Alex Middleton

Pretty slick Connor. How well does it work? I got the dreaded phone call this morning that I've been "exposed". Since I had to leave work, and I hadn't been home since the exposure, I went right out to the barn and spent the afternoon cleaning and setting up my bedroom for the next week or two. I always knew that it would pay off to have a heated shop. Now I just have to figure out what to do with all my spare time.............

I hired a couple of local high school kids to come in this past weekend and clean out one of my mothers' old flower gardens. She has an "eccentric" taste in garden styles and we've been dealing with cleaning them up since we bought the house from them 4 years ago. I told the boys that they would most likely stumble across some interesting finds that would have them scratching their heads. As I was checking up on them Saturday, I noticed them struggling with some sort of massive square metal frame. When I went out to give them hand, they had uncovered an old driveway drag made from 2-8' sec

I really like this thread. It gives me hope that maybe someday I'll be able to actually create the blades that I see in my mind before I begin. Lol My first: The last one I've finished:

Nice Connor. That piece of wood looks familiar!

From a fire extinguisher standpoint, really any common version will do the trick. Personally I prefer to have a rechargeable water extinguisher as they are simple to use, effective (for what we typically need in our workshops), and reusable. A CO2 extinguisher is a decent choice as well. I prefer to stay away from dry chemical extinguisher simply because they make a horrible mess and are a pain to clean up after using. Not that that should sway you from using one if needed, just something to think about if you're purchasing. Both dry chemical and CO2 are either a one and done, or need to

Or, you could just look at it as an opportunity for repeat customers and higher sales. As the guy who puts the blood and sweat into building the blade, I can see where you'd get upset watching someone abuse it. But in the end it is their knife, and if they come back to you for a replacement, that speaks volumes about how much they liked it to begin with.

That's a good point Alan. I've only played with damascus a few times, but it's been enough to know that I want to keep doing it, and doing it by hand is a royal PITA. As good of a time as I had hanging out with @Jeremy Blohm and using Smurfette, it's a bit of a hike to make every time I want to draw out a billet . As long as I can get it to hit at least as hard as I do with a 2lb crosspien, I'll consider it a win. Plus, I'll have a one of a kind hammer which is worth the trouble of building it all in itself!

This is kind of where my mind is going as well. Probably not a true Davinci style, but still similar in spirit. I'm going to sketch up my thoughts before I get too much farther.

I've been toying with the idea of building a Davinci style power hammer for some time. Having spent most of the year fighting tendonitis in my right wrist, I decided that it's time to pull the trigger. The other day I stumbled across the drive mechanism for a self propelled snow blower and thought it might work perfectly. I did a temporary mount of a 1/2hp/3450rpm motor to it today to try things out. A rough trial looks like I'll be able to vary the bpm from 40ish up to around 240 or so. I'm not 100% sure that it will transfer enough power to run the hammer, but if it wor

Beauty!

While I don't disagree with you about monetary compensation Dave (especially in the final round of the normal show while the smith is back at his home forge), one might say that the smiths are, in a way, already being compensated. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but expenses to, from, and during the tapings are covered, so it costs no money directly out of pocket to compete. While an individuals time definitely has value, it's a rare smith that can expect to recuperate a living wage when you break costs down into dollars per hour spent on a blade. On the flip side, the exposure given on the

Damnit, now I have to try to find the time to try this! @Jeroen ZuiderwijkIs there a specific type of wood (hard/soft/oily/etc.) that works the best?

Those look like venturi burners, which I've never used, but I would wager that your fuel/air mixture is way off. That looks like a very lazy flame that needs more air to burn properly.

Just remember, eating carrots may make your vision a bit better, but drinking enough alcohol is guaranteed to double it!

Nice work! The unkown Australian hardwood you used looks a lot like some of the Jarrah wood that I've picked up. A pain to work with, but finishes really nicely.