In the Works

So much to do, so little time.

We all know the adage, but it has taken on a new meaning for me after the move. The new job is great, the schedule, not so much. Not only did I go from three and four day weekends down to two, but I loose half of the first day off to much needed sleep.

How does this affect you, dear friends? Other than a bit more irritable host, I hope it doesn't. I just have to become, forgive me a disgusted shutter, organized. Not that organized is a naughty word, but come on, we are all creative types here. Schedules and structure are the devil. They are also a necessary evil, now.

The first step in selling my soul is squaring away my work spaces. The goal is a spot for the forge, and a separate home for wood working tools. The writing space, the precious few times it has been utilized, is anywhere I can hunker down with my tablet and keyboard.

So far the lathe has a new locale.

It isn`t much, a vintage Craftsman pipe lathe. Not super precise, it gets the job done. It is mostly for turning tool handles and the occasional magic wand. Yes, magic wands. I would like to get back into tobacco pipe turning at some point. There is already enough on my plate for the time being, though. 

The forge is now nestled in a cozy little spot in the back stall of a little barn.

There was an addition to the family just before the move. She ain`t the prettiest thing in the world, but when I saw her rotting in a back alley I had to make the owner an offer. Thirty bucks later and she is happily back to work.

Still a bit of cleaning up to do, but no real complaints.

I have been tinkering here and there, lately. Made a couple of knives, and a few tools. Production has yet to really ramp up though. I have a decent stockpile of steel, and a ton of ideas, time is the only issue. Story of my life, what else is new.

Once the dreaded physical space organization process is done I need to lay down the law with myself. That means schedules and deadlines.

I now have three long form writing projects that are languishing in the half to three quarter finished stage of first draft. Each time I had a legitimate reason for starting something new, but now it is time to choose one and stay the course. I also have two short stories nearing completion that I am, quite frankly, scared to finish. 

It is an odd feeling. One that I only get about writing. The fear of actually finishing something, maybe simply because I will have to put it out there to be judged? That doesn't make much sense. I don't feel that way about any other form of art. I usually just dive in, do the work, and throw it out of the nest the second it can survive on it's own, off to make it's way in the world. But writing is cerebral, intellectual mixed with creative. The logical mind gets invited to the party, and he is a real downer. Sure he provides tons of facts, and establishes plausibility, but damn. He is always calculating risks, predicting disasters. The hardest part of writing is getting him to provide needed ballast without sinking the ship.

Deadlines should help with this. If I put a proverbial gun to his head, the logical mind is usually too preoccupied with the goal to nay say. Another way to distract him is task focus. Break the job into digestible pieces, and his ADHD becomes less of a problem. The final tine in my three prong approach is incentives. I have resorted to dangling my more physical pursuits in front of my own nose to keep me moving. No forging until you get your writing done young man.

No idea how this will pan out, but we shall see.

So the agenda is:

1. Make an agenda... 

2. Plot out specific goals, tasks, and projects.

3. Fit projects into the schedule.

4. Actually follow said schedule.

Goals:

Long Term

Angel'sKin - Urban Fantasy Novel - 3/4 completed

Oxmaer - Young Adult Fantasy Novel - 1/2 completed

Dark Man - Horror Novella - Nowhere near completed

Medium Term

Flight 666 (working title) - Short Story - 9/10 completed

Hear That Devil Sing - Short Story - 3/4 completed

Forge needed tools - froe, draw knife, tongs, etc...

Short Term

Finish organizing and arranging work spaces

Dig out any tools still packed away

Finish Chapter 1 of joint writing venture

I'm sure there is more, but for now the tally is;

Universe: one bajillion

Me: one 

At least I'm gaining ground, right. Stick around, kiddies. I'm either going to soar, or crash and burn. Either way, it should be a great show. Until next time, go create something.

The Process

I've spent a good bit of time questioning myself about what exactly it is that I'm trying to share with you guys via this blog. It is funny to admit that I'm not completely sure. I'm into things that are interesting, well, because they interest me. I figure that means they'd interest you too, but why consolidate them all here?

This isn't meant to be a journal, or a place to show off what I enjoy doing. It isn't just a place for project ideas,  directions, or DIY build-alongs (though there is some aspects of that at play). I had to really think about what I plan to serve up that is unique for your discerning palates.

As I was doing some carving this week, I had to stop to make a new tool. That led to needing a new jig for sharpening, which in turn led to a web search for jigs. That turned up an awesome jig for turning the ends of large stock into tenons for the rustic stools I'm working on. So I made one. Could have bought it, would have been easier. I would have gotten a tool made by a pro that would surely have done an excellent job, but I made one instead.

I could keep going, but you guys are smart enough to recognize the pattern forming. Everything we do creatively is interconnected. It is a process. Though heavily influenced by my ADHD like attention span, it gets the job done. I really only have a few goals with my creative time. First is the actual act of creating something. This one is by far the most mundane goal, and surprisingly the least important to me. Second, is to learn something new. I don't know how masters of a craft can stick with it after the initial stage where everything is exciting and new, with new knowledge gained daily. Next in the reverse hierarchy is the experience itself. I choose my projects based on what the experience will be like. I enjoy cooking more than eating. The trip is more important than where we're going, get it?

The process culminates in the understanding and definition gained. This is different than simple mechanical learning. Once I create something I can step back and reflect on how that affects and applies to so many aspects of myself and the world around me. Bushcraft gets me in touch with the environment, and mankind's place in it far more efficiently than any amount of philosophical introspection. Composing fiction gives me a chance to see things from another perspective, unlike anything my eyes could ever show me. I create in an effort to understand. To understand the project at hand, what it is and how it is made. To understand the job or task the finished product will be used for. And above all, to understand myself.

And that is where it is all heading, understanding. If the goal was learning, then you could just read a book. But we create. If the intention was just needing something, there are far more simple methods of acquisition. But we choose to create. Not to dive too deeply into philosophical babbling, creation is the cornerstone of understanding. It is active participation. It is a method employed to engage the reality we perceive around us.

Creativity is one of the few things that separates us from the beasts. Our most powerful tool for defining, and even redefining our environment. I would offer that you are not what you have, nor what you do, you are what you have created. And what have you created lately?

Holy Hell, We`re Back.

After six months of life changing chaos the waters have settled. I can surface to devour a lung spitting gulp of fresh air. Everything, I mean every single thing, went on hold for a career change. We threw in a new venue just for good measure. It was all by choice, so no tears, just some temporary sacrifice.

Everything is all inclusive. Writing abruptly stopped cold. Forging wasn`t practical, so it halted. The long term nearly abandoned motorcycle project is rotting under a lean to. Most tools and all supplies got packed in a shed, beyond the reach of mortal man. I spent two months in a hotel in Austin for training, followed up by field training (which is going well). Days off were cut back from four to two, technically one and a half when you work a hybrid night and day shift.

The up shot is we are home, back to our roots. We landed on five acres owned my brother and sis-in-law. The forge and all new anvil (pics to come) found a home in one of the barn stalls. The wood lathe has its eye on an open air spot off one of the tool sheds. The other tools are shaking off rust and neglect and slowly crawling out into the light.

What`s coming up?

I have a writing project in the early stages with Kiley (the dude abides), that should help clear out the cobwebs and get the old think box back on track.

Been forging some archery bits for my good buddy John Boudreaux, and their might be some wood bow building in our future.

Made a couple of knifes in the last few weeks, gonna have to do more of that.

I'm also considering putting up a few videos if I can figure this editing software out.

Still have two books in the works, just have to get motivated there. There is a chance at a few short stories emerging, but don't hold me to that just yet. I haven`t written one since Mark Whalberg was Marky Mark.

All told things are great, and getting better. My Pinterest is overflowing with project that need doing, the kids are back in school, and I have Mondays off. Things that need doing will get doing, and Monday posts should become a regular thing. So go make something, and stay tuned. More to follow.

Show Rob Some Love.

Hey guys, I'm just stopping by real quick to ask a quick favor. If you are into quality young adult fiction, consider buying a copy of one of these titles by Robison Wells.

Why should you do this? Other than the fact he is a damn fine author, he is just a swell guy who has been dealing with a lot of rough stuff. I first ran across Robison when he appeared on Writing Excuses, my favorite writing podcast, speaking about mental illness. We all know how many writers have been, and are now, fighting this fight. He openly speaks of how his closet full of mental diseases has affected him, his family, and his efforts at writing for a living. If you are dealing with a mental illness I'd highly recommend giving Rob's guest podcast on writing and mental health a listen, here. Since I have been following him on social media I have been touched by his stories, his humor, and his struggles. Currently he is dealing with the very real possibility of having cancer. His short plea for help can be found here, on his website.

Some others are organizing benefits, give-a-ways, and the like around the blogosphere. Here is one last link to Luisa Perkins' site with info on how to participate, or donate if you'd prefer. If nothing else toss a share or like his way, mostly so you can keep your eye on a young adult sci-fi author worthy of paying attention to. And please, keep Rob and his family in your thoughts and prayers during his time of struggle.

New Year Update, Kindle/Keyboard Review

Happy Belated New Year.

So much has been going on in the virtual eternity since last we met here. Quick recap, November NaNoWriMo was a huge soul crushing failure. I wrote fewer words in that month than any since I decided to throw myself into this novel writing thing. Writing by the seat of the pants is apparently not my method. December was almost as bad. Here in North Texas we were hit by a good size ice storm that resulted in a lot of broken trees. I lost a few days to the clean up only to be hit by the flu followed by an ear infection over Christmas. Stir in A quick trip home for the holidays, and yeah, not much was done in December. The silver lining, I have enough project wood to last a decade.

My lovely wife ordered me a Kindle Fire HD ($99 Black Friday special). Anyone who slums Facebook in my neck of the woods probably knows I intend to use it for writing on the go. I finally got my bluetooth keyboard in, and gang, super excited. Currently having my first go at getting some words bashed into this poor little sub-tablet. I have been reserving judgment on the practicality of doing real writing on this set up until now. I am impressed so far, but there are some concerns.

Room for Improvement

The default dictionary is a joke. Turn autocorrect off. Not a big deal during rough draft. In fact it helps. It does present the challenge of learning to spell, though. Not my strong point.

Selecting/highlighting text is difficult on the touch screen. Single words are no problem, but this thing ain't doing edits. The keyboard didn't help on this. Some of the editing shortcuts are available, but not all of them.

Cursor placement could be easier. Nevermind the fact that my huge calloused hands are more suited to holding a hammer than fine electronic manipulation. Seriously, it is like trying to play operation with a lead pipe. The arrow keys on the new keyboard are a massive improvement.

On the Positive Side

There are quite a few serviceable note taking apps out there. Evernote has impressed me with the cross platform integration. Every device I touch now has a copy. Outlining, research, inspiration, and even whole scenes are fed into notes where they are sorted, tagged, and released into the cloud.

For. Free.

I'm playing around with a few other programs that are closer to a traditional word processor, but so far I'm happy with Evernote. Most of the programs require you to transfer or email yourself each note individually. As each scene gets it's own note, they have to be compiled in your word processor before layout can be done.

I chose the cheapest micro keyboard available, because as you may have ascertained, I don't like spending money. I prefer to barter whenever possible (as I have an aversion to over quantify, classify, deify, and objectify "stuff"). I ended up going with the Fintie 7" mini keyboard off Amazon. Currently $15.99, and it does the job. Again my hobby scared meat hooks present a problem with the compact layout of the keyboard, but I haven't bothered with the home keys since my 6th grade typing class. It has not slowed me down, if such a thing were even possible. I drop a keystroke here and there, but that seems to be user error. If you're interested in one you can check it out here.

Overall the combination I'm going with is working. I can't complain about the speed or responsiveness. The whole package is super portable. One of my favorite places to catch a few words is while stuck in the line to pick the kids up from school. It was quite a feat with the laptop, but now I toss the Kindle on the dashboard and all I have to wrestle with is the tiny little keyboard. I can even hold it up and text type using my thumbs, which is rather handy.

As a bonus it also pairs with my computers. With the word processor open on the desk monitor, I can pace around and thumb type in those ADHD fueled moments when "butt in chair" is much less likely than "hands on keyboard".

Where I Stand

This is a solid option for another way to get words on the page. I don't consider it to be a stand alone option, though. For the author on the go, you can't beat the packability. I'll likely do the majority of my composing with this set up, but it still requires an umbilical cord to the mother ship.

One last note, The Kindle Fire HD  is wifi only. Fine with me, Evernote saves my place and syncs itself whenever connected. I don't foresee any situation where I stand to loose large amounts of data do to lack of connection. Plus, who really needs another data plan in there life?

As always any questions are welcomed, as is any advice. Have a favorite app or alternate set up, the rest of the class would be happy to hear about it. With new these new toys... I mean tools, I have no good excuse for not getting back on track in 2014. There are a few carving/smithing/bushcraft projects in progress, so expect updates soon. In the meantime, go make something.

-CrescentSon

Forged Bowl Carvers Adze

Up until quite recently the bulk of my carving experience has been either extremely small scale or smooth surfaced basic shapes such as spoons, bowls, and the occasional magic wand. As it tends to happen I decided for no rational reason whatsoever that I wanted to carve things that were as detailed as my smaller work, but on a larger scale.

The first step in any new obsession is gathering intel. I researched Japanese Noh masks, antique signage, and creepy puppets. I filled a Pinterest board with things I wanted to carve. Hours were spent pouring through Google images. Ideas were forged, techniques analyzed. Plans emerged.

I needed tools. Something larger than the micro chisels I forged for carving Nestuke (previous obsession, groovy stuff, google it). This is why I initially made the mini-forge. Firing up the full sized charcoal burner was both expensive and a complete pain. I had basic carving knives, but the type of work coming next called for all kinds of fan tail chisels, spoon gouges, and adzes. Goody.


The first tool that grabbed my fancy was a miniature adze found on knivesbynick.co.uk. I fancied it for several reasons. It was designed with interchangeable blades, the blades could be made from flat stock, and it was fairly primitive. I like to keep things simple.

As simple as making stuff from scratch can be.

Luckily, there just happens to be a large number of L6 flat stock pieces on hand. I have been hoarding sawzall blades for just such an occasion.

This one should do nicely.

 Cut to size with an angle grinder.

And the bit that has a date with the flame.

One piece of advice, if you aren't familiar with the metal you are going to use you may want to take a minute to figure some things out. With saw blades you have to consider what it was used for. Reciprocating saw blades are designed to be heat hardy, their strength can't rely too heavily on the heat treat alone, so none of them are composed of simple carbon steel. The other metals in the alloy can make you project piece react in interesting and unpredictable ways when forged and heat treated. 

Some blades are bi-metal. This means that two metals were chosen for different properties, then married together in some configuration. Usually the cutting edge is a harder, more brittle metal. The body and the bulk of the blade is made out of a tougher or springier alloy. These blades are useless for making a cutting tool. The teeth are the only bit that can hold an edge when hardened, and the alloys are usually to complex to be effectively hardened in the home forge. 

If the blade you choose has no markings left to indicate that it is bi-metal you can lay the blade flat and take some 120 grit sand paper to it. Rough polish a small section of the side taking care to expose both the side of the blade body and a few teeth. Dunk the blade in vinegar for a few minutes to etch the metal. Different alloys react in different ways to the acid in the vinegar. If it is a bi-metal blade you will see a clear line where the two metals have been welded together just above the cutting surface. Sometimes the vinegar is overkill, just a quick polishing will reveal the line.

Once I know the piece is homogeneous I usually do a hardening/file test. Cut off a smallish piece of the blade from a place destined for scrap. Heat it to critical temp, the point at which a magnet no longer attracts the metal, about bright orange. Let it cool slowly. Sticking it in sand or laying it on the edge of the forge slows the cooling process. This is called annealing. It takes the metal from a hardened and heat treated state back to its natural state. A file should readily cut into the edge after the metal has cooled. 

Heat it back to critical, then plunge it into oil. This is hardening. I mentioned this briefly last time, but I'll go into slightly more detail here without attempting to fully explain the dark and terrible forces involved. It is important to have a basic understanding of what is going on. When the metal is brought to critical the molecular harmony in the steel responsible for its magnetic properties is thrown into chaos. As the atoms spin around the micro magnetic poles are thrown out of alignment making the mass nonmagnetic on a micro scale. Once brought into this relatively free state the carbon in the steel begins to spontaneously form the crystalline structures responsible for the steel's final hardness. When the piece is flash cooled in the oil, the crystals are literally frozen in that structure. Once hardened, take the file back to the steel. If it skates across the edge without cutting in, congratulations, you have a hadenable piece of stock near its hardest possible state. If you were to hit with a hammer at this point, without tempering, the crystals would likely shatter and the metal would fail. More on that in a bit. 

This is an incredibly simple bit of forging once you are pleased with your metal. There are really only two concerns with this project. If you hammer on the metal after it is too cool you can crack it. If you heat it too much past past bright orange you'll burn the steel. Burning the steel just means it has become so hot that it begins to melt. The carbon in the steel is boiled to the surface and lost. Take the carbon content down too far, and it won't hold an edge. L6 is a pretty forgiving metal for both of these concerns. Just watch the temp, don't work the metal higher than bright orange or lower than a cherry red.

The image above shows the heat progression from the bright orange toward the tip, and the cherry red toward the tail. My anvil for this piece is just a rail spike stake that I ground into a small horn shape and set into an oak 4x4. It could just as easily be set directly into a stump, or held in a vice.

Working the piece is the exciting part when you are doing it, but the boring part in explanation. Suffice to say that I hit it with a hammer until it was at the correct radius. Any hammer will work for this thin stock, so use what you have available.

There is a choice to make at this point. You can shape the cutting edge, while the steel is relatively soft, using files and stones. This is easier than shaping after the steel is at finished hardness, but the thinner the edge, the more likely it is to burn off during the hardening process. I choose to heat treat prior to shaping because I have a belt sander that will do the majority of the work on a hardened blade.

The finished piece is heated to critical and cooled in a pre-warmed mixture of recycled vegetable oil and used motor oil. No special reason, just what I had. There is science type stuff involved in choosing a quenching bath to match the steel, but L6 works good with oil. Water and salt water baths quench the steel faster, locking it in a harder state, but quench a really carbon heavy object too quickly and it will end bad. High carbon steel, like recycled file knives, will crack when cooled in water. L6 and most spring steel will quench super hard in water, but warps pretty badly without really knowing what you're doing. Oil is by far the safest route for a beginner.

When quenching a blade it is important to dip the blade in quickly, cutting edge first. Move it around while holding the piece suspended in the oil for thirty seconds or so. If you don't keep the blade moving small pockets of air will form next to the surface of the blade. The steel in contact with these pockets will cool at a different rate. The expansion and contraction forces inherent in heating and cooling steel can cause the finished product to twist and warp in undesirable ways. Let's keep that to a minimum, m'kay.

As I mentioned earlier, a hardened blade is pretty brittle. The answer to that problem is tempering. When you temper a blade, what you are doing is heating it to a certain temp and holding it there to soften the metal. The overall hardness goes down, but the toughness is increased. There are a ton of methods on how to do this, but for utter simplicity I'll stick to the basics for now. I use my electric oven for tempering. Even if you scrub the blade this results in some smoke and the odor of burning oil. You've been warned. I want this to be a reasonably soft blade for wood carving involving a leveraged prying force imparted by the handle. A super hard blade is too brittle for this tool, especially with a blade this thin. For those in the know, that is toward the blue end of the color tempering spectrum, or about 450* F for 30 to 45 minutes in my oven. Ovens vary, so some experimentation is needed. Polish the cutting edge of the blade, and put it in the oven on a cookie sheet, or on some foil. Start about 400 degrees for 30 minutes. If the polished area has already turned to a medium to dark blue turn off the oven and pull out your finished blade. If the polished area has turned a straw yellow to brown color without getting any darker you're on the right track. Turn up the heat 10*, leave the blade for 10 more minutes, and check the color again. Repeat until you get a lovely royal blue.

Once my blade was finished I carved up a quick handle, and drilled a hole slightly smaller than the blade. I used a flat chisel made from a straightened out spring to square the edges of the round hole to fit the blade. You could heat the tang/tail end of the blade prior to heat treating and burn out the corners of the square hole if you prefer. Up to you, your tools, and your supplies. I carved a quick tapered wedge from osage orange to hold the blade in place, and the rig was complete.

It is way too light for chopping strokes, but the leverage in an underhand push stroke is amazing. The amount of wood that can be removed in a single stroke speeds up reducing processes dramatically. It also affords the hand a lot of control in detailed carving and planing. It isn't as practical for spoon bowl carving as I had hoped, but that might have more to do with the angle of the blade, and the bevel of the cutting edge than anything else. Since this little guy was completed I have churned out a couple more blades to fit this handle, and the plan is to make a few handles with different angles to make a versatile carving system for my travel and bushcraft kit.

This thing has been a blast to carve with, and has inspired a few more tools that will be coming along shortly. I've been working on some finer detailed carvings, like these masks, that are creeping ever closer to completion. The demon mask, pictured here with the latest carving tools, is going to be a long term project. It keeps forcing me to make new tools that I didn't know I needed until I needed them. His write up is in the works, but still a long way off. Info on the tools, however, is just around the bend. I'm also compiling a bunch of realizations that have flowed out of my journey back into writing that have informed my process. Hopefully I will be able to share something on that front in the near future. In the mean time if I can offer any assistance, clarification, or just words of encouragement let me know. Until we meet again, go make something.

Desk Top Forging

The art of the blacksmith is often viewed as some kind of dark art. Like an alchemist the smith bends the elements to his will, creating something useful or beautiful out of little more than fire and a lump of refined earth. The idea conjures up images of some massive brute of a man pounding away at white hot steel surrounded by a shower of sparks while the fires of hell blaze at his back.

During extreme operations that might not be too much of a construction of fancy. More often than not, my experience is a small controlled flame and a cherry red blob being coaxed into a pleasing and practical shape. It is a relaxing and rewarding - although often dirty - experience that yields a large gain with little expenditure.

Ready to get started?

Metallurgy is an incredibly precise applied science, and forging is intimately tied to it.  The process deals with the microscopic effects of physical and chemical properties of the metal and the flame. The good news is you don't need to completely understand it to benefit from it.

The act of heating and physically refining the grain structure of a piece of metal can be achieved with little experience or knowledge, but a basic comprehension is worth the extra effort.

All you really need to start a small forge is fire, an air source, something to hit with, something to bang on, and something to forge. Most of my work is to make tooling for other projects, useful implements, or decorative items. Because of the small scale, the required elements can be gathered easily enough.

Fire and Air.
I run a charcoal/wood forge for my small jobs.

This little guy is as basic as it comes. It has everything you might need in a small forge. There is welding involved in the design, but that isn't required.

Basically you need something to hold the hot embers on top of a tube that feeds from the air source below.

Mine is a mitered piece of angle iron welded along the edges fitted into some "black iron" gas pipe. What i started with was even simpler. My first micro-forge was just a cast iron pan with holes drilled in the bottom. That sits on top of a "T" created by cobbling together pre-threaded  pipe pieces from the hardware store.

The whole rig is pretty simple. To build one here's what you'll need:

1 - Cast Iron Pan
2 - Flange
2 - Threaded Nipple (any legnth)
1 - T Coupling
1 - CPU Fan
1 - 9V to 12V AC Adapter


That's pretty much it. The design can be made as complicated as you wish,  but this is the most basic configuration. If you're handy enough you can source the bits from available obtanium. The pipe fitting is the simplest bit. Just assemble as pictured. Drill a few 1/4" holes in the pan, or whatever heavyweight receptacle you sourced, making sure to keep them in the center above the opening in the flange.

The CPU fan is the only technical bit. I have them laying around from various salvage operations, but they can be purchased anywhere that sells techy stuffs. Get one that has a two wire set up. They run off a 12 volt power supply, but stepping down to a 9 volt won't harm it. It'll just run a bit slower. The ac adapter can also be purchased, but any old adapter would do. I have those all about as well, phone chargers, computer accessory power suppliers, whatever you got. Strip the wires, twist the matching colors together, wrap up each of the pairs with electrical tape, and wrap both bundles together. I mounted my first one to the end of the rig with copper wire, but anything will work. As a general caution, the pipe doesn't get extremely hot, but the shorter the pipe nipple you use, the closer the fan is to the flame. Might make it at least a 3" piece just to be sure. My first rig was 1/2" pipe. I'd advise 3/4" or 1", both to make the set up more stable and for improved air flow.

Heavy Metal
Just as it implies, you need a decent sized piece of something hard for an anvil. You also need something as hard to hit stuff with. For this small of a set up any old roofing or ball peen hammer will do. I used my trusty four pound cross peen hammer, but it is overkill when making chisels out of 1/4" spring steel. The anvil should be a pretty hard piece of steel. I started with a 25 lb. steel dumbell. Dig around, there is a lot of wiggle room on this. More often than not I use a railroad spike driven into a four by four.

Is it just me, or does my stump look happy to see you?

A side note on railroad scrap. Picking it up off the tracks is against the law, even if abandoned in the rocks. There are sources to get it legally as there are salvage companies licensed to retrieve and sell scrap stock. I have a 2.5' piece of track that was a task to obtain, but I love it. You can also buy small anvils from craft and jewelry stores, but stay away from anything cast. The surface is rarely even enough to be usable. One method is to mount one hammer in a vise for the anvil, and use another to do your striking.

Project Material

This is where the scrappers and hoarders go nuts. Depending on what you want to make you can use all manner of metal scrap to make stuff. Nails, files, old knifes, springs, saw blades, I'll use anything. I would caution against using galvanized steel. it can be done but the zinc burnt off in the forge can mess you up. The fumes are noxious and in heavy enough doses cause a flu like state that is a booger to shake off.

Identifying scrap steel is an art unto itself, but I'm not too particular. Most of my carving tools are made of either carbon steel or spring steel. The carbon in these materials can be hardened to improve edge holding. I'm not going into steel composition and testing in this post, just note if you are making a blade you need something that will harden. My most recent carvers are made from one of three sources. For flat stock I collect old sawzall reciprocating saw blades (L6 Steel), cut nails (.80-.90 carbon steel), and spring steel (all kinds of alloys).

Practical Magic

As we get into individual projects I'll get into greater detail on hardening steel. If you can't wait, here is a good write up from Tidewater Blacksmiths. This is the darkest art of this dark art. The basic idea is to get the steel to a certain heat, critical temp, and flash cool it. This process locks the carbon crystals that are forming in the steel in their hardest state. This is really only needed for blade making. Decorative stuff is fine in the metal's natural state. It sounds complicated, but you heat the metal to a bright orange heat and plunge it into oil. You can re-purpose motor oil, or cooking oil, or whatever you have around.

Once hardened the blade is very brittle. A properly hardened piece of steel will shatter if struck by a hammer. To relax the metal to a tempered state moderate heat is applied taking away some of the hardness and increasing the toughness and durability. Most of my carving tools are hardened then thrown in an oven at 450* - 500* for an hour. There is a lot of info out there on this, so go consume as much as you feel you need.

No Excuses

It is really a simple hobby. You get to play with fire, and make cool looking sharp stuff. Why aren't you already doing this. You know you have wanted to since you were a kid. I have a few projects documented already, and there are more in progress. I have a few project ideas posted on my Pintrest if you just need to get start immediately. In the mean time, if there is anything you want help making or have any project ideas drop a comment or email me crescentson at gmail dot com. I'm glad to help any way I can.

Speaking of no excuses, I need to get some writing done today. I hope this is a decent start for you guys. If not, stay tuned. There is always more to come. Now, go create something.