Michael Stuart

I've been here almost since the forum started I think, moving here from Anvilfire, Keenjunk, Swordforum, and others whose names I forget. I had the great pleasure of seeing Don demo a couple times in person--it was like watching magic!--and meeting some other forum members in person at hammer-ins, the Blade show, and Pennsic War. Four moves across state lines for work and raising kids have kept me too busy to accomplish much forging of my own, but I do love seeing all the work and people on here whose work I've admired for so long, and I will, eventually, make some knives that are passable eno

Looks like it could make a really sturdy power hammer anvil too at those sizes.

That turned out well! I would be happy with it.

I really enjoyed the hammer-in Larry put on, though I only made it up there to it at his place once I think. He was one of those rare types who seemed larger than life. It was around that same time that I met Jim 'Paw-Paw' Wilson, which was shortly before his untimely death. May they rest in peace. The renaissance in smithing over the last few decades would not have happened without the willingness to teach and share that people like them and a number of others including Don Fogg were thoughtful enough to offer, coming as it did at just around the same time that the Internet took off.

I was fortunate to be able to buy several late-1930s-vintage woodworking power tools from a family friend a number of years ago. A real pain to move but they are build to last for sure!

For what it's worth, in re-roofing and expanding my little back yard shed from 8x12 to 12x12 feet, I found fire-rated particle board sheathing at a local surplus building materials place and was able to use that for the new wall parts and all of the new roof decking. It has a fiberglass (?) coating that is impregnated with some kind of fire-resistant white cement. It is nasty stuff to saw when installing because of the fiberglass, and only a supplement not a replacement for a fire extinguisher, but it will be a nice extra bit of peace of mind for when I get my grinder etc. set up in there.

I was thinking of the cave troll in LOTR after having just cut down a small white oak that was growing in the way of a backyard project, so I dug out a drawknife and made this.

Thanks Alan, I would have guessed it was from around the 30s, but good to have you confirm it. Funny thing is lately I've been finding myself drawn to woodworking planes and sewing machines of that same era, go figure!

Done, the thin diamond-section file did the trick! Here's a picture of starting the teeth that shows clearly how worn down they were, another of the tip end in progress to show the file, and one of the cool hammer-and-anvil logo on the knife.

That is really nice!

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I've found a file with a very narrow/flat diamond cross section that I think will do the trick if I angle it in alternating directions. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow, and will try to post some pictures if it works.

So my mom just gave me the bread knife that we used all the years I was growing up, and I think it may have belonged to her grandmother originally. But it's got tiny rectangular teeth that are maybe 1/32 or a bit less wide and about twice as deep as they are wide. The issue is, most of the teeth in the middle (most used) part of the blade are now worn completely away from so many decades of cutting homemade bread! So my question is, is there such a thing as a commercially available file this small, ideally with 2 safe sides/edges, or is there some other tool I could buy or modify to cut in new

I think I've read that the rail track is a high manganese version of a 10xx steel.

Vertical burners will work, but can become extremely hot after the forge is turned off, when they act like a chimney. Avoid having any rubber gas hoses etc. up top!

Very nicely done. We all should be so fortunate as to have relationships of such value, in both directions!