Billy Salyers

I couldn't agree more. I only used a single bead of caulk around the perimeter of the foot of my anvil and the ring is fully deadened.

I was originally going for an explosion pattern, but in the next to last weld, rotated all the pieces 45 degrees in the wrong direction. Still, for a first attempt, I'm very pleased. The handle is bubinga with brass pins.

I have, and I think that's probably the direction I will end up going. It preserves the original spindle and still accomplishes my overall goal. However, I'm no machinist and the precision needed for that is probably beyond my skill level. I'll likely have to pay someone to do it or tackle and extreme learning curve.

Thanks for the feedback. Always looking to improve.

Hardinge will make them, but at $481 per collet. For a full set, it'd be cheaper to buy a used bridgeport. Sadly, I've been all over and most forums and groups generally concede that the collets are nearly impossible to find. I was hoping to get lucky here. I do plan to buy a lathe at some point, but I also would like to use some tools that don't fit a collet but use an R8 taper. My local machine shop will do the work for about 2 hours worth of shop time $150-200 dollars. I'm going to hold off a bit before I go that route, just in case. Thanks for all the feedback so far guys, and for any to come.

So, I managed to get this Duff vertical mill for $100. It's barely used and in great working condition. The only downside is that it uses D5 collets and I only have one of those in 1/2 inch size. I'm wondering if anybody here has a line on where I can get some of those at an affordable price. I'd also love it if anyone has a manual for it. I can give you the model number if you need it but almost any Duff manual would be great. Right now I'm thinking about making do with an ER 20 adapter and at some point having the spindle milled out to fit in R8 collet.

Thanks

I started with a cheap 2x36 but decided to make my own 2x72 grinder from scratch. It's not, mechanically speaking, a complex build, but it needs to be fairly precise to work well. That being said, it probably cut my finishing time by 60% compared to the grinder I was using. I wouldn't want to go without one, but we have to remember that smiths were doing fine work with little more than hammers and files long before fancy grinders came along. As with anything, find what works for you, and do the best with what you have until you feel like you can do better. Finding someone who has experience and wisdom is one of the best ways to learn as well, and a side benefit is that you can use their stuff while they teach you.

Look way better than my first knives. Great work.

Just finished a couple of Sgian Dubh...one formal, one casual...or something like that. Either way, these were a fun project. They're made of 240 layer ladder pattern Damascus, 1095 and 15n20...The ladder pattern is subtle, but this was my first attempt at it, and I'm happy with the result. This is my second antler handle knife ever. Also, the butt cap and the (I don't know what to call it but a front cap) are made from silver reclaimed from an old snuff lid (at my client's request). It presented some interesting challenges, but I'm happy with them and glad to share them with you guys. Hard to believe I started this only about 13 months ago banging steak knives out of rebar. I'm hooked.

I've spent a good bit of time searching for an alternative to 15n20 as a high nickel steel for damascus. It seems that it is only available in thin flat stock. I want to play with some mosaic damascus and find a lot of videos of people stacking square bars, but the closest alternative I seem to be able to find is 4340 in 1/2 round. I apologize if this has already been asked. I have looked through the forums. What I'm hoping to find is a steel that I could buy in 1/2 square bar form that would serve to play the part of of the "bright" side of a pattern welded billet. Think checkerboard. What steels would you use and where would you get them. I know someone here must know what is available and where. Again, if this has already been asked, I apologize. Thanks for the help.

Thanks Ranchmanben

Thanks Thomas Powers. That really looked like an A instead of a 1 to me...the first digit that is. Is there any significant difference if if it is an A? So, would there be a difference in 131761 and A31761?

Just picked up a Hay Budden stamped A31761. Is there anyone with copy of Anvils in America that could look it up for me and tell me when it was born and any other interesting bits about it?

Thanks for the idea Frosty. Hadn't considered adding a coin.

Thanks for the quick response Latticino. I had considered the Dapp and post method you described. I'm leaning more and more towards trying it that way. Thankfully, I explained early on that I might not be able to do this. The reason he wanted this particular piece of silver is a pattern etched into it. That makes several methods unviable. It'll probably be lost no matter what, but it's not a deal-breaker if I decide not to use it. I'm going to try a couple of these methods on some scrap material of similar size/shape before going for broke on the silver. Thanks for the ideas.

Not sure how I managed to post this in Knife-Making. I meant to post in in problem solving. Sorry about that. I don't seem to be able to move it now. You cant, we moved it because it is a knife question

I have a client who want a knife that utilizes a piece of silver from the lid of an old...really old...snuff tin. Essentially, he wants the pommel wrapped with this. The best way I can describe it is that the desired final product is almost the exact size and shape of a bottle cap. My idea is to make a die with an oversized hole and then press a cylinder into the silver, hopefully forming it into the desired shape. Here's my questions? 1. Am I on the right track here, or is there a much better way to do this that I am missing? 2. Experience tells me to heat the silver, at least a little, to aid in the deformation. Is there any reason to work it cold? I searched the forums for similar questions, but I didn't find any. If I missed something, I apologize. Your ideas are appreciated.

Very nice. Love the subtlety of the damascus. It add a very pleasing aesthetic to the knife.

Thanks. D. IVO

Thanks for the feedback sfeile. I genuinely appreciate it.

Thanks.

This is a my first big Bowie knife. The blade is 1095 steel and is a foot long. The knife itself is 18 inches in length. It just begs to be held up and accompanied by the words, "That's not a knife...that's a knife." Sadly, my kids don't even know who Crocodile Dundee is. The handle is a gorgeous curly maple that looks like tiger stripes to me.It has a single domed brass pin and a solid steel guard hand-filed to fit the tang perfectly. The knife has a hidden tang, but the tang is nearly a quarter of an inch thick and runs almost to the very end of the handle. The sheath is hand tooled leather with an aged mahogany finish. I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. I know its not perfect or even up to what many of you guys are doing already, but I'm happy with it.

1) Billy Salyers 2) Rutherford County, NC 3) Lots of knives, mostly chef's knives and scattered decorative work. 4) I started in August of 2017 as a summer project with my sons. 5) I used my grandfather's anvil, a 105 lb Fisher from the late 1800s. 6) We made our first forge from a 20lb propane tank. 7) There's a whole group of smiths in my county, but Rob Bratton and Fred Landis. 8) I found that blacksmithing was a great way to connect with my kids. 9) After I built my 2x72 grinder, I wondered how I ever lived with out it. 10) Practice can be fun as long as you don't expect everything to turn out perfect. 11) Invest in those who are just starting as much as you can. This craft has so much to offer. It'd be a shame to see it decline. 12) People get excited about it when they learn I do it. I've had so many opportunities to share my story, to share my faith, and to make new friends just because people are interested in the things I make.

Hi, I'm Billy Salyers. I got started in smithing in August of 2017. Every year, I do a project with my kids as a way to teach them the basic skills they need for life. It also helps me do one of the things I enjoy most, spend time with my kids. Yellow Rose Forge was born out of such a project. Together, my sons and I built our own forge from scratch and began teaching ourselves the art of forging metal into beautiful objects. Enough people asked us about it to justify setting up shop. It didn't hurt that about a week after we started that someone told us about a certain TV show...you know the one. Anyway, I've been blessed to find a group of local smiths who are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience. I make a lot of chef's knives, mostly because I've been able to sell a lot of them but also because I love to use them. I'm still learning, but I've come a long way. I'm a bit old school in that I hate buying a tool when I think I can make it, and I'm a penny pincher too, so I save every scrap piece of metal to the detriment of my shop's organization. I've spent more than a few hours looking over the forums here and finally decided to start posting. I don't know how much I have to add, but what little I do, I'll gladly share, as others have done so for me. link removed I'll hopefully be posting some stuff here as well. Thank for all the help you have given me already.