Dave Shepard

With development of muscle memory, I can do anything equally well with either hand, except throw a ball, which I can't do with either hand. :rolleyes:

I switch back forth all the time. I generally don't care which hand I'm using for most anything. I have a bad right shoulder, and I timber frame full time and I will switch to the left when it gets so bad I can't hold my right up. When I first started to switch back and forth, it took a little while to build up the muscles on my left arm so the mallet felt right, but since then, no problems.

Thanks for the input. Fe-Wood, I was thinking of doing just that. My concern is that I won't get it clean enough down in the crack to get a good weld. My other option is to cut it back to good weld and put a long handle on it and use it as a mini slick. It's a shame it broke, it was about the nicest framing chisel I've seen.

I've got what was a really nice Witherby framing chisel that delaminated on me and I'm wondering if I can weld it back together. I've talked to a friend of mine who says he tried it on one of his, but couldn't get it to stick. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

I've seen the rasps folded on a block of wood to save the scales.

I figured it out, most of your steel is missing Brendon. :(

I can't help with the catalog, but I was surprised to see the name. I was at our annual blacksmiths get together, and a friend had a Canedy Otto forge. It was the exact same as my Champion. Only difference was the casting with the names on it. Was it common for one manufacturer to make products for more than one company?

Rust Reaper uses oil of wintergreen, it's available here. I use the heat and cool method. Get it darn hot and quench as quickly as possible. There is a chemical reaction that gets rid of the rust. Nobody has mentioned straight water yet. It will "soften" rust, believe it or not. Next time you have a pair of pliers or tongs that are really stiff, swish them in the slack tub and work them back and forth, and keep dipping as needed. In a about a half a minute, they will usually move like new. Try it before you doubt it. As a chemist friend told me, why try to shove some huge fancy chemical chain into a crevice when water is one of the smallest compounds out there.

I was given a Buffalo 162H agricultural forge last week. We built new legs for it, and I've got to get a belt made and a new lever for the blower. It appears the grate is also missing in the fire pot. Can I still get one of these? I know some forge parts are still available, but not sure for which forges. I'll get a pic up soon. Also an electric blower, I think it was a No. 3 Buff., and some tongs, including a set that has two parallel jaws about a foot wide. Pics of those will be forthcoming also.

We make a lot of hooks in the shop at Hancock Shaker Village. It is a fast enough demo that most kids will stay focused. As mentioned it shows many operations: drawing out, forming a small scroll, twisting, cutoff hardy, and the post drill. We also make drive hooks instead of a nail hole sometimes. If we get a group that wants to get their moneys worth, we'll break out the nail header and make them some nails to give them. Dave

I didn't have much luck welding it. Got about an inch per heat. There was also a lot of scale. We played with other things today, so maybe next weekend we'll try folding it and see what happens. I quenched it, and it's definately brittle. Dave

Thanks Rich. The bands are from a Wood-Mizer mill. They are .055x1.25"x13'2" long. They are not a "tipped" band, no carbide, and not bi-metal that I know of. You can see some temper colors on the very tips of the teeth, I believe it is induction hardening. If it's not good for knives, I'll find somthing else to make with it. Probably hooks, I know how to make those. I'm going to try and go to the forge tomorrow, will report back after I've given it a shot. Thanks. Dave

I'm thinking of making a knife blank, or possibly just a hunk of workable steel, by welding a band from a sawmill over and over. I don't know what the steel is made from. If I draw it out and weld it, will it make damascus? I don't know anything about damascus. Thanks. Dave

There is a 6' double acting bellows were I demo, and I have a hand crank Champion rivet forge. I also have an as yet unscrutinized electric forge blower at a friends house. May be using this for a small foundry activity, it's supposed to be big. Dave

Thanks for the replies. I have seen cast iron rivet forges that have instructions to line them cast right into the bottom of the pan, so they must want you to do it. The grate is about an inch higher than the bottom of the pan, I am thinking this is to allow for the lining. It is a Champion forge. Dave