Frosty Ian familiar with them I lost one in my chests somewhere.

Mine was just nailed in stump.

I've made similar anvil from tortion bar stock. 

Watching striker striking on tool set kinda make blacksmithing less attractive

In past they did like that, there is difference when you are making something with small hammer and when you need striker its then become realy labour challenging.

 

On 8/21/2022 at 2:37 PM, JHCC said:

 Quick tip: attach it to your vise with something thin and flexible

I will be doing that. I have it hanging on a hook left of the vise but, angle grinder cords will probably get tangle up on it.

Got my 1947 Little Giant up and running.  It works really well so far (even if it still needs some tweaking).

Tonight I tried to finish my first project,  a can tab opener, but I messed it up so much the first time I worked on it that it was impossible to get to where it needed to be.  It's supposed to look like this:

But...  Uum... 

 

So then I took the rest of the stock I was using and made a coal rake. I didn't get a handle made because I ran out of light and apparently our patio light decided tonight was the night it was done working,  lol

 

Congratulations Nice job on the items..  Love the progress photo's too.. 

Made this as a gift for a bladesmith buddy I haven't seen in 20 yrs..  Going over to visit with today. 

That is really nice Jennifer. 

Indeed. Looks comfortable. 

That's beautiful Jennifer. I love the alternating twists in the strands. 

Just to clarify on mine - those progress photos that I think you're referring to came from the book 'The Everyday Blacksmith' by Nicholas Wicks. Not the best book in terms of teaching a beginner but I really liked how he laid out 10 starting projects to work on each skill so that each project builds on the previous one. Rather than just diving in and picking something that looked fun from Youtube and then getting frustrated at the amount of things I wasn't ready for. I figured this was a good way to learn while also creating things that would be useful. 

Mine has the loop going in the wrong direction and not tapered. I couldn't get it to taper against the edge for the life of me. It just kept trying to cup, even with light taps. I'll try again soon.

Yeah thats gorgeous jennifer.

4 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said:

Made this as a gift for a bladesmith buddy

Let me guess, your bladesmith buddy likes feather Damascus? Nice handle.

Got the gantry setup tonight. Didn’t take too long. My older son was around to help, thankfully. I would not have gotten it up without out help! As we were getting ready to lift it upright, he look at me with a straight face and said “we could really use a gantry crane to get this up.” What was I supposed to follow that up with?

(not sure why this posted landscape.)

Now I have to clear up the shop so I can get it over there!

Keep it fun,

David

"Sure, go get yours!"

On 8/26/2022 at 9:28 AM, Shainarue said:

Mine has the loop going in the wrong direction and not tapered. I couldn't get it to taper against the edge for the life of me. It just kept trying to cup, even with light taps.

use a much lighter hammer..  this will keep it from curling in the center.. 

23 hours ago, Purple Bullet said:

Let me guess, your bladesmith buddy likes feather Damascus? Nice handle.

Not Really..  He doesn't even own a cell phone or a automobile..   Some people get over shadowed and their true merit and wealth is never shared.. 

When I visited him I asked about filming him with and interview..   He has a huge heart which can be a problem when worn on the sleeve.. 

Jen, those twists in the handle are beautiful.  Amazing that one can keep the same twist "pitch" with that many pieces.  Also, the two alternating twist pitches really add pizazz to the piece.

Did a little grinding on a hardy tool bick that I forged out of 4130 sucker rod end yesterday. It's a trade item for our BOA meeting next month. Had a hard time trying to decide on the size of the shaft, forged it down to 1 inch square so whoever gets it can fit it to their anvil.

Looks pretty sweet Randy! I hope I draw your name!

Yes very nice bickeren.  

Jennifer. That's amazing.  Shainarue, don't get discouraged.   Keep trying.  Try a little more heat and try 2 to one.   2 hits on the back and one on the side to straighten the cupping.

Edited August 28, 20223 yr by Chad J.
Took out a question with an obvious answer

I went to a BAM meeting yesterday and they spent a lot of time with me after the meeting working on making a leaf. I also found a video of someone doing the same can tab opener so I'm going to try that again with my phone out there for refreshers. 

14 hours ago, arkie said:

Jen, those twists in the handle are beautiful.  Amazing that one can keep the same twist "pitch" with that many pieces.  Also, the two alternating twist pitches really add pizazz to the piece.

Thanks Arkie,    I love the alternating twists..  This is the first with the same number of bars.   Not bad matching without counting the twists..  

I often wonder if the right hand twisted bars would look better if given a tighter twist..   When the handle is twisted when its complete it untwists some of the bars that are twisted the opposite way. 

Strange really how it straightens the lines..  

Anyhow.. Just a thought/observation.  Thanks.. Much pizazz.. 

I made a trammel hook and a hook to hook it on.

1” x 1/4” bar and 1/4” round

Lots fun. You can see where I got careless and missed a punch blow. My first one and it works great

Shainarue, good job, keep it as your first so you can look back where you started one day. 

Looks good Rojo.  We all mis strike here and there lol.  Nice clean curves.