AR. Hillbilly

I make twist tong blanks out of our old mower blades. Each blade =2 pair of tongs.

Here it is after a complete tear down and paint job. I had to replace the ball oiler and bushings on the back gear tube. Everything else seems to be in great conditin

Good on you and your dad for keeping the awesome tools in the family. As far as blow dryers go there is a way to unhook the heating elements but I don't know how. I recently was given a blower and housing from a jenn air appliance and one from an old clothes dryer. When I first started building my forge an older couple brought me a free Dayton forge blower. It runs so quiet you can't hear it run. It doesn't have a speed change but it has a built in intake gate which works well. I like the look of the forge with clay added.

Will do Smoggy. I did find that site. I've done quite a bit of reading on there. I can't find a book for one this old but was told that the next gen was the same lathe with a different drive system and I can get that book. I got it in the shop and started cleaning. It's cleaning up much easier than I thought it would. Once I get it set up and working I have a friend that will come over and level it and get me started. I know nothing.

I just bought a 1936 Sheldon 11x36 lathe. It was a barn find. It has several drawers full of tooling and "stuff". It needs a good cleaning and going over. I have a friend that runs a machine shop who will help me set it up and get me started.

How would I go about making some of those? I love the look of those hooks made with these. I'm curious how it would look to do this and give a light twist after? I'm inspired.

All nice vises. Y'all would throw my junk in the forge and make something else from it. LOL Someday I'll find a nice one in my price range but not yet.

Will do Frosty. This is a true blessing. This part of the country used to be covered with junk yards and salvage yards. There all gone but a couple scrap places that don't sell. The one I just found I was told about by a friend. It's about 25 miles away. We do all our shopping every other Saturday and we can shop up in that area once in a while.

I went to a scrap yard near here that sells to the public yesterday. I just found out about it. When I got there they gave me a few rules and pointed me in the right direction and turned me loose. I did my very best to not break their rules. I carried each piece I wanted to one area and they let me drive in and load it. They weighed me going in and out. I had a pretty full truck load and the guy asked if $20.00 was ok? I gave him 30 and said they could have lunch on me. They were very nice guys but strict on the rules. I hope to build a good relationship with these guys. I'm just thrilled to find this place. As we were leaving one of the guys said to me, some people haul in this scrap to pay their electric bill and I buy the scrap to make something so I can pay my electric bill. It was a good day.

Ok I want to know about the handles as well? I also would like to know what process you used to harden/temper that hammer after reforging it. I'd also like to know the process to harden/temper a reforged hammer to be used as a struck tool? I like the look of that handle. I have some hickory drying in the shop for future handles. I recently made up some handles out of laminated oak I brought home from work. So far they are holding up much better than I expected.

I have one just like it on my welding table. I've put it through some rough times and it has held up well. It had 2 ears broken off the swivel base when I bought it. I removed the base and made a new one from flat plate. I use it daily. Yours appears to be in very good condition.

We have 2 of our grandkids stay with us each summer. They both like to spend time in the shop with me. I prefer one on one but sometimes I take both at one time.The boy is seven and the girl is nine. I set up a railroad track for an anvil for them. I thought of building a step for using one of my anvils but I was worried about one losing balance and stepping off of it. I also have the small saftey glasses issue and finding good gloves that are small. I keep a good eye on each and shut it down at the first sign of fatigue. Grandma helped each make their own leather apron. I hold the tongs if required. Absolutely no grinders at this point. I'm trying to give both good life skills before I become stupid and uncool. I was farming and working cattle at a very young age and got my first 22 at 9 years of age. I wasn't allowed to take it out with out one of my brothers or my dad until I was much older. I was riding bulls at 14 and driving a race car that I built at 16.

Jim I didn't get the table. I don't have a problem sending it to my friends machine shop and have it machined for a chuck. It has a piece broken that would have held a spring to return the autofeed lever. If it was a little nicer and complete I would be more interested in keeping it original. In time I'll make a table and find a good chuck to use on it. I have a good 1/2" keyless chuck but i'm afraid it may not be suited for a drill press

Doug you are correct. It definitely has a tapered square hole for brace and bit bits. I took it all apart and polished up every shaft and bushing and put it back together. It works flawlessly. I need to make a new bushing for the shaft that the crank handle hooks to. I looked at the link you sent and I think that chuck would work. I've considered cutting the square end off the shaft and drilling a 1/2" hole and a set screw to fit a Jacobs chuck. Is this a bad idea? I also messed around this morning and built a new autofeed mechanism. I'm not satisfied with it but It gave me better ideas on how to make a better one.

Yes I wondered about that. It looks like a sort of morse taper but square instead of round. The hole in the end of the shaft is square and the sideways hole up the shaft is egg shaped like someone would drive a wedge through to dislodge the bit. I hope to add a chuck.

I stopped at a junk sale today and bought a Champion post drill. Looking at some pics I think it's a #98. Everything turns as it should. It is missing the power feed lever that rides on the cam and twists the feed. It also has no chuck. The end of the spindle is square and has a hole through it about 1" from the end. I'd like to put a drill chuck on it. Any ideas on this? What are the chances of finding a lever for the advance mechanism? I'll post pics later.

Thanks for the info guys. I have seen Brents video on makin handles. I just wanted to know how to go from bark on log to rough shape. I think I'll split/quarter and let dry.what can I paint on the ends to stop checking? I can get more but this was already cut and in the way. I

A while back I bought a box of hammer heads. I made a few handles out if some white oak scrap at work. The pieces were too thin and I selected grain and laminated the handle out of 2 pieces. O know this isn't a great idea but it's wat I had and I wanted handle makin practice. Today I brought home several pieces of hickory about 17" long and anywhere from 5" to 8" across. The tree's been down for a couple months. I'm curious how to make these? Shpuld I just make one handle out of each piece and center the heart wood? How long should they dry before I start cutting in to shape. I have a draw knife and table saw and any other wood working tools except a wood lathe.

First off thanks for the info. I just called the local tsc and he said they don't carry it but can order it in. He said he could get it by the pallet. I said I just wanted one bag to try and he said they would have one bag by Saturday. For some reason that TSC is awesome to deal with. We have one closer that is a real pain to deal with and I'll never darken their door again even for a bag of coal. I hope this pans out. I can get good coal over in OK but they aren't open on weekends. I've been tryin to get there for over 6 months. Thanks again for the information.

Nice

I went out this morning and gave it a good lookin over. I still can't find a name. I measured the existing jaw and it's 4.5". I also got in touch with the guy who possibly had the other jaw. He didn't sound very promising. He said he would look around but didn't really know what I was talking about. I'm looking at ideas on how to fab a jaw of my own.

I hit a garage sale on the way home from work and found this. I may never find the moving jaw but I may. The guy who sold it to me said another guy has possibly the jaw that came from that vise. I know both guys and have a slight bit of hope that I may find it. The screw is free and the stationary jaw is in very good shape. If I can't find the missing jaw what should I do with this hunk of metal? I can't find a name on it but it has a 2 on the bottom of the mounting plate. It has both thrust washers and everything but the missing jaw.

Another welcome from NW Arkansas. I'm very new to this site and Blasksmithing as well. I've found this site to be very helpful to get me started.

Thomas I'm not sure. I live an hr and a half east of Cave. I worked in that area a lot several years back. Most of that area is covered with subdivisions now. It's nothing like it used to be.

Gentry Arkansas. It's just north of Siloam Springs. The club is called Tired Iron of the Ozarks.