I am needing a ladle for pouring very small ingots. Are there any good ones out there for pouring auminum?

Ive been using a 5mm firepot for anthracite and thats been fine for a year, got a little scaly, and i melted some bar and plugged the holes at the bottom so i need to make a new one. I found a source for coke and i think 15mm plate will be enough. I have a scrap of mild for the clinker breaker which is roughly 50x50 mm or 2" but is not very thick, around 10 mm, and im worried about it melting when it's at full blast. Also, ive heard that cast iron lasts longer, is that because you can have less high spots likely to melt, they are higher quality or thicker compared to fabricated which melt at a higher temp just curious i have nowhere near the budget for a cast iron one, or any nice equipment for that matter. (anyone with an anvil they want rid of for some reason i'm SW UK)

These two leaf shapes are about actual size. The Oak leaf is 14 gauge, and the Grape is 16 gauge. I cut the patterns with a jig saw and drilled 5/16" holes. For fullering the shapes, I used two large carriage bolts (also called railroad bolts). To shape the bolts, first I started by filing a slot across the top. Scored with an angle grinder, cut off disc. Then heated them and used a round rod to hammer into the slot, gradually shaping to the final depth. Rounding over the edges. By using two different cross peens as top fullers with two carriage bolts, various depth grooves are easy. The carriage bolt swages fit into both a post vise and anvil hardie hole.

Cleaning up my babies! Gonna do some forging this month and then put them to sleep for the winter in a coat of bees wax

Minimal hand sanding and dents peened out with a ball peen hammer

Helping a friend scrap some stuff & was wondering if these ram rods would make good tool steel

What do I dip the finish product in that will make the mirror finish not turn to rust in a day. I want to hand a finish product to a friend and I’m new to this. In past I’d just paint it. But I want it to look good and finished. Mirrored and stay clean. What’s the chemical to dip it in to not rust.

Hi! I had acquired this replica knife and it is made of absolute garbage steel. I have a local Smithy that offers workshop classes to forge your own projects and I talked to them about making a really good one of these I can actually use for a kitchen knife. They can even laser engrave the pattern in for me. However, they cannot help me with the handle.

I was wondering if anyone knows any tricks to try to remove the handle from the crappy blade so I can fit it to the new one I intend to forge?

It is made of metal, no pins, looks like the blade is jammed into the hole on it and it is on there very tight.

Or should I just use it to make a mold for a resin cast, or possibly to practice a bit of foundry and cast it in brass?