Shop and Tools

I of course have a variety of tools in my shop to create these works of art! Several of them are home made, simply because I can't afford to buy them. This doesn't mean they are sub-standard, just that they aren't as pretty!

Press

My hydraulic forging press was made by myself over a period of six months. With a $50 welder I got off a buddy, about 40 lbs of welding rod, a ton or so of scrap steel and several bottles of oxy and acetylene it is now a thing of beauty! I used Jim Bastons plans as a reference for it's design. I believe these plans are available from Don Fogg at this web site (www.dfoggknives.com), as well as an excellent gallery of different forging and knifemaking tools.

One thing I would do differently in making another press is raise the work area higher. As it is right now, you must bend over to see your work, which of course gets old if you're at it for several hours. The great thing about a press is the versatility. You can change dies quickly and go from flat forging dies to cut-off die to narrow drawing die etc. It's also alot quieter that a power hammer!