pnut

That's what is known around here as the TPAAAT or the Thomas Powers applied anvil acquisition technique. That just goes to show that it works. A hundred bucks for two anvils! I'm betting there's a couple members shaking their fists at the sky in frustration. I'm glad for you especially since your going to be using them with your son. Now is the time it's easiest to ingrain always using PPE's. Good luck and remember it's supposed to be fun. Pnut

If I was going to make a knife I would buy an alloy suitable for knifemaking. If my neighbor offered to give me a stack of rebar I would take it and be happy to have gotten it. I think the point most folks and myself included are trying to make is that there's enough variables when you're just starting out that adding stock that isn't consistent is just one more obstacle you could stumble over. I know what to expect from just as an example, 10xx series steels, I can look up correct forging temps recommended quenchants and tempering procedures. With Rebar its a guessing game because what worked to harden the first foot of stock may or may not work on the second,third, and fourth foot. Now with all that being said I am sure you can make good tongs from rebar but I can make ones just as good from 1018 or coil spring and they're much easier to work under the hammer. If rebar is what you have then absolutely use it for anything it's suitable for and the only way to figure that out is to try. I only have so much time I can spend at the forge so I try to make that time as productive as I can and one way I do that is with new known steel. Pnut

Rebar is rated for a performance spec and not manufactured as a specific alloy. It needs to be tough not hard. Tough bends hard breaks. Pnut

I guess you don't suffer from triskaidekaphobia then. Pnut

They are also called pick up tongs in a more general sense. I know that sounds as general as it gets but if you Google pick up tongs those types of tongs like you would use to pick up hot fire bricks or billets and such are what you get. I've heard them called that here also. Pnut

Look in the reference section at the top of this forum and click on JLP videos, she has a video about forging a chain 3 links.... I think that is the title. It's toward the bottom. You may find it helpful. Pnut

I carried my toolbox out to the forge, wiped the sweat out of my eyes, swatted a mosquito and turned around and came back inside. It's already hot and humid enough the air reminds me of pudding. Pnut

That's a good policy. I hope people are generally not trying to be rude also but the internet in most cases has proven me wrong. IFORGEIRON has been the exception but it's not a place for someone who can't handle being called out if they're off the mark or can't handle the unvarnished truth. Basically not the place for folks who want to be mollycoddled. Pnut JHCC, I've tried it and it always says that I've inserted an unauthorized character. I'm going to try it now. eureka. It Wouldn't work from the keyboard for some reason.

Cooling it slowly in vermiculite is annealing the stock and should make it easier to drill. What type of steel is it? Some steels are air hardening. Pnut

I find it tricky to communicate in an internet forum since there's no real inflection or facial cues and changes in tone. Believe it or not those silly emoticons actually help. Without them a harmless and well intentioned joke can come off as down right rude. Pnut

There's some folks you just have to accept your not going to be buddies with, but that doesn't mean there's no hope until there's obviously no hope. Personally I'll only try to be friends with someone for so long until I give up and just continue to be polite and leave it at that. Pnut

For some reason I can't post an emoji. I was hoping it was obviously good natured and not misconstrued as "mean". I see it was interpreted as I intended it. Pnut

GB, I would like to find the happy medium. Somewhere in the middle seems like a place I'd want to live. Unfortunately I've yet to discover this place. I guess you have to create the world you want to live in. I think that's was the goal of the counterculture in the sixties. Sadly it wasn't successful, but that's not a reason to stop striving for something better. Pnut I have a thirty inch piece of RR track and a 6x5x2 in. piece of plate with a rod welded to it to make a stump anvil. I'm looking for an anvil but not very hard as I would have to leave it outside in the woods behind my apt. building. If I found a good deal I'd be happy to keep it in my apartment until I have somewhere to set it up that it's not likely to be stolen.

If you haven't figured it out or anyone else is having this problem, JLPSERVICES has a video called directional forging that demonstrates it clearly in a way that is easy to understand. Pnut

Communal living sounds great until you add in the people. Pnut

I wonder why. Does he have respiratory problems or was it just a convenient excuse to gripe at someone, especially the "new" guy? I think the smell is kinda pleasant unless the piece is way too hot and the finish turns into a big puff of smoke. Pnut

That's what they're referred to because that is what they are ;-) Pnut

I've heard them referred to as tuning machines. Pnut

Clean, clean, clean. Like Glenn said, "Watch for the first spark or two.". I also put a piece of test stock in the fire with the pieces I want to weld to use to touch against the stock to see if it will stick. At welding heat the surface will almost look wet. It took me many tries but once you get it it's like a light going on in your head. That's not to say I still don't have problems with welding but once it makes sense it kinda all falls into place. Good luck and remember it's supposed to be fun. Pnut

I'm glad you got your hammer fixed. When you find one you like you want to keep it. It looks good so I'm betting it'll hold up. Positive thinking and all. Pnut

Hamaguri or clamshell ground knives have an amazing feel when they cut. I have a wakizashi that has a hamaguri grind and it feels different cutting with it than with a hollow ground blade. That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. My hat is off to you. Pnut Oh yeah I love the orishigane thread.

That very well could be. Translating Japanese into phonetic English is inexact at best for someone like myself who is unfamiliar with Japanese. I can't manage to find the website I seen it on. It was background and plans to build a Japanese box plane. I haven't been able to find it again and it was too long ago to find in my search history. I'll keep looking and if I can find it I'll let you know. It was pretty detailed information and gave the Japanese names for all the parts of the plane and tools to make them. It's more than possible I'm misspelling naishi or not remembering the proper pronunciation. Pnut

The "dai" is the wooden part or box, "gana" or " kana" translates to plane and I'm not sure about the "naishi" word I'm guessing grind or shape. Pnut

Very nice indeed. It definitely will be useful. I've been keeping an eye out for something similar. Pnut

There's a tool for grinding Japanese box plane irons so that the back is convex called a dai naishi-gana. I don't know if that is how it is spelled. It's for rounding off the back of the plane iron so it will seat into the concave box. I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for or not but I thought I'd put it out there just in case. Pnut