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Timothy, You might be right about the name but I can tell you that same hammer is on local store shelves labeled as a "Blacksmiths Hammer". Today was the first time I'd encountered the term "New England Pattern" for any hammer let alone a cross pein. I didn't post that link to disparage Stanley or their tools. I posted it to illustrate that hammers are commonly marketed without the scientific proof that Francis is looking for. I posted the second hammer to illustrate that efforts have been made to improve on his preferred fiberglass handle under the label "Ergonomic". It would be poor form to demand he explain why he's not using something that's "scientifically superior" despite the fact there's a huge company backing the claims with research and so on. Up to Francis' post, the thread was about Stumptown Forge and it's history. My entire point was that it's poor form to harangue others for showing interest, enthusiasm or opinion on a tool.

Steve's right, I'm a Journeyman Electrician myself. Keep in mind that although the numbers sound close, there are huge differences between how 120, 208, 220, 277, and 480 devices are wired in just the U.S. let alone other countries. It's terribly important to make sure that the safety measures that are built into these systems are never compromised. My code teacher could often cite examples of an accidental death that gave rise to a new code requirement. It's not always obvious why something would be dangerous.

I would suggest that post vises aren't going to grip harder than a machinists vice all things being equal. They will however have less stress in the mechanism since the screw bears no stress from downward blows like a Machinists vice does. I'd also point out that the lower pivot of a post vice leads to an arcing jaw path resulting in less jaw contact compared to machinist vices which move parallel. I'd imagine that damaged threads would happen before a vice was sprung. Hammering work on a machinists vice is more likely to damage it than over tightening. Rosin is often used on gun barrel wrenches to keep them from slipping. Rosin or hose on the jaws will work only if you're doing cold work. You might try lead sheets as well.

I'm curious to see how it's done. Like many things, I suspect it's easier once you know the technique.

It sounds like a tough and cool project. You might name the hammer "Orient Express" when you're done! Course there's always Cow Catcher, Caboose, or 3:10 to Yuma. Sorry I'm getting carried away.

Francis, OSHA is many things but it's absolutely not a dictionary. I've read many of your posts about hammer ergonomics and I respect the thought you've put into your conclusions. That respect keeps me from attempting to change your mind on hammers. After all these posts it seems like you'd see there are folks that like a type of hammer for personal reasons that are as valid as your own. It's pretty obvious that the different hammers exist out of these personal differences. You aren't supporting your conclusion by dismissing contrary evidence and opinion. That nobody leapt to defend the Hofi/Ergonomic Hammer's honor at your inquisition doesn't lead to your conclusion being irrefutable. You're asking for scientific evidence of a claim made on a video you watched one time. You're asking members of a forum to provide you with this information within three hours. More to the point, you ascribe hype and B.S. to the "marketing" simply because these folks didn't answer you. Here's a link to a fiberglass hammer The description could be called hype and B.S. depending on perspective. They're claiming it's a New England pattern. I submit that's going to be tough to prove. They're boasting of "extra strength" coming from it's forged steel construction. Extra compared to what? Here's a hammer marketed as Ergonomic made by the same company: Feel free to request their scientific evidence but be prepared to wait more than three hours. I hope it gives you all you're looking for. I've seen pictures of work you've posted and you're a good smith. Taking every opportunity to harangue anyone expressing interest, enthusiasm, or opinion on ergonomic/Hofi hammers isn't good form. Winston Churchill once said "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't talk about anything else". It might be time to let this one go so you can get back to blacksmithing with the hammer you like.

Kurgan, Recycling is treated similarly here as well. Auto salvage yards are under constant threat by do-gooders seeking to prevent people from keeping their car on the road. My experience has shown that the green movement is very misguided here in the U.S. The sad result is that good products and ideas are scuttled while we subsidize sub-par but expedient measures. Blacksmithing has exposed me to people making more earnest recycling efforts than I've seen anywhere else.

SanMiguel. Some terminal blocks are rated for either AC or DC. I don't believe the terminal block in the photo is a reliable indicator of what you've got. There should be a schematic drawing on the lid of the housing. Alternately there's typically a metal name plate with the voltage, Amperage, Frequency, Horse power, and RPM's of the motor riveted to the side.

intrex isn't kidding about the learning curve. I bought a cheap 2D cad program and found it to be mind numbingly difficult to learn. While I'm sure there's a logic to the way it works, it's not obvious and the one thing I hear repeated over and again is how necessary it is to put in the time with it. I still can't comprehend why changing something I've already drawn is so much harder than just re-drawing it. To me it's a lot like editing a picture in Microsoft word. There's about a .0005% chance that the program will highlight the correct thing I'm trying to select. CAD is worse. I have taken manual drafting courses, the logic behind CAD software isn't geared towards imitating manual drafting tools.

Eric beat me to it! Nice apron with good colors in it. One thing I never understood was why they don't make aprons with clasps or hooks. Seems like every one I see has either a belt buckle or has straps to tie. Either option is slow to get on and off.

I agree with the contention that a fixed and very small budget is a great way to frustrate yourself. It's very hard to see anything I do regularly with so little invested. More importantly, there are very few of those things that didn't take time to acquire the tools for. I spent very little for the material in making my forge and box bellows. However I've been collecting tools and skills for many years which made that possible. I'd like to add that I've rebuilt my forge five times and I've made new bellows twice. In the four years I've had this hobby, I've spent nearly half my forging season every year trying to get it working better. So in my case what didn't cost me money - dearly cost me in time. Everybody's got their own tipping point on that score. I find it's easier to be patient when I don't have a "halfway there" situation going on. I'd probably opt to buy a working rig from somebody if I had it to do again.

I don't get noxious smoke with a coke only forge but it's different to work with. It's been my experience that coke makes the firepot hotter. Coke also goes out much faster than coal. I use a box bellows so whenever I'm not pumping, there's no air flow. More than once it's gone out on me while I was filing a part. I've taken to mixing it with some coal to keep it kindling. Also, the coal helps to form a better beehive than I can get with straight coke. It's a trade off since coke gives very little in the way of clinkers. This summer I'm going to try to make a chimney. The smoke getting it lit is terrible.

Thanks to congress the local BNSF railway lines keep my Victorian home rattling with their absolutely deafening horns day and night. A couple years back a neighbor came to the back fence complaining that the noise and smoke was drifting into their nursery window a block down. She had to shout over the train horn the entire time. I had trouble understanding her because it was just above 40 degrees out and it seemed odd to have a nursery window open in such weather. Nevertheless I shut it down since she'd rather trudge through snow to yell at me than shut a window. On the other side of the fence I had a neighbor with a diesel pickup who was an early riser. He'd go out and start his truck and leave it idling in the shared driveway for nearly an hour every day around 4:00 a.m. At the time our baby had colic which left me desperately sleep deprived. On several occasions the baby would just fall asleep when he'd crank the engine and wake her. The most frustrating part for us was that he could park in the street which was equal distance to his front door. When the truck was running in the street it didn't wake the baby. Despite asking nicely several times and asking not so nicely several more times I couldn't get him to stop waking the baby every morning. Finally I installed a 6" square bollard exactly 1/2" to my side of the property line in the driveway. He couldn't park his truck in the driveway and open the drivers side door. He only had to hit that bollard twice before he finally decided to park in the street from then on.

I'll second the recommendation to move away from rebar. I have no experience with RR spikes but I have found that some of the best advice I've received was to start with a piece that's reasonably close to the final intended shape. Time spent upsetting and drawing out an ill matched piece could have been spent on finishing. I've spent considerable time building/rebuilding bellows. I learned a lot but I wish I'd spent that time learning hammer control. I'm using a Japanese style box bellows now. It's more compact than other bellows I've made. Still a hand-crank blower is much smaller and works a treat. Whatever you do read up on it! Better yet, copy a working design. I may be looking at it wrong but your design looks like the intake chamber is smaller than the output chamber. In use, you'd have to pump quite a bit before the airflow started. Reversing that is much better. Also, weights shouldn't be necessary since you're looking for air flow not air pressure. I made all of the valves in my first bellows too small. Several smaller flaps work better than one large one. Once I had larger valves, the bellows cycled without needing any weights. Larger isn't always better. My box bellows puts out too much air for a single tuyere fire pot. I can make my fire levitate by pumping quickly. I'm planning to cut in a waste gate to reduce the piston's resistance.

Nice work. The pricing question is a tough one that more experienced folks have already tried to answer. I've been to a few knife shows and I've seen a fair amount of really nice work. The truth is, it's nearly always out of my price range. I find the same thing at art shows. Unable to do much about it, I often thank the maker for coming and sharing their work. There is very little available for the $100 and under crowd that isn't mass produced. That isn't much to live on unless you're working fast. My hat's off to the folks who make knives for a living- it can't be easy.

I had a materials testing lab class in college. We called it "smash lab" because of the destructive testing exercises. The lesson on heat treating steel was enlightening. Watching the instructor snap a fully hardened HC bar, then anneal the remainder so he could show how much abuse it'd take was enlightening. I'd heard of tempering but it was mysterious. Understanding the fundamentals of the transitions was impressive. I watched a bushcrafting video on youtube where a guy annealed a file with a campfire. After shaping the metal he heat treated it with a blower feeding through a buried pipe into the same campfire. I tried it myself and quickly decided I wanted to shape metal rather than simply "cut and paste". I've enjoyed it tremendously and I think it's amazing that it's possible to plumb new depths of understanding from whatever level you're at. Even if you don't know the physics or chemistry behind it, it's still more than possible to make great things. It rewards curiosity and hard work in a way I feel is unique.

Really, really great thread!

I saw a pipe hawk at a show where the bowl part was threaded and screwed into the hawk head. The advantage was that the bowl could be removed for throwing. I suspect stainless steel tubing like they use for medical gasses would be pretty good for the bowl. Just an idea.

Dale, Every time it seems like the answer is obvious it's worth remembering what Michelangelo once said: "If you knew how much work went into it you wouldn't call it genius".

Nice work.

My beginner experience is that coil spring's are tougher to deal with than it seems like it'd be. Just getting it straightened out is quite a bit of messing around. HC is harder under the hammer than mild steel which can make drawing out by hand a tall order. It also burns faster than mild which only complicates the project. As was mentioned earlier larger starting stock makes a huge difference by allowing some tweaking. I've tried with smaller stock (3/8") 12" reigns and they bent like it was made of plastic. I'm trying to focus on making tongs to develop consistency and hammer control. The videos posted demonstrate the mastery of these skills and serve as a goal for me.

I'd like to know how these were made. The process is swaging the screw blank so it seems like if you'd just cut threads with a tap, the resulting tool would act like a die and cut as well. Am I missing something? Thanks,

I went to a 4x4 shop that installs lift kits. They simply dump the old springs in a pile behind the shop. I was allowed to take whatever I wanted. Some of the springs were so new that the paper stickers from the manufacturer were perfect.

I'm on my third forge and fourth bellows. 99% of the guy's at the annual hammer in are using some version of a hand crank blower with a steel forge table and iron fire pot. Virtually all of them were on their second forge. Most were on their first blower. The last one percent are propane (farrier) forges with one lonesome guy with an awesome cavalry type double lung bellows forge. I forge outside on weekends when I get a chance. Building/fixing forges and bellows has cost me the lions share of the last three summers. I'm much happier with my forge now but it's tried my patience severely. Copying a working forge I liked would have been a better way to go. I tried to merge different ideas into it which took a lot of tweaking. I can say I learned a lot about building forges and bellows but I'd rather be able to say I'd learned more about blacksmithing. For something so "simple" it's absolutely amazing how much I could struggle with it.

Many years back I was at a knife show and there was guy there who had damascus blades with mozaic designs cut into the blades. These mozaics had pieces of damascus steel forge welded into them to compliment the pattern. One blade had a cherry tree motif where the twisted damascus made the trunk and branches where as a more simple layered type was used in the cherry blossoms. I occurs to me that you might inlay ceramic coated pieces in a similar fashion using epoxy or something. I believe I saw a picture posted here once where a touchmark was done on copper and riveted to the blade. The effect is really neat.