pnut

I've been looking for a center punch locally for some time. No luck over the last couple yrs at yard sales and flea markets. The stores around me seem to only have nail sets and pin punches. I finally made one out of an orphaned Allen wrench. It's probably better than one I'd have bought. Pnut

There's a guy from Michoacán that owns a restaurant across from one of the hotels I work at. He has Americanized food and real Mexican food like taquitos lingua, delicious. Good chicken too. He makes it in a big pot mm mm mm. Pnut

I learned the hard way to unroll the cuffs on my jeans whenever I light the forge. I also lost a chuck key in my cuff one day. I spent the better part of an hour looking through gravel for it before I thought to check the cuffs in my pants legs Pnut

I'm going to make a slitting chisel like the one pictured in Vol.I of The Skills of a Blacksmith. It was one of those, "I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner" moments when I seen the fuller side on the trailing edge of the chisel. Pnut

I throw a grate on top of my MARKIII jabod when I'm finished for the day and cook as the charcoal is burning down and I'm cleaning up. Pnut

It's definitely usable as an anvil Not being able to move my piece of rail around easily is the one drawback to having such a long piece but I think the added mass makes up for the inconvenience. I've learned to use the web etc as it stands without moving or flipping it around. That piece would make a great bottom fuller for drawing out stock or as a die for a treadle or power hammer. Pnut

I would like to have the three separate editions but I'm not picky. I'd be just as happy with the 3 in 1 edition. I'll have to start keeping a closer eye on eBay. Pnut

I've been looking for a reasonably priced copy of Early American Wrought Iron by Albert Sonn. I thought I hit the jackpot and found a copy for $43.80 unfortunately I misread it with the decimal in the wrong place it was actually $438.00. Pnut

I was thinking the same thing. And yes it does stink. I had some hammers soaking upside down in an aluminum take out dish in my tiny apartment and it wasn't pleasant. I had to relocate them to the fire escape. Pnut

I've been looking at tablets etc. but for the last few years my phone has been my only means of internet access. I've seen a few cheap tablets. I might buy one if I can convince myself to spend some money. Pnut Pnut

Hot rasping and a sen are probably the most efficient ways to remove material by hand that I know of. I've yet to make a sen myself but the LT. at my local fire department is also a black/bladesmith and I used the one he made. I was pretty impressed with how easily and controllably it took off material. Pnut

The hasp on the lock of Davy Jones' locker. Pnut

I accidentally bought multiple quarts from Wally world. I think I have three quarts of BLO now or I've discovered three so far anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple more show up. Pnut

I've never considered cutting a wedge out. I guess slitting, tapering, and scrolling the ends just seemed like the way to do it. I might give it a try. Pnut

Welcome, in the same boat when it comes to needing everything to be portable. After a lot of experimenting I finally settled on a MARKIII style jabod with a small modification. I stopped cutting a hole for the air pipe in the bricks and just put the pipe between two clay bricks and fill the gap with a split firebrick. It can't be beat for forging small things and you can set it up quickly. I first used a box without a bottom so I could put a bucket by the table and push the forge off the end to get the kitty litter back in the buckets but I'm now using a Webber kettle grill and just leave it assembled. It's a grill after all. I did notice that since I no longer have a permanent setup in the woods I forge a little less though. Anyway welcome aboard, be safe, and remember it's supposed to be fun. Pnut Split hard firebrick is available commercially. The TSC near me sells them for about $3.00 a piece. $2.76 iirc.

I had a land line until February of 2018. When I moved I didn't get another. I got a cursed cell phone. The bright side is I wouldn't have been noodling around on the interwebs and found IFI had I gotten a land line Pnut

Looking good. I need to practice collaring. Mine still just don't look quite right. I haven't done very many though so I'm hoping to improve. Pnut

Less likely to destroy your sprouts in the garden though. Pnut

I was amazed when someone pointed how many times this shows up in nature. Seeds in a sunflower and ferns demonstrate it pretty well. Pnut

I thought you were talking about the hot cut. That's my fault. Pnut

Did you try hot rasping prior to the heat treat? Pnut

I used a couple pieces of mitre cut wood and a wedge to hold the same anvil to the stump. It deadened the ring considerably too. I got the idea here. It was easier than the chain and bolt set up I was using because I have to take it off the stump when I'm done. If I get out I'll take a picture of it or if I can find the post on here I'll link to it. Pnut

Have you looked into any of the biological treatments for rheumatoid/psoriatic arthritis? They won't reverse much damage already sustained but will slow down future damage. I have rheumatoid arthritis. I was diagnosed with it before the connection was made to psoriasis but now my doctor calls it psoriatic arthritis because I also have psoriasis. Anyway it's something to think about but definitely do your homework. Pnut

C clamps are your friend. I don't have anywhere to permanently put any bench tools so they are all mounted on plywood and I C clamp the plywood to a work table that sits outside of the maintenance room and remove it when I'm done. I haven't used the drill press yet because I need a vise for it but the grinder and the bench vise work just fine and the landlord doesn't mind. Pnut

Haha I had to look that one up. I thought the first three letters were going to mean something totally different Pnut