Ranchmanben

Why wouldn't he reforge them into something useable?

I'd offer him a dollar a pop and see what he says. You can always go up and he doesn't know what they're worth either. Or you can tell him to name his price and give him the old horse trader line, "I can't buy and sell this for you."

You might add your location as well, might be someone close who'd snap it up. What are you asking for the old gal?

Certianly looks Mexican to me although not particularly well made. It's still a useable bit. Tough to say but I'd guess the inlay is nickel silver. You might fetch $45-50 to the right person but $30-$40 is more realistic. Are there any maker stamps on the inside?

If you're going to drill a pritchel hole, I'd do 1/2"-5/8". The good thing about drilling one is you can start small and work your way up til you find a size to works well for you. A pritchel hole is handy for more than just punching holes. It can be used for bending stock, holding punches and I'm sure a billion other uses I can't think of right now. I use mine for my hold fast and would hate to have to get by without it. 

There's going to be a lot of grinding there. For the serious removal of material, it would be worth your time to pick up a fairly coarse cup stone for your angle grinder. Use it first to get it flatish them move on to either flaps or a belt sander. 

I agree with Thomas. Grind the face flat and use it. You'll get some use out of it and still get the yard ornament price no matter the condition later plus all the thousands you've made from beautiful iron work. 

Reminds me of the kids book "Everybody Poops"  Man, this thread has really gone down the toilet. 

27 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Traditionally the ladies outhouse had the crescent moon and the men's outhouse had the sun; but most folks don't know that anymore. (and yes I have read a book on outhouses...)

There's something new for me! I've seen a few outhouses still standing with a circle cut out or a door that didn't go all the way up. You generally see a moon done nowaday on bathroom doors made to look like an outhouse. Never knew there was a men's and women's differentiation. 

Ah, you say pototato and I say slug. 

5 minutes ago, C-1ToolSteel said:

Well, if the slug was directly under the boss when the plug fell out, I think I have an idea...

After another watch I briefly saw it. I guess the slugs are what they use for blocks on top of their other drifts in subsequent forgings. 

Did I miss something? I never saw what happened to the slug when they punched the hole. I've seen a few for theses videos and I'm always curious what the anvil is for that hammer, how far it goes into the ground. 

21 minutes ago, littleblacksmith said:

 

only real suggestion I'd make would be to make the tab that lifts the cap off a little bigger, just so it can lift it [easier]. Have you tested it yet?

                                                                                                                  Littleblacksmith

I hadn't noticed it earlier but the picture makes it look like there's no tab to do the prying. It's there and it's been sufficiently tested on some Rocky Mountain spring water. 

14 minutes ago, littleblacksmith said:

yeah, I like mine better, thanks! I think though if I was going to go through the trouble of making a cedar chest I would also make the hinges for it.  I didn't feel like making 2 more, and had these, so figured why not. Thanks though!

                                                                                                                     Littleblacksmith

After I said that I thought about it and figured you'd make your own. 

LBS, I like yours better! I replace the old ones and save them for use on a cedar chest or something like that. 

11 hours ago, Boedie said:

Is a rounding hammer very usefull/nessary in blacksmithing? Is it something I should definitely have or not?

This is some general advice for all hammers and is especially pertinent for newer smiths. Every smith misses what their aiming at and directly hits their anvil. Some more than others and newer smiths more than masters but it happens. If possible, do your best to get a hammer that is softer than your anvil. If given the option, you'd rather ding up the edge of your +/-$100 hammer than the face of your anvil that probably costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars. 

1/4" bolt tongs. First and last time I use a store bought rivet for tongs, for some reason I don't like it.

Thanks Arkie!

A friend, who's an experienced smith, came out today and wanted me to show him how I build my tongs. We struck for each other and that was a learning experience. Next time I think we'll work much better together and the end result will be better. We had a great time and ended up with a useable pair of tongs. 

1/4" bolt tongs

Some people love em others only use them occasionally. I love em. I very seldom use a hammer with a peen of any sort. A rounding hammer can be had at a very reasonable price too. Take a look at a Vaughn or Diamond. I've spend a lot of money on other hammers but I still keep my Diamond around for certain jobs. 

Frosty and I think similarly as far as clean up goes. I like my anvils to develop their own new patina from my use and ownership though so no wax for me just an squirt of WD every so often. 

That's quite a setup. Good work. 

Some people might disagree but that would look amazing after a healthy dose of wire wheel and a coat of WD-40. Nice score. 

Wow! That's a beauty!

15 hours ago, metalmangeler said:

I bet Jay's son knows a lot more about it than I ever will.

I had thought the same thing as you until I talked to him. He had quite a selection of tools Jay had made include a full set of working mini farrier tools and a couple pairs of mini nippers and rounding hammers made from Damascus.