Donniev Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Gave my 4 pound rounding hammer final grind tonight, just gotta get HT figured out and handle it now...going to make the handle myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Had to get some new belts for for my 1x30 inch belt sander. Last night I cleaned out the wood dust from the sander changed to the new metal compatible belt. I ground off the fish mouth and put a edge on the hardy hot cut. The edge is probably not at the correct angle. That can be changed later. Thanks for looking! Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Is that wedging into the hardy hole rather than having a lip that rests on the face? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Hale Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I gave up on freehand grinding after several failed attempts and made myself a knife grinding jig: Now I just need to make another knife to test it. This was also the first time I've welded anything. Kinda fun...looking forward to practicing more of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Mel: A couple things. Regarding Thomas's question. If that tang is a tapered fit and wedges in the hardy hole it's a threat to the anvil. It really needs a shoulder that sits on the face. Heck even if it doesn't wedge the heal off your anvil it'll get stuck like you won't believe till you try driving it out. A hot hardy works better with a more acute and convex edge bevel but your's isn't bad. It'll work. Rather than upsetting the end to gain width use the cross pein to draw the end sideways, right after you break the edges and before you start drawing it down to profile. You want to have the pein marks in line with the stock so it forces the steel sideways. Yes? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Thomas Yes it is a wedge shape. Frosty I see what you are saying. I think I have room to grind a shoulder on it. If not I have some more square stock. It is 1 inch i could upset it to get more shoulder stock. I see what you are saying about the cross pein. Make it look like the blades of a hand fan. Like this \I/. Thanks for the input. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 You got it Mel. "Hand fan." Good metaphor, it's in the book thanks. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 53 minutes ago, Frosty said: If that tang is a tapered fit and wedges in the hardy hole it's a threat to the anvil. It really needs a shoulder that sits on the face. Heck even if it doesn't wedge the heal off your anvil it'll get stuck like you won't believe till you try driving it out. Well, there is the whole school of thought (exemplified by Brian Brazeal et al.) that you do want enough of a taper to lock snugly in place, but not so much that you can't knock it loose with a sideways whack with the hammer when you're done. In this way of thinking, the force that might otherwise split your anvil is absorbed by the workpiece as it gets cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Brian's shanks aren't straight tapers, they're curved. They snug tightly but there isn't that much contact surface so a sideways rap pops them right loose. His bottom tools are all shouldered too. Well, the ones I've seen are. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 5 minutes ago, Frosty said: Brian's shanks aren't straight tapers, they're curved. They snug tightly but there isn't that much contact surface so a sideways rap pops them right loose. Curved, eh? Interesting, and good to know. 6 minutes ago, Frosty said: His bottom tools are all shouldered too. Well, the ones I've seen are. Frosty The Lucky. All the non-hot-cuts (i.e., fullers, cupping tools, etc), certainly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I ground on my hot cut and now it drops all the way down and rests on two small shoulders. I will post a photo when I take it. Thanks for looking. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobS Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I fired up my forge for the first time last sunday and started playing around with a rr spike. I worked the head down into a round to fit my pritchel. Then shouldered a little bit. Then used a cold chisel to hot cut the spike in half. Then tapered it for a small hot cut. I still have to hit the grinder to add the edge. I did get some cold shunts where the edges of the head curled while working them down. Also got some fish mouth on the end as I didn't bevel it first, and I most likely was not hitting it hard enough (This was my first forging in over 25 years and I didn't want to miss hit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 some fire steels (flint and steel). also a couple leaf key chains. I was surprised by how quick the fire steels are to make, I had never done them of this style. fun stuff. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmall Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 FInshed up the crosses with my daughter for her graduating high school class. She and I made the last 50. She's getting the hang of this stuff...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Pics as promised. It slides down in the hardy hole and rests on the small shoulders. I used it and it did work. I am not happy not with the shoulders. may have to make another. I also started a a punch and slitter. Used the coil spring i pulled straight. I have been looking for some info on how to grind the punch. so far no luck. Should it have a point? What angle? Thanks for looking. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 what kind of punch? what will it be punching? if it is a round punch, for punching hot steel, I would leave it flat. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 46 minutes ago, littleblacksmith said: what kind of punch? what will it be punching? if it is a round punch, for punching hot steel, I would leave it flat. Littleblacksmith Ok flat it is. Yes round for hot. Thanks Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Major cleaning and re-organization of the forge part of the garage. One really big change here is that I decided to change the orientation of the anvil, so the horn is now on the right. It's taking a bit of getting used to, but it seems to make a lot more sense. The tray puts tools, punch lube, etc just by my left hand, and the (now) far edge of the face is in much better shape than the previous. Interestingly enough (and probably because the anvil is in a slightly different part of the garage now), I had to shim up the off hind foot of the tripod by about 3/16" and the front foot by about 5/8" to get the face level. Then I made a couple of bottle openers out of rebar (the better of the two as a souvenir for our college's departing president; the rebar came from the construction side of the new college hotel), a tool for tweaking spirals, a new nail header, and a couple of nails. And last, in the functional-but-not-pretty department, I finally got around to making the second mounting bracket for my post vice (bottom). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranchmanben Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 55 minutes ago, JHCC said: Major cleaning and re-organization of the forge part of the garage. One really big change here is that I decided to change the orientation of the anvil, so the horn is now on the right. It's taking a bit of getting used to, but it seems to make a lot more sense. The tray puts tools, punch lube, etc just by my left hand, and the (now) far edge of the face is in much better shape than the previous. Interestingly enough (and probably because the anvil is in a slightly different part of the garage now), I had to shim up the off hind foot of the tripod by about 3/16" and the front foot by about 5/8" to get the face level. Out of curiosity, are you a south paw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 21 minutes ago, Ranchmanben said: Out of curiosity, are you a south paw? No, right-handed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJRailRoadTrack Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 28 minutes ago, Ranchmanben said: Out of curiosity, are you a south paw? He just has good taste in anvil direction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranchmanben Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 53 minutes ago, JHCC said: No, right-handed. 46 minutes ago, EJRailRoadTrack said: He just has good taste in anvil direction Like I said, just curious. I've tried my anvil with the horn on the right and it just doesn't work for me. Actually, when I started out I had it on the right for a couple of years because I didn't know how to have it. Decided to try turning it around and it was like a light switch was thrown, everything on the horn became easier. What prompted the change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 27 minutes ago, Ranchmanben said: What prompted the change? Something Jennifer (@jplservicesinc) said about turning her own anvil to put the horn on the right got me thinking. Also, I realized that the left-hand edge (looking from heel to horn) was in much better shape than the right, so shifting the anvil this way puts that on the far side where it will get more use. In practice, it gave me better access to the tip of the horn for shaping the rings on the bottle openers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 It really depends on the smith, what they make and their methods of working. We had a long "discussion" of right vs left here a number of years ago and I went through "Practical Blacksmithing" and determined right vs left for every shop diagram I was able to determine it and it was totally mixed---including one shop that specialized in rings and so the horn was pointed directly at the forge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJRailRoadTrack Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Whatever floats your boat, or sinks it in our case, or turns your shoe, OR keeps your anvil in the stand. I started with my horn on the left, then went right, but yesterday I was in a corkscrew forging contest and the horn was on the left, and I liked it. It somewhat depends on your shop layout and flow as well too. It's something that will go round and round. But it's just what you like and what you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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