Owen Hinsman

I stay away from BLO because of the heavy metals. I use beeswax melted on and then wiped off with a rag at a low black heat for my forged items, and then I use Danish oil for wood items and axe heads. It seems to work for me.

You could take an angle grinder and cut off the mushrooming down to below the cracks, the proceed with restoring. It will change the look, but you'll end up with a functional axe.

I wasn’t really surprised, but I thought that I could at least melt the brass out. You live you learn. Also, thanks for the explanation of HOW the torch cutting worked. I always figured it was just melting the steel away, not actually burning it and then using the heat from burning to continue cutting. Makes more sense now. It made one heck of a ringing noise when I was cutting. Probably a good thing, cause I’m making a bell out of it.

I made my mom a little heart pendant (seen here next to another kind I make) for Mother’s Day. I also hot-cut an old mill pick (I think) so that I could turn it into a handled hot cut. Then my dad wanted to turn an old CO2 tank into a bell, so we cut the top off with a portaband and then torch cut the bottom and neck. I also tried to burn, or lance, out the brass left inside the neck, but it didn’t act like steel at all. It would just melt a little, and then spit a chunk off. I check my torch settings and I was running 5 psi acetylene, 20 psi oxygen, and then I went and lopped through an 1 1/4” tie rod, which went easily. Can you cut brass with a torch?

Ah, to see blacksmiths talking about Discworld. I knew I found the right hobby. Not to totally derail the thread, but what's everyone's favorite Discworld book? Mine's Going Postal (at the moment.)

Whenever I have a chance to pick up metal, I categorize it in 4 piles: things I can forge into something new, things I can repurpose, things I can melt down, and things I can restore. I steer clear of cast metals of all types, along with pot metal and thin stuff like mufflers. Old axe heads, hammer heads, and jacks are some of my favorites. I sort it by long and short, tool steel and mild. I have a fairly small pile (maybe a quarter ton), so I remember that that piece is D2, and that one is 1084. I have a big coffee can on the shelf where I put all the little pieces and cutoffs.

Lug wrenches, as in the kind that are sold with cars to help swap in a spare tire? I've forged them plenty, and they make decent chisels and punches. I've made a few knives with them as well, hardened in oil and tempered to 450 F for an hour. They hold a good edge. I'm sure that it varies by manufacturer, but they're something along the lines of a 1080-1084 as far as I can tell.

Sorry to hear about the cat. It's never easy to lose a pet. As long as the weld holds up, it's sufficient :). I'm not sure if you're aware, but BLO has heavy metals, including lead, in it. You can buy raw linseed oil, which has none of the additives. I personally use danish oil to finish all of my handles and other wood products.

I’ve visited a few antique shops/salvage yards this week, and came out with a decent few things... including a jack that I want to restore. The jack is a Drednaut No. 27 twin lift screw jack. I can turn the knob by hand and lift the jack all the way out (it telescopes), but I want to take it apart and restore it. I’ll probably start with an Evaporust soak.

I've made both a folded hawk and a big chopper with rasps. The hawk has held up well, and I use the chopper every day for cleaning underbrush and pruning. I beat the living daylights out of it all the time, from cutting holes in ice to cutting down trees. It's not heat-treated and it hasn't failed me yet.

Thank you guys. I see how there’s a pivot at D now. I might just build one of these!

I recently came across this illustration in Practical Blacksmithing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think that this treadle linkage would work.

I got the same one in paperback!

That info about the star drill is really interesting. I have half a dozen floating around my scrap pile. Also, I found this (or rather my dad pointed it out) on the side of the road. How can I take it apart without damaging me or my tools?

JLP, I was the guy a while back that made the grappling hook thread on here. Now that I've seen your video on making one, I might give it a try, find some good rope, and just work on climbing the rope while it's not more than ten feet up. Hearing that bit about breaking both your arms made me realize how dangerous climbing like this can be. Would 3/4" round work as starting stock for the hook, or do I need to get some 5/8" round?