billyO

Why not do the same cold forging that folks use on hardened blades, use a ball pien and hit on the concave side?

Can you be sure that the handles are one piece, and not 2 halves pinned/glued together?

Sorry to hear that, Gerhard. I've been through that recently, too. But it is nice waking up each day to something you want to do instead of have to do. I just hope your concerns about finances don't last as long as mine did.

Looks like a great event! Too bad it's on the other side of the country. At least we in the PNW have Swaptoberfest to look forward to. Hoping it's not too wet this year. Thanks for sharing.

What Gerald said...if general blacksmithing is in your future and you can afford it, buy it now! I wish I had one in my shop.

Finally finished one after a year plus hiatus.... Here's a quick video of part of what's been distracting me. The new forge for our shop is finally functional: plate demo.mp4

Good morning, John. I'm in charge of the forge/metal shop at what seems to be a similar venture here in Portland, OR that started 2+years ago. http://www.pastlives.space Feel free to hit me up with any questions. I can't promise any answers, but am willing to share my experiences, and/or perhaps get you in contact with the person with answers.

Hello all. I got the following message from Arnon Kartmazov at Bridgetown Forge here in Portland, OR: Hello, I have a favor to ask: I'm running a GoFundMe campaign for my apprentice, Buddy. He has been training at my shop for over a year now and was coming along nicely as a talented and dedicated Smith. Unfortunately, his dreams were cut short when an accident involving a freight train took his leg. He survived, and is determined to return to his training, and has every chance to do so, but he needs some help. Please see the link below to the campaign; donate if you can afford it, or simply share the link and the story on your social; media - the latter is really important. Let's help Buddy forge again! https://gofund.me/f3d23b5f

Thanks @Lorne W. Great site!

Hello Lorne. Is this up yet? I tried registering and nothing happened.

Hello all. Some of you may have already seen posts on other forums, but I found out at a small gathering of NWBA members last night that Phillip Baldwin, very talented blacksmith and bladesmith died last week (Wed or Thurs). Too many of you older guys who I learned from are getting too old!!!

I see a one, and while perspective is hard to tell from pictures, it looks big to me compared to the bed/back of the vehicle. I was going to say 180 pounds, and a 180# PW in that condition would go for at least $500 here in the PNW. But we have a lot of active blacksmiths up here, too.

Agreed. One thing I didn't mention about my set-up in the picture. The anvil is a 150KG Kohlswa, the base is a 12" square piece of 2" plate, and the legs are filled with sand and oil (for added weight and to reduce ringing), so the entire thing is about #450+

I think that decision is up to you and how OCD you tend to be. Depending on how hot and long you fire up the forge, the exposed steel might burn away over time, but it shouldn't effect the forge and will only burn back to the refractory where the temps aren't so high.

And speaking off new forges, I finally decided that $2k of my meager retirement fund would be better used to invest in y'alls grandkids' future. I ordered an induction forge setup yesterday, and they say it should be here by the end of the week.