Ok, been lurking for a little, picking up bits of info where I can and such...
I've always been the sort that's got a gift for making things, but that kinda comes naturally when your family are farmers, and builders. Actually, my grandfather was a smith, and now I really wish I had tried to learn some of that from him, but past is past, and, as the saying goes, "If I'd known then, what I know now..."
So, anyhow, enough of that ramble...
I'll be honest, I'm one of the people who got bit by the bug by watching Forged in Fire...
But I ain't quite as much of a overzealous kid as was back in the days of my teens n 20s lol, so I've done some research though, watched a bunch of vids online (alot of Caleb White, and Walter Sorrells in particular, though not only them, as well as reading various other info sources.
Anyway, I know its not as easy as they make it look on tv, and I know that most of the people posting these videos have been doing it for years, so they make it look easy too...
Anyway, I wanna try my hand at making a blade or 2, just to see how it goes, see if it's something I enjoy, and have a touch for.
So, my plan is this, I have a pretty good variety of tools already, from working on cars, carpentry, building a motorcycle, and just generally being a tool junkie. I wanna try and do a stock removal blade, probably out of the flat section of a HF flat bar, because, well, i don't think I'm gonna find and tool steel much cheaper than a $3 bar...
My plan is to finish building a charcoal forge out of an old steel car rim I have (still need to rig up the air ducting), anneal the bar, do rough profiling with some combination of sawzall/jigsaw/angle grinder/bench grinder, etc.
For the bevels, etc, I was thinking of picking up HFs little cheap 1x30 sander. I know it's not a great machine, but I'm hoping it's enough to get a start and a feel for things...
So anyhow... sorry for the long ramble...
And thoughts, advice, cautionary tales, or anything else along those lines?
Located a little east of Pittsburgh for whatever that's worth, if there might be someone close, willing to show/teach me some things.
Steve
I've always been the sort that's got a gift for making things, but that kinda comes naturally when your family are farmers, and builders. Actually, my grandfather was a smith, and now I really wish I had tried to learn some of that from him, but past is past, and, as the saying goes, "If I'd known then, what I know now..."
So, anyhow, enough of that ramble...
I'll be honest, I'm one of the people who got bit by the bug by watching Forged in Fire...
But I ain't quite as much of a overzealous kid as was back in the days of my teens n 20s lol, so I've done some research though, watched a bunch of vids online (alot of Caleb White, and Walter Sorrells in particular, though not only them, as well as reading various other info sources.
Anyway, I know its not as easy as they make it look on tv, and I know that most of the people posting these videos have been doing it for years, so they make it look easy too...
Anyway, I wanna try my hand at making a blade or 2, just to see how it goes, see if it's something I enjoy, and have a touch for.
So, my plan is this, I have a pretty good variety of tools already, from working on cars, carpentry, building a motorcycle, and just generally being a tool junkie. I wanna try and do a stock removal blade, probably out of the flat section of a HF flat bar, because, well, i don't think I'm gonna find and tool steel much cheaper than a $3 bar...
My plan is to finish building a charcoal forge out of an old steel car rim I have (still need to rig up the air ducting), anneal the bar, do rough profiling with some combination of sawzall/jigsaw/angle grinder/bench grinder, etc.
For the bevels, etc, I was thinking of picking up HFs little cheap 1x30 sander. I know it's not a great machine, but I'm hoping it's enough to get a start and a feel for things...
So anyhow... sorry for the long ramble...
And thoughts, advice, cautionary tales, or anything else along those lines?
Located a little east of Pittsburgh for whatever that's worth, if there might be someone close, willing to show/teach me some things.
Steve
