brian.pierson

Isn't mokume technically copper fusion or copper alloy fusion? That is how I had it explained to me but I have never tried it myself.

Brian

I agree with the dablacksmith. The blade looks like a nice older piece. It is definitely English in origin by the two lions. There was a lot of imports in the 19th century from the Sheffield area. If you want to find the trademark, I would start by trying to see if there was something online about English manufacturers.

Brian

Inuroku842

Here is an article on how to grind a hammer for sinking metal. You can use it as a guide to work on your hammers. You should not need to go as far as what the author has in getting a rounded face. It is as Phil said a slight dome on the face and a more rounded fuller on the pein. If you are starting out it is better to work out on an inexpensive hammer with the shaping. Brian is right on the hammer makers he suggested too. I might add he makes a mean hammer himself so he should know. You can search on here for other examples of either face dressing or hammer making.

http://www.arador.com/articles/index.html


Brian

Jake,

Never meant to put you on the spot so here you go. Links to Stokes on line.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ah637e/ah637e00.htm basic
http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ah635e/ah635e00.htm intermediate

On Google
http://books.google.com/books?id=Y9lBNN3u1xQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_slider_thumb#v=onepage&q=&f=false basic
http://books.google.com/books?id=uJvu_qnUKFsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_slider_thumb#v=onepage&q=&f=false Intermediate
http://books.google.com/books?id=6kQMg6TcgVwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_slider_thumb#v=onepage&q=&f=false Advanced

I post these often when questions are asked. I was just asking for real-world estimates also. Sometimes experience is just the best teacher. I will have to experiment some myself. I will let you know what I come up with.

Brian

Thanks,guys,for looking and your comments.

Brian,don't remember exactly,didn't measure...The WI is what the 1 1/2"rnd flattens out to,so a couple inches wide?The 52100 was 3/4" rnd,from Admiral.For scale,the eye is standard.

Pete,

DCL is right about the name. While it can be used for general smithing, it was made for the farrier trade. The swage block portion was for putting cauks in horse shoes. There has been vises like yours on Ebay as well as other makers but I don't remember what they brought. Price will depend on whether you find a collector of tools or if you find working smiths that want it. Nice looking tool, good luck.

Brian

Jake,

Great looking axe. Thanks for sharing. What were the sizes of the three pieces that you made it from?

Thanks again,

Brian

John,

That is a nice looking blade. I look forward to seeing it after the HT and etch. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Have you designed the hilt yet?


Good luck

Brian

All,

Here is my new vise stand. It is 36 inches tall and 17 inches wide at the part near the bench. It is as tall as the bench next to it. I can attach it to the bench later. The feet have a little lip so I will forge a bracket piece to go over each of them. I plan on making two sets so I can firmly anchor the stand to concrete in the new shop floor. The second set will be hammered into the ground using pole barn nails for travel. The top is 9/16 inch plate. I put the vise on an angle to the bench for clearance with longer pieces. I still have to put a shelf in the middle and put a block at the bottom for the vise leg. I also have some cleaning to do on the vise. The crank handle has a big curve in it. I would like to forge it straight but it will have to wait until I get the new forge built. It is too unwieldy with my rivet forge. I have to paint the stand and the vise after the clean up too. It will be a bright red from the rust if I don't.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Brian

Brian,


Your are right. They do practically make themselves. Thanks for the slow explanation. The clay really allowed me to see what you were doing.

Brian Pierson

Double-Y


Take a look here,




Brian

a nice big power hammer would be great, even though i would never give up my little striker, but in all fairness pretty much all the large things ive worked down with a striker have been mild, i like to take it pretty much all the way to welding heat, mmmmmmmm nice and soft

http://www.myspace.com/brazealbrothers

kinda looks like yours.... anyone know where he is right now

Brian,

Those really show the color run on them. Did you polish them up before HT? Looks great and glad to see you two back on line. I know I missed your input on here.

Brian

I have A
560 lb vaughn brooks
500 lb euroanvil
500 lb haberman
Nimba gladiator
One each of Hoffmans
1245 lb refflinghaus

They were all purchased new except for the haberman which had only been used for demonstratons at the ABANA conference in Kentucky by haberman.
None of them were reasonably priced according to a lot of smiths except maybe for the euroanvil.
They are all top quality anvils
It all boils down to the style and weight that you like and the size and style work that you are going to be using it for.
You can do small work on a large anvil most of the time easier than you can do large work on a small anvil.
I also have and have used large and small ( peter Wrights, haybuddens, mousehole,fisher,mankle,TFS,JHM and a few others that I cant think of right now.
If I could only keep one it would be one of the Refflinghaus anvils.
My favorite is the big Refflinghaus.
There are a bunch of brands of new anvils out there and with the advancement of the metalurgy they are arguably better anvils than the older ones.
I would rather pay too much for something that I really want than to get a good deal on something that I really dont want.
Check out
Blacksmith Depot
Blacksmith Supply
Centaur Forge
Shady Grove Blacksmith shop
Hoffmans Website
All of them sell anvils and there are many more that can be found with an internet search.

Mike Tanner

You can't punch a starter hole with a center punch? How many panels and holes per panel are you doing? If not many, would a dremel and ball cutter be possible to make the starter?


Just a thought off of my head.

Not a professional so maybe I am missing something obvious.

Brian

Iain,

You could go the wood route. You don't need a stump, only a cut off about 6 inch round and about an inch deeper than you want the bowl to be. You should be able to hollow out the depression using a wood chisel. I think you will find that route gives you a better result in the end.

Brian

falconer.

It is the Woodings-Verona Tool Co. of Verona, Pennsylvania touchmark. Here is a web page describing the mark and company.

http://www.wrenchingnews.com/wrench-logos/logos-page-1.html

Look under W,V & T

Brian

Bob,

The one from the Champion has a 3/8" stem. I understand now that NPT stands for National Pipe thread. I still have to check the next time I get to the Smithy. unfortunately that will be a couple of weeks or so. I really need my stuff closer. Thanks again.

Countryforge,

Thanks for the pointer to the stationary engine section of EBay.

Brian

Chris, and Bob,

Thanks for the replies. Okay, an oil cup it is then. I figured that I was calling it the wrong thing. Here is a picture of what I have on my Champion blower. It is from an ad on EBay of a champion Blower. I like the spring load part and I can add oil on the fly. I think the Brass looks cool also. Thanks again and now I know what to ask for. I will have to measure the one from the Champion blower to get specifics.

Ken,

Thanks for the tractor show idea. I know there are a lot of steam and miss and hit engine collectors around Southern Indiana so I will look for shows.

Brian

All,

I have a blower that is missing the top oiler port. The brass device that you can add oil to the gear box. It is a 3/8" hole. I can interchange the one from my champion blower but I am looking for one for the new blower. Am I calling it the right name? Does any one make replacements? I can always put in a bolt to block stuff from getting into the gear box but would like the convenience of the pull up port. Thanks in advance.

Brian

here is the finished blade, being my first knife there are many thing i will do differently but by and large i'm pleased

Sukellos and Bendik,

Thanks for the ideas. I have been thinking about this over the winter. I find the low humidity in Indiana to loosen the handles the worse here, I would like to figure out a way to tighten handles on top tools without wedging them at all. My intention is to be able to remove the handle so I can dress the faces without the handle getting in the way. But I want the handle secure while I work and not just slide off the handle. I have been toying with using a machine screw inserted at a crossing of cuts in the handle. Using the screw as a wedge in 4 directions but removable.

Any suggestions from forum?

Thanks

Brian

Without seeing it, It is hard to give a definitive answer. The best to say probably. Take a look when it gets to you. Sharp edges leave marks but maybe that is the look you are going for. Don't worry about us telling you what you "have" to do. Ignore any advice that does not click with your experience level yet but don't forget it either. One of these days it will suddenly click on "why" someone said something. We all had to take that first step down the road. Don't put off the trip.

As an old teacher once told me, "Don't try for perfection, it will just look machine made. It is the imperfect that fascinates a human's mind"



Brian

Does anyone know how to make a coil spring? I tried to search, but Nothing comes up.
I have some large Coil springs That I can draw out and use for material...Will that work and keep its "spring" ??
Thanks!