Tzelik Hammar

That makes more sense. Thanks!

Nice! Now I need pie...

Not going to lie, I had to google bell clappers for that to make sense (not really the images I was after, at first. lends its name to an unfortunate deformity). That said, that seems like it would take a while to get it in the right place for each use.

I am fairly sure they can still legally hang you in Lincoln county (where I live) for rustling cattle. I was advised by the NMABA guy not to join till december, because of how their memberships work, but that I am allowed to attend meetings until then! October meeting is supposed to be in Albuquerque, 2 hours from here, so I can make it!

They moved here in a big truck and brought everrrrrything. After his wife passed he kinda gave up, he decided to sell everything (was in his late 80s, early 90s, poor health). He was really nice to talk to though. When he started selling stuff it took a couple days to see it all and even the tail end of it, when I picked up the forge, was pretty busy. Some of it he ended up just abandoning when he sold the property it was on and moved back north with his kids. Guess he got his grandkids started on college funds pretty well, from what dad told me. Still looking up fish plates. I think I may go with Mr.Steven's idea of trying to make my own brace though. I am a terrible welder.

I really like that hold-down! how is it fastened on the other side?

I think they are outside of my limited skillset to craft... the inside is fairly precise, grooves and braces to hold the blower steady. Mr. Stevens, I don't have access to either of those tools except at work... and embarrassingly enough, I only know how to weld from a high school course. I was strongly discouraged from picking that trade up by the parental units. I'll see if I have the required skills to create new plates, I know I can use the taps at work. Mr. Powers, solid idea, but I am not playing with lead. I am in bad enough shape already!

Sorry. I did not realize this thread was actually in the solid fuel section already...

Very cool! I did not forge today but I am posting because... puppies happened instead and people love pictures of puppies! I was told they weren't allowed to be alone, or in the forge, so I have been binge reading and watching smithing wizardry.

Rereading the page, it just occurred to me that nothing is posted because losing their public venue moves everything to private shops... which they don't post about. derp. Sorry. Ill give their number a ring and see if anyone is still kicking!

I'm trying to make one of the handles like it should have had, from the videos I have seen. Its slow but I will get it eventually. Until then I have a piece of axe handle I have been working to shape. My file handles are preciousssss! I will look up fish plate, is that the proper term for that part of this contraption? My pan is 6 inches deep, approximately, so I was unsure if it was ok to cut into it to lower stock. The stuff I was reading was largely for bituminous, but it still indicated a fire 3 inches or better from the grate. I generally keep it pretty heavily loaded, the fire seems to like that.

Despite being on facebook daily, I had not considered looking there... yes, I get a bit tunnel visioned. NMABA is part of ABANA, isn't it? I looked at their website, and it may be because I'm not a member and I don't have permissions, but I do not see any activity. I figured it was dead. No meeting reports since 15, no future events on the calendar. I'll try calling Monday and see if someone is there. I'll find someone, eventually. I am not afraid to work for it. Just takes a little time

My little forge. As far as I know its a rivet forge with a replaced bowl, leaving it flat bottomed with some gaps around the tuyere. I bought it from a really cool old man named Walt, who brought it down from Alaska with him when his wife needed a desert climate. He was not a smith, and never fired it in the time he owned it, just a packrat like most of us. He was selling things off in preparation for returning to Alaska, so I bought it and some hammers to supplement my every growing addiction, though it took several years before I ever fired it up! The dark line below the crank is weld fixing a large crack where tension is applied to the brace-wing things that clamp the blower down to the frame (no idea what they are called). The bolt was overtightened long ago and cracked, then repaired. That little cast iron wing is the piece I'm trying to replace, as it has recently broken again due to somebody's (>.>) overzealous cranking when learning anthracite. Overall it still works, and as I have progressed in fire control I worry less about it falling apart because I find I no longer have to crank like a madman just to get heat... also read the posts about too much air, and applied them

I finally took some pictures of my forge to upload the other day, so ill put that in the solid fuels section so its visible, let you see what I'm working with so far... anthracite isn't easy but its a nice clean fire for me and I only put in charcoal when I need it, instead of a mixed ratio like I was thinking originally when suggested. When I'm going to do a couple of heats in succession, like when I was trying out the "forged to finish" knife after I watch a video on here, ill put charcoal in to sweeten the fire a bit, and if I'm going to have something out for more than 3-4 minutes I put charcoal in a couple minutes early to keep things moving. It really has helped a lot.

The charcoal trick helped a lot. Thanks guys!

That's a very pretty knife. I'm still working on locating the nearest smith to me, and I'll be joining ABANA as soon as I can (paycheck stuff). I know they teach classes in Santa Fe (2-ish hours) and Moriarty (1.5-ish) but both are above my pay grade. I live in a pretty remote area of the state. Until then I'm surviving on books, BPs, YouTube and hours of forum reading. And practice at random things when I can...

Excellent.

I will take all the advice given and as much research as I can find ( the internet is a wonderful thing for a person addicted to learning) before attempting any "pattern welded" projects. The post was originally about materials that will provide a solid visual contrast, and the use of "Damascus" in the title was more a pun than a comment on technique. So far my only forge welds have been accidental, and awful at that, so I am a long way from executing the technique well enough to create weapons OR armor (I love both equally, depending on the project at hand and how many times it has bitten me). Simply wondering if automotive scrapyards supplied a good jumping off point, material wise. As I see here and in other threads, it seems the prevailing wisdom is to just buy steel for pattern projects. I have to admit some level of disappointment, I was rather hoping to stock up while I can. We are getting less and less work and the boss is talking about closing the shop. What about scavenged steels to practice on? Say, make a billet of x and y as opposed to only x, so one could practice patterns and techniques. Materials of lesser contrast maybe, but still showing the demarcation when etched. Truth is, I will most definitely experiment in the future, and expect to fail miserably many times, with both scrap items and quality material. Just attempting to stock up while I have the chance. An enormous amount of projects exist in my head and on paper, long before I would get to a pattern project, unless I was just really jonesing for something new. I have read a significant amount of information here and on the internet at large about scrap materials and their general qualities and chemical involvements, but the same threads say precious little about how they look. I do not wish to jump to the conclusion that x and y, when welded together, will form a billet of homogenous color. So far I have not been dissuaded from that end, unless the steel (scrap or not) contains some level of Nickel or other specifically introduced element designed to change its color. I personally assumed that the different grades and compositions would lead to differing textures or colors in a welded billet. Was this assumption incorrect? Does it, in fact, either work into a single slab of uniform color or fail to weld at all? Is the difference only noticed in the hardness (like a welded-in cutting edge)?

Ok, thanks. I welded my guillotine to one and im working on a suitable stump to attach it to, since i have a small xxxx (can i say that?) ASO. Working on turning a piece of rail into a better surface, hopefully get that done tomorrow before the weekend's forge-time. No you can not say that here I appreciate you taking the time to line me out.

Another great idea! As to swages and swage blocks, any reason it cant be a plate like they use to hold railroad ties down with a bunch of interchangeable hardies? I would assume the mass might be a concern, but maybe just for short term until i can get my paws on a real block to shape.

Congratulations and best of luck. A good SO changes everything.

Excellent advice. Thanks!

I'm kinda all over in my projects because I have years of backlogged ideas eating at my brain and I love learning new techniques. Couple that with how much fun i have forging just about anything and I bounce from project to project like a pinball. I have 2 knives in various stages of finishing, my first "forge to finish" knife to heat treat, and 3 other projects on Deck: the hammer, an axe, and a tanto style blade for a friend. I have an aggressive take on the learning curve, a pile of supplies, and no shame in failing. Speaking of failing, every forge session I attempt to make tongs. Something about them hates me and I have yet to forge a good solid functional set from scratch. Looks like a brief break until I figure out how to make a swage block.

I'm working out a plant to make a war hammer, but I want it to be triangular (including the back spike). I have everything figured out except how to draw the taper out. Closest I can figure is drawing it square and then trying to angle it with diagonal blows. Is this how to do it or is there a better way?

Frosty, I think you have magical powers. Water fell from the sky last night and I found wet dirt everywhere! hahahahaha