Melw45

Photos as promised. Both sides. Thanks for looking. Mel

Well I used my forge today and it got good and hot. So hot I had to weld my tong blank back together. Full propane tank made all the difference. I did try to forge weld. I did a write up in my started some tongs post. Mel

Well had some fun this afternoon. Started on the second side put the notches in the top and bottom. Got it back in the fire to start drawing it out and it got to hot. Hit it and it fell in half. Looked like it was melting. I thought well why not try to weld it. I put the flattened pieces on top of each other and got them hot. Pulled the out and gave the some light taps and they stuck! Got it hot once more and gave it some good whacks. I then pulled the two parts in to a V shape and opened it up and tried to flatten it out. Started to tear at a new spot well darn. Cleaned it with my wire brush and welded again. Only straight Seemed to work. May have some inclusions but i feel like I did some thing. Got hot and tired so shut it down and am getting some water and cooling off. Will post photos when the metal is cool. Mel W.

Sounds like my wife. Mel

My wife and I are only at this house for a short while more. Most of the household has been moved to our new place in NV. In fact the next trip is for my shop stuff. I will need to build a permanent shop at the new place. New pic now one step away. If I was going to stay here I would put some pavers under the stands. Thanks for looking. Mel

Plastic trash cans for weather protection. Good idea. To bad if i leave wood on the ground in a week it will have termites. No they go inside at night. One step away hmm I will adjust as needed. Thanks for the for the feedback! Mel

Here is my temporary setup. I have not been posting much while i take care of honey do's and cleaned this space in the yard. The tools and forge go back in the garage at night. I was tired of working on concrete in full sun. Now I just have to find out how to keep the feral cats from using it as a liter box. Feel free to comment if you see a safety problem. Mel

Jasent Those look brand new. You going to make blades from them? Mel

I was at the Dollar store the other day and found these cheep China made pry bars. They are about 11 inches to the bend. I have not had a file on them but used one and it seemed to be very soft. I have not been able to find any RR spikes and thought to try these for some bottle openers and some other projects. At $1.00 ea I wont feel to bad about using them for practice on. Thanks for looking. Mel

I like this! Great card holder. Mel

I could do that as well. It has some left in it I am loathe to give it away. I am not cheap I am frugal. That is my story and I am sticking to it. Time to hit Craigslist and see what I can find. My dad has one of the larger ones found on RVs that is expired that would make a larger forge or small BBQ. I told him to keep it for me. Thanks Mel

Beammeupscotty I have watched that video. He forge welds the raines on. I dont know how to do that. My forge is not hot enough to weld yet as well. Thanks Mel

Ranchmanben I got some more forge time today. Used your method and it worked better. I am still making some ugly tongs. I also changed the way I am holding the hammer and the close in grip seems to work better. Knocked off when my mostly empty BBQ tank of propane got cold. The other problem is the tank is out of date. I cant get it filled have to look in to getting a new tank. rockstar Thanks for the advice. I have long suspected that many of the blacksmith videos are edited for time. Thanks for looking Mel

The complete modern blacksmith. We went to the book store and I found it on the shelf. My wife said oh you should get that. Mel

Ranchmanben Thanks for taking time to draw that. It helps a lot. I think that may be within my skill set. I will give it a try when I can get back to the anvil. I have to do some honeydos. Thanks again! Mel

Over the edge. Half on half off. Looks ugly now. Mel

I started to draw out the tongs today. Hammered until my arm was shaking. I had made some ajustments to my forge. It seems to be getting hotter the steel looked almost wet coming out of the heat. Thanks for looking. Mel

The small one I did was kind of fun. Once I got it moving it was quite smooth. Mel

Put my forge to use today. I did use a fire brick to close off most of the opening. It worked ok. I do think I want to go with the extra coatings. Just need to get the funds. Thanks for looking. Mel

Thanks for the feedback. My yard was in full sun so kind of hard for my untrained eye to judge temp color. I will keep a eye on it. Has any one seen a good tutorial video on non twist tongs? Thanks Mel

the spring is 3/8". I thought it looked like good size for punchs and other tools.m Mel

I started working on some tongs. I am trying to fallow the Dempsey twist from the Anvilfire site. Can you tell which one was the second one? I learned some things today. Hot steel is easier to work, I need a fuller! The edge of the anvil worked but a fuller would be better. I am out of shape and got tired swinging the hammer. Glad I bought the 2 LB to start. My vise was indespansable in doing the twists. Any advise on drawing out the reins? Thanks for looking! Mel

Yep wanted to try the pull it straight method. Next time will use a band saw or cut off saw. Mel

What I started with and ended up with. Used some advice I got here and used a fire brick to block off part of my forge opening. The spring got hot and I was able to pull it straight. The curls at the end are where the flats are. I will cut them off for small tools. thanks for looking! Mel

To day I made a temporary stand to use the vise. Have a look. Mel W.