Daswulf

Have you noticed the surface flaws to affect your work yet?

Ya can't have pantless miniatures, what would the neighbors say. What better than map pants, it keeps your hands free to carry all the weapons, potions and treasures. And that's why ya need friends.. to read the back of the map.

Who can forget the iron maiden, secret passages through book cases, mad scientist laboratories and monsters that go bump in the night( because it is dark and no one left the light on for them, "and Who put that coffee table There!).

He goes by Jack Crafty on his knapping videos. His videos are long and when he rambles I find it enjoyable. Just watching him work is very informative. I still have a lot to learn so I don't want to muddy up the waters going into what I think is right. I do "think" the same with flint as you stated.

Love the expressions you are able to achieve. Also the names and scenarios. The dreadful affair at Fawrnsworth castle indeed. Sounds like he needs someone with a monocle a mustache and a top hat to corroborate and tell the tale. I too am guilty of not getting any or many if any good pictures of some things I've made.

Another benefit to a hand crank blower is if you get side tracked and step away from the forge you are less likely to burn your workpiece. Have done that with my electric blower having not shut it off or letting the work piece heat while i go off and think, text or talk. There are fixes for that as well tho. But it really hurts spending hours on something then a second of misattention and it is ruined.

Oh, lots of people use them. I have a 110v Dayton blower on my shop forge, but use a champion 400 hand crank blower for my travel demo forge. Nice not needing electric. If you can find one in good usable shape for a decent price they are great. Don't even have to crank as much/fast using charcoal vs. coal. I'll be using the old hand crank tomorrow at a sales demo event.

Amazing the options eh? The best thing to use is what works.

For blowers don't discount n air mattress inflator, either electric or hand pump. Charles recommended a double quick pump sold through wally world or amazon. I have one and it would work fine for both its intended purpose and as a charcoal forge pump. I have used mine a lot for blowing up pools, floaties, and air mattresses lol. Havnt had a chance to try it out in a campfire to forge yet but it would work fine with a metal pipe to attach to it.

Chad, through some more recent interest in learning about flint knapping one of the guys I watch on yt mentioned landscaping supply places as a potential place for find bull rock or bull gravel. I haven't had the need to check into that more but that might be a cheap source other than buying a grab bag of unknown but possible decent stuff on ebay which i have done. Id say that most of the stuff I got in a 40# box wasnt very good for knapping but certainly should be good for flint and steel, which was a secondary or firstly reason I bought it. That was before i heard about the bull rock. It might be worth checking out and if you examine some chipped rocks you might find some decent chert or flint rock. At that point I would nicely explain your intentions with it and nicely ask if you could purchase a small quantety at they probably mostly sell by the yard or large weights.

Give the jabod a try and to from there.

Look up JABOD (just a box of dirt) if you are looking to use charcoal. It is an absolutely simple and easy side blast forge design that is very well suited to use charcoal efficiently. The basic idea of it has been around thousands of years. The box just gets it up off the ground. A bottom blast using that old coal stove would eat through charcoal fast and be way harder to make than a jabod side blast forge. Pretty simple to make, will get you forging fast instead of tinkering around with something that won't be efficient. Just because you have something doesn't mean it is the right thing to make something out of. Another point on a jabod, if it doesn't suit your needs or work as well as expected it is easily adjusted, where and something hard built is not. Here is the pinned thread. There are others to read into as well.

Hi AnimaVetus, Sounds like you are going for a bottom blast forge? What will the fuel be, coal, coke or charcoal? My first thoughts are that you might have to make more work out of that thing than is necessary, and also it wouldn't have any "table" for extra fuel around the fire to rake in as needed. If that is what you'd like to use we could help out with info Have you looked at any more proven designs in this sections?

That is a pretty amazing find. Thanks for sharing.

If the file handle were loose then they could fall. Most likely would not break but could chip if they fell on a hard surface like concrete. A good tight fitted handle shouldn't come loose easily just from hanging it from the handle. If you were worried you could add a dab of epoxy to secure the handle to the file better.

Weird enough it makes me think of the old wooden honeycomb dipper for getting honey out of the jar to drizzel on toast or whatever. I have no idea truely. Maybe a deburring tool? Being mostly wood or leather connections... maybe for holding snaps to pein on? The slits could be to expand to clip onto a snap or something to hold it in place for the other half to pein it? Just grasping at straws.

I have a large copper pot with an iron bale that I wonder about. It is from my ancestors and I still don't know its intended use. Often i ponder it and think maybe for doing laundry. Maybe it was for rendering animal whatever. I dont know but it isnt caked in anything. Just darkened with age. Has to be somewhere around a 30# capacity.

Not a bad price in my area really. It is in good shape. I asked about the rebound because i am interested. Mine has a bit less rebound and ring than my other shop anvils. Probably around 70%. No big deal as it functions great and seems like a quiet thud mounted to a metal tripod stand with a chunk of rubber mat beneath. No matter what it is a good usable anvil. You didn't pay too much vs. What you could make and sell with it. My 4 anvils are paid off on what i have made and sold using them.

Looks like you did good. How is the rebound? I have a pre-1830 mousehole anvil as well. It is a good solid anvil. Mine in in the 90# range and I use it with my travel demo setup.

That is a pretty awesome bottle opener. Nice work.

That's what happens when I don't have a "specific" spot and try to use random space. Been there done that. This new box will have specific space for specific tools. Sure it will get cluttered on top like the other one but in the drawers the tools will return. I tried other ways and having been a body man for years, I need a toolbox for stuff. Funny enough I've only lost one 10mm socket in 24 years of doing body work daily. That was also early off in my career. I have found more tools than lost.

I've been reorganizing my shop as well, kind of in a hurry, to accept a new toolbox I am purchasing and will take delivery of this week. My other one is full and when tools have no home they end up wherever and hard to find or keep track of. So I am giving all my important misfit tools a home of their own so they can rest easy and I can find them when needed. The amount of stuff in my shop is intimidating. Much needs not be in there but most I don't want to be out in the elements. At the moment I have my forge and welding table blocked off And I have a vending event this weekend and then a forge demo next weekend to prepare for.

What an interesting anvil. Sorry I have no information to add on it but it looks like a good usable anvil.

Jim, I haven't weighed it but it certainly felt that heavy. Nice scores John.

It happens. Nothing wrong with a late start. I know lol As far as anymore info, I can't tell. Wire wheel it and maybe try the flour trick to get more detail. Thought i might have an idea but it isnt ringing a bell. As far as good anvil or not, how is the ring and rebound? Obviously repaired but looks in good usable condition. I tend to think in the good usable vs. Less good usable as far as anvils. Didn't know what make mine were till after using them for a couple years.