JHCC

The red cart gets my vote. Being able to move it around could be handy.

I was knocking out a pair of slit-rein tongs... ...when I remembered that I needed to make the wrought iron crossguard for the Bowie knife. It’s a bit oversized, but I plan to file it down when I fit it to the blade. I’ll finish the tongs another time.

Show us pictures of what you make! If it's not immediately obvious, tell us what it was supposed to be!

Welcome to IFI, Agent Smith. Please READ THIS FIRST!!!

I'm still trying to figure out why "slitting shears" and "throatless shears" aren't the same thing.

No, no ash dump. When clinker forms, you hook it out of the fire with a poker. Any ash stays in the forge to become part of the fill.

I've got a little scar under my right eye from a bit of scale that somehow got past my safety glasses. No idea if the shard of hot coal that went down my extreme lower back left a a scar or not....

Why do you want to change from electric to hand-powered?

Peter Wright anvils were forged from wrought iron, not cast. Those holes are called "handling holes", and they had iron bars inserted in them to assist in moving and positioning the anvil for forging.

Frankly, I want both. As a hobbyist with limited forge time on an unpredictable schedule, I want to be able to walk away from any particular session with something I can feel good about and maybe show off to my wife. On the other hand, I also want every session to be progress, whether in making my skills and capacities better or in advancing a multi-step project that isn't going to be finished in one shot. Maybe I have just enough of the long view to realize that the more I build up my skills, the better chance I have of getting that gratification out of an individual session.

If there isn't, adding a new section would be shear folly.

Masonry supply places are a good option. An even better one is to find a mason or contractor who has some left over from a job that they need to get rid of. My neighbor down the street is doing a construction project and overordered sand to the tune of two and a half tons.

My mother likes to say that the two most important things in life are making things and making sense. I’m willing to go with that.

Interesting thought. I’ll see if I can make that work; in the mean time, vise-in-vise is a decent option.

I made my last pair from motorcycle tires and paracord. I'll try them under the frankenboots.

Hey, all. My brother down in Texas has asked for my prayers and -- with his permission -- I'm forwarding the request here as well. He, his wife, her sister, and her brother-in-law will be moving her parents into assisted living over the course of this summer, and much anxiety and drama is expected. At the same time, he is changing antidepressants, so that has the potential to make things even more stressful. If you care to, say a prayer for Bill, Mari, and their family.

Something about that color says you should add an "In Case of Fire, Break Glass" label.

Hmm...commercial fryers rarely go much above 375°F/191°C, which might be a bit cool for foundry work.

You must have strong winds where you live.

You haven't put your location in your profile settings, so we can't recommend anyone near you who does anvil repair. Please do so now, and while you're at it, READ THIS FIRST!!! Welcome to IFI!

Oh, dear. I hope you didn't overpay.

Welded up some 1-1/2" square tube and bolted it to the bottom of my new (to me) bench vise. I can either clamp this in my post vise or use my portable hole as a gazinta.

In this case, I don't think we're looking at deliberate counterfeiting. I reckon someone took a perfectly fine set of fire irons and added Yellin's name in an attempt to boost the value.

I usually wear a kaffiyeh (shemagh) wrapped around my head and neck while blacksmithing to absorb sweat and keep soot out of my hair. On Sunday, a spark from the forge must have blown into a corner of the wrap and been fanned by the breeze from a large stand fan, because I found myself thinking “What’s that smell? And why is my neck stinging?” It's a good thing that the kaffiyeh is cotton, though: it smoldered (lost a chunk the size of my palm) but never caught fire. An artificial fabric would probably have blazed up or melted onto my neck. There's a reason for the natural-fibers-only rule in the forge.