JHCC

THERE'S MORE?!?!?

That sounds like a really interesting website. I should check it out.

My Mousehole anvil had one corner up as well, which wasn't much of an issue when I had it on a stump. When I moved to a steel base, I ended up using a lot more silicone in that corner to take out the wobble.

Where has this been all my life? Obviously, I'm depraved on account I'm deprived.

Ah, that makes sense.

Welcome aboard! We have quite a few Texans here, so if you add your location to your profile information, you greatly improve your chances of connecting with someone close. It sounds like you're on the right track with doing a lot of reading, and BYB is an excellent start. Get yourself a large supply of snacks and beverages and read everything that catches your attention here on IFI, paying special attention to information about getting started and basic techniques. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST! The curmudgeons are helpful, but they hate to repeat themselves!

Basically the same as the grooves on a swage block, just on a smaller scale.

Alec Steele also has a video that's an excellent introduction to drawing out (especially tapers). I'm not going to link directly to it, as it has some language that's just over the edge of IFI's community standards, but you can find it by putting "Alec Steele" and "how to forge tapers" into the search engine of your choice.

Two good options for a low-cost valve are: @Jasent's clever re-purposing of a conduit fitting: and the pallet-wood gate valve on my own JABOD:

TMI, Lou!

Hmm...with those grooves, you could make handcuffs!

That's very cool. I apprenticed for a year and a half in a violin repair shop, but ultimately decided it wasn't for me. Still have the knives, though.

This is what I'd recommend:

What would you consider a more reasonable price?

I use the John Deere graphite mixed with beeswax. Keeps solid when not in use, and a quick dip in the can with a warm punch gives you just enough to coat the punch. One warning: if you're using a hand-held punch, don't forget to wear a glove to protect your hand both from the heat of the workpiece and from any melted wax that happens to spurt up. Don't ask me how I know this.

Just heard back, and yep, that's him. We're not sure how his old magazines made it from Memphis to me, apart from passing through the hands of a North Carolina friend of a friend of mine.

That's a very nice collection @Manuel-Pagani -- and that's speaking both as a hobby smith and as a former professional woodworker.

I've just got a line on some decommissioned scuba tanks. A coworker's husband runs a dive shop and has both aluminum and steel tanks that have failed hydrostatic testing. They're about 7" in diameter and about 25" long, and he's willing to pass them along in exchange for what he'd usually get for scrap value: about $30 each for aluminum and $15 for the steel. I'm trying to make up my mind if this is worth it (the smithing budget is a bit tight at the moment), so I'm hoping folks could chime in with suggestions on possible uses. So far, I've come up with: Quench tank Wind chimes Dishing form (using the bottom) Anything else?

Oh, you're going to like it here....

Many anvils have similar hollows underneath, and as long the anvil is sitting firmly on its base, it shouldn't be a problem. Where in southern VT are you? I'll be in Bennington in early August, and I'd be happy to meet up.

Much less impressive with a steel stand.

Close-up of the jaws on the twist tongs: Notice that instead of the usual 90° twist, I went about 45°-50° past perpendicular, then bent the jaw back over to make the V.

Nothing to add to what Glenn and Thomas Powers have said, other than (A) the drifting of the eye and the flattening of the cheeks look very nice and (B) non-native speakers get a pass on grammar -- it's the native speakers who should know better who are the problem!

It would be cool to put some medium-contrast steel in the thicker layers to represent frets.

Very interesting! However, that does mean that if you do a canister damascus, you'll need some other kind of powdered steel or you won't get any pattern contrast -- do they make powdered 15N20?