Pault17

This is from Frosty, and it is very true:

"folk learn faster and remember more if they're entertained by the lesson, make them laugh and they never forget."

I was browsing through some Aspery videos and watched his leafing hammer tutorial.  I had a piece of 7/8 square mystery hardenable steel and decided to try a viking-style design.  I used about 4.5 inches of the bar to get a just-over 1 lb hammer. I upset the striking end to 1-inch forged to shape. I triple annealed then tried hardening in vege-oil. The hammer got hard, but a file stuck a little.  I started over again and quenched in water, and the file skated like glass.  I blacksmith-tempered with a hot drift and got the face and the been to bronze/straw.  I repurposed an old handle that had broken off, and finished with tung oil.  The handle is shorter, but I favor the shorter handles anyway.

I will try this again. I was putzing around in the "shop" and decided to do spark-test videos of several known metals.  I did wrought, mild, 1045, 1075, 1095, A2, D2, H13, and 4140.  When I get a chance, I will try to add some more metals.  The clips are all 15-25 seconds, and I cut out the sound (you can make your own crunchy, screeching, grinding noises). If I do more, I will probably switch to "phone orientation" to get the whole spark pattern, and do it in front of a dark background.

Admins, I searched but couldn't find anything like this.  Please feel free to move or delete.

thanks, Paul

A2 - 

Mild - 

D2 - 

4140 - 

1095 - 

1045 - 

1075 - 

Play on a fishing theme.  The simple one was my first. The less simple was next, then, and then. The skeletons are mild scrap and the heads n tails are sheet stainless (scrap, again)

I fabbed a quick stand from a bunch of 4x6 wood scrap.  My youngest is modeling for me  the stand survived a long day of beating by a bunch of 10-13 year-olds

TommyVee, I sorta envy your cone mandrel.  that is one thing I have a shortage of - cones of any sort

This is a very interesting thread.  I have long believed that an anvil does not have to look like something Wile-E-Coyote needs to drop - I actually came by that belief from the wonderful folks here on IFI.  Here are a few that I have handy to use or loan out. 

This is just a 20+lb block I found in the woods.  This one has three smooth faces and three with shapes

This one is what it looks like. The hammer head is a 10-lb with both faces ground flat. kids don't hurt it

This one I made from an article I saw more than 10 years ago. The round bar is 1-5/8 hardenable mystery metal

This one is my oldest pride and joy, called the Frankanvil. The heel is RR tie plate. The horn is 2.25 inch round. The body is a hydraulic pump body that was in a scrap pile. The machinest who gave it to me said it is solid through-hardened D2 with 5/8 tapped holes all over the place. It is from a caterpillar place. I made it look like an "anvil" because it was useful that way.  total weight is just over 100lb.  

I've been a member of the triangle (central raleigh/durham area) part of NCABANA for about 15 years.  Unless things have changed, we have monthly meetings at the shop at the state fair grounds in raleigh. on the second saturday of the month.  The state fair in Raleigh, this year, will be October 13-23

Lots of fun and a great bunch of men and lady-smiths. 

coming from someone who works in a small part of the garage, that looks beautifully enviable. 

Playing around one evening, practicing punching, drifting and whatnot.  Steel is mild, the drift used was a slightly sanded (taking the sharp edges off) 3.5 inch concrete cut nail, handle is a shard from a broken axe handle.  I even wedged the handle into the head

On 8/19/2020 at 3:09 PM, Frosty said:

 

What REALLY creeps me out is the idea of folks carrying their eating utensils folded together with their toilet sponge. That's just a BIT too multi tool for my taste!

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, mixing eating tool tookas wipe with the "taste" at the end was just a bit poor in taste 

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 0:09 PM, ThomasPowers said:

You might want to write to the New Mexico Affiliate: http://www.nm-artist-blacksmiths.org/ and ask if they have any clear pictures of the trailer.  It will be coming out for the NM state fair soon and they may be willing to take pictures of it buttoned up, start of setting it up and fully open.

Thanks Thomas, I just sent Tod Amon a question to that effect.

we shall see.  When we do get the thing built, I will be sure and post pictures.

paul

• Thanks Thomas and Frosty.  I will put that info to the designers. This forge is a demo forge being built at the local state fair grounds, and I don't want it to be screwed up from the beginning.
• paul

Good Morning.  I have looked for this particular question but couldn't find an answer.  I am a worker bee part of a group that is in the process of outfitting a "demo" forge. The plan is to have two side-draft forges back to back. the table will be something akin to 4' by 8', with the chimneys in the center. My suggestion was to run two separate flues up through the roof, in a single chimney enclosure (for curb appeal and all that).  The option that is currently the plan is to have both flues connect to shared/common flue. 

I really don't like the idea of combining the flues - drafting issues, back-drafting, CO, and all that.  My problem is that I am a worker. educated maybe, but without credentials.  I have already sent a message to the head blacksmith at the JCC folk school, but am impatient (mostly due to time constraints).  Can anybody supply sound reasoning or documentation for the need for separate flues, or am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

thanks, Paul

Yes, the stand will go.  I am working on a rivet-forge styled coal forge, and will integrate the blower into the design. nothing fancy, just more portable and large base-d. I am thrilled.  this was another thing I have been looking for, with a little more hunger, since I went to JC Campbell a few years ago.

Definitely robutsus, Thomas. The bottom of the post is 1.125 inches.

I have "before" pictures, but they just show an eighth plus inch of grime on every surface, and thoroughly clogging the pivot.

I have been looking for a hand-cranked blower pretty much since I started smithing.  I finally picked one up. Champion 400 with no visibly obvious problems. I found it through a contact in the local state ABANA chapter.  The gentleman I got it from said it was his dads (fulltime use as a blacksmith), and that he has been storing it for 30 years.  He suggested that I dismantle, clean and relube/assemble. I paid $45.  I'm happy here too.  ( I also picked up a 5.5 inch post vise with all parts and only a little wear on the screw)

for years I have been looking for a second vise. I managed to score this one. I took the whole thing apart and wire-brushed every piece. All pieces are there. There is some wear on the center portion of the screw. I paid $90, or about a dollar a pound. The jaws are 5 1/2 inches.  I'm happy

I like the vise, and the little yellow tubular thing in the background of the 2nd and 3rd pictures.  looks like fun there too.

neat on the twisting jaw. I have never seen one like it before.

I do the half on/half of method, then spread out the leaf blade

and another rock for the hammer, ground to a smooth fuller on the sidewalk

i am not a tapper. i tend to think my swings through while hammering, turning on the upswing and all.  I haven't learned the habit of tapping, but who knows.

I have seen other smiths that almost make a production of tapping, to the point of tapping instead of hitting (hit, hit, tap, hit hit, tap...).  funny to watch someone tire themselves out needlessly.  I have asked them, offline, why they do it, and the answer is usually "because that's what blacksmiths do".  funny

But then again, I have watched people like peter ross making stuff and he taps sometimes and not others.  depends on the work.

Wow, that's a load.  I just got a portaband for Christmas and cut one out of 5/8.  took a while.  look for donations or do what biggundoctor mentioned and look for a cut shop.  you may want to consider cutting more for gifts/demos later on while you are at it.

good luck and enjoy

This one meets Meriam Webster's definition of "a heavy, usually steel-faced, iron block on which metal is shaped...".

I call it frankenvil.  it's an 80 lb block of D2 with a round bar bolted on one end and a piece of RR track plate on the other (heel and hardy holes).  The block is 9x9x5, and it through-hardened and heat treated to an RC 62, per the machinist that gave it to me.  it's mine because of his generosity, and the fact that the two large holes for the gears were out of alignment just a touch.

Brad, glad to see you still popping around here. looks like another nice anvil for ya. pm'd you too

I know this is an old, dead thread, but I was looking for some info on shuckers and saw that others had posted after my "demo".

Anthony, many thanks to your information.  I could have used it at the fair this year (yeah, I still knock out a few for show-n-tell.  your story about the two bigs beatin up the skinny, is good for a nice chuckle. thanks again