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I was at a rural farm swap meet a short while back and saw these nails for sale on someone's trailer. I couldn't hang around to talk to the seller but I snapped a few photos. I can't imagine what these would cost today.

I picked up a Starrett cable cutter a few weeks back at a farm swap meet because it was $5, the reason being it was rusted solid. At home I soaked it in WD40 for several weeks while smacking it around with a ball peen. After 3 weeks and it wouldn't loosen I decided to try to pry it open by...

When I 1st looked at these in the pile of rusty tools I'd bought I thought "I'll turn those into blacksmith tongs easily". When wire wheeling the rust off everything I saw the name Vaughan ---------------- Co. I figured I'd post a photo here mainly because of the sad story of the company. These...

I received this old portable drill in a large lot I picked up recently. In an old thread in the "Vise company manufacturers directory pre 1970's" HERE there are some photos of one as well as the identical one that was manufactured in the USA named Cole. Since I only have the drill portion and...

I've come by these pieces of steel separately but both times was with other blacksmith items. I think I've seen these shapes elsewhere too but not sure what they are. The square ends are 1"x1' and 1 1/4"x1 1/4" and they are about 5" long. At 1st I thought they must be just random chunks of...

January was Mallet Month for me. I've almost got this bad boy completed so I thought I'd post the procedure. Eventually I'll make a couple more smaller ones so I have a set to select from. Something I always wanted when I was building log homes was a giant mallet. When you needed to move a 50'...

When I saw this large square at the swap meet I was blown away. I’d never seen one like it and it brought me back to my log house building days. The long leg is 32". I knew it wouldn’t be that useful on a log building site because logs just aren’t that square but just the thought of having it...

I recently needed to turn down a tree limb to make a handle for my cant hook. The tail stock on my lathe only allowed about a 40" handle which was too short so I made this tail stock that allowed having a live center right at the end of the bed adding about 12" to the working length. I doubt it...

For every one who's worked with peaveys and cant hooks in their past do you get a little sick looking at the new fangled ones they sell now-a-days? They're made of pipe and steel all welded together and painted bright red and blue. They don't have smooth flowing lines like the old ones that can...

This was a freebie at a swap meet. It was going for scrap if someone wouldn't have stepped up to the plate. The base is one solid piece. There are no makings of any kind on it. The lever on the right releases the platform to slide back and forth about 3" - 4 ". The "saddle" on top of the...

After a decade on GJ I’ve learned a lot about all kinds of tools, how they are made and what they are made of. However not until I’ve begun blacksmithing have I actually preformed and really experienced how steel is hardened or tempered or what type of steel I should select for a project and I’m...

Skookum - Chinook Jargon: strong, powerful 1825–35, Americanism;<Chinook Jargon: strong, powerful <Lower Chehalis (Salishan language of the Washington coast) skwəkwə́m ghost, spirit, monster (hence, apparently “fearsome” > “powerful” in Chinook Jargon) I picked up this old Skookum ******...

A little background info to start - One day working in my front yard an elderly gent stopped to say a few words. We ended up chatting until dark while I worked. Before he hurried home he said he really enjoyed talking to me and asked if I’d mind if he stopped to chat again if he saw me outside...

I bought a Reed 104 1/2 with plastic jaws which I dislike so I don't use the vise which I really like. I decided to make some aluminum jaws for it so I can get some use out of it. They are the "T" shaped jaws. I recently bought a 25 year old Rong Fu mill drill and have zero experience milling...

I just watched this video and found it interesting. Plason Scraping rebuilds a 50 year old surface grinder. There are some very interesting comments to do with the quality of cast iron between then and now particularly with import tools.

I bought this at a garage sale because it was so heavy. I figured it would make a good anvil. It's 60 lbs. 12"x6"x3". It's very hard steel, I tried to flatten it with a flap disc and I could barely touch it. It has two 5/8" holes drilled through it and they are counter bored on one side to keep...

I scored a post leg vise recently from a junk dealer. I've wanted one of these for about 50 years and finally pulled the trigger. This one's a 5". I talked the seller down to $40 because there was so much slop in it. I've since learned the dynamic jaw and main screw float so they don't absorb...

Sorry if this has been posted before but this is amazing! Here is a link to the original write-up I first saw that has some great photos: https://www.homecrux.com/diy-lawnmower-built-mimic-vintage-cars/66537/ Here are some youtube videos:

I have a very tight work area so I mounted my little arc welder up on the wall. Now that I extended my bench the leads aren't long enough so I want to use some extension leads. I have an extension cable from the mains but since it's now up on the wall in a real tight spot I don't want to move...

Hi guys, I restored a bench grinder but the guides to support the work were incomplete so I got to thinking how to make some that would make it possible to sharpen hand plane blades and similar things that I’ve always had trouble keeping a straight line on. I wound up making this full width...