Traditional Blacksmithing and Metalworking

3 day demo

feeds@yuku.com (Thomas Bog Iron Powers) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:53:38 GMT

Looks like I have done survived doing a 3 day demo at the Festival of the Cranes. Generally real nice people---mainly birdwatchers and crafters and artists that sell to them. Unfortunately this year I was on my own the other smith who usually comes out had a paying gig and so it was me, my beard, my disreputable red hat and one of my students off an on---really nice to have someone watch the hot and sharp stuff when you need to take a leak.

I actually made a small profit; about...

Tire Hammer

feeds@yuku.com (GeorgiaDoc) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:22:26 GMT

Got my new Tire Hammer this week. Built by Clay Spencer. Tried it out today and it is very nice. Very smooth. Need to bolt it to the floor so it doesn't go for a walk on me but I look forward to using it alot. I will try to post pictures when I get back home in a week.

Candle Holders

feeds@yuku.com (OldBellows) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:21:00 GMT

Here are a couple of candle holders I made recently as gifts. On the first one, the candle cup was made from a pc of pipe. Hope the pics post!
The second one is made completely from a single pc of old gas pipe from my house. Hope the pics post!

more Wrought Iron

feeds@yuku.com (Thomas Bog Iron Powers) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:58:11 GMT

Wandering around near the *old* city dump last weekend I ran across the rotted remains of an old rr boxcar---just rotting boards on the ground with a couple of pieces of 1/2 round stock protruding. Being careful of snakes, looks like a rattlesnake playground!---I managed to fish out a couple and yup they are real wrought iron! About 6-8' long.

I'll be back to recover the rest of them and "wander" a bit more..

Once I get the G#$%^*&^%$#%^ production...

YeeeHaw!!!!!!!!

feeds@yuku.com (Thomas Bog Iron Powers) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:26:47 GMT

The Electrical CoOp called last Thursday and they finally had used power poles to give away. Poor little things were hardly broken in---only 10 years in the ground and pulled to expand a rail line. I got two 40'rs; cut them in half and a friend picked them up and dropped them off at my place. Then Sunday a couple of my students dropped by and started digging the holes for them so the coalforge and bloomery shop addition is zooming along after a long wait accruing materials on the...

Anvil advice

feeds@yuku.com (magman357) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:59:09 GMT

I was wondering if anyone knows if Vulcan anvils are any good? Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Valentine's gift for my wife

feeds@yuku.com (Dbuzbee) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:47:35 GMT

I got a little time in the shop and finished this in time for valentine's day. It is made from a piece of 1/2" square the candle cup is cold forged.
http://img.photobucket.co...zbee/knifepictures139.jpg

David

Colonial copper candle holder

feeds@yuku.com (B Finnigan) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:04:01 GMT

My daughter wanted a candle holder and was very insistant that it had to be copper.

These are the pieces I started out with. I ordered some thinner copper for the drip pan but it has not come yet. So I used a chunk of thick rod that I had and did alot of hammering.

Forged socket candle holder

feeds@yuku.com (B Finnigan) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:37:25 GMT

Forged from a 1/2" x1/2" x 4" chunk of mild steel. My daughter hand dipped the beeswax candle so mom's gift is from both of us.

Any Knucks find this in their back yard?

feeds@yuku.com (arvelcrynyd) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:19:12 GMT

Nice piece of interplanetary debris. But looks disappointing for us stardust smiths..
"We call it an ordinary condrite," he said. "These are mostly stone, with what I would guess is about 20-per-cent iron metal."
http://www.edmontonjourna...e+race/1008599/story.html

3 day Demo

feeds@yuku.com (Thomas Bog Iron Powers) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:55:34 GMT

Did a three day demo at the Festival of the Cranes at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife refuge. Nice cool sunny weather not too much wind and sold more stuff than in the last three times I'd been there put together---the economy must be booming!

Had a young fellow hang around who had been trying to make wooden spears and had hammered down a piece of light guage Al pipe into a spear; so with permission of his parents we took a couple of socket chisels and forged spearheads from...

Sen

feeds@yuku.com (B Finnigan) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:08:34 GMT

Machined from a single bar of 1/4" 9260 and hollow ground. This is for a guy over on Fogg's forum. He wants to make his own handles so it ships out naked as is. It was tricky cutting the tangs to be straight enough to turn on the lathe. Next time I will use 3/8" stock to have a bit more wiggle room. The machining rings on the tang were left on for glue slots.

Meteorite pendant

feeds@yuku.com (B Finnigan) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:39:00 GMT

I made this from a slice of Campo Del Cialo meteorite. It was polished and etched in FC. The eyelet is 24 kt gold with a small black diamond set in. A friend of mine is a jeweler and she showed me how to set stones and let me use her laser welder to attach the eyelet. On the back she engraved our anniversary date. I covered it during etching and then etched the numbers for contrast.

Question on blade redoing

feeds@yuku.com (jtphantom) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:07:54 GMT

Im thinking about redoing my pattern weld dagger a friend and I worked on... I was thinking about doing another hardening cuz I wasnt sure it was done right when I did it the first time along with maybe another temper.. so to get to the actual question... can my redoing of heat treatment and tempering harm the blade any and do I need to anneal it first b4 the heat treat and temper if its a redo?

Forged lid lifter

feeds@yuku.com (B Finnigan) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:53:12 GMT

Forged from 1/2" mild square bar with a handle/grip turned from red oak. This was a good blacksmithing excersise since it involved drawing, hot cutting, drifting, riveting, twisting and bending. It's coated with beeswax and oven carmelized to protect from rust. The lifter is made for lifting or rotating the hot lids of dutch ovens with the charcoal on them. I have seen them in stores for as little as $10 but what fun is there in just buying one?

restoring hatchet

feeds@yuku.com (Forgeworkx) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:49:32 GMT

Having just pruchased 2 hatchets one a shingle hatchet and the other a lathing hatchet I would like to restore them to their former glory without too much abbrasive , does anyone have a formula for a light rust and small scale remover ? Any help would great .

phil

Carcoal chimney starter

feeds@yuku.com (B Finnigan) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:26:42 GMT

My old store bought chimney starter is rusted and broken so I made another one out of some scrap sheet metal. The handle is turned red oak with friction burned grip rings. It is pinned onto the handle brackets with a 1/4" chunk of mild steel rod. The entire chimney was riveted with stainless pop rivets and 1/8" iron pins, no welding.

Newly forged

feeds@yuku.com (mstephen) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:13:05 GMT

Here are some pic of the projects ive finished latley.

knifelet

feeds@yuku.com (Thomas Bog Iron Powers) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:45:37 GMT

I picked up a piece of what looked like a part of a automotive water pump alongside the road on my way to the SWABA meeting Saturday.

Sunday I started taking it apart for the scrap buckets with my screw press. I fianlly got down to the shaft and noticed that the ball bearings ran directly against the shaft in two little troughs. Hmm perhaps this is better steel than I would have thought!

So I put it in the forge to find out what it was like. *Very* hot hard so it became...

copper bowl

feeds@yuku.com (MacGyver1980) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:53:50 GMT

Hello Guys
Im New here and I would like to know how or where I can find Tutorial about making a Copper Bowl ???
Don't need to be anything big ...about 6 or 8 In wide will be fine.
Also I would like to know what could I use for tools , I do NOT have much here....I can Improvise...
Please let me know,
M.TEX