Bill in Oregon

Hats off on a fine trade. The vise looks like a good one.

Sweet clip! Man, it must be nice to have that kind of equipment in the shop.

Rc: I really like the lines of your letter opener. Sort of kukri-esque!

Envious here. How about a photo of your nail header. Very nice work!

Another method was to pack the part in bone dust -- often bison bone in the late 1800s -- then wrap in leather and bake.

I'll be at work at 10:30 a.m. PDT, but my heart will be elsewhere.

Hey, with your sense of humor, you will do just fine. Seen it right off.

Sure would like to see a photo of one of these high-strength, high-tension cam-lock hacksaws.

Jim Bob: Can I come over if bring some Miller?

I've tried searching for this topic under various combinations of words and came up empty, so apologize if it is a "dead horse."
I'm trying to visualize a simple roasting spit for cooking poultry, roasts and maybe small pigs over a fire pit. I'm thinking a pair of uprights of half-inch mild steel with pigtails on the upper ends for the spit/turner to go through. Two right angle bends in one end will form the cranking handle. The other end of the spit, sharpened, pierces the meat. But there needs to be a barb or tine of some sort coming off the spit that the meat is also pierced by to keep the meet from spinning on the axis of the spit. I DON'T WELD, so am trying to think of a simple but elegant solution to this problem. Perhaps a wrap of 1/4 round with forks then bent and sharpened?
I am also guessing that the image of a suckling pig being slow turned over a roasting fire is much less romantic in real life -- kind of like turning the ice cream maker crank, but for two or three hours if you can find someone to do it. Also, unless the meat is perfectly centered on the skewer, it is going to want to return to heaviest-side-down position unless the spit/skewer can be held in position. Don't want to make this a power affair, so motors are out.
Any and all comments, advice, ideas welcome.

I set up my Diamondback two-burner blacksmith model today, and boy she puts out the heat compared to my old washtub charcoal forge -- heats up the wall, too. I will have to fiddle with the location to keep the heat off the sheet rock.
One big difference between the two forges is the charcoal forge's ability to heat small areas of a piece of steel, while the gas forge tends to want to heat a lot more of it. Also learned that it is best to draw out points, etc. , toward the end of the work rather than at the beginning, as they heat up first and you have to quench them to keep them from burning.
Are there any tips out there for selectively heating stock with a propane forge, or strategies for working out a piece in these forges?

Thanks for the kind comments gang. I got the textures in that S hook by following the guidelines in the random cut YouTube clip in the pineapple twist thread. I wanted to try the technique and used 5/16 square, then once I had the twist I decided I might as well make something vaguely useful out of it; hence the hook.
Northy, I have been mashing ugly blobs of metal out of old files for several years, but have finally gotten serious about learning. I have several books, but Lorelei Sims' "Backyard Blacksmith" is the best I have read so far.
Bill in the Rogue Valley

Having fun with the charcoal forge and the old No. 40 Champion blower. Made my first steak flipper out of a piece of garden sprayer pump handle, an S-hook with random cut twist out of some 5/16 key stock (I know, it's a mess, but hey) and some medieval-style bodkin points, also out of key stock. Gotta get my Trenton anvil mounted -- I'm using the HF Russian -- and hook up the propane forge. But scrounged charcoal and salvaged steel are fun, too.

These were a buck each at the old engine and tractor show ...

Mike: How do you chisel the blades out of a saw blade? What kind of saw blade and I assume you anneal the blade first?

I watched the YouTube on random cut and gave it a try on some 5/16 key stock. Works, even for a masher like me!

Got mine last week and hope to set it up for a trial run very soon. Looks well made. Look forward to your update.

Naked: Thanks for the explanation. I've got to find a piece of appropriate stock and try it. Might make a nice first project when I get my new Diamondback forge set up. Don't think my poor little charcoal washtub forge will get a big piece of steel hot enough, at least with the softwood charcoal I am using.

Wow those are nice! I'd give an eye tooth for one of the angled bicks for working socketed stuff. How do you upset on your anvil with sledge after you have forged the shank, asks the pilgrim?

You guys are great. Mini skirts, HF yellow "sweaters," mulehide, elkhide and scorched nipples! No one else would believe this.

How many wear one when forging? Bib type, below the waist or farrier type? Why? Did you make yours, an dif not, where did you get it? I have a kudu hide left over from a hunt in Namibia two years ago that needs finish tanning, and I am thinking this would be a fine use.

Please post photos when you get to forging your javelin hardware. Love to see them.

OK, it IS a dumb question, but what do blacksmiths use rawhide hammers for? I have an old one with slightly mushed heads and would like to put it to use.

I have a Diamondback two-burner blacksmith forge on the way, and want to set it on a bed of bricks to insulate the wood bench with 1/8-inch steel face from the heat. Will any old fire/fireplace brick accomplish this? Thanks for any advice. (I am assuming it gets kinda hot under the forge.)

Oh, *****. I have four dogs, and this topic always gets me all blubbery. Sorry you had to say goodbye to your big buddy Frosty. It is one of the hardest things in the world. Enough said.

My first exposure was in 1959 at age 6 during the Oregon Centennial. At a small ferry crossing town on the Willamette River (Independence), a blacksmith was making rings out of horseshoe nails for something like 25 cents. Fascinating. That was the seed. Also watched a smith make steak turners at a living history demonstration, and though I could learn to do that. But it wasn't until I got a copy of Tim Lively's "Knifemaking Unplugged" that I realized how easy it was to make a simple charcoal forge. Not long after, I ran into an old No. 40 Champion blower, and I was soon ready to heat and mash metal on a Russian-made cast steel Harbor Freight anvil (not the Chinese cast iron ASO.) I am still a crude beginner, but have a Diamondback forge on the way and just built a forge table and mounted my old leg vise. Also have a reconditioned 120-pound Trenton anvil, and plan to get a few more basic tools to expand my limited repertoire. Love this Web site!