Dave Hammer

Small quantities are frequently available on eBay.... Otherwise you could locate small junkyards (rural areas) and ask if they have any wood wheel rims. They aren't ALWAYS wrought iron, but most of the time they are. The last time I came back from North Dakota, I brought 12 rims with me. Sometimes they are poor quality wrought, but sometimes they are pretty good. The ABANA magazines frequently have someone advertising wrought iron for sale There is always someone selling wrought iron at Quad States.

I forgot to attach this in my last post.... By the way, there needs to be a bottom on the plenum....

Several things can be done to help draw smoke better. First of all, that type of hood over a fire will seldom work satisfactorily. A side draw setup is much better.... I would make a setup as per the drawing (slanted sides are better), with the forge pushed up against it. The firepot should be within a couple inches of the opening. Also, I would use 10 or 12 inch pipe. The "S" curve is OK as long as you can find elbows for the pipe large enough. When you start your coal fire, crumble a newspaper up in to a ball, light it and put it in the opening (behind the firepot).... This will start the updraft and pull the smoke from your coal fire. Edit... Looks like two of us were typing an answer for you at the same time (with the same solutions)... See the following post for the drawing....

I recommend joining a local guild and taking some beginning blacksmith classes. The path to making good knives will be shorter if you learn basic processes and develop those skills first.

What he said....

I started with the most common size (I know of), one about 6 inches long, and yes.... using a power hammer.

That's what hand carts are for.... or even a wheelbarrow

Look at http://www.masametalsmiths.org/ It has a link to a registration form. Phil Heath and Brian Brazeal will be demonstrating.... See you there...

I made this touchmark myself. You should be able to make an anvil with your initials in it. Just cut off, or grind flat, the end of a punch or chisel, and use a zip disc to carve an anvil shape on the end (carefully). It took a little practice, but I was able to make the hammer shape without too much difficulty. Carve the anvil without heating the blank. Then heat it to a lemon yellow and use reverse-letter stamps to put your initials in the center of the anvil (hold the stamps with a vice grips). You can buy individual reverse letter stamps. I don't remember where I bought mine, but you can Google for vendors that sell them (there may be a minimum $ amount for the sale). If the reverse letter stamps are cost prohibative, you might be able to use regular letter stamps to make your own reverse letter stamp with your initials on it (both of them), then use that stamp on the anvil. I've thought about doing it, but haven't gotten around to it. The looks of the letters in the anvil would be different, but if you are successful, it might just look cool. After punching the letters, heat treat.

I believe the black one is a "hot cut".

We need some pictures....

Double post...

Those dies may be tall enough to be ground or milled down to a useful configuration (flat, crowned or combo). As long as you can adjust the position of the stroke to have the top die about 3/4 of an inch above the lower die (ram at rest at the bottom of the stroke, hammer not running), they should work fine....

Sid would be a great resource for answers. Just give him a call.

That's impressive....

Vinegar will show the contrast of different metals. In my experience though, If you want to etch deep to get a high contrast you can feel, vinegar probably won't do what you want. It takes a stronger acid. The pendant was etched with warm vinegar. The knives were etched with a 2-1 mix of hydrogen proxide and Muratic acid. Please use appropriate caution when using strong acids...

Good advice from others here. You might also try Tractor Supply Co (TSC), or look in the Yellow Pages to find a welding supply store.

If you have a welder, you should be able to fabricate a simple power hammer for less than $500. If you don't have a welder, take a welding class and build your power hammer as the project. To add to a previous post, watch for a power hammer. Occasionally, a Little Giant hammer (or that type of hammer)can be purchased very reasonably.

The reason to take bark off is to avoid the holding or sapping of moisture. Moisture will facilitate the rotting of the trunk. Ground will always have some moisture in it. Your anvil base will last longer if you take the bark off.

Suit yourself, but if you don't, your are limiting the useful stroke you can have, and... sometime in the future, you will break something on your Dupont linkage. You don't have to lift your whole hammer, there should be holes in the sides of the anvil you can put a rod into and use hydraulic jacks to lift the anvil....

Both Fairbanks hammers I have owned (100# and 150#) are two pieced hammers. Is yours a two piece hammer? If the anvil is bolted to the frame.... Loosen the bolts and RAISE the anvil (put something under it).

Post a request on this forum... http://blacksmith.org/forums/forum.php Grant Sarver will answer..... He makes touchmarks.

These videos from the Scot Forge website are kind of interesting..... My link My link

I agree that the more you make the easier it will get. I used to have the same problem you are describing. After about fifty or a hundred leaves, I started to leave the stem about 50% thicker (than the final cross section) at it's junction with the body of the leaf until the leaf was almost finished. Also, I forge the stem as a tapered square bar, not rounding it at all till the leaf body is done. THEN I forge the stem to the shape/size I want. Works every time for me. The only time I get a cold shut there now is when I'm not paying enough attention and get the stem too small to soon.

B) :blink: