SinDoc

Awesome. I will try and order it tonight!

Is the hardcover still available?

I will definitely look into a tong clip. That would help with the left hand and squeezing. I am very aware of my swing. Due to my carpel tunnel and such, I feel the shock of each impact all the way up my forearm through that nerve. To put it bluntly, a missed strike sucks. The hammer hitting wrong on the material sends a nasty shock up my arm. You could say I literally feel every mistake I make in regards to hammer blows. All my hammers I got from the big box stores and have the rubber shock absorbing grip, which I know WILL wear out, or probably get melted at some point.

Not entirely sure where this would go, so I will try general first. Since more than a few of you more experienced smiths are older (no slight intended), I assume this could be a problem people have dealt with. How do you guys deal with pain in your hands while working? Am I possibly using the wrong tools for the job? I have rheumatoid in both hands, carpel tunnel in both (right has been "corrected"), and my right hand was shattered a little over a year ago. I think the problem with my left is I am not using the right tongs which is causing me to have to squeeze much harder then I should have to but they are the only pair I currently own. For my hammers my go to is a 2lb sledge ( I think its technically an engineer hammer) but have a (I think) 34oz ball peen, 2.5lb cross peen and a 4lb cross peen. Maybe I am using too heavy of a hammer After forging just two simple hooks last night, boy do my hands hurt. Almost to the point of having to take something for it. Would you guys happen to have any advice for mitigating that? The general rule is if it hurts, you are doing it wrong but maybe my hands are just too messed up and the pain is unavoidable in my case.

I considered sand blasting. My neighbors got a one with the box to keep it contained. I did just give him several hooks to hang stuff in his garage as well as a bottle opener. Perhaps if I twist his arm a little, he will let me use them lol. I personally have neither a sand blasting box, nor sand blaster. Nor air compressor for the matter...

O I know. I cleaned my shop yesterday because my little corner was turning black from all the grinding dust. I also grew up doing body work with my dad, so I know full well the giant mess it makes, and to wear a respirator while doing it. Got many a lecture from the old man when I got caught with it off.

What I need to do is build a bench opposite my anvil so I can just turn around and work. Currently my anvil is in the front of my shed/shop and my bench is on the back wall. I only have a 10x20 space to work in and it is also our storage shed so I keep the grill and the kids toys and such in there. Should have built bigger!

I have been looking for an excuse to buy a bench grinder. Maybe this is the one I was looking for! The only downside is my workspace is small. I maybe have to eat up a little more space to expand my bench down another wall for a place to mount it.

I see. So it seems it would be best to make a batch then let them soak for awhile. Then I can alternate from making the next batch then finishing the previous batch. I will have to try out the vinegar. As for the wire wheel, I dont have a bench mounted one. Depending on the speed/precision I need, I either use a wheel brush on the my Dremel (it has a high/low speed), my drill which is the slowest speed, then finally for when I need to just go ham on a piece, a wire brush wheel on my 12000 rpm angle grinder.

I did just read about vinegar soaks. Should have read a bit more before posting. From what it looks like though, it appears there is no skipping the Dremel. At least I like working with it

Out of pure curiosity, is there another method other than grinding to remove scale and get a shiny finish? I would assume if there was, it would more than likely involve acid. Main reason I ask is while having fun making hooks and bottle openers over the weekend, I started experimenting with heat coloring. As I love the look of twist, most of my stuff has them and while using my Dremel to grind them clean works, it is rather time consuming process. So I am simply curious if there are different methods for such a thing to make the heat coloring go a little smoother and not involve spending a ton of time meticulously grinding the groves with my Dremel.

Mikey, I have been reading the forge section for quite awhile now. Learning about your burner, Frosties T burner and ribbon burner, JABODS etc. I really and I mean REALLY like the NARB design, but I am not super confident in my gas plumbing abilities which is why even after building the forge body I was messing with the idea of buying the burner. Could I do it? Certainly but I would be sweating bullets the first time I lit it lol. Me and a buddy will probably build a JABOD this weekend for the fun of it, even if it never sees much use. I want to get the propane tank prepped and ready and see if I am still feeling confident in that its a project I can do.

Thankfully me and my neighbors are all friends and on very good terms. When I first started he came out and said "what in the ---- is that tinking!" as he looked over and seen me banging on the anvil. Sadly the majority of the people in the apartment complex ~4 houses down are less than nice. I burned a small bit of dried grass a few years ago (like MAYBE half a yard waste bag) and by the whining the came from there you would have thought I was burning tires!

Red: I was going to reduce the size of it as I do believe it would be too big. I know it somewhat defeats the purpose but I don't trust my plumbing ability when it comes to gas hence me ordering a burner. Kinda just a weekend warrior project to see if I can. I also thought of building a JABOD in an old grill, but my house is next to an apartment complex and I am unsure if if the smoke and such would cause people to be less than happy with me. Thomas: I will check and see. Thanks for the info!

Being a relatively new person to the craft and reading around, it almost seems like a right of passage to build a forge. I am looking into building one out of an old 20lb propane tank(s) I have acquired from a family member. I know the very VERY first thing to be done is to make sure they are empty and if they are not, to safely empty them and clean them out with soap water/bleach overnight. Is this a project someone like me could undertake? I very little experience in something like this. I think (much emphasis one that) I can do it. Worse case I suppose is I ruin a tank. Ive been reading this site for quite some time and after getting to use a Chili forge the other day, I am a bit jealous but can't justify spending that much yet (although I somewhat plan on using their burner).

I am still just a fledgling in this, but I would go the route those above suggest. Don't make the mistake I did and jump straight into trying to make a knife. As far as forges go, I personally went with a forge maker that was local to me but almost wish I would have found this site first and made a JABOD. Don't get me wrong, I like my forge but after experiencing a Chili forge, I got jealous . Also, safety, safety, safety. My first go around with practicing I lost my grip on my tongs and dropped the metal which then bounced off my anvil stand, off my leg and onto the floor. Darn glad I was wearing jeans or I would have had a really nasty burn on my shin. I also learned more taking a 4 hour class then I did in 2 months of trying alone.

That is so true Frosty. I graduated high school nearly 15 years ago (I know, I am still very young comparatively lol). I used to play Trombone in band. I had not touched that instrument in probably a decade but the neighbor kid is learning it so I dug it out and helped him out. I still apparently have the muscle memory for several of the common songs we did, like the fight song. Surprised me!

Annnnnd its snowing again. This state is bipolar.

That is a very nice quote. I am going to engrave that and hang it in the shop lol.

I would most certainly say his method was the later one. He forged his own along side me and the one other person in the class while we both made our own. He would show us a step then have us repeat it. Would give a hand if required, but made us do it on our own. I personally like that method. I learn a lot from watching others do it, then doing it myself. I am pretty confident I could make another one in the exact same manner. Wont know until I try though!

He did not mention that part! If he lived north of OSU, I wouldn't leave anything out that wasn't welded, tied, chained and finally magically held down. Just before I left I told him I would tell you what a horrible, bad teacher he was and how he was very mean. He got a chuckle out of that. But like I said, he was an extremely nice guy and was very...instructive? Is that the right word? Just made a hook but I learned a lot from it. Hopefully I can take another one of his classes in the future, or at least attend one of his open shop events. He was very pleasant to talk to and I would love to learn more from him. I want to try making another hook at home tonight on my own and see if what he showed me actually got through my thick skull.

That was a very fun experience. Adlai was a very nice person and even though it was only a roughly 3 hour class, I feel like I learned a ton from him. He also pointed out the ~70lb anvil you liked to repeatedly hide lol.

Sounds like I will get along with him just fine! Along the lines of your quote, reminds me of one regarding a spear. "If you dont know which end to stick 'em with you havent been paying attention!"

That sounds like it would be a funny story. I will have to mention it.

Hopefully his teachings can get through this thick skull of mine. Although it has gotten thinner since being married. The misses beating on it constantly has slowly worn it down.