JHCC

It's not a how-to, but there's a great little video online about Ruana Knives in Montana, which uses cast aluminum handles with elk antler inserts. The section with the casting starts at 4:00.

Oh, I have no doubts. I just wouldn't be surprised to see someone attempting to justify the too-soon-out-of-the-quench flare as a byproduct of a deliberately interrupted quench. It's my cynical side.

When I was working in the art restoration studio, I once had to turn a large-diameter mirror frame on a woefully underpowered and undersized lathe. The only way I was able to do it was to jam a lance-like tool (one that I'd made out of a stonecarver's point, for turning alabaster) into a hole in the faceplate, get the thing spinning with muscle power, turn on the lathe motor, work the frame until the vibration started to get scary, turn off the motor, do some more work on the frame as it coasted down, and repeat. The things we do to put bread on the table.

Cue the discussions of "interrupted quenches".

Welcome to IFI! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!! I'm no casting expert by any means, but when I worked in the violin repair shop, the bending iron we used was made from aluminum. Any particular reason you wanted to use copper, and wouldn't it be easier (and safer!) to buy a chunk of copper rod (or aluminum, for that matter) and file it into shape?

You walked into the forge like you were climbing out of your bed. Your PPE guarded your ears and your eyes; Your scarf, it was light cherry red.

You're so vine. I bet you think this post is about you.

If it is a Mousehole, it's a very early one. I don't know if MH made anvils without a step or with that swelling in the middle of the sides of the base, but The Mousehole Forge by Richard Postman would have the documentation if they did.

THE WICKER MAN!!! Really nice work! I mounted the variac (speed control for the blower) on the frame of the new forge. (Although I’m not crazy about how it sticks out. I may move it to somewhere less exposed.)

The word you're looking for is "tuyere". "Tyre" is the British spelling for "tire".

That’s the beauty of a DVR: you can fast-forward through the commercials, and only lose forty minutes of your life. One of the best things about Forged In Fire is that it showcases real skill. While it’s obviously an artificial setting, there is enough genuine drama in the forging and the blade tests that extraneous and unnecessary puffery is kept to a minimum. This “Knife or Death” spin-off, on the other hand, has to stretch ten minutes or so of actual cutting into a forty minute show, so they throw in a ton of gimmickry. I doubt it lasts more than a single season.

Welcome to IFI! If you haven't already, please READ THIS FIRST!!! We have a number of members in Ohio (myself included) -- where are you specifically?

This is IFI, where no thread is safe from hijacking. No harm in coming back to the original subject, though.

Are those single-grain or three-grain?

Joel, rather than impugning Frosty's and ThomasPowers's experience, here's a serious suggestion: take some time to write a primer on the proper use of the punch press in a blacksmithing shop, with a comprehensive review of possible safety issues and how to avoid them, the strengths and weaknesses of the punch press (and how to maximize and minimize them, respectively), and so on. I'm not challenging your assertion that a press can do what a hammer can; I'm challenging you to show us how it can. I've seen enough of Frosty's and ThomasPowers's interactions here on IFI (as well as those of many of our senior curmudgeons) to know that they may be opinionated, but they're also open-minded. If you have indeed figured out a way to use a punch press safely and effectively, let us know.

I only read one letter of one word, so my understanding is even greater than yours.

Unless you need the money, I’d say keep it. There’s obviously a metalworking gene in the family, and it would be great if the little guy could get started on his great-great-uncle’s anvil!

Yes, the uterus is THE strongest muscle in the human body. I’m not envious, but I am in awe!

THE TANK IS CLEAN!!!

Hi, Paul1024, and welcome to IFI. If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!!! The Holland anvil is made by IFI member foundryguy. You can send him a personal message to get the information you need.

In addition to which, the leg muscles are some of the strongest in the body and therefore are capable of putting the most power into a human-powered hitting machine. If there were some way to hook a treadle hammer up to a uterus, all our problems would be solved!

The collection of metal in the back of my minivan has grown to the point that I have to warn passengers that the clanking noises from the back do NOT mean that we're about to break down.

Probably more trouble than it's worth. A little online research tells me that the shaft is probably 1045-ish and the tube is likely to be around 1025. The interesting thing is that the tube is likely to be DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) rather than welded, so I'm wondering if I have any applications that that would be good for.

Das, are you suggesting that I might be able to resell them? How would I go about doing that?

I think that image is from the video series Christ Centered Ironworks did about the “Hardy Hammer” that he built. I won’t post the link (it violates the TOS prohibition against linking to religious content), but it’s easy enough to find on YouTube.