bourne101

ah i see so theres one problem down lol no to correct the opening and the "springyness" of the spring thanks =)

ok now after trying to get them all uploaded at once for about a half hour i'm going to up load them one at a time...sorry about any problems with the picture quality. now back to business, i took a closer look at the screw and the threads do look pretty dirty and their doesnt seem to be any lubrication left on it so i'm going to clean that up and put some oil on it. now back to the piece i thought of as broken, i have a picture of that up as well and it seems almost as if they could be wedges controlling somthing to do with the spring and seperation of the jaws. now just to clear things up i have never had a post vise so i really don't have a clue what i'm dealing or what i can break/ruin on it =) and sorry they turned out oversized.

I was on craigslist a couple days ago and stumbled on a deal i couldn't resist... i found a 100lb post vise for $40. sure enough i picked it up today and it is in great condition except for a couple parts i'm not so sure about. the spring is not pushing the jaws apart the way it should. it still has somewhat of a spring too it, as in it stays connected to the jaw, but it wont push the jaws apart. when i turn the handle the jaw just stays where it is and i have to pull it to when i've opened it too but it closes fine. does anyone know a way to fix the springs or get a new one? and there is another piece just behind the post that seems almost cracked in half but theres paint in the crack so i'm not sure if it is just two different parts or broken...pictures are worth a thousand words so i'll get them up tommorrow but any help is appreciated

i was driving around stillwater, NY a few months ago and found a guy getting rid of a champion400 blower in perfect condition and a forge table with a one foot square firepot for $100! they were in my truck and i was on my way home in less than 20 minutes quite a step up from my little brake drum forge and hair dyer lol

to me it seems that it is more of a matter of patience. the only other people who take on this hobby near my shop in NY are some of the most patient people i know and for me, if something is a little expensive i'll just go without it or improvise and yes, that is a lot of the do-it-yourselfer in me talkin ^o^

awsome post i can't wait to see how it turns out. good luck!

Hi everyone. quick question, as i've been practicing and expanding (without new tools) i have come across the need to make more of my own tools and since i don't know much about the differences between punches, hot cutters, and chisels i was wondering what seperates the metals in each and if the methods behind making each of them differ. any input is greatly appreciated. =)

thats really cool man thanks for the input spears. i might actually make a copy of that seeings how i need a good anvil hold down. =)

that "bench dog" as you called it looks quite interesting and looks to be about the only thing i can make with the tools available to me at the moment. i'll give making one of them a try and get back to you guys with how it turned out. in the mean time are there any other ideas on how to solve this problem?

hi everyone, hope your spring is ending well. for me spring brings another few seasons of ametuer smithing on my forge but as i'v started working on larger projects i'v come across the need for more than 2 hands for holding my pieces down.i am sure i'm not the only one that has been in this delema and i was wondering about the anvil hold downs out there. any suggestions for a way i can hold the metal on the anvil while using my other two hands for puching splitting etc.?

hi, me again. ive been reading a lot about quenching oils and how using oils can be more benefitial to the metals than just water. i've looked around for my own oils and i've got to say...around my area their a bit more expensive than i'd like so my question is this: can i use just any oil for quenching or does it need to be specific? better yet what do you use?

ok so thats a good thing lol thank you all very much for your help but i have yet another question about the matter. whenever i see videos of, i guess pretty well established blacksmiths from the looks of them, the coke in the fire tends to be loose and more free moving allowing the metal piece to get deeper into the fire... i guess my real question is this: how do i keep my coke like that? it seems like it would be much easier to manage then the "oven" shap that i usually get now.

i started blacksmithing about a year and a half ago and while its not a big problem, i have noticed that as the coal i use in my forge begins to catch it tends to stick together forming large clumps. i was just wondering if there was a way to prevent these clumps without needed to break them up with the poker from time to time.

ok thanks for the suggestions on the books and the dvd...i'll have to look into that. i bought Wayne Goddard's $50 knife shop about a year and a half ago in the book store and that was what orriginally got me started in forging...as for my set up i built the brake drum forge...(as seen on you tube) :)

i have my own forge set up and i'v gotten a lot of practice in working and shaping the metal the only problem is i've been looking for some videos that explain or show the process of shaping the blade correctly and all i've gotten is people grinding stock down to knives. i'm just looking for some help with the overall proccess of shapping the blade because each time i draw the metal out to form the blade the metal cracks and starts to almost burn out in the forge....am i supposed to make the edge on the anvil or just shapping the metal and work on details with another tool?

i still relatively new to blacksmithing/bladesmithing and i've got the basic metalworking skills from practicing by myself and watching others. however, i have recently started to try out my original ideas about knifemaking which is actually making the knife from scratch on the anvil. but i have noticed that in almost all of the videos i've seen for making knives people have been using blanks and grinding them down instead of using the forge and anvil.... can someone please help me figure out how to make my knives from scratch?

thanks for the help guys... i'll check with the local requirements mike. and i'll deffidently look into that dragon manure easilyconfused

i finally got my coal forge up and running and i'm finding that i've got a lot of waste that i'm not really sure what to do with. Any ideas about what to do with the wastes from a coal forge would be helpful and i'm wondering if i can just put in th trash or there is a special place i need to take it to. any help is appreciated.

to make a hot cutter...how thick does the metal need to be? when is too thin or too thick?

well thanks guys! lots of posts for 1 day. i know where i can get a few wood splitters and jackhammer bits so i'll try to make a couple of my own and post a few pictures up here. meanwhile i'd like to see some of your homemade hardie tools if you guys have any pictures.

hi i'm a little low on money to buy the various hot cutters and fullers for my 1inch hardie hole, however i do have access to a rather well supplied welding shop in my high school and i was wondering if anyone had any ideas of making your own hardy tools such as what to use to make the tools and what to start with.

i guess i'm a little late to participate in the majority of this thread but i'm got a nice 130lb anvil thats been in my family for 3 generations. unfortunatly there's too much rust on it right now to see any seals or writing on it...i'll get a picture up when i can. by the way those are some nice anvils you all have...(rather new to blacksmithing)

ok thanks for the help everyone

your right 1/8 is pretty thin but that was what the blue prints said. i may just use 1/4 by 1 inch and i was not going to wear the glove on my hammer hand.