Frazer

Thank you for that, I kept my old one (cheapo split hide one from Amazon that I mangle-*ahem*-modified for my purposes) in the shop most of the time. This one I had planned on keeping inside, but I know me. Right now I'm tickled pink with it, but in a few months it'll just be another tool. I hope that it does last for decades... While it was fun, the prospect of making another one any time soon doesn't sound very appealing. *sigh* if only apparel alone could make my work better... Regarding the phone question, yes the large pouch on the chest is sized for The Brick. It's snug, but that's purposeful. My phone, soapstone holder, and pocket ruler used to fall out of my chest pocket 50% of the time, 100% of the time I bent over all the way to pick something up. Since leather, and Buffalo in particular, will stretch over time snug now is perfect later. Regarding split leg vs full apron, this could probably fill a separate thread based on people opinions and how they work. However, Frosty has hit some of the high points. I will add a few based on my experience. First and IMO foremost is that I have unrestricted access to hold something between my thighs and free up both hands to work. There are many names for this technique. If you had a full apron as long as this one you might have a hard time holding something between your legs, especially as the bar gets longer and longer. Surely, there are workarounds for this issue, but based on the way I work I find having easy, unrestricted access to a third hand to be indispensable... And don't call me Shirley. That sort of ties into the next point which is "practical" coverage. Spatter, be it molten borax or welding, just loves to poke little holes in my pants. Whether gradually or suddenly, small holes turn into big holes which are no good. This is especially true considering my work pants are also "work pants" in a office setting. The Sunday pants are no good for the latter. So how long is "practical"? Depends. For me, since I own a flux core welder (but am not a welder) I tend to sit down and get comfortable if I need to run a passable bead. Therefore, just below the knee is a good length. Granted I don't do much welding, but if avoiding Sunday pants is the goal and putting my welders cap on for a minute here and there is inevitable, I would rather plan for the worst case than need to change into something else just to weld. Again, there are workarounds, but I'm selectively lazy and if it comes down to change my clothes or "git-er-done" I'm going to do the second option almost every time. To close out practicality, do I really need the legs to continue past my knees? For example, down to my boots and covering my laces? For me, the various costs outweigh the benefits so it's no longer practical for what I'm doing/planning to do. Frosty has gone into the mobility aspect (which I admit some people may disagree with if their apron is on the shorter side) so I won't belabor the point. A full leather apron that starts at your chest and goes down past your knees in a single sheet will certainly be cumbersome and floppy and feel heavier than something that is attached to you in more locations that force it to follow the natural shape of your body. Lastly - and I have to say it - the split leg IMO looks nicer than the single piece. Aesthetics are going to be highly subjective and, yes, I know we're in the shop covered with coal dust and such so who cares.... However, whether it's a car or a special anvil or *insert list of frivolous things people spend an arguably ridiculous amount of time/effort/money on* there's a monkey brain in there that just wants the "shiny thing" that appeals to you. So I would be disingenuous if I didn't add that aesthetics were also a factor, even if they weren't the main one. As far as cons, it's probably going to be more restrictive than a half length apron. Plus split legs are probably going to be harder to make, and therefore cost more. Okay, I've beat that one to death.. -- Jennifer, Thank you. I'm actually very happy with this one. I'm glad I deviated from my "just wing it" default setting.. I'm sure I'll add little things over time, but this is pretty much exactly how I envisioned it. Frosty, between my notebook, pen, keys and knife I'm frequently going into those pockets. That's the nice thing about having almost all of my pants be the same model; the pockets are always in the same spot. As for pocket envy, after one short day of use I already noticed a glaring oversight... one pocket that my hand can reach to the bottom of... I keep and use several size tong clips all the time and I don't have a spot where I can slip them in and out of easily. Fortunately, there is room for such additions. It is indeed nice to make your own.

I've had an idea rolling around in my head for months now, but I wasn't sure my leather work skills were up to snuff. Well, I finally decided to give it a shot and 2 weeks, a few paper pattern design iterations and copious piles of leather scraps/shavings later, I present to you my new blacksmith's apron. I made all of the buckles, rings and loops and about half of the tools I used while making it. It was a very fun/meticulous project. The hide a few posts above is an 8-9oz natural tanned American Buffalo leather which turned out to be perfect for this apron**. Very soft and flexible, but strong. I used light brown Pro Dye and a sponge to give it the uneven weathered look. The straps are all veg tanned cowhide, dyed the same(ish) color. All of the riveted connections are also contact cemented together. This is a photo heavy thread so here we go! I really like the split leg pattern, but I still like to have access to my cargo pants pockets. This is why the leg straps are oriented the way they are. I wanted it to be reasonably easy to take on and off so while there is a buckle to adjust the length there is also a quick disconnect (S hook) for the waist strap. That way I only have to undo the two buckles for the legs, undo the waist strap and then the whole thing slips off over my head. Every strap that needs one has a buckle so it can be adjusted individually for fit. On that note, look at these little baby buckles. I made 7, and chose the 5 that worked best. The main things I need to address at some point: The shoulder pads and, more importantly, the spacer-thing (I'm sure that has a name) in the back have a tendency to slide around. As you can see in a few pictures as the spacer in the back slips down it causes the whole thing to start to sit lower than intended. I may go up to a 10oz leather for the straps to fill in more of those slots. I could also make those parts again, but kind of like the idea of a heavier duty leather up there since the shoulder straps are bearing most of the weight. For some projects I have a lot of misc. top tools in my pockets. I had made paper patterns for the whole apron, but I was more or less free handing the straps. I left the shoulder straps way too long, but discovered that after I punched all the holes. Not a big deal, but it's a thing. I'm debating whether or not I want to do a topcoat.. At this point I think I'll leave it the way it is. Down the road I may do a light coat of neatsfoot oil or something similar. Anyway, enough typing! This thing is uncharacteristically clean and that needs to be remedied! Thanks for reading. -Frazer ** Shout out to Sean and Kathy from Distant Drums Leather. They were extremely helpful and after explaining my initial concept and giving them some rough dimensions they dug through their warehouse and picked something that would work well. The piece they chose hadn't even been listed yet so I never would have found it otherwise.

We didn't even have to collude during iron in the hat! The jury is still out on whether it's a hand towel ring or a door knocker without a landing.

Both of my pairs of coveralls have the groin/thigh torn wide open from a little hole getting caught on the tip of the horn as I slipped past... I don't mind the pointy horn necessarily. That is to say I wouldn't purposefully remove it, nor would I "sharpen" it. I agree, if you need something with that small of a radius a bickern makes more sense. Most of the time if I need the smaller bick I'm working on something small and potentially fiddily. It helps to have something that goes into the hardie and brings the piece higher up than the horn on my anvil. I have a double horn mini anvil and a second one that has a rectangular cross section tapering in both directions. They are both useful in their own ways.

Wood stump? Forge some staples, bend over some large nails, RR spikes, some fancy strap contraption, etc., etc.. EZPZ. Frosty, what are your thoughts on a cannon that fires 1" ball bearings? With a well positioned chronograph we could determine it's velocity before it hits the anvil and again on its return journey! It occurs to me that it might be best to fire our cannon remotely. The rebound off the old noggin is probably pretty low and not worth measuring.... Though, I have been told I can be hard headed... (Note for MJ, I'm not poking fun at you. My imagination is simply running away with me)

As far as mounting goes there are nearly endless ways of doing so.. What are you mounting it to?

If the rebound with a ball bearing was good I would trust that over a hammer. To me the marks on the face appear to be more like scratches than dents. They're nothing I would worry about anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if only the face is induction hardened and the horns are still soft. That being said I have read here that the hardness of the face of Kanca anvils can vary substantially from one to another. The million dollar question is is it better than what you have now? And perhaps, do you still like it? You're the one who will be using it after all.

The camera is the one thing I occasionally miss. I have a Sony NEX-5 for when I need decent pictures, but I don't carry that around with me everyday. Those phone manufacturers sure do have a knack for removing features and calling them enhancements, don't they? I know there's the cloud, and it's incredible how much memory they can fit in something the smaller than a postage stamp, but never underestimate one's ability to fill their hard drive.

All of mine are made from mild steel and they have been just fine. A tougher steel couldn't hurt, but so far so good (1-2 years, moderate use). I didn't do any sort of case hardening or super quench. I'll add that the largest diameter I have is 3/8" so I don't need to apply a whole lot of force to square up shoulders and monkey around a bit.. I made them from either 1" or 3/4" square in the same style M. Aspery shows in his videos.

Phew! That's a big'n! Single or double wall? Seconded on being curious what's inside.

Some of the folk who know more about barrels can probably make a more educated guess as to what they are made out of. I would wager 1045 (C45) ish? Maybe 4140 (42CrMo4)? Whether my guesses are right or wrong, cut a few test pieces and quench in various mediums and see what happens. The desired qualities for a gun barrel steel don't seem to translate over to blade steels in my mind, but who knows.

Slight tangent, I keep my phone in the front pocket of my apron which is the wrong size. That cheap apron's time is coming to a close.. soon... This project has been long in the planning.. more details to come.

I have a Sonim XP5800. Luckily it's 4G compatible so I shouldn't need to update anytime soon. I don't think AT&T sells the 3G phones anymore.. or maybe the rep in the store just told me that.. Anyway, I don't really mind typing with Abc. Especially since 1. the battery is removable and 2. the phone is a tank. It's survived quite a bit of (mis)use... Including -- but not limited to -- being set (a little bit) on fire and falling out of my breast pocket into my quench bucket. I fished it out, washed it with soap and water and it was good to go. I find the contrast between my bother and me to be entertaining. Not only does he always have the latest and greatest smartphone he doesn't even have a case for it! The mind boggles. I would break that thing in <24 hours.

I just got mine set up recently (thanks John for your detailed thread). It's a real game changer. Oxygen/propane are pretty cheap, but now I kind of want a gas saver too to minimize the fiddle factor... it never ends

John, she's a beauty. Very impressive.

Hey now, I ain't fussin'! It's not my sandbox. I'm just here to make castles! Latticino, I probably should have made a post sooner. It's been discussed at the last few meetings, but not necessarily at length. Your presence will be missed, but I'm sure your niece will be happy to celebrate with you. (Congrats to her by the way!)

Certain sections of my original post were (understandably) removed by the powers that be, including the flyer. I suppose one could consider it advertising in a certain sense and/or too much information in general. I'm not sure which, but I'm not complaining. I figure if folks are interested and would like more details they can send me a PM.

Chamfers I presume? I tried to get in that V with a small set hammer, which worked until I put a few hammer marks deeper and further in than intended. I didn't like the look of that so I took a light and very-rounded-rounding hammer and softened that whole area. Regardless of whether I am interpreting your comment correctly I would be interested in seeing said tool (or perhaps hearing more about it).

We are very lucky to have it in the area. My first time hitting hot steel was at one of their sampler classes. It was all downhill (or perhaps uphill?) from there.

Good day curmudgeons and lurkers alike, The Genesee region will be hosting the NYSDB Spring All-Hands event this year at the Arc and Flame Center. We are excited to have Lisa Lofdahl of LLMetalworks as our demonstrator for both days. Coffee, doughnuts, and meals are included in the registration fee** and will be provided for both days. Folks are welcome to bring a dish and/or a dessert if they wish. The rough schedule for both days is as follows: Saturday: 8am: Registration, Coffee, Doughnuts 9:30am: Introductions 10am: Lisa Lofdahl demonstration 12pm: Lunch & other NYSDB business 1pm: Iron in the Hat & (potentially) an Auction 2pm: Lisa Continues 6pm: Dinner 7pm: Open forging Sunday: 9am: Coffee and Donuts 10am: Lisa Lofdahl demonstration 12pm: Lunch 1pm: Possible open forging followed by clean up If you're local (or semi-local) we hope to see you there! I have attached the flyer for the event if you're interested in learning more. Sincerely, B. Frazer ** There is a registration fee for this event

Inspired by John Switzer's video, here's a hand towel ring for the NYSDB All-Hands event coming up in 2 weeks (more on that to come in its proper place). (Let's just agree to ignore the spacing of the bottom left scrolls )

You turn them into shelves!

You might have left behind a few crumbs... This is how we get bears.

It appears no cookie for you this time.

OOOF, a little warning there bud! I'm just scrolling along thinkin', "that's a nice little horsey bottle open-o-my-gosh". Anyway, nice work. Exploding wheels are no joke. I've had a piece of shrapnel fly right by my head.