mbaird

Yeah, looks like a pretty standard construction & assembly. Gorgeous, too. I saw these around Scotland a few years back, still in use today... they're quite strong!

Since you're doing it hammer & chisel, are you going from the inside (skull-side), outside, or both? Looks great! Thanks for sharing

A friend of mine gave me a blower similar to the one shown in this picture. Took it home and realized that my forge table is too thick for the mounting angle. Any suggestions or drawings for how to mount this on its own stand? I was thinking of a 4x4 post with a cutout, so the blower outlet would sit in the groove and I could wrap/screw some angle iron bands around it... but that's not very elegant. :unsure:

Thanks for the link & information. I'm only a couple hours from Jackson so I look forward to making it down and enjoying the company. See you there!

Looks really great. Nicely done :)

Hey there, I'm new to blacksmithing and a recent resident of Mississippi, to boot. Can anyone provide some background on the Mississippi Forge Council, where you meet, what you do, etc? Regards! Michael

Encourages me to always keep a good magnet on hand, hah Glad you made it through in one piece John!

Thanks for the comments Looking forward to doing more!

Well, here it is, my first official forged piece, from 1/2" mild steel round stock. I'd done some skewers and hooks, but those didn't really count! The dog's head (adapted from the wolf head blueprint) on the end of the letter opener didn't come out perfectly, but I think it's OK for my second try. Comments are loved! :D

Hey smiths, I've already posted a bit but I forgot to actually introduce myself! Name's Michael, and I live in northeast Mississippi where I've been researching black- and bladesmithing for the last 8 months. Professionally I am an ex-Californian computer programmer who is now starting up a technology consulting business here in town. A few weeks ago I had finally gotten everything put together and was able to start forging, so I've been doing that as much as I can as weather permits (outdoor smithy, and it's been wet here ). So far I've made a few skewers and I'm practicing scrolling now. After only a few forgings, I know that I'll be doing this for a long time to come. Thanks for the IFI platform! So glad to be here!

Here's the section of their test report that's relevant to my order. 0.20% carbon by the look of it. Works for me at the price point :p

Hey guys, Thanks for the input so far. I just talked to the supplier and he confirmed it was CQ A36 steel, but since it was a batch of 1/4" rounds, they didn't do a specific chemistry test. He's going to send over some more details after they do do a chem test to find out what's in it. Not a big deal because the steel is workable, but since it wasn't that expensive and they're local, it's nice to have a rough idea of what's inside the steel. :)

Yes, I wish I had a caliper to check measurements inside and out, so all I was going by was the surface opening of the anvil hole. Everything makes sense. Wish I had thought the problem through more, now that we're here. Thanks for the advice though. I'll get everything fixed up.

Agreed! :)

Might be you're right about that, UF. I think I will try grinding it down a bit; thanks for the advice guys.