bionicarm

sometimes I wish asbestos didn't kill you...perfect application. Looks good!

Thanks, Thought I'd read most everything in vices. I'll be working with the smith tomorrow and I'll try and get a measurement on the jaws if time allows...I stupidly forgot :/

I've been working for a local smith on the weekends. The other day he showed me a vice that he has in storage.... I've heard of these but hadn't ever seen one before, I thought it was pretty fantastic. He mentioned being open to selling it, unfortunately I think that it would cost more than my current vehicle...and I'm kinda short on cash right now :/ I have no idea what the screws look like or anything, what would be a ballpark figure. He also asked me to let him know if there was any action on here about it. I don't know what he's thinking on price, just wondered what you all thought.

has some vague similarities to yer standard hand cranked apple peeler.... First guess is some kinda corn kernel knocker off of the cobber A nice, slow pan video of it and an action vid would help. Depends on if you have access to it still and how curious you are. I for one am intrigued

Ptree, about half the project supervisors are good to work with up here...the other half are wonderful opportunities to practice patience. sounds like an interesting system if a bit tedious :) I haven't run into anyone trying to do anything like that...just hack it out and throw it away, real shame.

As ptree's nemesis (an asbestos project and air monitor) I can affirm all that he said. Asbestos related diseases take 15 to 40 years to surface and usually requires prolonged exposure on a frequent basis to really foul you up...that being said, it's nothing to mess with. you only have 2 lungs and they have to last as long as the rest of you. A good mask is kind of like good eye protection-You don't always need it, but when you do, there's not a lot that can be substituted in...expect to pay a bit for a quality mask and keep extra filters on hand. You won't need them for most things, but if you're say, chipping off insulation.... Proper ventilation can almost never hurt.

OK this just reminded me. I recently was loaned the first 30 years (or so) of the anvils ring. I have a bit of an obsession with smithing so I read them all. There is an article with pictures that I believe is informative and pertinent to this topic. I don't suppose there's any way to post images of that article is there? I am speaking of the legality, not the actual ability to post it. Glen, do you have any insights? I believe I will need permission from ABANNA but I figured I'd ask here to see if there was anything here against it first.

It's called a nozzle dummy

How did you make the...uhh...tapered pipe on the outlet? Sheet metal and a wooden form? Seems to have too uniform a thickness to be forged (could just bee angle though)

not to be derogatory of these gentlemen, but when he's beatin on it with the hammer it looks like a terrible weld. Anyone else think so?

Azur, First I want to say I like your attitude. You work with what you've got. Seal up the holes in the sides however you can, duct tape will work. an old tarp, piece of canvass, saran wrap (plastic food wrap), any of these can seal up the holes. Then attach that thing to a pipe and get to hitting. That will work alright, just keep pumping slow and steady, not the jerky puffs like you're trying to blow a stick around. While you work with that bellows you can begin gathering materials for the next set. Like Glen said, your next set you make will be better, could even go for something a bit more challenging like a double lunged bellows. I have no doubt you can make it work from what you've shown here.

George, I was bare handed, don't like gloves. I didn't get pinched at all, the slit is very narrow, the width of one band saw blade I suspect. I was only aware of it when I thought about it, even then it was not uncomfortable, just different. I agree with your thoughts on cutting your tools, this is just what this guy does and I thought it was interesting and wondered if anyone else did it.

No, it was on the other half of the hammer, where you would grip for a strong blow, and it was MUCH thinner than that.

I have been working with a local, professional smith. When I picked up one of his hammers (after a prompt) I noticed there was a cut in it on the last 8 inches of the handle, straight up through the handle where I would normally grip it. When I asked him about it he said it acted to take up some of the vibration and save his arm and elbow. 'Said it worked wonders. The cut was in a horizontal orientation if you were holding the hammer to strike a blow. Has anyone else heard of this? I used that hammer for about 2.5 hrs and it didn't seem to irritate my hand at all, or feel all that weird either. It wasn't a large gap, it looked like he just used a band saw to zip up it real quick. Just enough for there to be a bit of play in the handle.

Been working my mail hauberk on and off...it's not quite a hauberk yet though... was using the big concrete nippers at the end, longer lever arms really saves your hand if you have to cut many more than a few hundred. I also made some key chain fobb type things and gave them to my buddy and brother, they both like em...looked like smaller versions of Ramsies' bracelet.