinkers..Interestingly enough, finding clinkers before they get massive, takes some practice.

Ron, this may not be what you had in mind but in my opinion one key to good fire tending is a very good set of fire tending tools. I recommend you make yourself a really good of fire tending tools: shovel, watering can, fire rake, poker, flux spoon.. Best of the Bits volume 4 ( I think) which is derived from the Bituminous Bits from Alabhama Forge COuncil had some real good ideas along those lines. In the process of making the tools, tending the fire will progress per your needs.

I have taken several classes at Campbell and had a terrific time, every time.. In my opinion you get out of it exactly what you put into it, most of the instructors will let you start early in the AM and work til 9 or 10 at night, Lots of opportunity to learn. I've seen some folks just kind of play around and suspect they didn't learn much, but the good news is the place is totally non competitive and non judgemental so it's no big deal either way. In general the instructors I've had were all top notch and so were their assistants..I have learned a lot there and wil go back to take some specific courses. fyi, it's a dry county so come prepared as appropriate.

also this: Link removed at the request of anvilfire