picker77

Yep, they had a bunch of I-beam over there, we probably got them from the same area. I really wanted to come home with one of those BIG 3-ft tall coil springs but not sure what I'd do with one. I could easily cut one up, but forging the pieces out straight without a power hammer would be an exercise for sure. They were all at least 1", and a couple looked like they might be 1-1/4" or more. You could probably make 40 hammers out of just one of those things if you had the oomph to forge the pieces. Looked like they might have come from railroad cars, semi-trailers, earth-moving equipment, or something like that.

Finally hit the local junkyard and built a stand for this little post vise. The floor plate is a very heavy section of 1" hardened wear plate from a large bulldozer blade (you can see one corner was worn down) bolted to 6x8 I-beam with a 3/8" plate on top. The vise & stand total a bit over 200#. I might have to eventually weld on a couple of "wings" of 1/2" or so plate on both sides of the dozer blade section for horizontal stability, but it is currently still a little bottom heavy, so is reasonably stable as is unless I REALLY get to jerking around on it, which is unlikely. I keep a cart dedicated to moving both the anvil and the post vise around, most other things in the shop are either bench mounted or are on wheels. Although I feel fortunate to have a decent-sized shop, it's still very crowded when I pack it all in and lock up for the night, thus my constant emphasis on equipment mobility. I'd love to build a new 40 x 60 metal shop building, but probably not gonna happen at my age. A shelter for the tractor and implements would be nice, though. I wouldn't mind leaving the truck and tractor out as long as they are under some type of weather shelter.

Semper Fi, Ferrous, and welcome back. I see you are a Marine. Therefore, as they say on Forged in Fire, "You will heeeeel!" Best wishes for a rapid comeback! picker77, United States Navy (Retired)

Excellent idea, I'm a big Minion fan! I need to get some of that tape, but it has to have Bob, Kevin, and my favorite, Stuart on it, lol

Chuckle, GGL. Tell 'em sure, I make knives, but I don't mess around with little girlie knives -- I'll make you a two-pound 16" Texas chopper with a 3/8" spine for $650, but you'll have to make a $450 deposit, and I currently have an 18 month backlog.

Being a newbie, while learning to make punches, slitters, and drifts I'll work my way up the materials ladder from mild steel to coil spring and finally to H13, so when I receive this stock it will probably sit on the shelf for a while. OTOH, I can't see H13 (or any tool steel) getting cheaper in the future, so I consider it sort of a small investment. For current owners of a mix of both red-hard and regular steel tools, maybe you should consider shooting the red-hard tools with a distinctive color of hi-temp engine enamel (maybe bright red or orange) -- as a constant visual warning against quenching or cooling. When I finally get around to making some H13 tools I intend to do that. My other tools will remain painted with my standard shop colors of lime and black. Yep, strange as it may seem I do usually paint my home made tools. Apparently, I have a bit of Sheldon Cooper DNA, just ask my wife. LOL

Having used no tooling at all at this point, and therefore having developed no habits at all, I suppose at least I won't have to UN-learn some, ha.

You guys have got my curiosity up about hot punches, and since H13 is not exactly common on store shelves around here, I ordered up 3 feet of 5/8 stock. Not cheap stuff, but I understand if you do it right it will make really nice and long lasting hot work tools. I want to try to make a couple different sizes of hot punches, and maybe a slitter from it if I can figure out the right way to go about it without ruining it in the process.

Never had my hands on a clinker, so don't have a feel for how delicate they are to handle, but if they can stand being gently rinsed/cleaned to remove loose materials and contaminants, maybe one could be encased in a block of clear resin. Might make a cool mantle decoration. Google "fire ant art" created by pouring molten aluminum into a fire ant colony and digging out the entire chunk. Of course that process is totally different, but the final amazingly detailed sculptures and shapes are sort of similar.

My kind of kids, my kind of grandparents!!!!

Frosty might be right, maybe it's Sweden's native iron ore. Whatever it is, it works for me! Hard to explain that lively feeling of "springiness" when striking it, but it's there. Of course I haven't actually hammered on many anvils, so maybe they all feel that good, but for some reason I doubt it. I wonder if Kohlswa and Sodorfors are the only two Swedish cast anvils? CGL, it works both ways, Texas has handed us our rears a few times, too! That's what makes that annual game so much fun. It's a great rivalry, and the gloating and razzing is part of it. I really miss the old days when OU and Nebraska played on national TV every Thanksgiving Day. It was great to eat about 10 lb of turkey and then stagger into the den and turn on the OU-Nebraska game. A great tradition died when Nebraska moved to the Big 10.

Thanks, CGL - I fear the Horns are going to be more and more of a problem for us in the near future. Kind of like Lincoln Riley, Tom Herman seems to have the knack! Looking forward to the Red River War, and in fact the Big 12 is going to be a lot of fun to watch this season, with UT, OU, OSU, Iowa State, and now Les Miles joining the fray. Should be fun! Thanks for the nice words, Frosty. And you were right about Kohlswa cast anvils. I love this little anvil. The poor thing's face has been abused around much of it's edge, but it is has such a responsive feel under the hammer that it's a pleasure to use. It's sort of weird, it almost feels like it's helping me swing the hammer. The big rebound and oversize sweet spot for such a small anvil were surprising. I haven't had it happen, but I would certainly not want to miss my mark and have the hammer pay a return visit. The Swedes used some truly impressive cast metal in these anvils. I can see now why you are a Kohlswa fan, and I've joined the club. Assuming similar physical condition, I wouldn't trade it for anything else I've seen (except a bigger and nicer condition Kohlswa) and I'm very happy to have found it for a reasonable price.

Looks great to me, MCB. Like you, I made my first hot cut tool today for my little 100 lb Kohlswa. It has a nice big collar (but it should, since it's welded up from 1/2" solid bar, lol). The blade was the business end of an old wide blade masonry/brick chisel. I shortened the cutting edge some, cut off most of the 8" shank, and welded the remaining blade a 7/8" hardy stub. I didn't bother to heat treat it afterwards, I was careful not to overheat it while cutting/grinding/welding and it's still pretty hard. If it proves too soft I'll torch it up and quench it later. Roll Tide (except vs my Sooners)!

Excellent thought, Mr. Powers. Thank you. That little light bulb had not glimmered in my mind yet, and I'll certainly remember it. Lord knows I'm not going to run out of tool/die material, ha. I was thinking also it might be possible to create a "spring hot cutter" along the same lines, similar to this second (angled) fuller. It would have a sharp chisel-shaped hardened upper die that would strike down on a partially flattened unhardened lower "anvil" die. The idea is to have an accurate hot cutter for small (1" and under) stock that would totally avoid risking damage to the face of a hammer or anvil. It was 102 inside the shop this afternoon about 4 PM. Even with two big fans running, it was no fun. I must have downed at least a gallon of water. That's why this second fuller was probably a bit less carefully built compared to the first. I'm ashamed to admit I got in a bit of a hurry to finish, clean up the shop, and get the heck back to the house for a shower, some A/C, and my favorite end-of-day brew, which is "Cave Dweller" from the Black Mesa Brewery in Chris The Curious' home town of Norman, OK. Rumor has it we have a cool front on the way, might even see some lower 90's later this week. I sure hope so.

Just finished the 45 degree sister to the first one. Funny, I haven't seen any others like this with the angled dies... maybe it's a bad idea or something, ha. But I think I'll like using it more than the other one because it allows me to keep my tongs closer to my body in a more natural position, and the bonus is long stock will be easier to do. They both were sized lengthwise to place the dies in the anvil's sweet spot. Next I need to make a couple of different kinds of hot cut (regular and butcher), and maybe a bulletproof plate for the top of my poor victim anvil. And if anybody's wondering why my hardy base stubs are so long, it's to (a) knock it out from the bottom if ever needed; and (B) Someday I might get a bigger anvil.

Thanks, Chris. I'm getting ready to make a second one with the dies in line with the anvil face, which would probably be more convenient for some types of things, in particular working with long stock. But the die position on this one (perpendicular to the anvil face), should be ok in most circumstances. My biggest problem with effective fullering or drawing and tapering is typical "old-guy" arthritis, especially in my wrists and hands. Turns out that continually "rolling" a pair of tongs 90 degrees a pop the same direction every one or two hammer blows quickly destroys my left wrist for the day. With a "double" action fuller like this, I only have to flip the tongs forward and backward 90 degrees, a repetitive action requiring far less rotational movement. This (I hope) will equate to much reduced stress on the wrist holding the tongs. That's my theory, anyway. LOL.

Figured out what to do with at least a few inches of that 28' of 1" keyed shafting that followed me home. Have a few more things in mind, but this is a good start because it will be useful right away. 3/16" x 1" 1018 for the spring, 7/8" solid for the hardy stub, nice close fit, no wobble, works great.

ROFL - I've gotten that sometimes from people, too. Most of them have never as much as skinned a rabbit, much less field dressed a deer or elk, and wouldn't know a skinner from a drop point folder. Usually the younger guys either want a big heavy custom made "bushcraft" knife to -- I presume -- use on bushcrafting trips for hacking down trees or building a fort to ward off Bigfoot, or a four foot Katana to fight their way to the next village and save the poor people. The hilarious thing is most of them couldn't find their way back from the 7-11 without GPS. Sadly, like some in our hobby that have watched too much Forged In Fire and think $800 is an average fair price for 75 lb anvil, those guys have watched too much Bear Gryllis.

Yep, a person always gets faster and more efficient after doing something repeatedly. Of course, we each have our own built-in pace. Mine is slower than most, and as far as I know none of this is a contest, lol. That's why I have no interest in selling knives, in spite of a few offers from folks who've seen some of them. Instead, I've given most of them away. If I were to start selling them, then suddenly making knives wouldn't be a pastime or hobby any more, it would be a job, with all the peripheral crap that entails. And I couldn't work on a knife for a week or two any more, I'd have to "produce". I'm a triple retiree, I worked hard at several jobs for over 60 years, and the last thing I want at my age is a job! In fact, I see my "job" as going out to my shop every day with a cup of coffee in hand, and doing exactly whatever I feel like doing (or not doing), that day. As long as the Good Lord lets me do that, I'm loving life! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Look her in the eye, and say "Be careful what you wish for, woman." And after you get up off the floor, you can explain the joke. Seriously (as Rodney Dangerfield used to say) -- Good haul from the FM! Cut the tines off that pick, future tools there for sure!

Chris, with all due respect to traditional blacksmithing, as painfully slow as I am at drawing out things I might "pull out" those reins by MIG'ing on a few inches of 5/16 round. 2 minutes vs 2 hours (or probably more, in my case).

A well taken point, IFC! The five more that I'm getting ready to do will all be made that way. I might even yet draw out the ends of the reins on these a bit, but it's clearly smarter to do that before riveting, ha. Pnut, I'd be a lot of $ ahead if I did that. It's just toooo easy to reach for the old plastic sometimes. And thanks, CGL - it does feel good to actually make something that is going to get used instead of looked at and thrown in the "also-ran" pile. Not that worried about speed, I'm like a baby goose, since I'm starting from ground zero, every time I blink it's a whole new world with this stuff, lol.

Hi, pnut. This pair is the "Rapid" version, from 5/16" steel. It was actually the "Rapid Knife Tong" at $13, but I already owned a good set of knife tongs, so made them a bit "fat" to fit other stock. The "Quick" versions are heavier, I believe cut from 3/8" stock. I think that's the only difference. These came very cleanly cut, and were easy to finish. They are cut from plate stock, though, so it helps to clean up the square edges on a belt grinder, which makes them more comfortable to use that way. These feel really nice in the hand after a couple of minutes on the belt grinder. The other day I ordered one of his "Rapid" 5-tong bundles (all 5/16") for $50 you mentioned, and those arrived this morning as I was finishing this one up. They look every bit as well made as these. I like the 5/16" versions because as a beginner I don't work much with heavy stock, at least not yet. I don't know why somebody would pay $40 a set for simple tongs, when these are a snap to finish yourself. My knife tongs are much heavier (forged from 1/2" round stock). They are great and very high quality, but I can certainly feel the difference in my old left wrist when using them. I drilled the 1/4" rivet hole on a drill press. I can definitely recommend Ken's stuff, it's very well made, his prices are good, and his shop is very quick to ship. He even provides useful video and paper instructions for guys like me. Plus, I like to buy from a real blacksmith shop, and Ken is the real deal.

First tongs, and my first actually useful project. Disclaimer: I started with water-cut rein blanks from Kens' Custom Iron, but at least I shaped the business end. Holds 1 to 1-1/2" 1/8 or 3/16 flat stock, up to 1/2" square bar, plus maybe a few more general purpose things. The new forge works great. This pair took me nearly two hours, and I realize a real blacksmith would have made them in 12 minutes. But everybody starts somewhere.

This all gives a whole new meaning to "it followed me home". Have a good weekend, everyone!