JHCC

Just as long as the target doesn't have too much rebound....

Comes in a spray can, too.

Welcome, LittleGuy! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! Make sure you get to know ThomasPowers, our resident historian/antiquarian.

Check out my thread on my homemade gate valve. Even if you find a commercial one for cheap, it may help give you some ideas.

The thin clear varnish that brass players put on their instruments might also be a good option.

A sliding gate valve is a great way to adjust the blast without messing with that fancy ‘lecticcity stuff. You can easily install one between the blower and the tuyere.

I just did a quick google search for your area and found a couple of steel suppliers and metal fabricators in about thirty seconds. Go thou and do likewise.

Prettier than most of my punches!

I'm not remotely qualified to answer the welding question, but what about hardening one of those mild steel blocks with Super Quench? You can find the formula here on IFI, and it's going to cost you a LOT less than the welding consumables. Even if it doesn't work, you've only wasted one block out of your stash. Might be worth considering. Oh, and if you want something of comparable mass, you could weld two of your 95 lb. blocks together.

quazzarelli, it would help a lot if we knew where you are. Please put your location in your profile settings, and make sure to READ THIS FIRST!!!

Make sure you move the forge away from the sofa. Flying sparks are bad for the upholstery.

Or salvage an old brick and pound it to powder. Old handmade bricks are best.

Progress, not perfection. A man was visiting a foundry and saw an old workman patiently polishing a set of bronze church doors. After watching for a little while, he said, "Those doors look absolutely beautiful, but you're still working on them. How do you know when they're done?" The old man replied, "They're never done. People just come and take them away."

Before discarding the rags, hang them up individually ,(or spread them out flat) to dry, preferably outside They can then be thrown out safely. The oil itself, yes. However, many (even most) commercial linseed oil products contain some amount of volatile thinner that needs to evaporate out before the polymerization can start.

Good point.

Dax, I think it's time to start making bowls.

No pictures, but I finished forging the components for the custom job I mentioned before. Just a bit of fit and finish, and we’ll be good. Also did a couple of bits and pieces of tooling for the shop, including the rivet set I started yesterday.

Hans, that is an impressive setup. I hope it works as well as it looks! Sfeile, that's a beautiful blade. Looking forward to seeing it with scales.

Wish I could have joined you folks. Hope to see some of you at Quad State!

GB, where was this?

Just cut up an old pickaxe and was startled at how high it sparked.

Sfeile, that’s looking awesome. Today was another squeeze-in-bits-and-pieces-here-and-there day, but to good effect. First, pieced up a pickaxe. The eye with its nub will become a picaroon. I had planned to make drifts from the two picks, but they were sparking as pretty high carbon, so I may need to rethink. Also took a piece of the back end of a long jackhammer bit and ground it down to fit the pritchell hole. This will ultimately become a rivet header. (I put a little divot on the end to register a ball punch to create the final shape.)

A great resource in this area is Richard Postman’s book Anvils in America. I don’t have a copy in front of me, but as best I can recall, colonial anvils generally had somewhat smaller horns. Yours is possibly late 18th/early 19th century; the absence of a round pritchell hole usually indicates pre-1830(-ish). Anvils of this age almost always had a hard steel plate welded on top of a softer wrought iron body.

Nice hook, Das. Very creative!

Today was welding, taking the back end of my treadle hammer’s arm from this: To this: This has no effect on the hammer while it’s in operation (apart from needing one fewer return spring), but it brings the hammer head higher up and farther out of the way when the pedal is disconnected. This makes regular work at the anvil easier. Also welded up some bits of pipe and plate onto a tire rim for what will ultimately become a work stand.