bigfootnampa

Definitely decent for knives (4150), excellent for axes, hatchets or tomahawks! Many mass produced knives have been made of 4140... which is not quite as good for blades as 4150 IMO.

Gee I think that nose looks useful! It looks like a heavy chain anvil to me! I kinda like it! If stolen it would be easy to identify!

Both are nice but I really like the cross! Fun and well done!

Actually that is quite a laudable effort! The first part of your screw looks excellent but the threads are off a bit further up... worth fixing IMO! The left hand thread is not ideal but interesting!

Most of these type screws were made on a patented machine. It is a fairly simple design with two angled rods that rotate and swage the leads into a heated rod in a single pass! I've not had the good fortune to find one of these machines, yet. I have read about them a bit. I'd love to acquire one if anybody has a lead on one!

So I know that you get very nice hot cuts Brian... I assume that you finish the cuts by breaking off the small connecting center after the piece cools? I think Jacob might need this info as well. Could you clarify this?

I don't have the ultra jig but I do have a simpler bending jig from Yesteryear forge. I am pretty sure that you'll like yours! I have used mine a LOT! Everything I've bought from Mike is excellent!

Surely they must have been kidding!?!?!?

As I would approach this challenge... I'd use a bending form (pipe section, ring, heavy disc) I would get a full heat on the metal to be bent (cut at least a few inches over length) and then clamp the vertical end and twist with my tongs then wrap the curve, all in the same heat and motion! I might try it the other way round either (clamping the flat end) as that would enable me to complete the hard-way bending while the heat was freshest. Either way the key is a very long and even heat combined with a swift, smooth, twist and bend! A few inches of extra length is important as you'll need a bit of space for the clamped end and enough extra on the other end to give leverage for the bending. Admittedly the long heat is a challenge! If it seems too much I might try bending it in the same manner cold! Done cold the form would need to be a bit smaller diameter to allow for some springback. The twist likewise over twisted a bit.

I mostly agree with Thomas... BUT... I have numerous timber-work sized chisels and gouges, that I have made, which have unwelded sockets and work flawlessly! Therefore I would suggest that welding the sockets is more of a blacksmithly ego massage than a practical approach! The real weakness with all such tools IME is nearly always in the transition between the socket and the blade of the tool!!!! Here I try to leave as much meat as possible and it helps if you are willing to allow the socket to roll open a bit at the tip rather than having a super neat and precise looking transition! I would suggest using the thicker end of the springs as the socket material and forging them to about 1/8" thick at the top edges of the sockets. Create sockets of sufficient length and diameter to accept most of the diameter of the handle material you will use for the tools... the rolled but unwelded sockets will be stronger than the handles will be... even if you use hickory!

There are the first folding axes I have ever seen!! Seriously zombies just better not come around your place!

Bimetal means the blades are mild steel with a higher carbon edge. These would NOT make good blade material as they have mostly mild steel content! They are made that way to save on the cost of steel and also for flexibility/break resistance. Since you already know that they are bimetal blades, testing them seems a bit superfluous.

It was clearly handmade! It may have served as a shaft at some point but the flutes are definitely NOT uniformly spaced... pretty sloppy work for most machinists that I know! I think it was always intended as a decorative punch and it has a definite blacksmithly look about it! Brian Brazeal makes similar ones to decorate jewelry and flowers... though his are quite accurately done. If I were out at my forge with a fire going, I'd figure this for about a twenty minute job, excluding the handle work.

THIRTY degrees!!!! We call that SPRING!

The cupping tool is nice, but I LOVE your ball fuller!!! I could use one of those here!

The brass will melt out LONG before the copper or silver! I have tried similar MANY times with minuscule success! Forge them together warm would be your best bet I think!

2" stock will likely be available in TGP (turned, ground and polished) but hot roll stock will be 2.25" or 2.312" most often. If you only need some small lengths eBay is a good bet for drops.

You did FINE! You have the right ideas, just keep working! You will be amazed at how swiftly practice will improve your skills! Even after LOTS of practice I keep getting better all the time! So will you!

The shape looks good to me! I am not a real fan of the mini axes though... I usually have a hatchet or a full sized axe. For cutting in the field a folding saw is a LOT easier to carry and can usually get the job done!

Well... yes! If your wife likes to use her thumb as a cutting board... it can! We'd been married twenty years before my wife finally realized that I keep all the knives SHARP... ALL the time!

I think you'll have to show us some examples! I don't see any that mystify me!

The lead screw, while likely useful, is probably NOT essential. Most modern tools for long hole boring on the lathe have a much simpler lead. The natural action of the spinning wood tends to correct a wandering bit unless it has enough directional stability to resist these forces! Thus a bit with a long spike lead or a very rigid shaft would be a poor choice! I have bored fairly long holes using just small bowl turning gouges with a long fingernail grind! The key is that the lead should ride to the center of the vortex of the spinning wood... easier done than you might think... still, NOT a slam dunk proposition! IME you can put plenty of feed pressure on the bit without the need for a screw lead! Depending on the size of the bore and strength of the bit you could easily over stress your bit and snap it off with a strong screw lead!

The usual method for making such flutes from hardwoods is to drill the hole undersized and then ream it with a long tapered reamer. Otherwise they were made from materials that naturally were easy to hollow in the centers. Professional flute turners will usually have more than one reamer of slightly different tapers. They generally treasure these reamers and consider them the key tools in their tool boxes!

Well the nature of the work, natural selection, a tendency toward family traditions... all would tend to develop fairly stout fellows, IMO, especially in days of yore! But fantasy artists are able to celebrate extreme ideals! Generally speaking, most of the smiths I know today are in pretty good looking shape unless they are quite elderly... sometimes even then!

Coal dust for lube! It's very handy and works well! Water to cool. A dip in water then spin in the coal bucket and ready to go! I use duplicate tools if I am doing very much punching. I never purposely quench from above critical temps. unless I am hardening... keep em cool or let them normalize!