hammernhand

I was browsing some local online classifieds today and a guy had 2 rivet forges listed for sale for $25 each. I thought I would pick them up for spares or pass them on to anyone else that wants to get started. I show up at his house to pick up the forges and he gives me 2 part bags of coal, an old beat up anvil, a section of track and a fire tool he made, all for free. I just gave him $60 and told him to keep the change. He was very happy with that and said he has a few more things that he will find while spring cleaning and call me when they are available.

today i was called out to fight a garage fire near my home.the mans equipment now has major wiring burns and the shop was full of mills laythes and the fire stopped 3 feet from the blacksmith shop part of the garage when i say it was full it was so full u had to turn sideways to get to the hotspots in there.i know the man but not well and he has retired from working in his shop and i would like to get your guys opinion on when would be a good time to ask this guy about getting a power hammer from him if he were to let it go?i saw no less than 3 50 pound little giants in there and god knows how many more.this is a true find and i want to be respectfull to him and not belittle the loss of his magnificent shop.let me know thanx.

Hey Gang! Long time no see. I've really missed this thread. Always gave me new ideas of what to look for when I'm out scrounging. Now I'm known to do a brake-stand in my pickup on a busy highway to retrieve the odd bit of metal. Well... maybe not THAT bad.

I've seen for some time what I consider a trajedy. I think I've identified an old "railroad forge" complete with firepot and built-in water trough sitting in the weeds at a nearby house. I once stopped and left word and note with his son, but never received a call. The kid's countenance doesn't scream "rocket scientist" so I doubt the old man got my note. Do you think its worth stopping and checking? Or should I let it rot in the weeds?

*sigh*

Keeplokd

now thats a find for the record books.....handy indeed.

tw0 days ago a gas powered air compressor minus the air tank followed me home,i started it today and it runs and pumps great.it was used to run a air arc cutting setup.it has a kohler engine and a 2 stage pump.whats it worth? all i need to do is find a airtank as the previous owner needed it for his pto driven rig

A lot of concrete cutting blades have diamond or carbide edges so the body is not very high carbon content. Spark test before cutting up for knives, you may have other uses for the metal though.
Phil

we were all thinking it,,,:D

thomas dean id show a pic but i cant get it to happen for some reason ill try later k

today a p&h 1861 enfield rifle followed me home i will have to make a nipple seal and brass teardrop chain to replace the only missing thing on it,good deal to,along with 1 other item the trade included a ramp hoe and a tomahawk.

that makes sense,thanx.

where can i get a good pic of a drift for the eyes of an ax,i suppose im destined to make one as one cant be found near me,if i see it i can make it.

kinda resembles my 1893 fisher but the markings arent right

a 12 dollar bathroom exhaust fan from lowes has served me well as a blower for 2yrs now,if you dont have a forge u at least have half of it now.you can also boil of some whiskey mash in it.or make a pontoon boat,or a really big bobber for fishing,or a aerator for the yard just add some rr spikes and tonge to attach to lawn mower,extra fuel tank,one of a kind mailbox,feed trough,water trough,small yard wagon,burn barrel for yard waste, wish i had one got all kinds of ideas.wanna sell it?

mine do require welding i was asking for improvment ,i believe new guy was showing some axes that actually started this talk sorry for the confusion.

iv also tried tomahawks with the forge weld,i believe i made the basic mistake of trying to weld the full lenth of the ax ,now that iv learned a little more ill try to just weld at the eye.it was 6 inches of forge welding but it held it just looks crappy.

these have a wood wedge and brass cross pin retaining the handle now its pretty stable but i can see your point in the replacement area ,it would be hard to replace this handle if it broke in the woods without a punch to remove the brass,thanx ill rework on the next batch.

you get out what u put in.my knives are not on your level but ill get there one day.not to many knife makers in my area so i learne alot from trial and do it again.

heres a couple hand hoes ax mixed items iv been selling in wv for the people here who dig wild ramps,the ax is very effective in clearing fourwheeler paths also and i have become fond of carrying my own when out and about.if anyone sees an improvement im open to suggestions thanks.

the flat of the anvil expandes in all directions most generaly if u want to stretch metal,useing the horn would be the best approach otherwise its going to be all in hammer control.

very nice knife,how many hours total?

if it worked heres apic of the rasp knife along with a rr spike knife and horseshoe knife,along with a pumpshaft knife,like i said if it worked

have u handled it yet if so can we see some pics?i just finished my rasp knife last week and it is the first iv made with a finger gaurd,later

one day i was visiting a niehbor of mine and asked him what plans he had for the anvil i had seen from the road a week or so earlier.he stated that it belonged to his dad and since his kids never showed any interest in it hed see what his dad wanted for it,well this mans 90 yrs old and when asked he thought for a min and said i could have it.i tried 3 times for them to accept money for it and they wouldnt.we loaded it i cleaned it up and now have a 250#fisher anvil 1892.it works great and has been the begining of what i hope to be a usefull and enjoyable shop.they say good fences make good neihbors,i say friends make the best niehbors.

before i got my coal here to use in my forge i used scrap 2x6 lumber work nice .it was able to heat a rr spike to red hot in about 2 min,i also used a fart fan from the home improvement store to provide the air blast it only cost 12 dollars and iv been useing it for over a year now.works great.

just thought i d seek out some like minded folks to maybe swap some ideas with.interested in makeing anything instead of buying it,have a homemade forge that i made that does a fine job,iv been forgeing for only a year now but have been making for a while.i have some photos of some things iv made on myspace.roadgoat.if you would like to see.if that user name doesnt find it for ya let me know.the pics include knives a tomahawk,birdcage hangers,coatracks,and ramp hoes which are small hand hoes used around here to dig what some would call a wild leek,thier pungant odor is worse than garlic.well once again hello and talk to you later