HammerMonkey

3 hours ago, BillyBones said:

Well here's my best friend Ziggy. He is just a mutt. 

It’s ok, we’re all a little biased when it comes to our dogs. They are truly our best friends. I’ve never met a human more loyal than my Coco. 

Ziggy looks like a great boy. How old is he?

Marc, labradoodle? 

17 hours ago, DavidF said:

I have three dogs, one is a GSD. 

GSD? German Shepherd... D? Dachshund?? That would be an interesting combo!

BTW, that’s a nice looking furry friend you have there David. My father was a dog trainer and worked with law enforcement, as well as SAR, and service animal training. His favorite breed was German Shepherds. Very intelligent and loyal. His favorite dog was a wonderful German shepherd mix named Murphy. She looked a lot like your pal.

7 hours ago, Tubalcain2 said:

This is my Heeler. Best dog in the world. He usually comes home with possums and coons, but this time he had... half a bobcat?

I understand that Healers are very smart. Nice looking boy you have there!

13 hours ago, Hans Richter said:

Every time I ask him 'What are these girls doing in Amsterdam' he does that. Strange right?

Too funny Hans!!  

6 hours ago, JHCC said:

Left to right, that’s Michael, me, and Lola.  Lola likes the taste of coal dust. 

Lol, it looks like Michael and Lola love their dad! 

This is what followed me home nearly 7 years ago. Her name is Coco. 

Rest in peace...

You're welcome David, and thank you.

BTW... I really dig the cleaver. It is beautiful. If you could not tell from my earlier, I am a big fan of the "Brut de Forge" and other types of raw or rustic finish. (I actually never heard that term before, but I like it).

3 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

  Did I mention I like the rain..  

You should come visit us out here in Seattle then! Lol.

I use knives made from rasps in the kitchen all the time. I just clean them with a brush and warm soapy water. The same as other utensils and cutting boards that can harbor bacteria if not cleaned properly. In fact, I feel that it takes much less effort to clean such a knife thoroughly, than a cutting board for instance. Cutting boards have a multitude of fine to large cuts in the surface that can catch and hold food debris and bacteria much more readily than the remaining rasp pattern on the knifes I make. And cutting boards made of wood are somewhat permeable as well. But you don’t hear people freaking out about using a less than pristine cutting board.

Frankly, I dont know how the idea about cutlery with a brut de forge finish, blacksmith finish, rasp texture, peined texture, or anything else considered a “lack of finish” as being not food safe, got so much traction. Just clean it. It doesn’t need to go into an autoclave, just a good scrub is all that is required.

Hey Axle, you are too cute! Congrats on the new humans!

Very cool. He is so focused. He just needs and apron and some tongs to fit his hand.

Nice work with the angel Das, a very nice keepsake.

1 hour ago, jlpservicesinc said:

lyuv - wheres the forge?  

I think it is the stack of bricks on the workbench.

Nice sized workspace. I don't know if I could take the chicken ammonia smell... It certainly wouldn't make me feel like dancing!

On 9/27/2017 at 9:57 PM, littleblacksmith said:

The texturing is done with two tools. I have a bottom tool in the hardy and then a hand hammer. Gergely, I really like those candle holders! A simple piece but fun to look at. Loving it, keep it going. Hope your thumb gets better!

I've been searching for some more info on these texturing tools as I need to make some too. I think that JHCC and Das have mentioned making/using something like this as well. Do you have any pictures of these tools? especially the bottom tool?  Any close up pics of the texture pattern, or further details on grinding the grooves/lines in the tools? Depth, width, spacing, etc? And finally, Do you have different sets of tools for different patterns?

Thanks LBS!

Sorry, I have nothing...

But... I wanted to say that every time I read the title to this thread I want to reply:

"So sorry to hear about the Little Giant's demise.. How did he die?"

And ask if it was weight related...

I could write a diet book... "The century diet plan"

Beautiful! the file work is exquisite, and the damascus pattern is really cool.

Very nice Hans. It looks like a sensible layout, and the windows are great up high on the wall like that. I find the lighting in my shop is better with the windows at a higher angle..

How is the anvil and base supported? is it just sitting on the pallet looking structure, or is there something else beneath it that supports it directly to the ground?

Nice work Hans. I really like the crane, and the (bronze?) castings look very cool too.

4 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

And anvils often seem to lose a couple of pounds over the century or so...

I wish I could do that well...

32 minutes ago, the iron dwarf said:

You may end up paying a tariff both ways because if you add a tariff to goods from here we can do the same to yours, like recently an aircraft maker in the UK had a 300% tariff on sales in the us imposed, such things can work both ways or even mean places dont buy your goods

protectionism of one area can affect others that are unrelated

Truth!

 In 1920 and the early1930’s, Hover’s anti-free trade  policies, the most protectionist  tariffs in American history (so far), and the resulting trade war, had disastrous consequences. Not only in the USA.

On 3/9/2011 at 8:31 AM, Winston said:

What do you put on your hammer handles?

....Hammer heads.

On edit:  awww, I just realized that somebody beat me to the punch (line). A day late and a dollar short... typical 

Excellent reminder. I recently purchased 3 more respirators and placed them strategically around my shop after reading someone’s post on IFI, with that idea. It has helped me be more aware, and likely to put one on, even for a “quick” job.

I also like your Safety Discussion idea. If only one accident or injury is averted by an attempt to raise awareness, it is most certainly worth it.

Very nice work!

10 minutes ago, Kozzy said:

Part of the issue is that the standard H frame presses assume you can balance the loads--basically center the part accurately so loads on the frame are primarily in tension.  Steel in tension is S t r o n g.  In a forging press, nothing is ever perfectly balanced--no matter how hard you try to perfectly center the work, speeds and nature of the work will mean the frame is under all sorts of off-axis forces trying to turn the frame connections into a pretzel.  Because of the nature of forging work, you need to build to WORST case rather than best case scenarios.

Additionally, most people rolling their own forging presses use welded construction.  For the average joe, that's easier with a bit more meat in the metal.  Less worrying about welding distortion or burn through plus the ability to put on a lot more fillet for strength where needed.

And...steel is relatively cheap on a one-off design.  It's not like you are worrying about shipping costs on 20,000 units or labor to form, shear, and punch that many initial parts while having to meet a price point.  Better to do it once too heavy than do it twice+ too light.  Heavier also gives you the option for upgrades without starting from scratch.

These points make the most sense to me.  I think that the cycling/fatigue points made earlier are also not without merit.

Thanks fellas.

11 hours ago, Ranchmanben said:

Stainless salad tongs

Nice job Ranchmanben. I like em!

Another beautiful knife Templehound! Very nice. I also like that the pocket clip is positioned "correctly".