Jackdawg

your micarta looks very professional!

Bloke I am familiar with on one of the fishing sites here lives right where it crossed the coast. He has been running a blog for the last day or so updating as things happened. Pretty terrifying reading. The mongrel thing hit, then just sat there for nearly 12 hours while they copped wind up to 280kph. Both his neighbours house roofs are gone, but he is ok so far, the eye has passed and he is now getting the wind from the other side. Not as bad, just under 200kph - but there is no protection from that side, it is just coming straight in over the bay so it is doing even more damage. Says his house is built to take it, but Bowen, small town about 30k to the north has a lot of older houses and is low lying, he thinks it could be pretty bad there. Rain is due here in 72 hours if their predictions are right, better go and clean out the gutters, predicting up to 500mm if we get it solid. He got down to his business while the eye was passing over, pretty damaged. Reckons most of the comercial boat fleet in the harbour is gone (big fishing / tourism industry), going to really impact the local economy. Word is the two biggest row boats in the Australian navy are out of action, engine failure on both due to some new electronic management system, all the politicians pointing the finger at each other as usual. So they have dug the remaining row boat with helicopter capabilities out of storage and sent it north 2 days ago, hopefully it wont take to long to get there.

frying pans, decorative dishes, body armour, bookends, scroll rings, goblets, coats of arms, jelly role damascus, (damascus isn't just for knife makers!)

hand held circular saws, or even worse, table saws.

I also think it is just residual rust coming out. Just keep seasoning it and wiping away, it shouldn't take to much for it to stop.

Clever move pulling the nippers apart before starting, I tried to straighten a set of pincers when I first fired mine up with charcoal, but I burned one side of the nippers clean off! might have done better if pulled apart. Mind you I then did exactly the same thing with the set of rebar tongs I was trying to make...... slow learner.

Lovely work.

You might be lucky, it is not unusual for stuff like axles to get repurposed as big tent pegs. Test as above to give yourself an idea. If it snapped after water quenching it is at least worth playing with.

I'd try and cut it along the delamination and forge weld it back together, but that is because I am cheap and hate the thought of tossing good (as in paid for!) steel in the bin!

certainly some work gone in to that, looks really nice!

You can just use a bit of scrap steel for that sort of pritchard hole use, (with a hole drilled in it, and you can have several with different sized holes) Hardy hole only if you are going to use tools in it, what tools are you wanting to use? I have a block I have picked up similar size to yours, (except maybe height, you dont have height in your plan). But I already have a little anvil which I will continue to use for hardy tools. But I dont use them much.

Okay, spent an hour or so cleaning up my new toy this morning. Once I got the rust off, the cutting marks were a little more obvious. It took me a good hour or so to clean it up to a nice smooth surface. Initial clean with a flap disk to see what was there, then hit it with a grinder until most of the torch marks were out of the top face, then flap disk again until I was happy with the top, then cleaned off the other faces with the half worn flap disk.. Had a number stamped in to the side of the block as well. 2K4822 Did a search and all that came up was a list of caterpillar parts with that number in some foreign tractor sales web site. No photos on there unfortunately, so I dont know if it was a coincidence or not. Can see my little 20kg anvil in a one of the photo's for scale. This block is definitely much bigger, will probably put a mount for this over one of the other legs on my table for the moment. (rubbed it with a bit of oil from my quench tank until I get around to putting some marine grease on it.)

Terrible news. Not only is suicide tragic, but it is even more so when done in a way that further traumatises the family (having the misfortune to find them).

Sand might be a good plan, stabilise the filler rods your using. Hydraulic oil likley to leak splash or otherwise make a mess. Main thing is make it safe, so it doesn't smack you, have bits fly off, or fail catastrophically in use.

Not as yet, just dropped it on the work bench, and will give it a good look over on the weekeend.

yes seems to have two edges radiused, or least well on the way there. A quick calculation based on steel density would indeed put it slightly over the 30kg mark. I'm going to wire brush it off on the weekend and hit it up with 1/3 sheet sander on top (keep my sanding work as flat as possible). See how she tarts up.

Was out fishing with my father on the weekend and he spotted my fishing knife I had made myself. He was quite impressed - I dont think I had bothered telling him I had picked up a bit of blacksmithing as a hobby. He said to me he had some stuff I might like. Dropped this little baby off today, along with 4 sets of black trailer springs for my steel stockpile! I currently have a little 20kg cast steel london pattern anvil I use. It is getting relegated to the back of the shed, and I am cleaning this bewdy up for use! It is oxy cut, probably the best torch work I have ever seen, almost cant see the ripples, only feel them as you rub your fingers across it. 20cm high, 14cm wide x 15cm long. Wont take much to clean up. Certainly thicker than the one I have, and probably at least 10kg heavier and all the weight is actually under where the hammer will be hitting! (The London pattern one probably only has about half its mass under the main striking area).

sizes all sound good, my charcoal wood forge is made out of a hodgepodge of different thickness metal off cuts welded together to make the pot, mostly around the 3/8 mark. Size and depth is probably similar to yours, sides are higher than front and back and angle iron so it just drops in to my cutoff table frame. My air comes in from the bottom, but plenty of people say from the side is best for charcoal, I dunno, bottom works for me. I have a couple of other 1/2 inch plates I keep handy that can go over the top (sitting on those higher sides toward the back of the pot in the photo) to partially enclose it when I want some serious heat (not that there is any trouble making heat with it as it is, steel burns like a kids sparkler when you accidentally get it hot enough PS, I dont bother making charcoal anymore, just burn hard wood, seems to work just as well without the effort and mess involved in processing the wood into charcoal.

If the humidity is low it is doable, if not, lock the door and come back in autumn. I dont do a lot of hot metalwork in Summer here, it would be quite possible to work at night or early mornings, but I have neighbours that I dont want to annoy to much. Is early mornings night time an option for you?

Amazes me what you blokes can pick those up for over there. Rare as hens teeth in Australia, and generally with a price to match.

how you describe using your wood is exactly how I use mine. Works well. I'd get rid of the bricks, you need a bit of depth with the wood fire. It burns quick.

Only a minor wound, all fingers and thumb are still pink!

Was out at the Isa week before last, never seen it so green! Like the rolling fields of England! Spent the week in Cloncurry and never saw the sun once, raining on and off the whole time. Sun only came out for the trip back to the Isa of Friday to fly home! never would have thought that.

hasn't seen much heat since christmas - been to hot to pound metal. Now the cooler months are almost upon us, might see some more use.

awesome size quench tank in the corner there My setup is just under the gum tree outside. Much cooler than in the shed.