easilyconfused

I'm just wondering for choices because Hickory seems to be a rare commodity in the area and i don't feel like looking all over the city if some others would be comparable. Or paying 2x as much for someone else to make it into a handle shape and then sit bored in the city while I should be studying.

I agree. You're going to ruin your knees doing that, especially without kneepads

To save money, and since I seem to have too much time on my hands without handy projects, I was thinking of whittling out some hammer handles from blanks like Uri did in his one blueprint. I'm wondering what's some good woods for price comparison and availability. I know ash and hickory seem to be favorites of handle companies and Uri said he used maple, which is easily obtained up here, but what else is there for choices? Would oak work? I've seen lots of hemlock but is that too springy/soft?

They don't necessarily have to have the teeth stripped off. The teeth points can dull on steel that's more hard than them, or bend over, particularily with too much pressure on the back cut.

Here's a couple of ones I have pictures of ATM. The tall lily can be used as a candle holder but my friend just uses it as a stand alone art piece instead.

A good precaution would be to not get cut Here's what I can remember from my microbiology class in vet school. Some may not apply 100% to people and, of course, your doctor will know better so talk to him when you go on the hoist for your yearly maintenence. Tetnus is an obligate anaerobe bacteria so puntures are worse than cuts because it seals off the oxygen. I've been told to try and get it to bleed to flush it out and wash the wound thoroughly. Antiseptics right off the bat are a good thing. Keeping up to date with your tetnus shots is the big one though since it is the tetnus toxin that causes the problems, not the bacteria themselves. The vaccine is protective against the toxin itself and that's how it helps. By the time you see the symtoms, the toxin is in your blood and antibiotics may, if they kill the bacteria by breaking down the cell membrane, increase the amount toxin in the bloodstream. If you are on immunosuppressive drugs, your immunity is lower which is how the vaccine. My advice would be to make sure the doctor knows that you are a blacksmith and work with rusty metal so they can help you protect yourself and what early warning signs would be so you can get in for early treatment. It's amazing how many people just assume the doctor will know how to protect you and diagnose illnesses without knowing these predisposing risk factors.

I usually have the local country station going. If I really want/need to keep going, I usually turn on the local rock station. The same when I'm studying or working on other school projects.

country .......

I can't really add much but I made a pen holder out of a couple of short 2x2 tubing cutoffs and a piece of 1/4 plate that I flap disced and welded up. Not really blacksmithing but it looks like industrial art and doubles as a paper weight too. I don't remember where I read it but I seem to remember reading somewhere that horse shoes were only good luck if it was a 7 hole punched one that fell off of a horse at a crossroads. There also seems to be a disagreement over whether you should hang them up or down to either trap or pour luck out.

Feels good to finish a project. Like skunk said, if you dress your hammer face with a grinder to get rid of the sharp edges, you'll notice that your pieces are smoother just by doing that.

A little trick I've found I've had to use for smaller pieces when the temp's get below 0 C here, is to use a pre-heated piece of steel on my anvil and move the anvil closer to retain heat during the weld. Other-wise, my welds on smaller pieces don't work.

My sentiments exactly. The picture may be decieving, but it looks deep enough that you would be wasting fuel on smaller pieces. I use charcoal in my forge at home and the fire pot is only 4-5" deep and I weld upto 1/2" easily and work upwards of 1". I made a long pot though and welded up some plate so that I can have whatever width of fire pot by sliding the sides along and unblocking other air holes for longer pieces too which gives me more fuel management control and I can get a very focused fire then by sliding them together. I find the key is to maintain the fire underneath the piece because charcoal burns out fast. I find that pushing the piece into the fire from the top instead of sliding it in helps keep a fresh bed of coal under it and then working embers in from the side. Once you get used to a charcoal fire, don't be surprised if you get told you are fussing too much when you join a demo that's using coal.

I have similar problems where I get certain areas that go rust red under the wax and nobody could really answer why either.

timothy...

See Jayco's post, only with newer paint as the old girl gave out in the spring and all it took was a new coat of paint it seems :rolleyes:

I've never done any brass or copper work but I know copper for sure work hardens and needs to be annealed after a while. Maybe it needed to be annealed? I think it is opposite to iron and needs to be quenched and not just slowly cooled but I may be mistaken.

It's a little off topic of iron working but an aside on your broom tying would be a nice change of pace too.

joint....... now don't anyone be taking this one the wrong way.:D

Kind of an off the wall question, but how long do you figure before we've selected for the mice that outsmart the standard mousetrap? It's bound to be happening.

There was a clip on youtube or similar where a kids science TV show filled a pool with the "magic mud" as we used to call the cornstarch water mix and then dared kids to run across it while the host swam in it. It's amazing how much weight it can hold when you keep your speed up. Stop to catch your breath and...

Another self taught ranch/farm welder with a lincoln AC tombstone here. I usually use 6011, 6013 and 7014 for their ease of use and not having to maintain special environments. Contrary to others, I've found that the thinnest 6011 (can't remember the 32th it is off the top of my head right now) allows a lower amp and I've successfully welded up the old trailer siding where it had rusted out. The 6013 seemes to freeze up on me at the lower amps I was using.

2x4 is the prekiln dimensions. After drying it shrinks by that much. I don't know about dressing after the drying but it sure is consistent in the amount of shrink.

I don't know about the blueprints here but, off the top of my head, I remember anvilfire had a demo on how to make them.

Just to warn you, you've opened a can of worms with that question. Everyone's going to tell you to practice basic blacksmithing skills first. Me personally, while I haven't had any formal training other than a class or so and demo'ing, I believe you can learn the same skills while practicing making "knives" if you want to and you have a relatively cheap source of good steel. Being from a farm there's a surplus of old springs and hydraulic arms and shocks and not enough mild steel so I seem to use it more. By "making knives" which seems to be frowned upon, I was ahead of the game when it came to the class I took. Unfortunately the advanced classes run around $100 for a night seminar of watching the blacksmith demo so I haven't gone to any. After that, start with a small knife since they're easier to make and more likely to be something you'll carry and use so you can test your knifemaking abilities. Do lots of research too on heat treating and steels and such. There are many good books out there on both blacksmithing and bladesmithing, some of which are online. Read forums online but remember to be critical on the info posted and always use your head. When something doesn't feel safe, don't do it.

Just to add a point of safety, Linseed oil soaked rags have been know to self combust! Also, don't choose anything that is not food safe for food or kitchen items.