frieed

My slack tub is an old copper wringer washer with the motor removed and the hole for the agitator patched. Kinda nice since it's on a wheeled steel frame the brings the height up a little and it has a drain valve on it to easily drain it on those rare occasions when the weather gets cold enough to freeze it.

I have a Hypertherm Powermax45. I have cut through 1" square bar. On 1/4" plate it cuts at about 75"/min with a great smooth edge.

this is the forge fired up I added an adjustable stock rest.. I think I will weld a wide piece onto the rest to allow the support with the stock moving left or right because since narrow width of the forge. Possibly the ugliest tongs(half) in the world No pic of the anvil... sorry, but it's a tiny little farriers anvil. If it weighs #50 I'll be amazed. --edit: gotta search to find out how to embed thumbnails...... Copy the *linked thumbnail* url below the photo in the IFI gallery and paste that whole long long URL into the text where you want the image to appear. later all...

So this spring I took a single day class on blacksmithing and got the bug. (for anyone in central Texas I highly recommend Caleb at Homestead Heritage School of Homesteading) I have a small propane forge (thanks Larry Zoeller) that I built, borrowed a decent little farriers anvil, and am now scrounging for hammers and such. First off, I intend to make various tongs and a scroll work jig. For my first real project I intend to start making some fence panels to replace some of the effective-but-ugly ones around the house. Suggestions are appreciated particularly from anyone local that could impart them first-hand in return for a little refreshment. In the meantime I intend to devour everything I can from the forums. Thanks for the input folks. Eric