BIGGUNDOCTOR

To take out the warp try shrinking the opposite side. Take a torch and heat the center area of the convex side of the warp, when you get it hot, still black to dull red, slap a wet rag on the heated side. You should see the panel bend back some. Keep repeating until you get it straight. I have used this method to straighten a conveyor section that got dropped off of a trailer on loading. Only cool the one side, not both. This is the same method used to straighten body panels on cars, and to put a curve into 6" thick plates.

My Dad went on a week long deep sea fishing trip, and the cook had all of the guys come down to the kitchen with their pliers. He took them and dipped them into the hot bacon grease. My Dad tried an experiment, and didn't do one pair. The undipped ones were tight with rust within a couple of days, the dipped ones showed no signs of rust after a week on the ocean. He added that they smelled good too :p

Hey Dave,
my friend calls me Cliff Claven (from the TV show Cheers) because I know a bunch of trivial trivia, and other information. I wear it as a badge of honor.

Personally I gave up on Christmas, and the other holidays years ago. I am not a religious person, and I also suffer from perpetual bachelorhood. The holiday season can be a particularly depressing time of year for me. What I do now is if I see something I would like to give as a gift, I get, or make it, and give it. I found out the hard way that sometimes we do not get to do things later, because the person the gift was intended for is gone forever by the holiday/birthday/etc.. I would rather let that person know what they mean to me now than possibly risk them never knowing because I waited for the "appropriate day".

My Dad was my smithing partner, as well as my partner in a lot of other endeavors. I am sure he knew how much he meant to me, but I feel remorse for not telling him more than I did. I lost a lot of family history because of I'll do it later. Mom passed away on Christmas morning 03, again I have a lot of shoulda, coulda, wholudas with her as well.

I think that we need to live more in the present, because the past is gone, and we do not know what the future will bring us. This is the only time period that we have some control over.

I apologize for the lengthy vent.

Are there any tools of the trade that she uses, and could be forged? Don't know any speech therapists, so I am just guessing.

Something else you may want to explore is forging some jewelery; ear rings, necklace.

Can you ask any of her coworkers what she likes?


Good to see ya back Frosty! How much is an out of state hunting license for Great White Birches?

I second Gobbler's thoughts, and I will add ask Dad first! While going through my folks estate my brother tossed the spare transmission for the Model A, because it had some rust on it. It was actually in really good shape, man I was mad at him:mad: Good USA iron headed to China now:( If the parts are beyond repair, or use, go ahead and recycle them the blacksmith way.

Lots of interesting items, but kind of a PITA to view the pictures. If you are into old locks the first gallery has a few.

That is why I have a TIG welder, doesn't matter how thin it is Not for the purist, but I think if the old time blacksmiths had access to one they would have used it too.

Get a good drill bit (not made in China), spin it slow (chips shouldn't turn color), keep enough pressure on it to keep a chip flowing, and that should do it.

There has been a lot of discussion about water/oil/cutting fluids. Water and baking soda will work. but I use various cutting fluids myself. Been machining for 20+ years now, and different fluids can make a world of difference in how a piece cuts / tool life. What ever you use make sure you use enough to keep the bit cool.

Learn how to sharpen a bit on a bench grinder, and you save time/money in the long run. It only takes a couple of seconds to touch up a bit, and have it cut 100% better.

If all else fails, hot punch a larger hole, and weld a nut onto the end :rolleyes:

Could be any number of explanations; left over remnant from a factory that made anvils, broken anvil, customized by someone for a long forgotten project, or just something to make us go Hmmmmmmmm?

I am a little concerned about the statement of wearing gloves. When I was going through my machinist training we were told to NEVER wear gloves around rotating equipment-ever. If they get caught it could mean some serious damage to you. If it gets too hot to hold, that is what the water is for.


I would look into drawing as much hardness (tempering) as I could, straighten, and reheat treat. If you have access to stainless foil for heat treating you could wrap it to minimize scaling, or use a flux to coat it, and anneal.

If it isn't too drafty a small wood stove does wonders. Add a blower/fan to really get the air moving.

Either that or ya just aint working hard enough :p

I would also say pass. I bought a Columbian on Craigslist for $50 that the owner had cleaned up-looked new. It still had the spring, and original mounting bracket. Even though anvils can be scarce, post vises seem to be all over the place. Most shops had at least a vise in use. I would explore all avenues available to you such as Craigslist, asking around, telling friends, flea markets, automotive swap meets (more than cars get drug out of the barns), etc.

Mike was the man when it came to flint strikers, and you can see his work in his photo gallery. Unfortunately he recently passed away, but luckily his post are still available to help guide new striker makers. It amazed me that he had done so much research on such an item that most folks don't give a second thought to. I learned a lot about the humble flint striker from his posts.

Dies can be simple, or very detailed, how much do you want to spend?

Dies have to match top, and bottom, be heat treated correctly, and be made from the correct type of steel, all of this costs. If it was easy , tool and die makers wouldn't be making the money that they do. Although a good tool maker can make it look easy to do. What this all boils down to is this. You can make your own dies, and they may do what you want. If they don't it will cost a fair amount to have them made. There are folks selling dies, so that would probably be the way to go, unless they do not make what you are looking for.

Yea that is a staged photo for sure; the hardy left in, the hammer position, and the color of the shoe being "worked" on.

Can't help ya on the anvil ID though. Sure someone with more time studying them will get you what you need.

www.Tandyleaterfactory.com they have python skins, as well as others from time to time. Depending on what type of skin you want you may put a want ad out for one. Someone here may tan their own.

Aftist, no one said that all Damascus barrels are safe. There are some that are just wall hangers, but there are still a number of them that are safe to shoot. The gunsmith I worked for had plenty of newer modern shotgun barrels hanging on his wall that had failed for one reason, or another. A friend was shooting his Parker SXS when the right barrel let loose at the front handguard. Upon inspection it was found that the barrel was only .009" thick at that point due to an overzealous gunsmith who polished it. With any firearm it is wise to inspect it, or have it inspected before shooting it. Blanket statements like that harken back to Nader's attack on the Corvair which he deemed unsafe at any speed.

Just find the guy again who wanted to trade for the Hay Budden.

Besides the internet there is also the local libraries to get books.

For everyday wear it would work, but I am wondering about being around hot items. When we branded buckskin items at camp it really shrank up fast, and deformed, unlike cow hide.

Buckskin is a lot stretchier than cow hide, so may not give the best protection from accidental impacts. What may be best is buckskin apron with a cow hide section where you need the most protection. I have seen a smith who forges with no shirt, no safety glasses, and a kilt with metal scales down the front. Choose your own level of protection.

There are trap shooting matches just for Damascus / black powder shooters. There is also a proof house in England that will test the shotgun for you, if you want it reproofed.

The problem lies with rusting / corrosion between the layers. With modern testing techniques the barrels can be checked out, and they should be checked prior to shooting.

It amazes me when I look at some of the patterns that are used in the old shotgun barrels.

Never OA welded aluminum, since I have a TIG, so I can't help you there.

On potmetal there are low temp rods out now that use a propane torch. I usually see them at the automotive swap meets to repair chrome parts. Flows nice, and really strong. It can be used on parts as thin as a beer can on up to heavier castings. Works on aluminum too.

Nice job. Curious though, are there still a lot of bottles in Austria that need a bottle opener? Most bottles I see here in the U.S.A. are twist off caps. Matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I needed a bottle opener.

You can also use the user control panel to update your location.

Don't worry about your English. Even though my last name is Hess your English is better than my German :D

For the radius parts look into flap wheels in a die grinder. These are really easy to blend with, and won't gouge like a hard grinding wheel.

It sometimes depends on location for pricing. Where are you located? I recently bought out an estate and paid $5 a pair for tongs, hardies were $3 ea, hammers / handled top tools $5 ea.

You can look at it this way too -- 30 items for $125 is just over $4 ea. Some stuff may be too high, some may be low, but the average is OK. I always dicker. Sometimes they drop the price, sometimes not, but there is usually some adjustment made.