dimenickel

had similar trouble with my 50lbs mechanical... i was using 80/90 weight oil on the guides and it was waxed up... lighter oil worked fine in the cold and its started hitting hard (its -12 cel here ) -clutch maybe a little loose aswell

x2 like Thomas says... tree crotch has almost a feathered affect... what about walnut crotch by the way... great pattern !!

good stuff, i enjoyed reading this post ! save the cut off stump... they are great for stake tools ... or evening a form for dishing ( both hot n cold ) i've reforged nip's into a pair of tongs.. doesn't take much and their made of steel ... now i just cut the ends and weld on some angle iron to make a quick pair of box tongs take care Greg

x2 just litely flap disc, and use it ... it doesn't matter how shiny it is... its for forging

don't see that everyday... .. very cool design thanks for pic's

I don't agree with Uri.. most Americans i met are great stand up people and i enjoy their company ... it doesn't matter where you go, there will alway be a bad apple in every group.. it sounds like he's the one with thin skin for someone who purports to be so tough ? people can do such nice iron work and tarnish it with their personality's ... its senseless ... still think Uri does great ironwork, and the outlaw is still a toad

3 silver pencils... what'd he expect.. isn't that guy sum kinda outlaw pshhhhhh Uri does do some very nice iron work...its a shame

not to mention grain growth if steel is left sitting in the gas forge... i can see induction with its quick heats is very nice to have

to make a good crucible is a difficult thing... especially one that is to hold liquid iron at 1535 cel.. the few i made from refractory cement or castable failed quite nicely - now i just buy clay graphites from vesuvius and have never looked back

heard a kidney goes for bout 10 G to the right person.... just set out some more iron for bait ... and when the culprits come back, get your money out of their hides .... errr ...thats abit strong i'd just get another hammer... they took too much to rebuild it... i paid bout 500 bucks for a set of dies for my 50lbs.. ... what ever you do...i'd definitely get the law on their back as soon as possible

myself i use it the way it is... just a lite 120 flap discing and thats all... -for a true flat or a true cone shape... i'll use an anvil block/hardy or a cone shaped hardy/ bick its an old tool, and they come with character ... through use, they seem to smooth up abit... or that is my perception ?

x2 becareful not to over pound that key in ... i've seen a few hammers with broken dovetail grooves due to one side cracking off... most likely from over zealous hammering on the key to repair an anvil is a big and costly job

i'd weld a flat plate to the top of the ball ..... or you may end up with a bunch of divots on your top die in the powerhammer... just in case

whatcha wanna do is get out the buffin wheel and green compound... buff buff buff till that sucker shines like a new chrome bumper...... that'll stop the rust... it'll be hard to stare at it it'll be hard to work on it an eventually you'll develop an appreciation for a rusty anvil that was easy to look at and ya got alot of work done on it just teasin

I've been asked in the past to make those " dog bells" ... the kind that they use on hunting dogs but i've got no clue on what they looked like...so i passed

Hi they make nice tongs ... got abit of carb in them so they're better than mild... but not enough carb that your worried if you coolem off in the slak tub http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=20358&view=&hl=tongs&fromsearch=1 Greg

i don't have herbs in the quench water, but i do get dead mice on occasion.. kinda nasty ... even my bucket of canola... poured it into my iron tube to quench a bowie, and i could see a couple of fat/bloated mice in the bottom.. sooo.. .. onna hot day, try not to wash your face in it to cool off.. heh heh abit of sodium bicarb in the water .. i found slows the rust on the blades that i'm grinding.. takes longer to get that flash rust on it..

Great tutorial and that is a sweet hammer ... nice work !!!

i've bought the fabreeka pad for my 50lbs hammer.. on John's recommendation.. as i had to stop the vibration ( my neighbours house is 20feet from my shop ) it worked very nicely . ... cost bout 400 bucks for my small hammer ... had several talks with the engineers at fab ... they really know their stuff there is also Tico that makes pads also there are other systems than just a pad... .. spring box is suppose to be good good luck on the pour Greg

Hi check this out http://www.powning.com/jake/commish/progress5.shtml jake makes some nice stuff... super nice Greg

can also be where we came from... i don't know too many rich folk that want to swing a hammer for a living.. - maybe its cause our folks were poor as sin.. that we cling to bucks.. i remember i couldn't even afford to play an arcade game when i was young...just watch over the shoulders of others...... now someone with that kind of background isn't gonna throw stupid money at stuff... besides... don't you get that feeling... when you get a deal... heh heh satisfaction penny pincher Greg

depends... if your a hobbyist ...then alot are cheep some of the large shops that do well, seem to do with a good bit of extra its funny but i think most blacksmiths aren't big time risk takers with money... not like those wallstreet types (risk alot, stand to gain or lose alot ! ) ... its hard work and the cash is not so easy to toss around.. at least for me. Greg the cheeeEEeepskate

try it in baby steps... melt 8lbs of steel in a crucible and cast it into a dry mold... its just a small run and couldn't be too much trouble.. - if you do well then scale it up it takes awhile to know what your doing... and in my case its just fooling around with crucibles... never mind the casting part which i think is dangerous (at least too dangerous for me to risk my butt on ) i think anyone trying it on a small scale will quickly realize the problems of doing a 300lbs steel melt. for that... i'd gladly stick it out with my old PW's for which the most i payed was 150 bucks Greg

check your scrappies.. i picked up a 6 inch round by 2ft long in the dartmouth scrap yard... sure its mild iron but it works fine.. also check out some repair yards.. some of the drive shafts on the big boats are 1045 or such.. could make a dandy post anvil.. you could contact the Maritime blacksmith assoc... maybe a anvil forsale through the grapevine.. if all else fails... you could hunt ebay... i bought a 5 inch round of H13... 7 in high, got it for 25 bucks.. they are steel drops from manufacturing put the word out your looking for an anvil... Greg ps.. avoid the princess anvils.. you won't be happy with it

I thought there was a guy in hamilton... some environmental co.. that you could buy some bulk smithing coal from... apparently the coal came from Pennsylvania .... but you had to buy a transport worth...somethin like 15 grand worth... - out east they buy from that fella... and i tried the coal, its very good quality for welding.. haven't used coal in a couple years... too many chisselers and middlemen with their fingers in the pot... every year it gets bump up in price...so i just switched to propane .... when i started..it was 22 bucks a 70lbs bag and now its up to almost 40... while propane is only 24 buck to fill a 30lb tank... have to watch the bucks nowadays If you have a good price ...i know there be alot in southern ontario that be interested.. have you checked out the quality of the coal... just becareful not to get stoker take care Greg