elkdoc

We used a walnut cracker when I was a kid. Haven't see one in ages. It is mounted on a board and when you pull a lever, the nut is cracked inside 2 half-cup shaped pieces. Kind of hard to explain. They are a booger to get the meats out of, though. I just use hickory nuts in my smoker now. Gives meat a great flavor!

Hmmm... Got some elm too. That won't split, as it apparently has interlocking grain structure, or so my forestry professor friend tells me.

Actually, I think I may have just scored a couple of mallet-head sized pieces of cured osage orange from a friend. That oughta work!

I was indeed talking about a regular, shop sized mallet. I think I'll most likely forge a couple of bands and bend the ends outward and give the screw tentioning method a shot. In the future, I'll probably experiment with some of the other methods mentioned here on some scrap pieces. Thanks a ton, folks!

Hey folks... I'll be spending some time at a friend's lathe soon. I'm hoping to turn and piece together a couple of wooden mallets. I plan on turning a flat "notch" into the head on either side of where the handle fits in. The purpose would be to add a metal band to prevent splitting. How should I go about fitting a tight forged band around the head? I plan to cut some barstock to fit, and bevel the ends just like I am forging a collar for regular ironwork. I need tips on getting it tightly fitted to the hammer without it burning loose. Any thoughts?

That 400 CFM blower from Kayne's is a monster! I have no experience with a gasser, though. Welcome Ed! I've been drooling over your creations on your website for quite some time. Glad to have you here. :D

I don't mind at all... The more stories the better.

Unfortunately, I waited too long to get started and my day job will be in the way of doing alot of smithing anytime soon. Probably will hammer out a few birdhouse/birdfeeder hangers. That'll probably be about it. I'm sure the obligatory steak flipper or two will happen.

Wooden mallets "suck" the scale right off a piece, too.

Wow... Dilemma. If I'm picturing your setup right, I think the pipe roller idea should work. Sounds like you'd have to build some braces into the existing floor to make it work, but it sounds doable. When my brother and I replaced the foundation under my "shop" we did something similar.

The leather handle just kind of "came to me" as I was thinking about how I could do a simple handle for it. It's actually kind of comfortable, although it is less so with the rawhide wraps.

I'll pass on following Henry Winkler, even though the Fonz was way-cool. :wink: As for Dan Winkler, all I can do is drool over the man's masterpieces.

No need for thanks... I'm just passing along links that were passed to me. Grain growth and reduction is really a fascinating science. Heavy stuff sometimes, but very useful for performance bladesmithing. One of these days I'll get a handle on blade forging enough to get to this part. :lol:

Thanks folks! :D

The IForgeIron.com tutorial is great. There's more in the 200+ page book, Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others who Heat Treat and Forge Steel by Verhoeven. It is downloadable here: http://mse.iastate.edu/files/verhoeven/7-5.pdf Your brain will hurt! :shock:

By trihone's body goes in a sink full of warm, soapy water regualrly. I use my hands or maybe an old toothbrush to work the metal and oil crud out of the pores. I let it air dry for several days before I use it again. This seems to work for me. I need to resurface my medium grit stone, though. It has a sway back and will go to the belt grinder soon, I guess.

Yessir! That's the one I'm going to register for. I talked with Dr. Batson quite a bit about it this past weekend. He indicated that if I was interested, I should register, and I'd be fine in the class regardless of its "advanced" listing.

Thanks a ton, folks! Yeah, I am working without a belt grinder. I bought ABS Mastersmith, Burt Foster's grinder off of him at a hammer in last weekend. It's a Bader BIII. Don't have it set up yet, though. I finished this one before buying the grinder, so all I had was my angle grinder set in my vise. And LOTS of filing. Went through 2 cans of elbow grease. :wink: Can't wait to get some belts and real blade steel and give that "new-to-me" Bader a go! The handle is 2 oz. leather epoxied around the tang. I then wrapped it with soaked rawhide lacing. I apparently cooked the rawhide thinking that heat would make it soften faster. Its texture changed and it refuses to shrink. :oops: . I've been drooling over Daniel Winkler's blades alot recently. I love them period pieces!

Well folks, here's the first blade that I actually thought deserved a handle. And, it's my first sheath too. Too bad I stitch better than I forge. :oops: It's an old Nicholson file. I forged it probably to about 70% and did the rest on the grinder. Still looking for that elusive 90% forged mark. Normalized, annealed, ground, then oil quenched. The heat treating is by Whirlpool. :wink: I etched with vinegar to give it a gunmetal grey color. The handle needs rewrapped - my rawhide didn't shrink like I'd hoped. The sheath is a double loop design that really resembles an "Askins" style pistol holster. Rides close and solid.

At first I thought that sawhorse was a homebrew steel spud cannon... :lol:

All I can say is "wow"... :mrgreen:

Welcome! At 14 years of pounding steel, you're well ahead of many of us greenhorns. Can't wait to see what advice you have to offer. Always glad to hear another point of view on anything. Edit: Quote added

Well, I graduated from my angle grinder to a Bader! Got it used from Burt Foster, ABS Mastersmith. One heck of a guy, and I got it for a very comfortable price. Only stretched my budget a tiny little bit.

Cool tip. I've got a bucket of my Grandad's old rasps and horse bits coming. I'll keep a few and forge the rest into something neat that will have a story for every part...

I may just do 'em both, depending on where my career takes me in the next 9 months. I better get in on the Folk School while I'm close and I have a scholarship that will almost wipe out the tuition. The ABS school is definately on my to-do list, albeit awhile off...