Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Mtnstream

Members
  • Posts

    61
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Mtnstream

  1. Sweet! Great to see the "USA" on the side.
  2. My shop buddy and Search and Rescue partner. 8 years old now but still strong. Rescued him at 1 year old and now he rescues people!
  3. ausfire, Is that a slab workbench against the back wall?...looks to be 4 inches thick. That alone says "days gone by". Great looking shop!!
  4. Nice!! Nothing like an old tool that has done countless tasks over the years.
  5. Look at some of the latest Alex Steele you tube stuff...he created an enclosed grinding room with ventilation. Looks like it contains the dust and grit well.
  6. "the way" - any way that allows you to be productive and enjoy your craft.
  7. Interesting thread....does magnetism qualify? I also have plans to use segments of springs as large as truck leaf springs to create a friction join between two pieces of metal for a project that requires a tight sliding joint. Advantage - easy to apply, disadvantage...temporary joins.
  8. Is anvil snobbery an affliction or inalienable right? Someone did a fairly decent job welding this up (look closely at the welds), probably for a very specific purpose. Anvil?...maybe....absolutely if hammer was taken to hot steel successfully. Worth $40.00, now that is very debatable....not even worth $1.00 to me.
  9. Even simple bottle openers can be made using self-created slitter, punch, drift. All experience building tools to make. An example would be creating a taper on a punch or drift out of an old round stock scrap. Making my own tools is one of the most enjoyable things I do in my forge. Agree with Charles that an Axe head can make a great hardie tools. So my opinion....you are on the right track. Figure out what your project is going to be, what tools you will need, and then make your tools to get it done. I have to warn you though....tool making is addictive, you may have to force yourself to move on to the project!
  10. Johnyb, looks like a great anvil. I agree it looks a lot like my Peter Wright which is also 28" from stem to stern with a 5" face and weighs in at 200 lbs. So if it passes the rebound test you are getting it at a fine price....enjoy!
  11. We are not talking about couple of hundred thousand dollars or more. One or two thousand at the very most. I value my anvil, enjoy it, and sometimes am a little too sentimental about it. But, in the end it is just a chunk of iron that will be around and functional a lot longer than me that can easily be replaced if I want to work to get the cash. I don't understand why some folks ascribe otherworldly attributes to them. It can't feel, dosen't scream and won't cry no matter what you do to it. It hurts me more to see a couple of hundred usable anvils stacked in a "museum" just collecting dust than it does to hear about one being supposedly mistreated.
  12. He took a couple of mm off, big deal....it's just a tool to be used as the owner sees fit. Oh no.... he might hit it with a hammer next!
  13. In a thousand years someone will dig up my anvil, tools and propane forge...then they will find my creaky old bones laying against my slack tub with the fingers of my left hand firmly wrapped around a hammer. Will I have become an ancient traditional blacksmith that people spend inordinate amounts of time and energy to exactly emulate? Will they learn to forge left-handed because that was how it was done traditionally, with my example as proof? I think we often misinterpret and over interpret “traditional” because our collective memories are so short. We think of the Vikings as old or traditional when they are, in relation to the span of human history, likely as "modern" as us or any generation in between. Innovation and change are more traditional than a snapshot in time that we decide was the way things were done "traditionally".
  14. Lots of opinions on wedge fits. I prefer it....just hate a hardy tool that bounces around. I have never had a problem removing the tool from the hardy hole and long ago let go of my fear of breaking the anvil. In the end, whichever opinion you hold, I have found the jackhammer bits to make great tools.
  15. I forged an old jackhammer bit to make a hot cutoff that wedge fits into the hardy hole on my PW anvil. Works great, heavy duty, doubt I'll ever need to make another!
  16. I have been forging a couple of farrier's rasps lately. They spark like med-high carbon, forge weld fairly easily and harden nicely. Fun to forge. I made a simple wrap around hatchet out of one and am happy with the results. I use it for kindling and plan to make a froe to match. I'll take a look at the name on them tonight, I don't remember it off hand.
  17. Don't forget about the humidity in the shop, those water particles can decrease the efficiency of a well aimed hammer blow....especially if the slack tub is nearby.
  18. Just my opinion...I would try to find him some mild steel or even high carbon (old farm implements) before working the stainless. Stainless can be hard to move around and fickle under heat. I find I am clenching my teeth whenever working it, a clear sign that I am not realy enjoying myself
  19. Great first project - get a coil spring from a junk yard, cut off 7-8 inches, heat and straighten, create hex taper for hitting end, create round taper for business end, mix up a beeswax and boiled linseed oil finish, repeat multiple times with different shaped punches. All great fun with useable tools as outcome. Teaches hammer control, use of anvil, how to move the steel, heating, etc. Very rewarding for a new smith. There are many youtube videos on making punches from coil springs. I have found nothing more satisfying than making the tools you use!
  20. My DIY propane forge is just a single burner (naturally aspirated) and does fine at 7400'....soon moving to 8600'. I think the interior size of the forge is what makes the difference, irrespective of altitude. One of my very early attempts was square and too large (2 sq ft). The one I use now is a half circle and less than a sq foot. Heats up just fine at altitude. Read the forge and burner build sections on this forum, lots of good information here.
×
×
  • Create New...