Rojo Pedro

Real nice Chad. Looks like an angry wolf. Over last few day I have made a coffee scoop, a butterfly (stick welded the 16ga wings ,I am pretty happy about that) and, I too need a new scoop….

Copied from something I saw on the webs. Lots of fun to make :-)

I have one that I have never used. Paid $75 a couple years ago on a whim. I have always thought that if I had a convenient place to mount it, I would leave a counter sink in it and maybe get some use out of it. Plus they look cool :-)

I made an adjustable jig for my vise. I thought 2 different radii might work but I havent tried it yet.

I finally gave my monkey tool a test and made a hook out of some scrap. Fun times.

Congrats on retiring. It has been 2 years for me and no regrets. I still wish I could spend more time in the shop haha.

You guys are wrong. I will take the heat any day... Heat is merely uncomfortable (if you are climatized) Cold hurts.

Bummer. They appear to be available elsewhere but you might not get the HF quality control haha (mine had some bondo in a few minor casting flaws but performs as expected)

I use my throatless Beverly clone quite a lot. It is the little HF model but it works well and cuts 16ga steel without much effort. One of these days I would like a big Beverly but they dont show up often and are usually priced out of my reach. I do recommend the harbor freight one however - it is one of the hidden gems from HF.

I feel for you folks that live in the cold regions. For me its the heat, I worked outside for most of my career here in Tucson and as a young man it was never too hot as long as you hydrated. As I got older the summers were harder to take and really hot days would wear me out. Now as a part timer, we make sure we get done with field work before noon in the summer. But at least it is not painful like cold weather is...(74 and 43 here today sorry for your luck :-)

I mostly finished a hammer / tong rack from a repurposed bender stand. Also tried a few split cross humming bird ornaments. Good times

What Billy said. When using mystery steel I always quench in oil first. Nice shape on that blade. Keep at it, I have a pile of cracked blades and failed projects. Have fun :-)

Very nice Socks, did you hand stitch the pocket? I like it a lot. Stunning work Alexandr, as usual :-)

Super cool bowl forge, I assume they are good sellers and that you make a lot of them.

Very nice Ted, I really like the offsets and yes, the very clean forging make them really stand out.

Nice photos John I finished a combo vise / bender stand I have been working on and off for the last few days. This is going to live outside for now and I left some big holes in the feet to stake it down if need be. I am happy with the results and was good stick welding practice (out of mig gas)

Very nice John, I assume you cut the spiral after you shape the bowl? It must be very smooth not to catch the yarn as well I imagine.

A post vise is what got me into blacksmithing. I was looking for a bench vise on craigslist and kept watching this post vise come down in price. After a few weeks it got down to $125 and I bought it for the novelty. After I got it home I studied its use and thought blacksmithing would fun to try. Built a washtub forge with plaster of paris, charcoal and a hair dryer. First hot metal was twisted in that vise and I was hooked, the rest is history and I still use that vise today :-)

Glad to hear you are still here Paul. Artie looks a bit like our new addition, Bella.

Welcome from beautiful Benson Arizona, Yes that was a good deal on that old anvil, as stated, it appears quite usable I wouldnt worry about hammer size unless you are using a 10 pound sledge hammer and even then I would carefully swing it. My go to hammer is 2.5 pounds. I use a lot of different hammers when needed but anything heavier wears me out after awhile. Keep looking for a post vise, they show up around here pretty regularly for under $200, size and condition dependant of course. You can do a lot of twisting and light work on a bench vise if you are careful. Have fun and keep us posted on your progress :-)

Looking good Socks. Good job and nice forge

From the slave quarters at Melrose mansion in Natchez Mississippi. Circa late 1840’s. Very simple but obviously effective.

Looking good Socks, I made some tent stakes for a buddy, don't know what was in this rebar but it was pretty hard to move.

Nice scores John and Ridge Facebook find for me $35. not great, not bad. There are a couple marked Ford and a new looking Armstrong 1-5/8” that could be worth the whole box.

Nice nose Billy! Good work everyone. I cant seem to find much time in my shop now that I am retired, hope to change that soon