GruffaloGriff

Not as creepy looking as these. The whole inside of clients kitchen wall was full of them.

Few alternative anvil ideas HERE Quite liking the sledge hammer head in a log. A heavier piece of shaft trough the handle hole for the horn & heel would be my choice but the idea is sound and forklift toes.....

Little project in forge welding chain HERE

If you can cut & weld then you can make/ adapt most of your tool for heating & beating steel. The tongs in first pic above are a pair of long handled nail pullers. On the skip as they had a chunk out of one of the jaws. Welded a couple bits of flat bar on the jaws and they make fantastic forge tongs. Most of my hammers are likewise heads that came off the skip that I put handles on. Any heavy chunk of steel will do for an anvil until you can pick something better up. Proper anvils are expensive but you can still pick them up for a deal if you bide your time and keep your eye

I have 3 forges, none of them cost me any money. Just a bit of time. If you don't have access to recycled/ scrap steel and fire bricks then it will cost you the price of materials. For quick bits of heating/ straightening/ bending/ beating my most used is a basic stainless steel box (old water heater) with fire bricks inside. front is open and top 1/4 on the back open. Powered by an off the shelf (yes i did buy that but not for the forge) big gas blow-torch. Quick to use and no mess. Always intended building a purpose built one on a stand but this works so well i never bothered.

Sorry guys, given up making knives to sell. It never really paid but was fun so didn't mind. Now with the new postal laws for bladed items it is just too much hassle and has taken the fun out of it. Don't know where you are based but THe Sharp Show is happening soon. Loads of custom makers & knives there. Too far away for me but would be fun to go. Regards Griff

Victors are great... and even better when modded so there is no way in except over the kill zone ...even mice can't swipe the bait off a rat trap. + add a kill bar... better still.

Oxy- acetylene ?

Not so much fun though ?

Indeed. Now blends in to the surroundings. Still working away fine though ?

In the box today....Slightly startled look on this old lads face. Not to mention getting caught with his pecker out!

Yes with the cost of heating now, a saw is a good investment and soon pays for itself.

Good choice. The MS271 is a nice saw. Did you go for new or secondhand? I repair/service/sell a lot of used Stihl chainsaws and find them reliable and easy to work on. Can't go wrong with a Stihl in my opinion. I would say the MS260 was my favorite all round saw and easy to work on. There are so many to choose from but for anyone looking for a smaller saw- Ms181, MS231, MS250 are all good saws. For any saw, if you are going to leave it unused over the summer etc, I would suggest warming it up, stop, empty tank of fuel, re-start and let it run dry on idol. Stale fuel in the carb can

If rust is the issue...soak in 4 parts water to 1 part molasses for a few days and rinse off. It eats rust like magic.

Mr stumpy came looking for his tail a few weeks later and the DOC got him.