t cudworth

Thanks Jeremy! Ive been doing alot of research lately on crucible steel and that sort of thing. Also watched Ric Furrer's uhlfbert sword video again for the probly 10th time. Very fascinated by that process. Another reason why I jumped on it. Tom

That ole saying the sun shines on a dogs ass once in awhile is true. I found this deal at a garage sale and jumped on it. The bellows is huge and works great. The coal forge he said is a 1903 farmers helper. I tried finding some info on it but no luck yet. In the package was also an anvil (50 lb i think) with 6 hardy tools, 10 hammers, an anvil stand made from laminated 2x4s, a small toolbox full of assorted junk, and 5 halfway decent tongs. I offered him 300 bux and he jumped at it. Said they were moving and had to unload. I felt sorry for the guy, i could tell he was going to miss it. He just wanted to make sure it was going to be used and not just a yard decoration. I showed him a few pics of my work and he seemed satisfied. Anyone ever come across a forge like that? The leather pump straps need replacing, but the impeller fan works great! Any input is welcome. Thanks for looking! Tom

Reading this thread is bittersweet. Laughing at the pictures then hearing all your painful stories, bringing back my own memories. Sometimes life sucks it seems, but the good times with them are great. At least we know the pets we had were treated like kings and queens! Tom

Such a simple thing, but a really good idea. Now i gotta find my balls i dropped. Tom

As Brian mentioned, the strut does do a good job of keeping the belts tight, they do "twang" when plucked. Ive had mine for about a year now, and have had no issues. I have a 1.5 horse with a vfd and it has good power. Im sure i will upgrade eventually to a 3 hsp. Im lucky enough to have a remote for my vfd so its inside a sealed plexiglass housing- important!! You can order it with or without a motor, i just was lucky enough to get one from a friend by bartering manual labor. All around tho i would definately buy another one. Tom

I purchased the exact same thing, and am very happy with it! Id recommend it to anyone! Tom

Shouldve mentioned that this pic is before adding the 3/4 motor on the bottom, the belt and the foot pedal with pulley to actuate it. Tom

This is the hammer (i use the term loosely) that i built in october one weekend when the wife and kids were gone. To be truthful, i completely stole the idea from a gentleman on youtube. I thought it was a cool idea though. To my surprise, it works extremely well for the 65$ i spent on parts.

Beautiful blade Richard. I really like the handle colors and the steel pattern is eye catching. I ask my wife frequently for advise along those lines. Very nice work. Do you have plans for a sheath?

Thanks Bruno! He wanted it very simple with some evidence of forge marks left to make it look rustic I guess.

This is a full tang hunter I delivered just before xmas. 5160 with barn beam wood from the customers family farm. Im guessing either oak or tamarack, not sure. We came up with a simple design he liked, and went from there. 2 normalizing cycles, quenched in canola, and tempered 400 for 2hrs. Nickle snd copper handle tubes and he elected for a lanyard hole. We experimented with different stains, and he decided on simple urethane. 3 coats and gone over with 2000 grit and it turned out great. Was curious to try ca glue, but I thought I better practice on a test piece first. The last stage of the sharpening was on a compressed paper wheel with white rouge. Scary sharp! Thanks for looking! Tom

Are you in your own hotel room, or do you bunk up with someone? Id be washing my clothes in the shower and hanging them out the window or something. Pheww!

Thanks Garry, i have had blockyitis in the past, and on this one i guess i was scared to get so close to the tang and have a weak handle. Looking back now, i dont think it would have been an issue. Learning curve i guess. His hands are as big as mine, but yea, more curve and less meat!

This is my first w.i.p. with pics so give it to me with both barrels! Hope the pics are adequate with resizing. This is one of 2 knives I produced for a couple. A stick tang hunter closely resembling their sketch which i tweaked a bit with their permission. It is to be a family gift for 1 of 6 brothers. (4 more knives after these 2, ill get pics of the other one later). I first consulted with the couple to determine use, hand size and etc. It is built from a leaf spring, i normalized twice before quench, and i rolled the dice and used furnace cement to try for my first hamon, ill be dipt in shit, it worked. Not sure if it should have been etched in ferric, but i didnt have any. I do have vinegar? Then, 2 hrs in the stove at 400, and a nice straw color. I sanded my way up to 2000, then some buffing on a muslin with white rouge. I ran the primary bevel up to about quarter of an inch from the spine with a small choil. The handle is antler, copper spacers, wood from the owners grandfathers barn (tamarack i think) guard and pommel are farriers file (normalized and polished ), blade radiused, ca glue everywhere, and peened tang. Formed and sanded handle to 1000 grit, then 3 successive coats of urethane, and a slight 2000 after that. Lastly i should note in the final pic, it just has to be sharpened with a secondary bevel. This bugger took me about 25 hours. Thanks for looking everyone and happy holidays!! Tom

The only thing more important than having a power hammer is having a happy wife! That equals more tools down the road! Great looking place jeremy! I kinda feel your pain. My wife has had 5 so far, but doing well. Exercise, diet, and a good quality bed has made a big difference. You have a perfect setup for a pole building like you said! Tom

I once took the very small tip of an antler left over and drilled and epoxied the leather into the back of it. Looked pretty cool, and it would kinda fit your theme. Beautiful by the way! Tom

Gerhard, This situation is strangely familiar. My wife and i live on a small farm with no garage (yet), and when i started, i was set up in a wooden room upstairs in the barn. Dumbass i know. But after about a year i knew i had to do something for safetys sake so i moved into the only outbuilding we have, the milkhouse. The exact inner dimensions are 11x11. I know what economy of space is believe me! With your problem i could think of a few things- -lots of storage under the bench or shelves -brake drums work great for a pedestal grinder, my shop at work uses one for 40+ years -i make great use of storing things overhead as long as its safe -smaller shop is easier to heat in the winter! -i found these 2 ft led striplights plugin ready that can go anywhere and their cheap 20 bux -if your drill press is a benchtop that saves floor room -when i have a table against the wall i prefer to have an elevated shelf system rather than on the table.more room and looks cleaner Maybe spend some time organizing your dads stuff and that could free up some room? Make him a nice knife and he'll see your serious and give you more room? The single biggest change i had to make with a smaller space is cleanliness and safety. I am in a concrete room, so fire isnt as bad, but the 1 military motto i follow is "a place for everything and everything in its place". My shop is never messy, it just gets busy. I clean constantly, but after a while, you get to the point where it's your "mancave" or "she shed" for the woman here. You get to look forward to coming out there and take pride in it. Makes your work better too. Hope this helps! Tom

I think i heard this on a bugs bunny cartoon, but it stuck with me for years- like my granpappy used ta tell me, never tip your hand too early in a card game, yoir a sure bet to lose.

That is beautiful Wes. The steel is awesome, but mu favorite part is the handle. The guard flowing into the spacer and the handle, and the finish on the handle is soooo cool. Tom

Looks great Faye! I am a big fan of antler myself. Although it stinks when you sand it, it looks so nice when polished. I really like the color contrast in this one. When you were in the epoxy phase, did you have it in a press, or did you hold it together in a different way? Just curious. Super work Faye! Tom

arguably one of the most useful yet simple blade designs, ever. just love it!

we all appreciate the time it takes to do that! what a great learning experience. Thanks for the hard work, looks beautiful!!

Hope for a fast recovery for your dad. Tom

Thanks everyone for the info. I ended up not having any time this weekend, had to spend all weekend at work. I am gonna skip the rebar, doesnt sound like its worth it. Would the railroad spikes be better? Carbon content wise? Tom

The only other things Ive got laying around are railroad spikes, horseshoes and lots and lots of leafspring. If any of those are a better fit, I would go that direction too. Tom