windancer

Love the video, thanks! You are about to have more fun than you can imagine! Really! Dave

Mark Aspery tell the story about his wife complaining about all the hammers all over his shop. When she asks about that new hammer now he says he borrowed it and must return it later. y Yeah, like she believes that :) Dave

Looks good to me. If it isn't $1 a pound I would drag it home. I hate pounding things into my anvil hardy and paid another smith to make 4 four inch by one inch bolsters with a hole dead center in each the size of my hardy hole. If I bust one or two of those I will just switch to one of the others. They are welded [by a friend who is a great welder, thanks, Bill!] to heavy tubes with heavy bottom plates, all different heights for different uses. Dave

I was not and am not offended. I watched the entire video [about an hour] and watched from stacking the billet, spraying it with WD40, through the forge welding and the final completed billet. I use paper in can Damascus and leave a tiny hole. Into the forge and when the smoke stops coming out I finish the weld and get on with it. The posts on this thread have taught me some new things including kerosene and super glue. And the gent in the video is not the only one using his method. Requesting names or proof of anything or who did it are not in my makeup. Years ago when I started making knives and hanging out at knife making forums I soon realized that posted advice needed to take into account who the poster was :) Forums have saved me years of figuring out every little thing on my own. Learning must still take place, and tons of time at the forge and anvil. I love this forum and appreciate ALL the postings, weather they make sense to me or not. I believe most posts are created with a genuine wish to help. I have pretty thick skin and don't get offended or angry until I figure out that offense or anger is the hoped for reaction. We are all different and I appreciate that fact too. Dave

Basher, thanks for posting your use and your reasoning for use. Maybe some folks will think a minute before they jump on something just because they haven't tried it or never heard it before. On my current batches I was tempted to try milk of Magnesia before stacking as was suggested on IFI. Wasn't curious enough. I did try to flux before stacking and that was a mess. I think I will try this on my next batch of Damascus. It can't possibly make it any harder :) Dave

No, same concrete everywhere in the shop. It varies between 5 and 9 inches in depth. I did lay down 3 sheets of plywood with some caulking between them. The plywood extends about 18 inches on 3 sides of the hammer. Dave

There is a local antique mall here that has a booth of mostly blacksmith tools. The booth holders there take turns working the counter and trying to reduce pilferage. I spent some time talking to one of the folks at length. Turns out that they volunteer to work the counter and that all of them do NOT do so. Also turn out that a smallish display counter of my blacksmith stuff is $60 per month, total cost. I must supply the display and the lock and leave an extra key in the store so the display can be opened for handling and selling items. Each item must be tagged with price and seller ID. When an item is sold they take the money, keep the tag, and log it into the sales register in ink. You can stop in whenever they are open to add/subtract items. Didn't ask but suspect they do a monthly accounting for folks to collect their money. Easy, simple, very reasonable cost and procedures. You might just stop in at a shop where you think you may be able to sell your stuff and have a chat. I would never leave things anywhere for any reason on consignment. Dave

Thanks, Chris! Dave

This was a well known knife maker who makes and uses a lot of his own Damascus. No Cans. I am just finishing up two weeks forging Damascus. No Cans. I was simply curious what the WD40 does, and if anyone here uses it. I have never see anyone else using it. Interesting comments. Dave

The fella in the video was spraying his billets with WD40 before they went into the forge for the first time. He was careful to spray both sides to get good penetration. He also quick fluxing after the second heat, said it wasn't required. Why the WD40? Do any of you do this? Dave

I will probably dream about your great deals tonight. My mind keeps going back to the ridiculous price you paid. Nice that you thought to ask about other stuff. Dang! Dave

Nice work. Please don't tell me you did all 4 in one day?????? Will you post a couple pics of the eye from the top please? Thanks and great job! Dave

Beautiful work and beautiful Damascus. I would probably try to figure out a reason to carry this so folks could admire it :) Dave

My air hammer rocks everything in the shop. It sits on 6" of concrete and is welded to steel bolted to the floor with concrete anchors. The hammer foundation and the hammer are doing fine after several years. But the vibrations knock things from the walls, from the anvil storage, the vice storage, the desk and from my tool racks. I would NEVER build anything from stone or rock anywhere in my shop. Dave

Gettin back a little steel money is always a bonus for doing things you do anyway because you enjoy it. Good onya. Dave

Me2 Dave

If you tip the burner a few degrees so that it basically delivers the flame to hit the side first it will cause the turbulence you are after for more even heating and vastly reduce the hot spot. That tiny change will reward you a hundred times more satisfaction from your forge. There will still be a smaller hot spot where the flame reflects from the wall, but it will be off to the side when you forge in the center of the forge. When you want the higher heat just slide your material over almost against that wall. I made knives for ten years before becoming interested in blacksmithing. Warping is the worst problem for me making knives, and most of that is eliminated by even heat so the material is the same temperature clear through. A hot spot or cold spot warps like crazy and now you have another thing to deal with besides the knife. And getting the blade flat again when the bevel is forged is a maddening event. Please post some more pics when you get it up and running! Making knives is very rewarding and satisfying to me- hope you get that too :) Dave

Nice hats :) Want to share the basic how-to? Dave

I like it a LOT. Has lots of attitude! Good job! Dave

Great work and creativity. I like it a lot! Dave

You had a productive day! Did you sell some stuff? Dave

You are gonna love having a power hammer! Looks like you'll have that one running as long as you like. Is that a 53 Chevy pickup in the pic? Enjoy your new tool! Dave

The two things that struck me are: 1) The vertical burner which will be super hot right below it and the heat coming from the outside of the forge will be going right up against the propane hose [all the forges I have ever used will eventually throw some heat from the outside of the forge. 2) It is gonna be real east to tip over with the small base. Propane gas is a wonderful tool [that is all I run] but also dangerous as all get out. Can't see much else from the tiny pic. The ones at the external site are also tiny. I am NOT coming down on you- I just would like it if you are still around to share more stuff with us. Dave

I would settle for just ONE more hand. More than that would probably make it easier to hurt myself. The cartoon made me laugh out loud. Just came in from a full day at the forge and I was glad for the laugh. Dave

I found another member who has made them. He sent me the steps he uses. I will ask him if I can post on the forum. If he says OK I will post his message. If he would rather I didn't I won't :) Dave