Fe-Wood

Pea Gravel will not tamp down! It is the shape of a pea! Meaning round'ish (think marbles). Decomposed Granite will work really well or whatever 1/4- with fines grade or rock is available in your area. Glad to hear your leaning toward self built.

Great Work Mike! Like the way you fullered the handle on the one....

Sweet Car! Looks great! Mustang memories...√

I got that same sales pressure when I bought my building. On reflection, the price has remained about the same for years after. With that and the need for a space designed for your use in mind, I would go for the owner built. As another post suggested, with some of the money you will save, hire someone to help you with framing. Design the shop based on a plan drawn of your tool layout how you like them then wrap the space with walls giving you enough room to maneuver around everything. I have 2500 sq. ft and could use another 1000...

As far as drying- rough shape and put it in the microwave oven. Wood turners do this all the time....

If you have half a dozen fire bring laying about, you can posstion them to any size fire you might need.... Thats how I run mine.... Fast, Cheep and Easy....

That is an excellent piece of history... Getting it to be a functional lathe... Hmmmm.

How much do you need to do? Do you mind if it gets work hardened from the abrasive? Bits of rubber with polishing compound might be the ticket....

sculpt nouveau has a lot of colors that are topical. You might call the owner, I forget his name... He is a very nice guy and knowledgeable about patina's and chemicals. His number-1-800-728-5787

As mentioned in another post- Try gluing with polyurethane. This will eliminate the shrink and swell from seasonal changes... I have several handles made from scrap white oak. They have worked fine.

I have to agree with what other have said about fit and finish. This hammer is to be judged as well as used. Make it pretty and the best example of your considerable skills! Why not glue the handle in, in the fashion of Mr. Hofi? It is a valid form of attachment and can look really good! In a recent conversation with one of CBA's level 3 judge/instructors, I made the argument that as Blacksmiths we are always looking for better and easier ways to do a job. I have been gluing my handles with Polyurethane adhesive for 3 years with excellent results. I routinely travel from very humid to very dry locations and have not had a hammer head come loose yet!

My website has not made any money but it has given me a place to send prospective clients to view my work. In that sense, it is valuable. I made the mistake of having it made as a trade for work. It has been a very slow process and the biggest mistake from doing it as a trade is don't have total control. I can't update as often as I would like to or make changes on an ongoing basis. I am in the process of putting together another website that is specific to tools and other smithing products. I hoping this one will make me some money!

I hope you can make it to our CBA spring conference in Placerville, California. Richard Bent is the lead demonstrator. Here is a link- http://cba2013.org/

Yes! Welcome!

Hay Mark- Take some pictures of the failures and maybe I can help you out. I tought myself spinning from watching youtube videos and I've failed a piece in all the ways possible.... I think.... We can do the Q and A here or you can PM me, either way, I'm happy to help!

Very Nice Mark! I'd be interested in the gap bed but its to far away....

Thats great! I think you will be happier and forging sooner. Keep us posted....

Thanks Eric! Do you ever come down to the Weaverville hammer-in?

No pain- I didn't measure it but I think it was about 1" to 1 1/4" of parent stock. My spatula finish size is 2 5/8" at the widest and 4" long with a smooth transition to the 1/4" sq handle. Its is just a hair over 1/16" thick. I give you those dimentions so you can calculate it out if you want to.

Harold, I didn't fuller to the finish depth of 1/4" in go round. I fullered about 1/2 the original size (1") then reorganized the material (reshaped it) then went a bit further with the fullering and reshaped again. I crept up on the finish size so I wasn't taking to much material all at once, causing unnecessary stress and cracking the steel. Hope that helps-

And for that I am gratefull! Being on the west coast, we don't have access to much colonial period work and certainly no one here who teaches it... at least not that I know of...

Michael, He demo'd the making of the handle design and a round shape for a ladle. I didn't get to watch the Divider part... Really wish I'd been able to. I'm going to be working on getting him back out here for a class, you interested? Timothy, Your right about Peter's dedication to the Colonial period of Blacksmithing. What inspired me for this design was the way he moved the material and how he set it up before hand.

Thanks Clinton and Mike! HWHII, I started with a piece of mild steel 3/8"x1"x about 3". This was an "off the cuff" piece so I didn't make any measurements. First move was to fuller (isolate) the material needed for the flipper end. I worked in about 1/2 of my finish depth. Then I made the rough shape of the flipper end. Forming a taper Then I started to draw out the handle end. I did that a couple times (I think) so I wouldn't move to much material to fast and develop a crack at the fullered area. I also worked it very hot. After I drew out the whole handle area to about 3/8" sq. I isolated the handle detail material. The ball came out of a mass about 3/8"x3/8"x1/2" or 5/8". I only rounded the end slightly. Really just knocking the corners off. The finish shaft is 1/4"x1/4" The important move in this piece is working the material isolated for the handle design and flipper part with a cross peen starting in the middle and working out in either direction. You want to work the middle almost to the finish thickness ( about 1/16") before really working the edge material, again work very hot. The cross peen I used is about 5/16" wide. I found my wider (7/16") cross peen was to big to move this size material effectively. If done right, you should not have to reshape the edges. Bring material from the center out to remove any irregularity in the edge line. Good Luck and have fun Harold!

Thanks for the complements! Jerry, Its 2 1/2" wide at the flipping end and 16 1/4" long. Peter is also an excellent story teller....

We had Peter Ross as our lead demo at this years Octoberfest. I am now just getting to work with some of the techniques he shared with us! This started as a piece of 3/8" x 1" x 3" stock. By Hammer and hand, Anvil and heat, I forged this....