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I Forge Iron

It followed me home


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While getting gas I saw a retired farmer, that I hadn't seen in a couple of years, and while talking I mentioned I was working on building my blacksmith shop. He said that he had an old anvil that his brother had given him before he died, "but I can't get rid", stopped and then said "you knew him didn't you? I said yes, I knew him and he said "when can you come by my house? I almost beat him there. It has some edge damage where someone cut with a torch on it, but has 70-80% rebound,  weighs 128# as stamped.IMG_0073.jpg.d5ccf58659ce9cc297a1c0642a993208.jpg

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SWEET score Les! Mount her up and put her to work, I don't see anything I'd mess with damage wise. Bummer about the torch cuts, we see that too often but they don't look too difficult to work around.

Oooh a new drill press! Hang onto the wife Ben, you got you a keeper!

Frosty The Lucky.

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42 minutes ago, Ben Hoover said:

Now to figure out the speeds needed for the little things I do.

The chart is visible in the pics on the under side of the pully/belt cover. Too slow is better than too fast, when in doubt use the next slower speed on the chart. 

Different alloys want different rotation speeds but it's not really possible to make a chart there are so many. That's a matter of practice on the operator's part. Listen to your machine it'll tell you exactly what's happening but you have to learn it's language and listen. Machines all speak the same language they just have different voices. 

Remember, ALWAYS secure the work to the table! You need: clamps and a good drill vise and clamps or toggle bolts for the vise. Sheet metal WANTS to grab the bit as it passes through the far side and nothing makes your day like having a piece of sheet metal start spinning in your fingers like the meat saw it just became. Hmmmm?

If you watch Forged in Fire pay attention to the contestants drilling pin holes in the tangs for excellent examples of how NOT TO DO IT! If I were teaching a shop class I'd show clips to show students how not to do things, lots of the contestants have pretty poor shop skills. I have to admit almost all of them have much better skills on the belt grinder than I. Then again, I don't make knives.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Good advice.  I don't drill without the work clamped in place.  I like being able to count to ten without removing my shoes.

   I'm going to make certain to listen to the machine and make sure the drill bits aren't squealing xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.   Fortunately, right now I am pretty much working exclusively on bottle openers and hooks, so not a lot of variety on the  metals I am using, but I do get some free mystery metal from time to time that I will need to pay attention to.

   I appreciate the advice Frosty. I will heed it.

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You're welcome Ben, my pleasure. I spent too many years in school and working with machine tools and want to pass on what I can. Get a drill bit sharpener, there's no way I can TELL folks how to sharpen a drill bit at a bench grinder. Drill sharpeners do an excellent job if you follow the directions, I use one.

Frosty The Lucky.

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I worked in a machine shop for a few years and there i learnt how to sharpen drill bit by hand. 

Invest in some good cutting oil also. A few drops can make a world of difference sometimes. 

What i have wondered about that forged in fire show is why do none of the smiths punch their holes? 

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Dad and Frosty, thanks I can’t wait to make my stand and put it to work  

Ben, that’s a fine piece of equipment. I picked mine out of the trash 35 years ago, no motor or pulley, mounted an old motor and step pulley on it, set it on the slowest setting and been using it since without charging anything. Never burned a drill bit and drill most dry. 

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New to me fly press, not sure of make or size, restoration process should throw some light in that area.

Took three of us (my self, the Iron Dwarf and the Copper Elf) to load it in the hire van, but managed with the engine crane to unload it easy enough at my lock up. Once I realised the reason it was not lifting of the bed was because the jib was lifting the van up......oops!  Intending to strip and clean up each component before putting it to work.

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110 pound Jymm Hoffman anvil!  Of 30 ordered to sell at this BAM conference... this was the ONLY one that didn’t get sold before the conference!  Jymm is one of our demonstrators at this event.  I came early to get in on the good deals.  I got a nice hammer and this anvil from Jymm today!  I am excited to put it to work!  This is hardened to 52 Rockwell and cast of solid H-13 steel!  Isn’t it a BEAUTY?  It is Jymm’s design for an improved European anvil style.  I think it is as fine as any anvil I’ve ever seen!  I am thrilled to be it’s new owner!  It takes about 30 weeks to get an order for these anvils cast and machined and shipped.  Yes... I could be slipping back into smithing addiction.  Pray for me!  Odd scraps of metal are making my fingers tingle again!

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2 hours ago, bigfootnampa said:

Yes... I could be slipping back into smithing addiction.  Pray for me!

Okay, I'll say a few words to make your return a smooth thorough one. Nice anvil, I don't see any scale on it though.

Welcome back. 

Frosty The Lucky. 

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Thanks Frosty!  I am leaving it with Jymm till Saturday evening so that people can look at it.  Then I’ll have to make a stand and retrieve my coal forge from my Saint Louis smithy.  I also intend to make a Hoffman style propane forge.  So scale is a few weeks away yet.  I’ve got at least one pre-order waiting!  I’m looking forward to the demos today!

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I ordered myself a bunch of books for my birthday, and they’ve begun to trickle in. 

A90ABADE-C8EE-4705-AB49-6325CC0ED3F0.jpeg

(eBay and Amazon Marketplace sellers of used books are somewhat variable in their shipping. I ordered this one last, and it came first.)

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Looks to me like you picked up different grades of coal. If you separate them by apparent grade and burn one grade at a time you'll learn what coal works best for you. Yes? Next time take notes maybe even pictures of where you get what, maybe collect one bucket of each. 

A lot of what I can collect in the mines has been scrambled by the drag lines when it was in operation. Digging individual seams is for younger guys than I.

Frosty The Lucky.

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