Blacksmith Jim

M-bro, I thought about just welding a 1/4" piece of plate on the end of a piece of pipe, I felt like it wouldn't work as well without more mass. Also I wasn't sure if the pipe would deform poorly instead of the nice mushroom I get on the end of a normal tool. How has it held up for you? Have you used a solid monkey too to compare it to? Seems easier to hit a normal mushroomed end instead of getting one side of a pipe and not the other too..

By trash, do you mean scale?

I was thinking about a slight radius on the end too the other day. Glad to hear some confirmation on that! Thanks.

Whats the best way of acquiring a Monkey Tool? I'm planing on taking some 1" square cold roll I have (just mild steel I think) and drilling down it to make one. Just wondering if there is anything I am overlooking. What are you guys using? or making?

I know there is a blueprint that talks about it, but it is in the 300 set.

Make the important part of the piece first.... So the jaws if you are making tongs.. That way if you burn them off after the jaw, you can just weld on reins, and if you burn off the jaw, better start over.. But mainly I think you just gotta pay attention. I burn off pieces when I get to talking with people and forget about when my piece went into the fire.

I get stock mainly from steel scrap yards. But I also watch the free section of craigslist. Also, you can usually find rail road spikes near ... rail roads... Some times other useful pieces as well..

Haha, they JYH wins I think!

I wish there was someone like you over here in the UK

You can use a 4.5 inch angle grinder with cutting disc to cut them. A lot cheaper then a big chop saw.

Valentin, I recommend a vacation! Also, the comment about finding another person to start taking on the business running is a sound one. Is there an employee you have that you trust and can count on? Maybe they are ready for a promotion and more responsibility?

I got it as scrap for $10 a pound.

inazuma, new Ti is SPENDY. That's my understanding anyway.. But.... If you are resourceful, you might be able to find some cheaper. What I heard was that Ti has to be sold with its papers certifying it's make up. If a steel yard looses the paperwork associated with the Ti, then they can't really sell it as new.

A number of smiths from Eugene will be up there. I'm not able to make the trip this time though..

Whats a good source for flat pieces of brass or copper? My step son wants to make something like a Chinese coin. A round piece with a square hole in the center. I'm assuming all the work should be done cold on it?

I'm sure your friends will like them Larry :)

It turns a spit over a fire.

Guess it depends on local laws, but aren't you allowed to build what you want on your property as long as YOU build it? I thought you didn't need to take it to county or city unless you hired someone to build it for you... I've been day dreaming about framing some walls and adding a roof on the lot we own behind our house..

Offer to replace it with a different anvil. Get one of those Harbor Freight china made ASOs.

I got to play around with a set of Ti tongs a while back. Man those suckers are light!

There are a few blueprints on these in the blueprints section.. At least there used to be..

I make them if I need a size or shape I don't have. If I find some at a flea market or antique store or garage sale or what not, and they are priced OK, then I buy them. I did pick up a pair of Off Center tongs and a conference a while back, and they were worth every penny. I'm probably about 50/50 on made versus purchased.

Software Engineer... I started eating / sleeping / dreaming 1's and 0's back when I was knee high to a floppy disk.. Been doing it ever since. I am really starting to enjoy getting back to using my hands and working outside though. I've even done a little wrenching on the truck I picked up a few months ago.. Mainly though, outside of work I'm a full time dad and husband. Unfortunately that doesn't leave a lot of time for hobbies... With our new house I'm going to get a nice introduction to wood working as well...

Wish I could find good metallurgical coke out here in Oregon. I think our only option in these parts is to order it by the ton from someone that ships from the mid-west...

Somewhere on this site Hofi posted some pictures of his forges and chimneys at one of the schools he runs. I remember it standing out as a nice simple design. He had a chimney for each station, but the stations were near the wall, and the chimney went out the wall before it went up. Maybe you can find the pics in the gallery..

I had the pleasure of watching the Brazeal Brothers demo at an NWBA conference a few years back. They were great, and super nice guys.

I really like the anvil they set up here, looks very very functional.