Gumbatron

Hi bigb, The nut on my post vise (and most that I know of) is free running, there is usually a loose fitting keyway in the vise body and a key on the nut. Looks like yours might have a blob of weld in it. Not sure how important having it be able to move a bit is, but I would think it would help a bit in terms of the service life of the screw and nut. If you wanted to, you could liberate the nut from the vise and make up a sleeve with the required key and a backing plate so that it can't pull through the vise body, weld the nut to that. Then you could use the screw/nut you have. Here's a couple of pics of my vise (assembled and disassembled), The only thing I needed to make was a new wedge, was lucky on that one. You can just see the key on the bottom of the nut (it's a bit blurry and greasy, sorry). All put back together with a new wedge. What remained of the old wedge, and the new one that I made (from an old slasher blade, it's hard stuff). I have no idea whether the angle is right or not, but is seems to work pretty well, so that'll do for me. Hopefully this helps you out a bit. Cheers, Gumbatron

On a forge that I have used a few times, the grate sits loosely in the bottom. A simple handle with a square taper on the end of a long (~2-3') rod is used to poke through the middle of the grate, which can then be jiggled back and forth to get rid of ash and clinker. Those cast iron grates look like they'd work similarly well with that setup.

Not had much experience in the area, but chrome is particularly nasty stuff. It'll give you, or your loved ones cancer and won't go away. If you chuck them in a fire, the chrome will be in the ash and/or sent up with some of the smoke and will contaminate the area. I'd definitely recommend talking to a chrome plater or similar, they should have the facilities to deal with the chrome safely and might even do it for you for free. Stay safe. Gumbatron

I can identify with the situation the OP is describing. As a beginner myself it can be a bit daunting to know what to do first. Luckily, I have access to some basic tools and very well set up Forge via a local artist blacksmith shop that is set up as a bit of a community blacksmithing center (rent a forge). My plan, not saying this is the ONLY way to go, is to start by making only the tools I need to get the job done. I will have a couple of hammers (one bought, one found) and that's about it. My current plan is to start making some bottle openers (with any luck, I might be able to post a photo of one in a few weeks :-)). For that I will need to punch/slit a hole. So first tool I'll need will be a punch and/or a slitting punch. I'll also need a bob punch for the little tab. I can probably borrow some tongs for a while, but a basic pair of tongs will also be on the list. These punches will then be the first things (other than some random stuff (Tapers, S hooks, twists, etc) I did in the beginners course offered by the blacksmithing center). These tools will likely not be the finest examples of their type and may not work as well as ones made by experienced smiths. But the point of making them is to start to get experience. Try making tools, see if they work and learn from the mistakes I'll almost certainly make. While I would love a hot cut hardie of my own, that's a fair way down the path at the moment. My advise would be to have a go at it, but start with modest and simple tools. Of course, I'm not exactly speaking from experience though, rather more from the shared and palpable anticipation of experience I'm yet to gain. The sage advice of others with experience is definitely worth taking. Cheers, Gumbatron

I think I got the Courting Candle story from The Art of Blacksmithing (Bealer), can't remember if there was a great deal of supporting evidence to the claim there though. I did find an old article discussing them: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-06-28/news/9806280125_1_candle-suitor-courting This suggests that they may have been used as the folklore suggests, but were probably not designed in that way. In any case, its an interesting story to have for a piece of ironwork. I wonder if there are other instances like it, where items have a possibly fictional back story?