windancer

Saw him all three days- very impressive young-un. Easy to talk with, good response to questions. Eager to share his knowledge any way he can. Enjoyed meeting / watching him work.

I bought a very nice heavy Damascus ring last year from Dave @ Studio4 in Seattle. It left a stain on my finger for 3 or 4 days, now no stain or irritation. If you just keep wearing it I bet it will stop making the stain. My gold wedding ring is in a box- the gold kept wearing through from the smithing. The Damascus holds up just fine and the pattern is still great! Gave myself quite a start the first day in the shop with the new ring- I have a magnet on my torch holder and it kept 'grabbing' the ring. Felt much better when I figured out what was happening :)

The fella I was talking about is a knifemaker, and he is from Argentina. He makes TONS of stuff- great site! http://www.aescustomknives.com/

There is a well-known smith in Argentina [i think!] that routinely makes Damascus with copper and/or brass. That is way beyond anything I do so remembered it couod be done and went on my way. Pretty interesting to me. Dave

Sounds as though maybe a visit by your folks would do some good. You and your folks should also be ready with a working hours schedule that limits [a little] the hammering noise. Let your folks have a go before you quit altogether.

Yeah, cheap steel to practice on is a good thing!

Looks very good. I have bought a couple and built a couple, fairly happy with them all. If that top is actually hinged on one side so it can be opened easily that is a great idea. If I ever build another it will have a hinged top! Enjoy your new forge. Dave

Some great ideas, Sean. I am getting ready to build smaller punches that can be held with a single handle without turning in the holder. The flat spot for indexing should work itself into the final solution. Please keep this thread updated as you go- I will need to steal it when you are done. Dave

Yup- lust plain old mild steel. Just 'cuz there are lots of specific use steels out there doesn't mean they have to be used. Dave

There is some new linkage available, I think from one of the hammer builders that can be adapted to most hammers. I remember a vid of the hammer closing a wooden match box a tiny bit at a time- pretty amazing and worth your while to investigate. Good luck with your build! Dave

I added the larger fan. The third time I ran the forge the gunshots are back. I am running the fan wide open and the burn looks good, great heat. There must be a place that is trapping the gas and then doing the blast. It happens after the first half hour or later. This is the second size from the bottom from Pine Ridge Burners. I can find nothing the matter but something obviously is.... Any one running a ribbon burner have any suggestions? Dave

Absolutely- that's all I use. Dave

Careful- there are a zillion ways to make roses and lots of different materials- they are addicting :) Enjoy! Dave

I really like this! Dave

Great work! Dave

Do like moat of us do and build whatever looks and feels good to you! Dave

Can't tell the size but I see bottom tools, top tools, fullers and punches all piled there :) Send em along if you get tired of the dust... Dave

WAAAAAY cool! Good onya! Dave

I have a $30 rounding hammer as well as several from Brent Bailey. I have the usual mix of old blacksmith hammers, too.The main difference for me is the way they look and feel. They both dent my anvil and their faces when I mis-hit with them. I also just ordered a Brazeal style rounding hammer that will ship tomorrow. None so far have made even a tiny bit of quality in my finished work. I just like them. In Mark Aspery's first book he mentions that when his wife mentions the new hammers he tells her they are borrowed and will be returned very soon, them moves them around the shop so the same hammers are in different places. Go figure :) Dave

I am not sure why this is being brought up except by the owner/manager of the board? I think the problems that crop up are part of living and that fixes will always take a little time to ID the source of the problem, the required fix to the problem and the resources to implement the fix. A little gratitude goes a long, long, way. I am thrilled with the entire board! Dave

Cool! Now I understand why refinishing an anvil is so costly and so hard to find someone with experience to do the work. You did a great job! Guess I will live with all the little bumps and worn spots on my anvil. Thanks for taking all the extra time do do this step-by-step and the photos. Dave

Thanks to all! I have a bunch of them already in the shop- just didn't know what they were called :) Dave

I have read tips about using and making Bob punches and still have no idea that the work end looks like. Will some of you folks post a few pics? Thanks, Dave

Just keep buying the cheap ones you don't have yet and take turns with all of them. Before you know it you will find what you prefer and why. I can't recommend one because you don't know what you like yet :) Dave

Cool Sam! I like it :) Dave