JSR

I think so too I am very excited to see how it looks and for the extreme hammering pattern, I hand forged it to this point I got the nickname “power hammer” for a reason plus zircon encrusted tweezers would be crazy cool

Gatorade slushy? That sounds delicious, and Frosty right now it is 26 layers so my current plan is to draw it down to about 35x1.5x.25 inches and get a couple good workable pieces definitely going to make at least 2 knives and some jewelry… what do you think would look neat made out of it?

I feel like this summer has been mostly nice but just recently started to heat up to really hot temperatures, like yesterday we got up to 107, and with the forge going I figured out the hard way just how easy it is to get heat stroke

Finally got a chance to get out to the forge today after being busy with football practice and work for the past week but got some good progress on my pattern welded steel billet. Started to flatten it out after last week’s twists and fold! Only bad thing is my arms and shoulders are dead sore after swinging the big sledge for a couple hours, but hey what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger . All in all it was a great day! One things for sure though… down here in Texas it is hot

Hey man! I also live in Dallas. I am interested in how much you were planing to sell it for or if you had already sold it?

Started the twist on my pattern welded steel billet and forged a little ram all in all a very productive day!

Just picked up this big vise, it has 5-1/2 inch jaws and weighs around 70 pounds I don’t exactly know what brand it is but there are some markings on it. Got it mounted and it works like a charm! I drove about 4 and a half hours to south Texas near canyon lake. The guy I bought it from was funny an 18 year old whose hobby was buying and restoring old vices. Pretty cool dude!

Hey frosty, 3/8” square is my favorite as well it gives plenty of material to work with if I’m making some more complicated stuff.

Thank you so much I’ll get right to reading!

Thanks y’all and i am thinking about signing up to join the NTxBA but i am a little hesitant because their calendar isn’t really updated so I don’t really know when or more importantly where the meetings would be happening. And if y’all could recommend me some good reading material that would be very well appreciated! Also CrazyGoatLady the thing that i love forging the most right now is hooks, i really like the creative freedom that they offer! And here’s a picture of my little forge! (The forge itself is a propane forge and is hiding behind the bush, he’s a little shy, my grinder is also a little shy hiding under the grill cover)

Hey y’all my name is James im 17 and Im located in Flowermound, Texas. I have been on the forums lurking as y’all call it for about 4 months and am just now taking the time to introduce myself. Ive been interested in blacksmithing since I was about 12 but only got into it about 2 years ago and built myself a little forge from the ground up. Though lots and lots of learning experiences aka failures I’ve finally settled. However im still hungry to learn and im so thankful that I found this amazing craft early in my life, so I have plenty of time to do so. I very excited to be able to continue to soak in the knowledge from those of y’all who have so much more knowledge then me. Im also very excited to make the most of this vast treasure trove of information and continue to grow my skills. Thanks y’all to everyone who share their experiences!