kube60

I haven't taken my pictures off my camera yet but here's a video I took of Brian Brazeal's young blacksmiths making a giant thumbtack.

Sorry about the quality. That's as close as I could get.

I don't know about protecting the liner, I have heard of it being used as a castable refractory analog. To be honest, the CR I used when building my first forge looked a lot like kitty litter which wouldn't surprise me as litter is mostly bentonite clay. As to brand, I'd say probably the cheapest you can get, preferably unscented. I'm only guessing but I would be willing to bet the cheaper brands are almost all bentonite without any sort of more expensive additives.

Well, off to the con to buy some tools. Hopefully I'll see some of you there.

I'll be at the event on friday at some point. I'd like to be there for the whole thing bur my finances and work schedule prevent me from doing more than one day.

I live here in Rapid CIty but I can only afford to attend on Friday. I can't wait to meet you guys. I'll be the long haired, beared fat guy walking with a limp. LOL

I live in Rapid city, but it remains to be seen if I will actually be able to go. It all depends on if I can squeeze the admission out of my forge in time. If anyone is planning on staying at the super 8 on the south side of town, I'm the guy who sits behind the counter all night. Come by and say hi.

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Last year about this time I found a leg vise in perfect working order in an antique store for 30 bucks. Unfortunately, I had just spent the last of my cash on Christmas and just couldn't come up with it. By the time I had the money it was long gone.

i feel like developing one but then i need to attract a hot young woman who appreciates it, i think that is somewhat unlikely...

I don't know about over there, but I've never had a problem finding girls that love the beard. I've had them approach me wanting to touch it. Great ice breaker. I don't trim mine at all, just brush it out on a semi daily basis.

I consider blacksmiths and beards kind of like cops and mustaches. Not every one has them, but ask the average person to imagine a cop and they will picture someone with a mustache. Same goes for blacksmiths and their beards.

Welcome Jesse. I'm watching your American Chopper episode right now. I'd love to see you make a bike out of primarily hand forged parts.

Thanks Woody. I appreciate the help. It looks like Eisenbraun might have gone out of business though. I tried calling and the number was disconnected so I drove out there and there was a guy there that said he thought they went under but to come back in the evening and ask him myself. No biggie, just sad to see a supplier go under.

Paul, is there a problem with using bees wax for cooking implements? I thought bees wax was edible.

Thanks. I've meant to come out but I always forget until it's too late. Do you guys meet in the winter? What time should I show up and what should I bring? I'm thinking I might have to stick with coke because I work out of my garage here in town which I know is questionable at best. Although I may pick up a bag of coal just to throw a piece or two in my gas forge once in awhile just for the smell.

Also, hopefully you guys won't think I'm a complete idiot. Everything I know either came from books or I taught myself so I'm probably doing it wrong. :unsure:

Oh, just a personal preference to note. I'd put the handle loop on the bottom. Just my preference. Thanks for sharing the pix.

Okay, confession time. I thought I was putting the handle loop on the bottom. I thought the hook was supposed to point down. Oh well. I'll fudge the truth when I give them and make them right next time.

Yeah, once I start selling them I'll make lefties. It's just that as far as I know, all the giftees are righties.

Oh and thanks for the encouragement guys. This is the first thing I've made that I think people might actually want to buy. Can't wait for summer to go into full production of these and a few other basics.

I posted this pic in another thread but I'm pretty proud of them. They're Christmas presents for friends and family. They're a bit rough but still, I think they look pretty good, besides, I like my stuff to be a bit "rustic". Of course, that's probably just an excuse for my poor workmanship.

Hey Woody. They're just the bbq steak flippers. I'll post a pic as soon as I take one. Just don't laugh, my work is pretty rough at this point. . Also, I know the smell is from the wax because I could smell it as I was putting it on. I have a question for you. Where do you get your coal from here in Rapid? I usually use propane but I thought I might give coal or coke a try.

Here's a pic. Even though they're rough, I'm pretty happy with them overall.

Well really, now that I've identified it, it smells like burnt honey. It's really a pleasant smell.

No, I'm not talking about XXXXX. Like most of us, I like to visit balcksmith's shops whenever I get a chance. In many of them, beneath the smell of coal smoke, I've smelled another, sweeter smoke. Today I just did a couple pigtail turners and finished them with beeswax. I guess it was beeswax smoke I've been smelling.

Hey guys, I made (okay, they aren't quite done yet) a few pigtail meat flippers for people for Christmas. I want the people I give them to to understand that they aren't your basic dollar store bbq tool that can just be left to the elements and need special care. I was thinking of making a nice card to put in with the tools but I was wondering if any of you guys have a standard set of instructions you hand out with your forged items that you wouldn't mind me stealing borrowing. I would come up with something myself but to be honest, I'm running out of time and my usual flair for words is currently escaping me. I'm planning on blackening them with either canola oil or beeswax once they're done. Thanks in advance for the help.

ETA: My biggest problem is that, truth be told, I'm not even sure what the instructions should be. This is my first attempt at something for handling food so in the past I've always cheated and just used flat black paint. I know they they shouldn't be left out in the elements and should be oiled periodically but as to how often, I have no clue.

One other question. When I blacken them, do I blacken the hook part too or leave that bright?

I've never made a striker before but I do have quite a bit of good spring steel that should be perfect for it. Before I try, I've got a couple questions. I notice that a lot of the strikers I've seen have a larger area on the side. Is it this area that you're supposed to strike the flint on? Also, should the striking area be smooth or rough? I did try making one a while back but I couldn't get a single spark off of it no matter how hard I tried. Do you guys put any kind of finish on your strikers? Sorry for all the questions but I really want to learn.

I have an old piece of cable that is somewhat meaningful to me. Long story. Anyway, the cable is fairly rusty. Is there any way to save it so I can still use it?

When you're trying to fix an outdated motorcycle and realize that a certain specialized tool is something they don't make anymore.

When you need a certain replacement part for said motorcycle and the only one you can find costs more than the bike is worth.

So I don't have a ton of experience working with HC steel even though I eventually want to learn to make knives. Anyway, I have always heard how brittle hc can get when quenched in water but I didn't totally believe it. Come on, like glass? Really?

Anyway, I found a source for hay rake teeth that sells them to me for ten bucks for a dozen. I was going to make some bbq tools this morning and while I hated to waste such good steel on something like that, it's the perfect size and I'm out of regular stock in the same size.

The first step I took was to straighten it out in the forge. I figured I would leave it long and just work the end so I could use the rest as a handle. Once it was straight, I stuck it in my slack tub to make it cool enough to hang onto. I heated up the end and started pounded when I suddenly felt something give. It was the whole section behind where I was holding it. It broke into 3 pieces when it hit the concrete.

Just thought you might get a laugh out of my mistake.

The morning wasn't a total loss though. Completed my first forge weld. I have to admit that it didn't weld all the way through but when I cut off the end everything still held together so I consider it a success.

I used to work security at a rail yard. One day I got to talking with the owner of the yard and it came up that I was a smith. He told me a little secret. They rarely, if ever reuse spikes. The reason you're not supposed to take them is the simple fact that they don't want people walking on the tracks and getting squished. Since my job was to walk the tracks, he told me to take as many as I wanted. I ended up with over 100 of them.

Just a note, word is that soldiers aren't allowed to bring any weapons back. Even personal ones they brought themselves. If you make it for your friend, don't expect him to come back with it. A smith I know on another board had two knives commissioned but the buyer had to order two more and asked that they just be serviceable and left rough as they would be disposable.