Junksmith

You're right Sweany! My 7 foot piece about did me in. I just drag it a little at a time. As far as uses. One of our members (can't remember who at the moment) suggested using a narrow slice to make a flatter type hammer. I'm in the middle of trying that now with a lighter gauge rail. I cut the rail part off, put a hole in the web and the base is the flatter head. I torch cut it so it's going to take a lot of grinding. I'll post a pic if I ever get it done.

I've waited so long to be able to do this. I was a "sideshow" in a local park coupled with the arrival of the annual Wagon Train. This collection of conestoga wagons makes a passes through our area (Boonsboro, MD) as kind of a roving living history display. Not sure where they were from or where they were going, but the committee in charge of hosting them wanted a blacksmith and found me through the local historical society. Booya! As I am recovering from a 3 week bout with pneumonia, my brother-in-law (smoking the corn cob pipe in picture 1) was good enough to help me move some gear. He even banged out a couple of miniature horseshoes! In the first pic, we are joined by my daughter Elena and my nephew Lars. The second is a pic of my new demo toolbox & insert. The hardies go on top, files in the back, and hammers & tongs underneath. Then the whole mess drops into that footlocker underneath for storage. Most of my hammers & tongs were over at the anvil when this was taken. The last pic is my new vise stand. I welded it up mostly with some 3 inch angle iron that I had hanging around and diamond plate for the base. It only weighs a little over 125 pounds with the vise on it, but I can stand on the base plate and add another 275 in the blink of an eye! It needs some refinement, but I only had a week to get a portable unit built only from the scrap I had lying around. Same with the toolbox. Short notice, but at least I'm mobile now if I need to be. The demo itself went well. Lots of onlookers. It was a little hard to concentrate and answer questions at the same time but I managed it. Frost nailed it when he said to keep the projects quick. I lost some people on the more ornate stuff so I switched to hooks and leaves and got a lot more attention. It's amazing how excited people get about a twist! I would go over to the vise, grab the wrench, and people whispered "Look, he's going to twist it!" with a reverence usually reserved for small miracles. Hey... if that makes 'em happy then just call me "Twisty McTwister" Sorry to ramble on. It was just yesterday and I'm still wound up about it.

Ahhhhhh! I was thinking Norse gods and ceremonial daggers and such. Shows you where my mind was. Yes, you're absolutely right. That's where it gets me - when a few hammer strikes suddenly turn a pointed bar into a leaf, and twists... In my (limited) experience so far people LOVE twists. I can see where our demo patter would be quite entertaining! Anyone who can come up with a phrase like "blowing smoke up the public's collective orifii" is truly gifted with words!

It's a great feeling isn't it? To produce a finished and functional tool? I know I love it. Congratulations!

Gee Frosty I'm blushing:D Seriously though, everybody's advice makes sense to me. I figure small stuff is going to be my best bet - especially in this economy. Of course the jurors wanted to see my best examples and the ones I posted are as good as I've got at this point. I'm planning on some major pieces, but not enough to fill a 10x10 booth. There will definitely be lots of "doodads". Interesting comment about the "mythical" stuff Frosty. I find myself drifting when the topic turns that way too. Busty Valkyries are all well and good but I've learned that the best stories (especially the ones related to iron and steel) are the true ones! Thanks again everybody. I'll let you know what happens.

Hey everybody! I have just put in my application for my first show. It's a juried craft fair so naturally I'm a little nervous about being accepted - especially since I've only been forging regularly since last July. They wanted to see photos of two pieces so I sent them one of a trammel and one of a trellis I just finished. The trammel isn't very exciting, but it is a heritage festival for a nearby town so I figured they'd want to see something a little more historically oriented. Anyway, I've attached the pics. Feedback is always welcome, as well as any tips on doing business at a craft fair etc. The show is in September so if I get in I'll have some busy months ahead!:o

I like the sign on the side. "Contents MAY be hot":D

melting metal in a home foundry A site that interests me greatly yet assures me that casting is WAY more complicated than forging. Enjoy!:D

Me too. Now I've got some Ideas on what to do with that bag of ball bearings in my shop!

Raked a hot klinker out of the fire 2 weeks ago and I didn't realize that it had landed on top of my shoe. Leather shoes, but the laces were nylon. Ooops. My brother in law kindly told me that my shoe was on fire and I brushed it away with my hand. I guess I should'a used the gloved hand, because burning nylon really sticks well to skin and holds the heat too. Irony? The watering can was 2 feet away! Reflexes are great, but the man who can think as fast as he can react is fortunate indeed.

Thanks everybody. Tough questions from the senior members - but fair ones indeed. There is an arts & crafts festival in my area this September. Being in it is my immediate goal. The show is juried and I have about a month to submit 2 or 3 really good samples so I've got some ambitious material in the works. Just now I'm working on a rose trellis complete with roses, basket twist, etc. If I get accepted, I'll spend the next 6 months of evenings and weekends interspersing larger pieces with hooks, nutcrackers, keyrings, and more spike knives. If I don't, I'll do the same, just at a slower and more focused pace. SJeane. I'm glad you like the twists. I get a little carried away with them sometimes just 'cause they're so much fun. Yes Bob, that is a nutcracker. It's a good exercise in drawing, twisting, & riveting. Maybe once I refine the design a little more I'll post a blueprint. I've got a lot more to learn in the meantime though! Thanks again to all!

Someone gave me a lump of anthracite once. It burned very hot but was harder for me to start and keep burning than bituminous. I read online that some smiths mix the two. Me, I'm sticking with bituminous. I'm sure there are much more studied opinions than mine forthcoming!

Hi everybody, Just a collection of some odds and ends I've done recently. Feedback welcome. Even criticism!

It's just an old gear pinion of some sort that I welded to a drop hammer die. It weighs in somewhere around 220 lbs. I wish I still did :o

I'm not paricularly excited about horseshoe wall hooks either. When I made one for a gift recently I decided to do something different and weld part of a railroad spike to it. It is shown here ready for priming. I was eyeing this post because I wanted to do something more interesting with these relatively plentiful scraps.

Thanks Frosty! I generally avoid drinking it:p Between a stint in art school and having a grandfather who was an old-school sign painter though, I know how to handle oily rags. They all go straight to the burn barrel at the end of a session. Still, I'll limit using it to pieces that aren't going to be in contact with skin very often. Better safe than sorry. That test you mentioned was scary. I knew they were volitale, but wow...

I use boiled linseed oil sometimes to finish things that won't be used around food - or kept outdoors. Interior wall hooks and such. I heat the finished item to blue-ish with a propane weed burner and apply the oil with a damp cloth. I like the look of the finish but I don't want to poison anybody. How is it toxic? Through skin contact? Fumes? All of the above? Thanks

Price update. I have always gotten my coal from Steffy & Findlay too. rfb was right on the money for last month, but I went by this evening to pick up a few bags and the price has gone up to $16.40 a bag. Considering the amount I use at this point, that's not the end of the world, but it is more than a 50% increase virtually overnight! Let's hope this doesn't happen too often.:mad:

Prayers of course. I'll add that you've got quite a bit of character to be so forgiving. My approach to him probably would have been a lot more "punitive". Clearly you're the better man.

I just want to thank you for posting the tips. I knew a lot of the things that were in there, but as someone who is mostly self-taught, there were some little tips that made a big difference, particularly with regard to hammering and stance. I'm not ready to make a 12 foot set of gates or anything but I saw immediate improvement. Thanks again.

RFB 343, Here is a link to the roundhouse website. They have contact info and directions listed under "Visitor Information" Home -Martinsburg Roundhouse

Well, here's my first effort with hammering out a leadscrew. Thanks especially to Trying-It and Frosty for the suggestions regarding edges and twists. I'll have to explore the medium a little more. I just basically made a rolled rose with some curls and a twist. For the twist I hammered it roughly square, incised the threads and untwisted a bit - much like you would do for a pineapple twist. I'm not totally satisfied with it but it's a start.

If you look at the lower left hand corner of the photo, you can see the air hose feeding it. Looks a little small compared to the intake pipe... and for filling that cylinder at the top!

Mayor, I don't know for sure how old it is. It was part of an"open house" at the roundhouse that the locals are trying to restore. I'm sure that the roundhouse has been out of service for 50 years or more and if it is native to the roundhouse then it must date at least to the turn of the century. They sure did a nice job of refinishing it. Dodge, The smiths demonstrating on the site said it was originally steam powered. For the demo they were using a tow-behind air compressor. A welder I know had been there earlier in the day told me that he thought it was really underpowered by the air. It certainly was slow moving on the upstroke - but then I'm no expert. The welder had worked at a steel mill before though so I'm taking his word for it.

Just going through some photos and thought I'd share. This monster occupies a repair shop at the railroad roundhouse being restored in Martinsburg, WV. I'm told that it ran on steam, but they were using compressed air that day. I didn't se a demo per se, but the smith on hand used it to smash a quarter. That hammer head came down with what can only be described as "Authority". Cool.:cool: