SoCal Dave

The first thing that comes to mind is the temperature of the shot-put, to cold, must be pre-heated.  Who knows what type of metal it is made of? Also, what type of welding are you talking about, forge welding, mig welding, tig welding, or stick?  What were your settings?

Seems to me that there is a good deal of blacksmithing going on from San Francisco and Sacramento areas and Southern California at Vista.  Except for Adam's Forge, which doesn't have an organized club/guild, there is not much blacksmithing in between the north and south.  I have to travel about one hour to Adam's Forge so I only make it for special occasions. 

Well built.  Won't it move around a little when working on the vise?  

I was involved in the move of a Chambersburg 300 power hammer yesterday.  It has stamped on the side these numbers:  3CH 1854 LT    I'm assuming the 3 is for 300, the LT is for "light", but can anyone tell me what the 1854 stands for?  Is the 1854 just a number this hammer was given?  Where can I find this information?  

"Welding tricks and tips" just did a video this week on welding helmets.  There is value in a product that works and is long lasting.  We should take pride in building products that are of the highest quality and last a long time, without planned obsolescence.  I think Germany has done this with their auto-industry.  As a nation, we should have gone the quality route many years ago.  Harbor Freight is only good for a few things.  Would you purchase a BMW or a car made in China or by Harbor Freight ?     

The Evolution company has specific blades for aluminum and stainless steel.  I still have an aluminum cutting blade for my old chop saw that is still in good shape.  So, I'll keep the old saw just in case.  I got tired of holding down the abrasive saw blade and it not cutting very straight.  Mostly, I had to grind the edges straight and knock off the burrs.  This new saw will save on that time.  Again, a cheap, cold saw, that is well built and will hold up to lots of use is what I want.  That is not to be found, as the cold saws a way to expensive.  The thing for me is a dry saw like the one I got.  

I just received my Evolution 380 chop saw today.  I ran a few test cuts to get a feel for the saw and to see how accurate the saw cut.  The cuts were very straight and no burrs.  I couldn't see any light coming through when a straight edge was held next to it.  Many little chips were left all over the place but not a big deal for me.  You apply only gentle pressure when cutting.  The metal cuts like soft butter and the blade is reported to give a hundred cuts.  We will see. A new toy is always great fun.    

I cleaned my 50#LG with degreaser and a wire wheel but left the painted and peeled paint areas as I found them.  It is now painted with oil.  Someone from this site once said that if a LG is maintained properly it should be dripping in oil.  I agree.    

Also, I didn't find your post until today.  Are you looking for the kind of graphite found on cars.  It's a very cool look and those would be found in auto paint stores. 

It turned out nice but I wonder how long the welds will hold up.  The one thing I noticed was the welding.  The torch tip moved away from the work when you first fired up.  This could be from a poor ground or the material wasn't very clean or both.  You burned through some material from to hot a setting or moved to slowly. After grinding some of the welds you could still see some cracks where you didn't get enough penetration.  I'm afraid that if they ever slam the door some of the welds will start to split apart.  I hope it lasts a long time.  

watch some videos like Brian Brazeal, or Mark Aspery and try to imitate their style.  

For me, if you have one saw, a sliding mitered chop saw is the best choice. It gives you the most possibilities for cutting angles, even though most cuts are mostly just mitered.  If you have plate to cut, a sliding saw is nice.  But, I read of problems for this type of saw and find limits with just a regular chop saw. I would love to find a sliding mitered dry saw that is designed for heavy use.  The "evolution" sliding mitered has many reviews with to many problems.  They started from opening the box and finding parts not working as expected, to cut pieces getting thrown into the back support, etc. 

I give her credit.  At least, she knows of Phillip Simmons and his work in Charleston, SC.  She actually used the hammer well and was fairly accurate.  I would have love to have seen more of the making of the "M" and "S", but that would have taken away from the spot light on Martha. I really don't care how Martha swings a hammer.   

jmccustomknives:  Do you have the chop saw or the mitered saw?  

I've been looking at cold saws for years but have not purchase because of the price.  I recently saw a video for a dry cut saw that seems impressive, if true.  The "Evolution" 14" chop saw.  They have other mitered saws and sliding mitered saw that are 10 inches. Does anyone have experience with this company or saws.  I've read reviews on their saws and not all have been favorable.  I've looked at the Makita dry cut chop saw which seems similar in cutting and claims and has better reviews, all favorable.

Some meanings are lost in translation.  By "good soldering resistant" do you mean "good penetration" of the base material or something else?  

I found that working in a darker shop with the doors opened and just daylight coming through works best for me.  Even then, I must move the piece around while waiting for the colors to run or to judge the heat level.   100 years ago the blacksmiths of their day must of used sunlight to judge the color of metal.  Lamps just don't give off that much light like our modern fluorescent lights.  

You must be a farrier to use it 16 hours a week? What's the big round whole in the anvil for? Is it like a hardy whole?  It's good that you are using it and enjoying it.   

I remember an old farrier I worked with would take the tang of the file and heat it a little and ram it into the wood handle.  Fit like a glove and would not split the wood.  

Again, someone takes advantage of blacksmith's giving nature.  I would assume the Hawk is lost forever, and not try to get it back as you would need to be in contact with this person to do so.  Unless you had a contract, I don't think he legally has to return it. Add it to lessons learned, and don't look back. Be happy he is gone from your life, and the Hawk, even though valuable to you, was a cheap price to pay.  Lesson learned, shame on him. 

Don't apologize for using a mig welder.  It's one of the many modern tools people use today like grinders, sanders, gas forges, oxy/acet torches, drill presses, etc.  If your happy with the outcome, so be it.  Great job.  

I would check with the people at "Little Giant".  They have the knowledge and experience to help you.  Good luck.  

I was looking at my Victor Oxy/Act cutting torch head and found these numbers   0-3-10.  Does anyone know what these mean? I have the manual from Victor and want to find the proper pressures when using my #4 welding tip, and also my Rosebud tip.  I know it depends on the tips size and size of the metal, but I was looking for the general pressures used for these tips.       

How about putting a snake head on the end rather than flattening it out.  Eyes, nostrils, and a mouth would add to your neckless.  

It may be difficult to see the snake heads below but they were easy to shape.

Interesting markings on the anvil.  Wikipedia explains some of the markings.   "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" (LAH).